Media Must Verify Foreign Content Before Publishing: Press Council

The Editors Guild Of India (EGI) said that it is “perturbed” by the recent advisory from the PCI.

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The Press Council of India (PCI) has advised media to verify contents from a foreign publication before publishing in an Indian newspaper.

The advisory issued on Wednesday, 25 November, goes on to say that “publish foreign extracts in Indian newspapers with due verification as the reporter, publisher and editor of such newspaper shall be responsible for the contents, irrespective of the source from which it is received”.

The advisory said the PCI has “considered references received by the government from various quarters about the responsibility of Indian newspapers in publishing foreign content”.

Editors Guild Protests Press Council's Advisory

The Editors Guild Of India (EGI) on Saturday, 28 November said that it is “perturbed” by the recent advisory from the PCI.

“Editors Guild urges the PCI, which should be committed to press freedom, to withdraw this advisory immediately,” the Guild said in a statement.

The EGI raised concerns that the advisory could lead to “some form of censorship and punitive actions against those organisations that publish content, which in its view is seen as ‘not desirable’”.

EGI said that several publications reproduce content from foreign agencies, newspaper and periodicals. The editor, in any case, is responsible for all the content published in their publication, the EGI statement said.

“A reiteration by the Council at this juncture of this established practice, in an ominous-sounding advisory, has disturbing implications,” it said.