Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has directed officers to take strict action against fake journalists operating in Jammu and Kashmir and to ensure that only bona fide media professionals are recognised and engaged by government departments, sources said.
According to officials privy to the meeting, the issue of fake journalists was discussed during yesterday’s high-level review meeting chaired by the Lieutenant Governor in Srinagar.
The matter, which had also figured in the recently concluded autumn session of Kashmir Legislative Assembly, drew serious concern from the administration.
“The LG Sinha was categorical that those misusing the name of journalism must face the law. He directed all Deputy Commissioners and SSPs to take concrete steps to identify such elements and weed them out from the system,” sources said.
They said Sinha LG was categorical that those misusing the name of journalism must face the law.
He directed all deputy commissioners and SSPs to take concrete steps to identify such elements and weed them out from the system.
According to sources, the Lieutenant Governor has instructed officers to work jointly to prepare a verified database of accredited and active journalists in every district.
Departments have also been told to entertain only those media representatives whose credentials are duly verified by the DIPR.
The Lieutenant Governor directed that individuals or groups running Facebook pages, online news portals, or social media handles under the banner of journalism must be duly registered and verified by the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR).
He emphasised that such digital media platforms must be made accountable for the content they publish and should function strictly within the bounds of media ethics and lawful reporting.
Officials said the move comes amid growing complaints that certain individuals posing as journalists were misusing media identification cards or social media platforms to intimidate officials and extract favours.
Several legislators in the recent Assembly session had also raised this concern and sought a mechanism to curb the menace.
Earlier, the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) had issued a stringent directive to all District Information Officers (DIOs) across Jammu and Kashmir, calling for heightened vigilance and coordinated action against such activities.