Media

In democratic countries, the media plays a critical role in keeping citizens informed about matters of public importance, and most critically on the arms of the government, the legislative, the executive and the judiciary. As a fourth pillar of democracy, the media delivers information across the nation. In India, the media landscape in India has undergone tremendous change since liberalisation with the rise of many privately owned outlets operating TV channels, radio, print outlets nationally as well as regionally.

The digital era has brought in a whole host of new players, including many social media platforms that have quickly become important sources of news for people. As the availability of information and number of news portals has multiplied, so has their influence, giving rise to a new major issue; that of the credibility of the media and especially of content that is shared across digital platforms. The absence of regulation of platforms that now operate as media outlets and their conflict with free speech laws has thrown open a huge set of issues that need thinking and expertise globally, both from governments as well as technologists. There is a huge need from the philanthropic sector to invest and support this area.