紐時賞析／印度媒體如何在戰爭中放大謊言

War Filled Indian Media With Fevered Falsehoods

印度媒體如何在戰爭節奏中放大謊言

The news reports chronicled India’s overwhelming successes: Indian attacks had struck a Pakistani nuclear base, downed two Pakistani fighter jets and blasted part of Pakistan’s Karachi port, the country’s oil and trade lifeline.

新聞報導記錄了印度壓倒性的勝利：印度攻擊了巴基斯坦的一處核基地，擊落了兩架巴基斯坦戰機，並炸毀了巴基斯坦喀拉蚩港的一部分—這是該國石油與貿易的命脈。

Each piece of information was highly specific, but none of it was true.

每一條資訊都非常具體，但沒有一項是真的。

Disinformation on social media in the days during and since India and Pakistan’s intense military confrontation last month has been overwhelming. But some also made its way into the mainstream media, a development that alarmed analysts monitoring the evolution of outlets in India once trusted for their independence. The race to break news and a jingoistic approach to reporting reached a fever pitch during the four-day conflict. Some well-known TV networks aired unverified information or even fabricated stories amid a burst of nationalistic fervor.

印度和巴基斯坦上個月激烈軍事對抗期間和此後數日，社群充斥大量假訊息。但其中一些假訊息也流入主流媒體，這個發展令監測印度媒體機構演變的分析家們震驚，這些媒體機構曾因獨立性受到信任。這場4天的衝突期間，爭相報導新聞和狹隘民族主義的報導方式到了極度狂熱的程度。民族主義熱潮高漲之際，有些知名電視新聞網播送未經核實的資訊，甚至是捏造的故事。

“When we think of misinformation, we think of anonymous people, of bots online, where you never know what the source of the thing is,” said Sumitra Badrinathan, an assistant professor of political science at American University who studies misinformation in South Asia. In this case, Badrinathan said, “previously credible journalists and major media news outlets ran straight-up fabricated stories.”

研究南亞假訊息的美利堅大學政治學助理教授蘇米特拉．巴德里納坦表示：「我們想到假訊息時，會想到匿名人士、網路機器人，你永遠都不知道這些資訊的來源是什麼。」巴德里納坦說，在這個案例，「先前可靠的記者和主流媒體機構直接報導了捏造的故事」。

“When previously trusted sources become disinformation outlets, it’s a really large problem,” she said.

她說：「先前可信的來源變成假訊息管道時，真是個大問題。」

The misinformation shared on mainstream media platforms about the conflict between India and Pakistan is the latest blow to what was once a vibrant journalism scene in India. Warring sides have spread lies and propaganda for as long as there has been armed conflict. And mainstream news outlets have not been immune from presenting their country’s battlefield efforts in a favorable light or from, at times, rushing to publish information that later turns out to be incorrect.

主流媒體平台分享關於印度和巴基斯坦間衝突的假訊息，是對於曾經活躍的印度新聞業最新打擊。自有武裝衝突以來，交戰雙方都在散布謊言和政治宣傳。主流媒體機構也不免對其國家戰場表現進行正面報導，或有時匆忙公布之後被證明為不真實的資訊。

But social media has exponentially increased the potential for misinformation. And in India, there has been a steady erosion of free speech since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014. Many news outlets have been pressured into suppressing news damaging to the government’s reputation. Others have come to promote the government’s policies. (Some small independent online news publications have pursued more accountable journalism, but their reach is limited.)

但社群媒體大幅增加傳播假訊息的可能。且在印度，自總理莫迪2014年上任以來，言論自由逐漸受到侵蝕。許多媒體機構被施壓，壓制對政府聲譽有損的新聞。其他媒體機構則決定宣傳政府政策。（有些小型獨立線上新聞刊物追求更負責任的新聞報導，但影響力有限。）

“The information ecosystem is broken,” said Pratik Sinha, a founder of Alt News, an independent fact-checking website. Fact-checking can combat misinformation, Sinha said, but it has a cost: Alt News is fighting a defamation suit filed by another media outlet. Its reporters have also been harassed.

獨立事實查核網站Alt新聞一名創辦人辛哈表示：「資訊生態系統已經崩潰。」辛哈說，事實查核可以打擊假訊息，但它有代價：Alt新聞正對抗另一間新聞媒體提出的誹謗訴訟。記者也受到騷擾。

文／Anupreeta Das and Pragati K.B.　譯／羅方妤