new delhi: Senior journalist Prabir Purkaystha, editor of NewsClick and Alt-News co-founder Pratik Sinha told a Delhi Assembly panel on Monday that there is an imperative need for more transparency in the operation, functioning as well as grievance redressal system of Facebook. The Peace and Harmony Committee, continuing its hearing into the social media giant's role in the north-east Delhi riots, deposed both the journalists, who also presented possible solutions to reigning in fake news and misinformation and hate speech on the social media platform.
Sinha told the panel that Facebook's fact-checking and content moderation attempts are failing and thus need to be worked upon. He added that while misinformation increases every election cycle, a sudden surge was seen during the riots in February. Purkaystha deposed before the panel that Facebook lacks transparency and accountability in terms of its functioning and organisational structure. He said, "There is a correlation between Facebook's inaction and disturbance of peace and harmony in society". Purkaystha relied on testimonies of a former Facebook employee.