Government Must Share Facts With The Public: Rajyavardhan Rathore

New Delhi: Information cannot be kept hidden from the public for long in this age of social media, and in the absence of authentic information from government agencies people often fall victim to malicious campaigns of disinformation, said Union Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore today.

"These are the days when a government cannot actually hide information. You have to put all the information out," said Mr Rathore, who is also the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting.

Suggesting that government agencies should put out all information in the public domain, he cautioned that it is said "if you don't share, you die". He emphasized that the government must not only put out correct information, but must do so speedily, using social media tools like Twitter.

Pointing out the increasing social media presence of government ministries and departments, he said that the centre was consciously encouraging an environment of transparency. Over the past few months a number of workshops had been organised to train officers in using social media, the minister said.

That several news agencies and broadcasters take trends on social media into consideration before deciding which news to play up is a testament to the influence Twitter and Facebook wield, Mr Rathore said. He also pointed out that a number of people now use social media to get the information they want.

On a lighter note the minister admitted that when his senior colleagues remark that he remains glued to his phone like a "teenager", he excuses himself by saying that it is a part of his job as information minister.