The creators of false narratives are losers, says Hardeep Singh Puri

New Delhi: Fake news is now highly fashionable in the media industry. Be it the national media or international media, the whole media industry is dealing with fake news. False news to generate views and likes on social media platforms and promote celebrities is quite popular. However, when it comes to hard news, such fake news creates propaganda and violence amongst the masses. Due to the rise of various social media platforms, fake news spreads like a plague, degrading the peace and fundamental structure of any nation.
During the NBF National Conclave, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, stated, “I have written a book that highlights false narratives (in the media) but what we are facing here is not an alternate set of facts… But what we are dealing with here is a motivated, not properly thought through, set of facts against the government… Those who are producing the false narrative can only be losers.”
He also spoke about how legality can be an issue in the country. “Can the government, which owes land, have the right to build or not build? If the answer is yes, then how to say that the establishments (made by the government) are illegal,” he added.
Speaking about how many educated people attack the government without knowing the whole story. During the conclave, he recalled that the government was attacked during the construction of Central Vista. He said, “A letter signed by 106 retired civil servants, including former cabinet secretaries and foreign secretaries, states that the new Parliament is being constructed because there is a feeling that the old parliament building is a jinx. Then, they signed the paper that stated Central Vista or Kartavya Path is going to destroy all the Jamun trees. Greenery will be reduced.”
Later on, he took some of my colleagues to the central vista when it was under construction and saw that no Jamun trees were uprooted. “We planted 101 acres of greenery, we built 90 km of additional footpaths and bridges over water bodies that were inaccessible. Now, 100,000 people visit during the weekends.”
This indicates that people are happy with the new establishment, but the false narrative creates a ruckus.  The new President of NBF, Arnab Goswami, during the discussion, highlighted that the Lutyens media is a state of mind, so the platform (NBF National Concalve) aims to de-lutyenise the mindset. Many small media organisations react to false news by expecting a reply from big personalities.
However, Mr. Puri believes that the future is changing as “reality is asserting itself.” As an admirer of history and recalling the glorified history of India, Mr. Puri said, “India will be the third largest economy in the world by 2030.”