As the much-anticipated assembly elections in Gujarat draw nearer, the hiring of one Nupoor Patel by news portal Lallantop has left netizens wondering if she is a journalist or an AAP worker after activist Ankur Singh exposed her links to the Aam Aadmi Party and pro-Kejriwal bias.
A Twitter user and activist Ankur Singh shared a Twitter thread highlighting how India Today’s Lallantop seems to be working as the mainstream media wing of the AAP IT cell by hiring folks like Nupoor Patel, who had, in the past, had links with the Aam Aadmi Party and may continue to have a soft corner for the party.
So just before Gujarat Elections @saurabhtop hired AAP worker @noopurpatel_ in Lallantop to promote Kejriwal in Gujarat.
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) October 4, 2022
Check her tweets (many deleted now)
India Today group has completely become AAP IT Cell. pic.twitter.com/Ser3IT2oYG
Singh highlighted past tweets posted by Patel, where she made no bones about her support for the Aam Aadmi Party and her bias against the BJP. But soon after being exposed for having links to AAP, Patel went on a deleting spree, removing tweets from her profile that would expose her association with AAP.
From creating promotional videos for AAP to openly supporting Arvind Kejriwal and the party policies, Patel had been quite vocal about her political preferences on Twitter. Additionally, Patel has also not shied away from posting nasty tweets against political opponents. On one such occasion, she referred to BJP as a virus.
While many of her tweets fawning over Kejriwal and other AAP leaders were deleted after she joined Lallantop, perhaps to erase her partisan antecedents, a recent video on the news portal extolling Kejriwal reaffirmed suspicions among social media users that she may well be continuing peddling AAP propaganda, this time working as a ‘neutral journalist’ working for Lallantop.
This @noopurpatel_ used to make promotional videos of AAP.
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) October 4, 2022
AAP got them job in Lallantop @saurabhtop.
Now she does Kejriwal’s promotion in Lallantop.pic.twitter.com/112TJLii3U
In one of the tweets that are now deleted, Nupoor Patel revealed that she had consumed beef in protest against the Modi government.
And not just on Twitter, but on YouTube and Facebook too, Nupoor has voiced her support for Kejriwal and AAP.
And what’s worse? She also seems to be enthused by chronic fake news peddler and pro-AAP vlogger Dhruv Rathee, sharing videos and posts uploaded by him.
Check yourself
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) October 4, 2022
Has @saurabhtop hired a Journalist or AAP worker for Gujarat elxn? pic.twitter.com/thIF6i70cu
After Singh exposed the blatant political links of a journalist hired by Lallantop, many social media users highlighted how it has become par for the course for political parties and media organisations to trade employees.
Companies do MOUs for sharing and exchange of technology.
— Darshan Pathak (@darshanpathak) October 4, 2022
AAP and Media Groups seem to have done MOUs for sharing and exchange of employees. https://t.co/EM7WWu4qJC
Many others criticised Lallantop Editor Saurabh Dwivedi for employing someone with a dubious track record.
वाह क्या दलली है … ,लक्षाग्रीह तैयार कर रहे हो@saurabhtop https://t.co/mmjRZs41Eg
— kumar Dheeraj🗨️ (@kumarDheeraj795) October 4, 2022
Even as Lallantop comes under the firing line of social media users, it is notable to mention that the media organisation has long been accused of peddling propaganda under the pretext of reporting news. In June 2021, Lallantop played mischief over orphaned children, using information from two different data sets to cast aspersions on the Modi government.
Before that, in December 2020, Lallantop shared a video that shared misinformation on APMC mandis had shared fake news about APMC markets in Gujarat and new farm laws.
