India introduces, then quickly cancels, a plan to blacklist reporters for spreading 'fake news'

The last 24 hours have seen a huge U-turn by the government. In a bid to check fake news, the government, late Monday night amended guidelines for journalists accreditation stating that if a journalist is found to have created or propagated fake news, his or her accreditation will be suspended or permanently cancelled. Amidst the widespread condemnation and backlash from media houses, the Prime Ministers Office tried damage control and ordered I&B ministry to withdraw the controversial guidelines. This raises several questions; Was the PMO unaware of I&B ministry's move? Did the government underestimate the backlash or worse is this the governments best effort to tackle fake news which is mostly peddled on social media and not in mainstream media by accredited journalists?