Hyderabad: In a report presented on Tuesday, the Parliamentary Committee on Communications and Information Technology recommended that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) enhance the capabilities of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) through the implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in fighting misinformation.
Functions of PIB’s fact-check unit
PIB, the nodal agency of the Government of India to disseminate information, has a Fact Check Unit (FCU) which monitors and checks the circulation and dissemination of factually incorrect, doctored news and information over different media platforms.
In May 2025, PIB’s FCU blocked over 1,400 URLs that were spreading misinformation related to the operation. The unit acted to curb fake news, quickly detected and issued swift rebuttals to edited videos, misinformation and propaganda.
What did the panel recommend?
The report recommended that the Information Ministry coordinate with other ministries and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of India (MeitY) to close regulatory gaps.
The committee suggested enhancing the outreach and accessibility of the FCU through wider public awareness campaigns on social media platforms.
‘Use AI tools to fight misinformation’
For real-time monitoring of misinformation, the usage of AI tools was suggested.
The move is also aimed at improving coordination with social media platforms to facilitate faster identification and removal of misleading content. Suggestions were also made regarding the expansion of the FCUs' capacity with regional language-trained personnel.
Detailed quarterly transparency reports on misinformation identified, corrective action taken and engagement with media platforms were recommended. Formulating a comprehensive regulatory framework the misinformation along with public grievances related to it was also a part of the committee’s report.
Keeping OTT content in check
The report also outlined that a structured grievance redressal mechanism must be developed to address online and OTT content, integrating Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act and existing civil redress provisions.
These recommendations were made as the spread of misinformation and manipulated content increases across various media platforms, necessitating the strengthening of institutional mechanisms for timely verification.