On May 3, Reporters sans frontières (Reporters Without Borders), or RSF, released its annual Press Freedom Report, in which it put India at 161st position out of 180 countries. As per RSF, India slipped 11 ranks since 2022. Interestingly, according to RSF, Pakistan’s press freedom index has improved. From 157th rank in 2022, Pakistan has acquired the 150th position in the list. The same goes for Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, which got its rank improved from 156 to 152.
RSF claimed Indian government spends 130 billion Rupees on ads every year
One of the most bizarre points RSF put in its report is about the money the government of India spends on advertisements. RSF claimed the central government is spending more than 130 billion rupees (Rs 13,000 crores) or 5 billion euros a year on ads in the print and online media alone.
Under the ‘Economic Context’, the report read, “The Indian press is a colossus with feet of clay. Despite often huge stock market valuations, media outlets largely depend on advertising contracts with local and regional governments. In the absence of an airtight border between business and editorial policy, media executives often see the latter as just a variable to be adjusted according to business needs. At the national level, the central government has seen that it can exploit this to impose its own narrative. It is now spending more than 130 billion rupees (5 billion euros) a year on print and online media ads alone. Recent years have also seen the rise of “Godi media” (a play on Modi’s name and lapdogs) – media outlets such as Times Now and Republic TV that mix populism and pro-BJP propaganda. The old Indian model of a pluralist press is, therefore, being seriously challenged by a combination of harassment and influence.”
OpIndia had filed an RTI seeking information on the ad spent by the central government on different platforms, including print, outdoor advertisements, social media, radio and television. As per the reply sent by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India, the actual figures are nowhere close to what RSF has claimed.
According to the reply sent by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the central government spent only Rs 26.44 crore on television ads and only 1.33 crore on social media ads in the financial year 2022-23. Notably, ad spending has decreased significantly since the Modi government came to power in 2014. The maximum amount the government has spent on television ads was Rs 280.77 crores in FY 2016-17.
Here is a breakdown of year-wise money spent on television ads
- FY 2014-15 – 236.68 crores
- FY 2015-16 – 245.42 crores
- FY 2016-17 – 280.77 crores
- FY 2017-18 – 153.03 crores
- FY 2018-19 – 149.67 crores
- FY 2019-20 – 98.69 crores
- FY 2020-21 – 69.82 crores
- FY 2021-22 – 29.44 crores
- FY 2022-23 (till December 31, 2022) – 26.44 crores
Here is a breakdown year wise money spent on other electronic media (digital cinema, internet, misc and sms)
- FY 2014-15 – 103.83 crores
- FY 2015-16 – 132.31 crores
- FY 2016-17 – 96.87 crores
- FY 2017-18 – 102.98 crores
- FY 2018-19 – 115.35 crores
- FY 2019-20 – 86.49 crores
- FY 2020-21 – 16.16 crores
- FY 2021-22 – 6.98 crores
- FY 2022-23 (till December 31, 2022) – 13.91 crores
Here is a breakdown year wise money spent on Radio ads
- FY 2014-15 – 81.43 crores
- FY 2015-16 – 113.31 crores
- FY 2016-17 – 184.40 crores
- FY 2017-18 – 167.89 crores
- FY 2018-19 – 209.15 crores
- FY 2019-20 – 73.46 crores
- FY 2020-21 – 68.44 crores
- FY 2021-22 – 33.34 crores
- FY 2022-23 (till December 31, 2022) – 16.97 crores
Here is a breakdown year wise money spent on outdoor advertisements
- FY 2014-15 – 62.72 crores
- FY 2015-16 – 105.53 crores
- FY 2016-17 – 126.45 crores
- FY 2017-18 – 145.69 crores
- FY 2018-19 – 189.13 crores
- FY 2019-20 – 7.5 crores
- FY 2020-21 – 1.16 crores
- FY 2021-22 – 7.79 crores
- FY 2022-23 (till December 31, 2022) – Data not available
Here is a breakdown year wise money spent on print media
- FY 2014-15 – 207.66 crores
- FY 2015-16 – 317.87 crores
- FY 2016-17 – 272.84 crores
- FY 2017-18 – 411.03 crores
- FY 2018-19 – 252.28 crores
- FY 2019-20 – 81.93 crores
- FY 2020-21 – 53.76 crores
- FY 2021-22 – 58.50 crores
- FY 2022-23 (till December 31, 2022) – 69.26 crores
Year-wise total expenditure on ads by the central government (all departments and ministries in all formats)
- FY 2014-15 – 692.32 crores
- FY 2015-16 – 914.44 crores
- FY 2016-17 – 961.33 crores
- FY 2017-18 – 980.62 crores
- FY 2018-19 – 915.58 crores
- FY 2019-20 – 348.07 crores
- FY 2020-21 – 209.34 crores
- FY 2021-22 – 136.05 crores
- FY 2022-23 (till December 31, 2022) – 126.58 crores
While RSF claimed the government of India spent Rs 13,000 crores on advertisements just in print and online media alone, the RTI reply showed the expenditure did not even cross Rs 1,000 crores per year on all formats (television, print, radio, outdoor, digital cinema, SMS, internet and misc) since the Modi government came to power.
