Faye D’Souza & Dr Anil Abraham stress need for restoring ‘dignity of news’ at Techspectations

At the sixth edition of Techspectations, the flagship digital summit organised by ManoramaOnline in Kochi, award-winning journalist and Beatroot News founder Faye D’Souza joined dermatologist and noted social media personality Dr Anil Abraham, along with Onmanorama producer Joshua Eugene, to decode the rapidly evolving “new social universe” and the responsibility it places on independent creators.

In an age where linear television is steadily fading, and personal devices have become the primary window to news, the very definition of journalism is being reshaped. In the session, titled ‘News, Creators & the New Social Universe’, D’Souza and Abraham examined how algorithm-driven feeds and the race for “digital TRPs” are redefining credibility, reach and relevance, and they stressed the need for restoring dignity to news and the craft of journalism.

Reflecting on her decision to step away from mainstream television, D’Souza offered a stark assessment. “I realised that fundamentally the news lacked dignity. There was no dignity for the person who was delivering the news, there was no dignity for the person who was being covered, there was no dignity for the person who was watching the news either,” she said while stressing that the future of journalism must centre on restoring that lost dignity, even as creators navigate echo chambers, virality pressures and platform algorithms that often reward noise over nuance.

D’Souza argued that traditional media has largely lost its grip, noting that in the last five years, audiences have “weaned off traditional media completely”. With linear TV viewership declining, news interaction has moved to personal devices, creating a preference for individual creators over corporate brands. "People tend to identify better with a person than a brand... they know what this person likes and dislikes and what they stand for,” D’Souza explained, adding that audiences now even turn to tools like ChatGPT for a deeper understanding of events.

She also spoke of the dangers of platforms failing to flag misinformation. "YouTube offers mechanisms to correct and report misinformation, but such options are more limited on Facebook. Even my mother once fell for false information on Facebook," she said.

Abraham, drawing on his background in Kerala, compared this evolution to the traditional Chayakada (tea shop). While the old days involved men discussing news to reach their own conclusions, the social media era often sees a creator’s specific views “forced down your throat”. He observed that in this new landscape, creators feel pressured to take aggressive stands to gain views, noting that “the more aggressive you are with that, the more views you get.”

To counter the “toxicity” she experienced in mainstream television, D’Souza detailed her mission to restore “dignity to news” through a strict process of removing opinion. Her company, Beatroot News, utilises a multi-step fact-checking system where copy is repeatedly scrubbed to ensure no personal bias leaks through.

"The likes, the shares, the comments - this is all digital TRPs anyway, and you'll wind up going down that same road," she warned. By stripping away “colour” and opinion, as manifested in her signature grey-and-black text posts, she aims to build a brand that lasts beyond political phases. “Real news brands last beyond governments. We are building credibility brick by brick, story by story, day by day,” she added.

While D’Souza removes colour to find dignity, Dr Abraham adds it back through humour, which he describes as “sugarcoating my medicine”. In a world filled with grim global news, he argued that one can “either sit in your armchair and cry at what's going on or you can just laugh at the sheer ridiculous nature of the way world leaders are”.

Despite the slapstick nature of some of his content, Abraham acknowledged that dignity also comes from a sense of responsibility. After discovering that followers used his humour to help them through personal crises, like cancer recovery, he realised his content was shaping opinions. “If people's opinions are depending on this humorous kind of video, then I need to make sure that I'm very authentic in what I'm posting,” he said.

Algorithms and the "echo chamber"
The session also addressed the “dangerous” nature of algorithm-driven echo chambers. D’Souza explained that AI algorithms don't just guess what a user likes; they guess what they might believe next. “I know that you like Mallu food, I'm assuming you're also a communist,” she cited as an example of how algorithms typecast people and confirm existing biases.

Because platforms often lack real moderation, they effectively reward “rage and... fake news" to maximise the time users spend on the app. “Algorithms are handled by a private company that owes you nothing. So that’s dangerous,” she warned.

One of the most profound distinctions made during the session was the role of the apology. D’Souza emphasised that when her team gets something wrong, she personally drafts the apology. “I want that younger audience to know the difference between journalism and content creation. That you take accountability and you don't allow your audience to believe something that you now know is false," she said.

Dr Abraham concluded by noting that this consistency is what leads to true trust. He pointed out that audiences notice when a creator’s public message matches their real-life actions. “Consistency is the key... if you're consistent and you've become so believable and trustworthy, then everyone will be searching you out,” he advised aspiring creators.