Politicians or political parties using the media to spread propaganda is nothing new and certainly not restricted to channels like Zee News and Times Now. What is special to them, however, is passing off blatant lies as news. Or worst, making news out of WhatsApp messages that even your granny can tell are fake — whether its fake Nostradamus passages hailing PM Modi or made-up rate cards to convert Hindu women.
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ContributeWhile we back home are used to such shenanigans, both channels have now dazzled the international audience with their ability to spread fake news. Timed with Modi’s trip to the UAE, Times Now and Zee News passed off columnist and commentator Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi as the crown prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Alt News had reported on this goof-up about two days ago. This was picked up by Gulf News, an English language daily published from Dubai. Noting that a section of Indian channels had peddled the fake news that the prince had chanted “Jai Siya Ram” confusing him for Al-Qassemi, the piece states that it was “an obnoxious but carefully designed attempt by some groups to spread false propaganda and gain political mileage in India”.
The piece further states, “The fact that a raft of top Indian channels would fail to distinguish between Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed – who was the Chief Guest at the Indian Republic Day celebrations in 2017 and visited India as a state guest in 2016 – and someone else from the UAE is thus very unlikely…” It goes on to club the two channels along with a website dedicated to fake news, which is Postcard News. Other Indian mainstream media outlets that find a mention are Dainik Bhaskar and Jansatta, which still have the pieces up on their website.
The Gulf News piece has also been shared by the UAE Embassy in India.
What is truly amazing is that despite the, umm, international acclaim the channels have garnered for a false story, Times Now and Zee News have not bothered to apologise for the oversight. While the latter has pulled down the story, Times Now has conveniently edited it.
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