New Delhi, Oct 4 (PTI) Union minister L Murugan on Tuesday said in times of crises television news channels must become prudent and truth and trust must become the maxim to abide by.

Murugan, the Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, made these remarks while delivering a keynote address at the Global News Forum 2022 meeting here organised by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union.

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He said the theme of the meeting – ‘Truth and Trust at Times of Crisis' – was very apt and its importance increased manifold following the COVID-19 pandemic that was also referred to as an "infodemic".

Murugan said fake news and misinformation spread fast during the pandemic and creation of awareness against this evil has become equally important.

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The minister lauded Prasar Bharti, India's public broadcaster, for playing a key role in information dissemination during the pandemic.

Speaking on the occasion, Mayank Agrawal, Chief Executive Officer of Prasar Bharti, said the organisation has always lived up to the high standards of public broadcasting and has been valued by people for its objectivity.

Agrawal credited Doordarshan and All India Radio for actively confronting the menace of fake news during the pandemic by broadcasting a phone in programme ‘Doctors Speak' in 20 regional languages where doctors responded to queries from the audience.

Javad Mottaghi, Secretary General of Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), said that Asia-Pacific was a diverse region with both big and small countries, different cultures, economies and governance systems.

ABU has 253 members in more than 67 countries in the Pacific region, Asia, Europe, North Africa and North America, reaching a potential audience of about two billion.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)