Editorial . . . . . . . . . 

In the age of the internet, news reporting has experienced a significant revolution. The basic bedrocks of democracy are being threatened by the propagation of false news and wilful misdirection of the population. It is also regrettably the recycling and duplication of false news, primarily as a result of journalists’ laziness and their lack of responsibility to independently verify the information. The issue with copy-paste journalism is that one journalist can unintentionally make a mistake, which can then be repeatedly made by other copy-paste journalists. Everyone involved in news gathering must exercise extreme caution and carefulness. Errors are common and expected in everyone. Recycling false information, however, just undermines our credibility and does us enormous harm. It’s unfortunate that fewer and fewer journalists today regard the fact-checking process. Although it will be challenging to alter this occurrence in the near future, it is obvious that modifications are required. In order to be regarded seriously as a source of information and, more crucially, as a source of truth, fact-checking continues to be an essential component of journalism. Many users of social networking sites just copy and paste the content that has been updated by others onto their own website while using their own names, killing the fourth pillar of democracy. Plagiarism is rampant at the moment, but even then, there is a trend to simply steal text and material from an unidentified source and present it as news without verification and validity. Truth and reality perish in the rush for first and swift news. Chaos is the end outcome, with hollow rumours and lies spreading like wildfire, making life for the average person worse than hell. Copying is illegal, and careless journalists must be dealt with harshly. Copying and pasting promote laziness and discourage investigation. It is acceptable to visit other people’s social networking sites, but it is unacceptable to copy that information and paste it as your own on your blog or site. Numerous social networking site users in Jammu and Kashmir have subsequently evolved into copy-and-paste journalists, putting a stain on the democratic pillar. In addition, there are many people who are not equipped to be journalists who have ruined this industry. Conflicts these days are a result of misleading and fake information spreading throughout society. Copy and paste journalists have turned into a centre for corruption because they pose as bureau chiefs, special correspondents, and other titles during phone calls and other forms of communication. This raises concerns for the IPR department because the responsible department has yet to take any action against these fake journalists who even don’t understand the value of their line of work. As a result, we have a dilemma where we cap employees who don’t know enough about their line of work. The true test is when they are unable to put the information to use. The standard of this profession is affected when people write the articles before posting them online and replicate the content in the hopes that their readers haven’t already read the original narrative.  To restore the public’s faith in the media, it is imperative to tighten the noose around such phoney journalists in our UT of Jammu and Kashmir who lack relevant professional experience and credentials.