INTERVENTION SPOTLIGHT

With close to half a billion Indians being initiated into the digital space, it is essential that they become more aware of their rights and build their capability to mitigate the inherent risks of technology. To reach this segment, it is essential to look beyond tier I cities and explore communication channels that are accessible in local languages.

To build awareness on the vulnerabilities arising from technology and to help individuals protect themselves from these risks, one of India’s leading radio storytellers Neelesh Misra produced a show on the radio channel, BigFM, called ‘Zindagi Mobile’. The content on the show took an anecdotal form and contextualised the risks within stories that were relatable to its listeners, aiming at those who might have been or might potentially be vulnerable to the risks of technology.

The show reached millions of Indians in five local languages, achieving the number 1 slot in Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru. An independent impact evaluation of the show found that it led to a greater privacyconsciousness among listeners, and more careful online behaviour, such as checking the veracity of information before forwarding it.

Using storytelling to engage listeners, making the risks relatable and contextualised to day-to-day life, and using a channel that provides a wide coverage in local languages were the success factors for BigFM’s successful behaviour change efforts.

1: Access to Information | Misinformation and Fake News

Despite the increased recognition of misinformation and fake news as a risk, the solutions to combat this risk remain limited. The recognition and awareness is also limited to technocrats and a small section of the population. Our research suggests the following pathways for philanthropic investments to move to the next stage of evolution:

Building consensus through policies, and legal ecosystem.

Piloting private sector solutions that eliminate the trade-offs in diverging priorities of private, public and social sectors.

The table below presents gap areas and illustrative funding opportunities for philanthropy to advance the discourse and pilot solutions to combat misinformation and fake news:

Use relatable and vernacular channels such as radio, TV shows , movies and social media to spread awareness and build capability of large sections of population to identify and combat misinformation.

Build strong regulatory / oversight mechanisms and mandates to strike the right balance between misinformation and censorship and for effective grievance redressal.

Fund the proof of concept of technology tools, solutions, and processes that can address misinformation in local idioms and languages.