Fact Check Unit

Published on 22 Mar 2025

 The Supreme Court stayed government notification establishing the Press Information Bureau’s Fact Checking Unit (PIB FCU) as the official FCU of the central government.

• A Fact Check Unit under PIB was established in November 2019 with two main objectives:1. Act as a deterrent to creators and disseminators of fake news & misinformation .2. An easy avenue to report suspicious and questionable information pertaining to the Government of India for fact-checking.
•  The unit only takes up complaints related to the Government of India, its Ministries, Departments, Public Sector entities etc.
• It has an online presence and places all fact-checked information on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Koo, Instagram and Telegram.
• However , recently a three-judge Supreme Court bench stayed the Centre’s notification operationalizing PIB’s fact check unit as it involves serious constitutional issues related to Article 19 freedoms.

Keywords:

Good governance Fact check unit Transparency Accountability Article 19 Fake news