OpIndia is working on a detailed report on ad spending since the Modi government came to power in 2014.
Other unsubstantial claims made by RSF
Throughout its report on India, RSF made several claims that were nowhere close to reality. RSF claimed Reliance Industries Group led by Mukesh Ambani owns more than 70 media outlets. They also pointed out good relations between Ambani and PM Modi. The claim does not stand strong as it is based on a 2019 statement by Mukesh Ambani where he had said Reliance Industries owned 72 television channels, which includes all genres of channels and not just news channels, with around 800 million viewers.
This includes News18 branded TV news platforms like CNN Worldwide, CNN-News18, CNBC-TV18, CNN-IBN, CNBC Awaaz and more. Other than news channels, it also includes an entertainment portfolio under Viacom18 Media which is the parent company of 50 channels. All these are entertainment channels and do not have any “media outlets” as mentioned by RSF. Reliance’s Jio platform is also a source of news for its subscribers but that is more of an aggregator rather than owner of the channels or media outlet.
Misleading information on deaths of media persons of Covid-19
RSF used data from different years to claim 1/3 of Covid-19-related deaths of media personnel were from India. RSF linked a report of Dhaka Tribune from June 2021 that noted 1,500 media persons died of Covid worldwide. Dhaka Tribune used data from Press Emblem Campaign.
Then it linked to a document maintained by the Network of Women in Media, India, that noted over 500 media persons died of Covid in India. The number on that document now stands at 626. Using these two data points, RSF in 2021 claimed that 1/3rd (33 per cent) of the deaths of media persons by Covid-19 took place in India. Using this report, RSF said, “Under the guise of combatting Covid-19, the government and its supporters have waged a guerrilla war of lawsuits against media outlets whose coverage of the pandemic contradicted official statements.”
RSF did not update itself in terms of data. When we checked, it was found that PEC noted till March 2022 that 1,994 media persons died of Covid-19 and out of those, 284 were from India.
That means PEC claimed 14.24 per cent of Covid-19-related deaths of media persons happened in India which was less than half of what RSF claimed. PEC stopped collecting data after March 2022.
Claims of unlawful arrests and mishandling of media persons during protests
RSF claimed the Indian government misbehaved and unlawfully arrested media persons who covered farmer protests. Interestingly, they mentioned the time when Twitter handles of media persons were suspended for sharing fake news about violence. They included the case of The Wire’s Siddharth Varadarajan was booked for reporting the death of a protester. Not to forget, even after repeated clarification from the Police and the doctor who did an autopsy of the deceased, Varadarajan continued to share fake reports about the death of the protester. It must be noted that The Wire was forced to remove multiple reports related to Tek Fog and Meta as they were based on false evidence. This report of RSF was published in 2021 and appeared in the 2023 ranking.
They also mentioned the arrest of so-called journalist Siddique Kappan who was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police for allegedly plans to instigate the public during the Hathras case in 2020. Details revolving around Kappan can be read here. RSF also linked a report where it extended its support to propaganda journalist Rana Ayyub. Notably, Ayyub is known for making false claims on international platforms. She is accused of financial fraud. The case against her is sub-judice. Recently, she downplayed gangster Atiq Ahmed’s crimes at a UNESCO event.
They also linked an old report to claim the situation is “still worrisome” in Kashmir. RSF linked to an article calling for the release of Kashmiri journalist Fahad Shah. Notably, he was arrested by NIA for glorifying terrorism. Charges were framed against him in January 2023. He was also accused of Me Too. RSF awarded him for his “courage” in 2020. They also came out in support of Irfan Mehraj, an alleged journalist from Kashmir who was arrested in a terror funding case.
