PTI Chief On Media's Role: Scepticism Over Cynicism

Democracy requires citizens to question everything, fostering scepticism rather than cynicism towards media.

Social media and AI contribute to the spread of fake news, making verification a critical journalistic principle.

The shift from seeking exclusive stories to prioritising speed challenges media credibility and informed public discourse.

Journalism's core purpose is to enable informed choices, crucial for democratic processes like voting and financial decisions.

Leaders and individuals must pause and question content, especially on social media, to combat misinformation and propaganda.

Democracy does not need people who refuse to believe anything but it needs citizens who are able to question everything, Editor-in-Chief and CEO of the Press Trust of India (PTI) Vijay Joshi said here on Saturday.

One should be sceptical of the media but not cynical, as journalism enables citizens to make informed choices which is crucial in democracy, Joshi said, while also noting the challenges posed by social media, focus on speed rather than verification, and fake content generated through Artificial Intelligence.

He was speaking at 'Media Conclave 2026' organised by the Indian Institute of Management Nagpur on the topic 'Leading through Disruption: Managing Media Organisation in the age of AI'.

The Importance Of Scepticism In A Democratic Society : "There is a perception among a lot of people that all media is biased. That's another extreme, because when you say that all media is biased, that becomes cynicism. It is not scepticism," Joshi said, adding that one should be "sceptical of the media, not cynical."

"Because once people stop believing everyone, the most manipulative voices are the ones that will be left standing. If you stop believing everything that is being told to you, only those who are vicious, who are able to manipulate you, will remain standing. 

Democracy does not need citizens who believe everything. Democracy does not need citizens who do not believe anything. 

Democracy needs citizens who are able to question everything around them," the PTI CEO said. Whether it is economic data, political views or social metrics, everything should be questioned, he said.

Combating Fake News And AI-Generated Content : Millions of social media users who upload content have become competition for the media nowadays, and AI is fuelling generation of fake news, Joshi noted, stressing that the fundamental principle of journalism is "verify before you publish". 

Citing the recent example of fake news about a veteran Bollywood actor's death going viral even when he was very much alive, Joshi said this creates the impression that the media is not credible. 

The PTI, however, has never published such stories without verification, he noted.

The Shifting Landscape Of Journalistic Priorities : There was a time when a mistake in a news report was considered to be the biggest sin and newspapers survived on credibility, the PTI CEO said. 

"Today, the competition between journalists is not about who will get an exclusive story, but it is about who will get it first. 

The speed has become the competitive benchmark," he said. Media organisations have to push a story as soon as possible as social media users, in a way, have become their competitors, Joshi noted.

Upholding Credibility In The Age Of Information Overload : The real purpose of journalism is to allow people to make good choices and proper decisions, he said, adding that this is of huge importance in democracy because it enables people to decide whom they should give their vote or how they should invest their money, among other things. 

All these decisions depend on information, he said. Everyone, and journalists in particular, should have the sense of the importance of the media's credibility because journalists play a critical role in upholding the democracy of this country, Joshi said.

 "And this is the responsibility which comes with a lot of weight and you cannot allow yourself to be misled by the need of speed, where you are not verifying your facts and losing credibility," he said. 

There is a "fight for attention" everywhere, which has changed the dynamics of journalism, Joshi said, while also noting that algorithms of social media are now deciding what people will read and pushing propaganda. 

In advice for management students, he said that as leaders they should not rely on "curated feedback that tells you what you want to hear" but seek dissent. 

"Ask who disagrees with your decisions and bring them forward with evidence so you can test assumptions and avoid group think," Joshi said. 

When one comes across a video on social media and feels the urge to forward it, "there is one simple weapon that you can use and that tool is called pause," he said, adding that one must first ask if the content could be false or has some agenda behind it.