It is the foremost principle of journalism to always seek the truth and report the facts. A journalist should always strive for accuracy, give all the relevant facts, and ensure they have checked.
Nowadays the Indian media has stooped to the lowest ebb of yellow journalism with its reporting of fake, fabricated and complete fictitious news. While India continues with its atrocities, the hyper-sensationalist media has covered their tracks and continue to spurn out propaganda. Indian journalists have forgotten the basic principles of journalism.
The most recent example was how the Indian media reported the recent incident in which PML-N’s Sadar was arrested in a sloganeering case. This fiasco created an administrative issue leading to a tussle between state institutions.
The Indian media went berserk and reported that a ‘civil war’ had erupted in Karachi. It made completely unfounded claims that there was a clash between police and the army, leading to loss of lives and injuries. Then, it went a step further and used an image of a building that collapsed from a gas leak explosion in Karachi to substantiate its fake news.
All major Indian media outlets decimated all journalistic norms and ethics without fact-checking such a huge gaffe. While there is no obligation to present every side in every piece, stories should be balanced and impartial. The Indian media has no such consideration and continues the persistent barrage of attacks against Pakistan, undermining its own professional ethics and credibility.
We are already living in the era of fake news which has determined democracies, created chaos in elections and spread misinformation. This is part of the fifth-generation warfare against Pakistan which the Indian deep has been deployed as a tactic. The Indian media should realise the impact of its reporting and how it may hurt others.
It is ironic that social media giants have never taken any action against the fake news by Indian media. While even tweets of Donald Trump are being labelled and malicious articles are restricted, there is no action against them. Neither is there as recourse if mainstream Indian channels report such blatant falsehoods. Journalists should be independent voices and work on behalf of vested interests or conflict of interest but often in the quest for rating and popularity, the media should not forget its basic principles.
