Genuine regional journalism is being actively undermined by the explosive rise of unregulated WhatsApp news groups in rural districts. These shadow networks rapidly spread unverified rumors, deepfakes, and hyper-local misinformation, forcing legitimate journalists to spend their limited resources constantly fact-checking fabricated content.
The Bharat Media Association stresses the urgent need for robust media literacy campaigns at the grassroots level. We must educate citizens to distinguish between sensationalist social media forwards and ethically verified reporting conducted by trained, independent local journalists
