Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has issued show cause notices to two news channels for airing fake news against Finance Minister Asad Umar.

PEMRA swiftly moved into action after the news of a “massive reshuffle in the federal cabinet and changing of Asad Umar’s portfolio” was proven wrong.

The notices sent out to BOL News and ARY News on Monday stated that the two channels ran a fake, unsubstantiated Breaking News on Monday morning around 11 am, which were soon rubbished by the Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary.

It also observed that such fake and fabricated news is meant to “create chaos among the public and maligning the government functionaries.”

The notice lamented the TV channels for broadcasting a story without taking input from the person in question or any other government official and called it an utter disregard to journalistic ethics and PEMRA Code of Conduct.

The notice highlights that these news channels violated various Sections of PEMRA Ordinance 2002, PEMRA Ordinance 2007 and PEMRA Rules 2009 and asked them to submit a reply within seven days.

The media regulatory authority has also summoned the CEOs of ARY and BOL to appear in person on the hearing and verify the authenticity of the news report.

The hearing is set for April 22 afternoon at PEMRA Headquarters in Islamabad. It warns the concerned channels of legal action in case of non-compliance.

More Fake News

Last week, PEMRA had sent a notice to Samaa, Jaag and Neo TV for airing fake news against Shehbaz Gill, the spokesperson of CM Punjab.

In recent days, both mainstream and social media have been sharing more and more rumors against the government which is breaking a sweat to stabilize the economy and to bring the corrupt and looters to justice.

Moreover, it has also taken on “rent-a-journos” who have been backing up this corrupt mafia and resultantly, all of them have united against the Imran Khan-led government, trying their best to fail him.

A sea of misinformation has engulfed the social and mainstream media which aims at creating chaos among the public who voted Imran Khan into power.

In such a situation, the role of an active PEMRA and other media regulatory bodies is the need of the hour.