FAKE NEWS AND THE BOUNDARIES OF FREE EXPRESSION

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This Article is written by Parth Sharma of Chandigarh Group of Colleges, an intern under Legal Vidhiya.

Table of Contents

ABSTRACT

In this research article, we have a particular focus on the topic of Freedom of Expression and fake news, as well as how to address it. In today’s world, there is so much news available on social media. There are so many platforms to spread the information, like Twitter, now also known as X. There is so much information on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp. The maximum information provided by people on these platforms is often false, as they are unaware of the source of the data, where it is collected, and who the author is. Some people used the information for their purposes only. So, there is a high risk of bias involved. In India, the Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression is a fundamental right given in Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution of India.[1]. But we can make sure that this freedom of speech is not excessively used; we should take care of the sovereignty and integrity of India, we should avoid hate speeches, we should avoid Contempt of the Court, we should know that our words not hurt the sentiments of others and we should not have any right to speak against any religion. Last but not least, we should take care of foreign relations and public order.

KEYWORDS

Fake News, Freedom of Speech and Expression, Article 19 (1) (a), Reasonable Restrictions, Avoid Hate Speech

INTRODUCTION

In today’s world, Fake News is a very trending topic. So, before studying any further topic relating to freedom of Speech and Expression, we should be familiar with the concept of fake news. Fake News is that kind of news whose main aim is to mislead people. In today’s era, every individual uses social media, and they share information on the internet relating to various things without knowing the source of the information. This can mislead people, and false information is very threatening. We have an example of the information, like in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic, people couldn’t step out of their homes, and at the same time, they used social media regarding the information about the medicine of COVID- 19, so on internet there are various websites, YouTube Channels who spread the wrong information about the medicines. In these times, we should mainly rely on social media without knowing whether the information is correct or not. In that time, we used an app, “Aarogya Setu,” which is a government-certified app. We should rely on that app, and the government always says that this app is free from fake news. So, we rely on that type of app for our safety. So, this is an example that every person should know, and there are “n” number of information which are not true, or we can say fake. To save ourselves from this kind of news provided on social media, we should rely on the information that is government-certified. We should always check the source of the information, like where this information is collected, and whether there is any biasness in this information, what is the context of the information, and by whom this information is given or who is the author of the information. By this, we can eliminate the wrong information provided to us on the internet on various platforms.

PRIVILEGES GIVEN BY THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA UNDER ARTICLE 19 (1) (a) AND REASONABLE RESTRICTIONS RELATING TO IT IN ARTICLE 19 (2)

Firstly, we will discuss the privileges given by the Indian Constitution under Article 19 (1) (a): This article talks about the Freedom of Speech and Expression.[2]:-

Freedom of Speech and Expression talks about the freedom to speak, express our opinions, and views in the form of a newspaper, word of mouth, as an article, movie.
There are Exceptions as well for the Freedom of Speech and Expression, which can limit the use of Freedom of Speech and Expression. There are reasonable restrictions involved in the areas of sovereignty and Integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency and morality, or Contempt of Court, defamation.
If anyone can speak or express their views against these reasonable restrictions, they can face legal consequences, and fine criminal prosecution, or Civil suits. So, to protect an individual, they must follow the rules relating to reasonable restriction. Now we will discuss the landmark case laws relating to Article 19 (1) (a):-

Bijoe Emmanuel and Ors V. State of Kerala and Ors (1986)[3]

In this Case, the Supreme Court held that the right to silence is a crucial component of the right to speak included under Article 19 (1) (a). In this case, the Supreme Court has said that if someone refuses to sing the national Anthem, due to their religious conscientious, then they are not forced to sing the National Anthem. As a result, the right to speak and express oneself also includes the right to remain silent.

State of U.P. V. Raj Narain, (1975)[4]

In this case, the Supreme Court held that every person has the Right to know about the public acts. This is covered under Freedom of Speech and Expression. According to the Supreme Court of India, the government should be liable and accountable for the acts done by it.

