SRINAGAR: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has directed the administration to take strict action against “fake journalists” in Jammu and Kashmir and ensure that only bona fide media professionals are recognised and engaged by government departments, officials said.
According to officials privy to the meeting, the matter was raised during a high-level review chaired by the Lieutenant Governor in Srinagar. The issue had also surfaced during the recently concluded autumn session of the J&K Legislative Assembly, where several legislators flagged concerns over individuals misusing media credentials.
“The LG was categorical that those misusing the name of journalism must face the law. He directed all Deputy Commissioners and SSPs to take concrete steps to identify such elements and weed them out from the system,” a senior official present in the meeting said.
Sinha is learned to have asked officers to jointly prepare a verified district-wise database of accredited and active journalists. Government departments have been told to entertain only those media representatives whose credentials are cleared by the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR).
The Lieutenant Governor also directed that individuals or groups running Facebook pages, online news portals, or social media handles under the guise of journalism must be registered and verified by DIPR. He stressed that digital platforms must be held accountable for the content they publish and operate strictly within media ethics and the law.
Officials said the move comes amid growing complaints that certain individuals posing as journalists were misusing identification cards or social media reach to intimidate officials and extract favours. Several legislators had demanded a formal mechanism to curb the practice.
“The government values the work of genuine journalists who report with integrity and responsibility,” another senior officer said. “But action against those bringing disrepute to the profession is inevitable.”
Earlier, DIPR J&K directed all District Information Officers in Kashmir to intensify vigilance against fake journalists.
