Only Centre can validate facts related to it, says Ashwini Vaishnaw

The Centre is best suited to determine whether a particular fact related to it is correct or wrong, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Friday while making the government's stand clear on the PIB's Fact Check Unit.

He was replying to a supplementary query during the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha related to the Supreme Court's stay on the Centre's notification on setting up a fact-checking unit.

"The amendment in the IT Intermediary Rules which has been stayed by the Supreme Court, that is still under contest but the fundamental principle is, our point is, anything related to the government of India, only the government can say whether it is a correct fact or a wrong fact. That is our stand," Vaishnaw, the Union Information and Broadcasting Minister, said.

The Supreme Court in March this year stayed the Centre's notification on setting up a fact-checking unit under the Press Information Bureau (PIB) to identify fake news about the Union government.

The Fact Check Unit was ...