These are some of the landmark case laws relating to Article 19 (1) (a). Now, we move towards the topic of Fake News Vs Freedom of Speech and Expression. Firstly, we will discuss the topic of Fake News.

FAKE NEWS

Fake News is that kind of news that is used to mislead the general public. There is so much news discovered almost every now and then. But did we know the source of this news as from where this news comes, and who is the author of this news, did this news have any biased news? These are all the questions, and we don’t have any answers about the authenticity of the information, about the place where this information is produced, or at what time the incident occurred that was covered in the news. All this leads to a potential increase in Fake News.

On the other hand, the freedom of Speech and Expression gives people the right to speak or express their thoughts in the form of words of mouth, newspapers, and journals. The right to Freedom of Speech and Expression is our fundamental right. Many people misuse this fundamental right and spread false information.

We should maintain a balance between Freedom of Speech and Expression, and limit the spread of this kind of information. We have given a reasonable restriction under Article 19 (2), which tells us the matter where Freedom of Speech can’t be used properly:-

The Sovereignty and Integrity of India
The Security of the State
Friendly Relations with the Foreign State
Public Order
Decency or Morality
Contempt of the Court
Defamation

So, these are matters provided under Article 19 (2), Freedom of Speech and Expression can’t be used effectively in the case of these matters. There must be a balance between Freedom of Speech and Expression because:-

It ensures the accountability of the Government.
Ensures the Stable Democracy.
The General Public feels respected as they have a right to express their views on the Subject Matter.
Critical Journalism

At the same time, we should limit the false information by spreading knowledge in the minds of the people. But we know there is a constant tussle between the Fake News and Freedom of Speech and Expression. Now we discuss the legal provisions related to Fake News

LEGAL PROVISION AGAINST THE FAKE NEWS

IPC Sections:- Defamation (Sec. 499, 500)
Information Technology Act, 2000:- Section 66A (Repealed)

Now we will discuss these provisions in respect of the Fake News:-

Defamation (Sec. 499, 500):- Defamation is covered by section 499[5] of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Defamation means when someone harms the reputation of another individual, making false statements against the other individual, diminishing their respect in front of the public. It is particularly known as Defamation. In India, criminal defamation is punishable under civil and criminal law. Now we discuss the different types of defamation:-

Slander: When any defamation is done under the spoken form through the mouth of words like to put as false allegations, on a person or individual.

Libel: When defamation is done through written form, it is known as Libel. Examples of Libel are:- someone published false allegations about someone in a newspaper, a Journal, or an article.

Punishment of Defamation is covered under Section 500[6] of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC): Under the Criminal Defamation, a person who is found to be guilty under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 shall be punished with imprisonment for a maximum of 2 years or fine or both.

Information Technology Act, 2000

Section 66 A[7] (Repealed)- The Supreme Court declared Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 is unconstitutional in the case of Shreya Singhal V. Union of India.

Let’s discuss the facts and Judgement of this case law:

Shreya Singhal V. Union of India, (2015) 5 SCC 1[8]

Facts: Two girls from Maharashtra in 2012 posted on social media via Facebook that there should be a shutdown of Mumbai after the demise of Bal Thackeray. The two girls were arrested because of posting about this on social media, and another girl because she liked that post. They were arrested under Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Under this, there is a provision relating to criminalizing sending “offensive messages” through electronic means of communication.

There was a law student named Shreya Singhal who filed a PIL (Public Interest Litigation), under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution, challenging the constitutional validity of Section 66A.

In this petition, it was argued that Section 66A is a violation of Article 19 (1) (a), which is our fundamental right given by the Constitution of India.

Judgment:- In this case, the Supreme Court of India has a viewpoint that Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, is violative of the fundamental right given under Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution of India.

The Supreme Court said that words used in this section, like “grossly offensive,” “menacing,” “annoyance,” and “inconvenience,” are undefined. So, the Supreme Court of India held that Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, is declared unconstitutional.

Importance of this Judgement:

This Judgement makes sure that there is Freedom of Speech and Expression both offline as well as online.
This Judgement makes sure that there will be fearlessness among the people to express their point of view.

