The sound of truth in a noisy world

I vividly recall receiving a call many years ago from a musician friend who, after seeing a WhatsApp message, wanted to confirm whether the legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar had passed away.

- RAJDEEP PATHAK

The news, coming early in the morning from someone in the field of music, came as a shock. After all, reports at the time had only mentioned that Lata ji had been admitted to hospital for a minor ailment. Yet, within less than an hour, social media platforms - including Facebook, WhatsApp groups, and Twitter - were flooded with tributes, photos, and condolence messages. I immediately contacted legendary singer Suresh Wadkar ji, who quickly reassured me that Lata ji was doing well. Indeed, she continued to grace the world with her presence for many more years before peacefully passing away at the age of 92 on 6 February 2022.

Asimilar (viral) episode unfolded recently, on 10 and 11 November 2025. Social media platforms and even certain news outlets prematurely announced the death of Bollywood's “He-Man,” Dharmendra, who was undergoing treatment at Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital and has been discharged as I am penning this down. Several prominent personalities also took to the social media platforms to express their grief, only to later delete their posts after his wife, Hema Malini, firmly dismissed rumours and clarified that her husband was responding to treatment and showing improvement.

These instances raise a crucial question: how has news, once a pillar of trust and verification, become so vulnerable to distortion in the digital age? It is with this concern that I reflected on Public Service Broadcasting Day, observed every year on November 12 to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi's historic radio address from Broadcasting House, New Delhi, in 1947. The day reminds us of radio’s transformative potential and Gandhi's vision of truth-based communication, a vision that stands in stark contrast to today’s epidemic of misinformation.