Ganguly prescribes reading newspaper to thwart rumours

Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) president Deepa Malik and former India cricket captain and current BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly asked people to read newspapers in order to avert the spread of rumours during the coronavirus pandemic.

Social media gets flooded with fake news everyday with unverified sources promoting misleading information to cause panic. Ganguly, who was one of the top athletes from the country who joined in a video conference with India prime minister Narendra Modi on Monday, had told Times of India that only authentic news must be read.

"The world is going through a difficult phase, something that no one has seen before or perhaps, will see again. We are confined to our homes in this period of lockdown and during this time, only authentic news should reach you. This can happen only through television and newspaper. I read newspaper and watch television everyday to keep myself updated and so should you," he said.

Deepa tweeted pictures of several newspaper articles on the role of the media.

"Crucial for accurate and important information and news to circulate at this time. Newspapers play a critical role in this! Please make sure to consume news from verified sources & stop the spread of fake news as responsible citizens," she tweeted.