Media Censorship and Freedom of Press

MEDIA CENSORSHIP AND FREEDOM OF PRESS

ABSTRACT:

The Press in India enjoys freedom, this means that they can print without censorship from the

government. But the freedom enjoyed by the press is not necessarily good or bad. Many media

houses are run by people belonging to a certain political party or any business organization.

This leads to biased views being portrayed, they try to propagate views that align with their

ideology or goals.

Media also tends to take things at face value and not verify the facts. This leads to false news

being propagated. The press seldom unknowingly propagates false news. They show what they

are told, some of this content can be controversial. And propagation of this false news can lead

to unrest in minds of people and sometimes lead to chaos and protests.

KEYWORDS:

Media; Press; Ethical; Moral; Fake; Facts.

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INTRODUCTION

The press occasionally starts creating news instead of curating it. This is done to attract viewers

and with a profit motive. This is the situation where check on media can be helpful. Media

houses tend to create stories where nothing exists and exaggerate certain facts or incidences

thus deviating from there task of providing information to common people.

Ignoring all the shortfalls of press it also helps bring out important issues and put them in public

light. If we start censoring media then there is a possibility that such critical cases would never

see the public light and would be hidden away. Thus in such cases, it is important to let media

enjoy their freedom.

Censoring media will act as a barrier to the flow of information to the public. The concept of

democracy and right to free speech is challenged here. Also, the right to information of people

is being undermined by regulating the content that press is allowed to show.

As elicited in the previous section, media and its vast reach can prove to be both a boon and a

bane.