14. Pratik Sinha - A lot more misinformation came from the very top in these elections

In this episode, Pratik Sinha, founder of AltNews, the fact-checking and media watchdog website, says the amount of misinformation spread directly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is much more than in 2019 or 2014.  He also says that misinformation peaks during periods when “narratives have to be managed”, giving the example of how blaming the Tablighi Jamaat for spreading COVID was a way to deflect attention from people walking thousands of kilometres during the lockdown to return to their villages. However, now the spread of misinformation seems to be at a constant high, instead of the coming in waves, he adds. Pratik Sinha says while AltNews may not have succeeded in reaching as large an audience as possible due to financial challenges and the restrictions placed by social media companies, their real success lies in making fact-checks a part of popular and media vocabulary. He describes AltNews as a journalistic organisation, and says he does not see a conflict between journalism and activism. When media organisations do not fact check fake speeches by the Prime Minister, and report them verbatim, they are not doing their job, he says.