Tag: fake news

Covid-19 · Medicine & Doctors · Public health · Recommended movies, books etc.

COVID-19 in India – Health Journalists and Public Health Experts You Can Follow on Twitter

Kiran Kumbhar1 Comment

In view of the large amount of misinformation about COVID-19 being circulated in India, especially after the Indian PM made some announcements which then had to be elaborately (even if incorrectly) justified, I thought of compiling a list of people/accounts that provide the most accurate and up-to-date information on the pandemic in India. Besides news,… Continue reading COVID-19 in India – Health Journalists and Public Health Experts You Can Follow on Twitter

Covid-19 · Culture & Life · Medicine & Doctors · Public health

COVID-19 in India – Society and Culture – March 19 Diary

Kiran Kumbhar4 Comments

For the previous post in this series, see here. [Throughout history epidemics have served as excellent windows into social and cultural beliefs and norms. While this contagion-catalyzed uncovering of a society’s implicit and explicit thought processes helps historians understand past societies in better ways, for present societies it can potentially be utilized as a way… Continue reading COVID-19 in India – Society and Culture – March 19 Diary

History India South Asia · Politics

Creating a reliable, accessible resource for knowledge about India

Kiran KumbharLeave a comment

There is way too much fake and misleading laden ‘history’ floating around on social media and other corners of the Internet, deeply influencing people’s opinions and evaluations of events and personalities. [For one worrying example, see here.] I think, like many others, that we need to radically change the way we talk about the nation… Continue reading Creating a reliable, accessible resource for knowledge about India

Politics · Recommended movies, books etc.

Donate to ‘Alt News’ – A nonprofit working to make India less violent and less intolerant

Kiran KumbharLeave a comment

Fake news is a worldwide problem. In India it has proliferated since the national elections campaign of 2013. I have a good idea about this as I myself have been deeply involved in the social media discourses on politics that arose after the 2011 “anti-corruption movement”. What is of particular concern is that the fake… Continue reading Donate to ‘Alt News’ – A nonprofit working to make India less violent and less intolerant

Saving yourself from govt propaganda and fake news in India
History India South Asia · Politics · Recommended movies, books etc.

Saving yourself from govt propaganda and fake news in India

Kiran KumbharLeave a comment

[Original post June 2017, Updated June 2020] The recent book I am a Troll: Inside the secret world of the BJP’s Digital Army was instrumental in exposing a trend in India which had been going on for the past few years – that of the BJP (and its co-ideologists like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh – RSS)… Continue reading Saving yourself from govt propaganda and fake news in India

Culture & Life · Politics

How confirmation bias dictates our social media responses, and what to do about it

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This was published in HuffPost India on May 22, 2017. Here is the link, and below is an extract: “As responsible digital citizens, we need to cautiously tread the maddeningly insane social media. Instead of jumping to conclusions about serious issues in a matter of seconds, we should make our conclusions only after weighing all… Continue reading How confirmation bias dictates our social media responses, and what to do about it

Culture & Life · Politics · Recommended movies, books etc.

New Science on Why People Believe Fake News

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This was published by theWire on March 5, 2017. Here is the link. Below is an extract. “To sum up, Mercier and Sperber claim that our faculty of reasoning is perfect for making, and accepting or rejecting, argumentive claims. They say this is its primary evolutionary function. But our reasoning faculty is imperfect – though not… Continue reading New Science on Why People Believe Fake News

History India South Asia · Politics · Recommended movies, books etc.

Conversing With Gandhi in Digital India

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This was published on Gandhi’s death anniversary this year, Jan 30 2017. Here is the link. Below is an extract: In a documentary on the making of the movie, Attenborough expressed phenomenal admiration for one of young Gandhi’s most profound insights: “It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honored… Continue reading Conversing With Gandhi in Digital India