Kerala Battles With Flood & Rumours Too! Special Classes for Kannur School Children to Tackle Fake News

As Kerala battles with the monstrous flood causing several deaths, the state is fighting with fake news too; in the most real sense. Recently, the Indian Army had issued a warning against a bogus video in which a man wearing Army combat uniform is seen making statements against the way the government is carrying out the flood rescue effort. While the country unites to secure the lives in Kerala, such false statement is seen everywhere; especially on all social media platforms and WhatsApp confusing and misleading the people across. In a struggle to tackle these false rumours, state-run schools in Kannur commenced special classes for the students on ‘fake news’. Heart-Rending Videos of Kerala Floods That Show Both Devastation and Hope in the Rain-Ravaged State. 

Have you seen the viral video of a soldier slamming the Chief Minister of Kerala? Well, by now, you must be aware that he is fake. There have been several such news surfacing on the internet causing more ruckus to the already flood-affected state. But the authorities in Kannur have taken a step ahead, to educate our future generation about such counterfeits. According to BBC, the district officials have begun 40-minute-long fake news classes in 150 out of its 600 government schools. Using an imaginative combination of words, images, videos, simple classroom lectures and skits on the dangers of remaining silent and forwarding things without gathering a quick knowledge about the same; this initiative is speculated to be the first of its kind in India.

Amidst the severe crises that the state is combating, several misinformation campaigns have tried to target the people and the administration. Not only in Kannur but each corner and smartphone users in India, WhatsApp has proved to be the primary holder of fake news and viral hoaxes. The students attending the ‘fake news’ classes are shown slides about such examples; most of which they definitely have received or heard in recent the times. Illustrations of cases like kidnapping children in the area which sparked in June and Mahatma Gandhi being a womaniser etc. were being addressed in the classroom as per the report. Atal Bihari Vajpayee Last Photo Where AIIMS Hospital Doctors and Nurses Paying Tribute is FAKE! 

Most of the children attending the classes do not use smartphones and rely on their mother’s phone to check their WhatsApp groups or even YouTube videos. Not just the man wearing an army uniform confused people, even an audio clip went viral recently. A text version of which was posted on the man’s Facebook page stated that the people who were impacted by the floods in Kerala are from well to do families and that they do not need any handouts. He was identified as Suresh Kochattil. Well to stop such false statements, such initiatives seems necessary not just in Kerala but in all the states of India.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 20, 2018 07:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).