Lok Sabha Question No. 377 (STARRED), answered on 2025-03-26
Subject: PIB Fact Check Unit
Ministry: INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING
Asked by: Shri G Kumar Naik

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *377

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 26.03.2025

## PIB FACT CHECK UNIT

## *377.  SHRI G KUMAR NAIK:

## Will the Minister of INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING be pleased to state:

- (a) the criteria and methodology used by the PIB Fact Check Unit to identify and verify fake news;
- (b) the details of instances where fact checking led to social media content takedowns;
- (c) whether  an  independent,  non-partisan  fact  checking  body  is  being  considered  by  the Government;
- (d) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  measures  implemented/proposed  to  be  implemented  to prevent selective enforcement by PIB Fact Check Unit; and
- (e) the details of complaints received and resolved during each of the last three years and the current year, State-wise?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING AND MINISTER OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a) to (e): A statement is laid on the Table of the House .

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (e) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *377 TO BE ANSWERED ON 26.03.2025 ON PIB FACT CHECK UNIT

(a) to (e): A Fact Check Unit (FCU) has been set up under Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in November, 2019 with the objective to counter dissemination of fake news & misinformation pertaining to the Government of India.

People can send their complaints/fact check requests regarding news/information items circulating on matters pertaining to the Government of India via the WhatsApp Hotline- +918799711259 and the website of PIB Fact Check Unit - https://factcheck.pib.gov.in.

The  Fact  Check  Unit  of  PIB  follows  a  four-step  model  for  verification  of  the  reported  news/ content, as under:

- (1) Find: The PIB Fact Check Unit takes suo-moto cognizance on fact checking as well as receives complaints on its website or WhatsApp Hotline.
- (2) Assess: The Unit segregates the received information after ascertaining whether it falls within the  ambit  of  the  Fact  Check  Unit.  The  relevant  complaints  are  researched  using  various  fact checking tools and verified through authentic government open-source information available only on Government websites, notices, circulars, documents, and e-gazettes.
- (3) Create: After verifying the authenticity of the received information from authorized sources, the Fact  Check  Unit  utilizes  the  Information,  Education  &  Communication  (IEC)  strategy  to  create awareness through creative content fit for dissemination on social media platforms.
- (4) Target:  FCU posts the fact checked and correct information on its social media handles.

The details of queries received and resolved by the FCU during the last three years and the current year is as below:

| Year                          | Total Queries Received   | Total Number of Actionable Queries   |   Number of Fake News Identified |
|-------------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------------------|----------------------------------|
| 2022                          | 25,626                   | 8,107                                |                              338 |
| 2023                          | 20,684                   | 6,623                                |                              557 |
| 2024                          | 21,404                   | 6,320                                |                              583 |
| 2025 (as of 19 th March 2025) | 5,200                    | 1,811                                |                               97 |