Now we move forward to the suggested recommendations to prevent the spread of fake news:

RECOMMENDATIONS TO PREVENT THE SPREAD OF FAKE NEWS ALL AROUND THE WORLD

Spread the Awareness: We should try to educate people not to believe any information which is available on the internet. Firstly, we must try to check the source of the information, from where this information is generated, who is the author of the provided information, is this information is true, or there is some biasness in the provided information. We have so many examples of these things, like in 2020, there was a first wave of COVID-19 at its extreme, and there was a requirement for oxygen cylinders for the patients of COVID-19. So, on social media, many people try to misguide the general public and sell the oxygen cylinder at a very high price. Some sellers influence people on social media, so that they only have the stock of oxygen cylinders and charge a high price for those cylinders. By this, sellers are trying to charge more money from customers by providing them with wrong information. Now ways to tackle this problem:-
- Set up an awareness campaign for the general public.
- Educate the customers about the Consumer Court, from which they can get relief in the form of compensation (only if a seller is trying to charge more money through the inappropriate use of social media).
- Educate people to know the source of the information.
Accountability for the Content Uploaded:
- Different platforms like Instagram, WhatsApp, X (Twitter), and Facebook must comply with the rules to provide the relevant information. If all the governments in the world pressurize these platforms to provide relevant information, it will be a major step towards change.
- These platforms must use the AI (Artificial Intelligence) tools to know the source of the information as well as check if there is any biasness in this information.
- If, with the help of these kinds of resources or AI tools, these platforms find any irrelevant information, then these platforms must try to eliminate this kind of false information from their platforms.
Innovations of New Legal Provisions:
- There must be innovation of new legal provisions whose aim is to eliminate irrelevant information.
- Sanctions must be applied if any user provides irrelevant information.
Public Support:
- Public support is required in this type of task. Whenever a person sees any fake news on digital platforms, they must report it to the government websites provided for this purpose.
- The general public always makes sure of what they post on social media; they must double-check the reliability of the content.
Government Assistance:
- The government must provide the relevant websites for reporting false information.
- If the government comes into the picture, then much of the false information does not even come to the online platforms.
- The government must check the IP address of the person who supplied the irrelevant information and must take legal action against them.

CONCLUSION

At the end of this topic, we can say that the problem of fake news is rising nowadays. We all need to stay together to fight or prevent the false information. Various stakeholders, like online platforms like Instagram, Facebook, X (Twitter), the government, internet users, general public, fight against this issue, then this problem will not survive longer. But at the same time, we can’t say we fully eliminate this problem from the world because there is an immense amount of information provided on the internet. But if we fight this together, we can prevent the spread of false information. So, at the end, this research article is completed with the issue and recommendations of Fake News and Freedom of Speech and Expression. This research article has covered all the points relating to Fake News and Freedom of Speech and Expression.

[1] India Const. art. 19 (1) (a).

[2] Aditya Dubey, Freedom Of Speech And Expression Under The Constitution Of India, iPleaders (July 23, 2025, 8:46 PM), https://blog.ipleaders.in/freedom-speech-expression-constitution-india/

[3] Bijoe Emmanuel and Ors. V. State of Kerala and Ors., 1986 SCC (3) 615, 1987 AIR 748 (India).

[4] State of U.P. V. Raj Narain, (1975) 4 SCC 428, AIR 1975 SC 865 (India).

[5] Indian Penal Code, § 499, No. 45 of 1860, India Code (2023), https://unacademy.com/content/upsc/study-material/law/defamation/ (last visited July 24, 2025).

[6] Indian Penal Code, § 500, No. 45 of 1860, India Code (2023), https://unacademy.com/content/upsc/study-material/law/defamation/ (last visited July 24, 2025).

[7] Information Technology Act, § 66A (Repealed), No.21 of 2000, India Code (2023).

[8] Shreya Singhal V. Union of India, (2015) 5 SCC 1 (India), https://indiankanoon.org/doc/110813550/

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