Editorial: Curb digital anarchy

For members of the general public, it is getting increasingly difficult these days to know which piece of information is fake and which is not. Recently, a fake video of an incident of manhandling went viral. Apparently, the video was targeted at the country’s top political leadership. 

This, just days after a sustained effort to drag the leadership into controversy over alleged investments offshore.

A cursory reading of unsavory comments in relation to such controversial and often fake contents paints an alarming picture. It shows anarchy reigns supreme in parts of the cyberscape as in several other parts of national life, including in politics. It may be because of poor service delivery on the part of state organs. Worse still, it may be an indication of the direction we are taking as a society. 

In a real democracy, healthy criticism of the government is always welcome. The free press, if it is indeed worth its name, is at the forefront when it comes to taking the government to task. Sadly, there have been instances, in Nepal and elsewhere, where the vanguards of the permanent opposition have paid—and continue to pay—heavy prices for not sparing a government, democratic or otherwise.

Rulers, regardless of their hues and shades, often fail to realize that they should not shoot the messenger just because they don’t like the message. Even those at the helm in great democracies tend to forget that the media is a watchdog, not a lapdog. 

This selective amnesia comes from state powers, unbridled or otherwise. Indeed, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

The freedom of expression, the freedom of the press and several other freedoms are enshrined in our Constitution. These freedoms come with boundaries attached. 
Notwithstanding the red lines, cyberspace has become a mute spectator as outlets, in their desperate bids to go viral, cross the limits and resort to misinformation, disinformation and fake news, often targeting high-profile figures, among others. There’s an ecosystem behind it all, with links beyond the national jurisdiction.

Alarmingly, recent days have also seen attempts to malign Nepal as an unsafe neighbor and destabilize the polity by predicting that the government will collapse pretty soon.

In the face of misinformation, disinformation and fake news spreading like wildfire amid proliferation of advanced technologies like AI, our government seems to be in deep slumber.

Time has come for the government to wake up and rein in this sorry situation by safeguarding freedoms enshrined in our charter and improving its poor service delivery, which seems to be the root cause of rising discontent in social media and beyond.