With every passing day, it is becoming increasingly difficult to ascertain whether the mainstream media’s repeated mistakes are due to sheer malice or a consequence of their utter incompetence. The latest outlet to engage in a hilarious gaffe is Indiatimes.
In an article posted recently, IndiaTimes claimed that actor Ranvir Shorey had taken a jibe against the government. Indiatimes was quoting a comment Shorey had made in a tweet.
However, when one reads the entire conversation, it becomes evident that Shorey had not used the words for the government but for the Congress party. It is difficult to imagine exactly how does any reporter fails to report something as simple as even this inaccurately. It beggars belief.
In the screenshot, it is evident that Ranveer Shorey was responding to a comment that derided Congress’ statement that nobody can change the status of Jammu and Kashmir. Congress has taken an opposing stand to the Modi government abrogating Article 370. The person Ranveer Shorey responded to say that they (Congress) don’t want to see a developed Kashmir and want to ensure that Kashmiris have stones in their hands and not books.
To that, Shorey said that “they (Congress) wants to keep the fire burning in Kashmir to cook their Biryani.
IndiaTimes maliciously turned this comment by Shorey to say that he called the Modi government out.
Interestingly, another report by Indiatimes does lead one to conclude that the mistakes may be motivated more by malice than mere incompetence. It reported that Pakistani singer Atif Aslam was attacked by ‘trolls’ on social media for his comments on Kashmir.
As is quite evident, Atif was criticized by patriotic Indians for his ridiculous comments on Kashmir. It’s quite natural that Indians would feel angered by the fact that Atif was meddling in the issue even as he earned lots of money from working in this country. It does show the motivations of Indiatimes that they label patriotic Indians ‘trolls’ for merely exercising their freedom of speech.
The media has been running a sustained fake news campaign against the government regarding the situation in Kashmir. ThePrint had claimed that the Indian government informed the US before abolishing Article 370, a dubious nonsensical claim that was denied by American authorities.
Molestation accused propagandist Vinod Dua had claimed that PM Modi had requested POTUS Donald Trump to mediate on the Kashmir issue, despite the fact that it has been denied categorically by the Indian administration. Intriguingly, such mistakes unfailingly occur in only one direction, never the other.
