Abstract
With the media's role as an information provider and a watchdog, the freedom of media is considered very important for democratic countries like India. Recognized as the fourth pillar of the democracy, Indian media has been playing a decisive role in keeping the masses informed and aware, right from the days of British rule. Being one of the most powerful tools for shaping public opinion, Indian media shoulders a tremendous responsibility towards the people of the country. And like any other power in the world, it needs to be regulated or controlled to ensure ethical gathering and distribution of non-misrepresented content for the enlightenment of the masses. Journalistic ethics or media ethics act as important guidelines for media persons to self-regulate their behavior to ensure that only the truth reaches out to the people. However, with the emergence of new media in the scenario of journalism, the face of media has completely changed. New media empowers anybody in the world to broadcast any kind of information to the masses not only within the country but also throughout the world. This now poses a major challenge for media to remain truly ethical. An insensitive state like Assam, where regional media is not so advanced, the local, as well as social media, have been found to disseminate information about incidents which regional media have not been able to cover and some of the consequences of this uncalled for the spread of information have been downright disastrous. The researcher in this research will discuss unethical practices by local media and social media while covering some communal issues of the state. The research paper will also give insights about the consequences of such unethical practices of media. The researcher focuses on the need to devise strategies to counter the propaganda that is carried out by the media. Different measure to control the use of such media must be carefully considered against the need for the freedom to express and communicate.
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