In August this year, the CMT brought together a group of editors from India, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines to exchange information on the problems each are experiencing in combatting mis- and disinformation.
Of course, the editors don't expect meaningful regulation against mis- and disinformation – something under consideration here in Australia - largely because their ruling political parties are culprits in both its production and spread. They’re more concerned about the degree of censorship that appears to be taking place in their individual news media ecosystems in circumstances where they are constantly told they live in democracies where free speech is respected.
In India, digital born news publications are fighting not just mis and disinformation, but the overwhelming financial power of corporate media which has the support of government. Sustainability though remains a difficult question for independent outlets, especially in an environment where political advertising is the norm, and by and large it goes to big media. Perhaps worse still, the very people being reported on have the power to launch protracted and financially crippling attacks of lawfare against journalists.
On top of all of this, deep fakes have hit the Indian news media industry when it was already struggling against the tide of false narratives. We asked the editors who came to CMT how generative AI could be used to advance ethical journalism, and whether they saw co-regulation as a viable alternative to state and platform autonomies.
In this episode of Double Take, our regional consultant and expert on South Asian media Kean Wong asks what the editors took away from the forum, and what lay ahead for them and the media industry in India.
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