On April 9, a mountaineering expedition team of the Indian Army spotted mysterious footprints near Nepal’s Makalu Base Camp. On April 29, the Additional Directorate General of Public Information of the Indian Army had posted photos of these giant footprints on Twitter. The tweet claimed that the footprints belonged to Yeti, a legendary “abominable snowman”, who has long featured in Nepalese folklore.

The India Army’s tweet became the reason for much mirth on social media. Not to be left far behind, leading English and Hindi dailies such as The Times of India, Indian Express, Hindustan Times, The Hindu, Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhaskar and Amar Ujala carried the news of this discovery on the front and inside pages. While some cautioned readers about the likelihood of such an event being low, others didn’t care as much.

The Times of India

The Times of India front-page article titled “Army tweets ‘Yeti’ footprint pictures, triggers a social media avalanche”, focuses on the reactions of the event rather than the event itself. While the article has a subheading that says: “no scientific evidence to back Yeti claims”, not even one study is referenced under it. Rather, it talks about other sightings and expeditions carried out to find the “elusive snowman”.

Meanwhile, another article on TOI‘s website uses the word “mythical” a total of nine times. Ironically, the article treats the issue as anything but. The article uses four elaborate examples of Yeti sightings while making only two brief references to studies negating the Yeti’s existence.

Notably, the article primarily focuses on the Indian Army’s claims and statements. There are also attempts to sway the readers’ opinion about Yetis by associating established names such as Sir Edmund Hillary to it. “Though the hunt for the mythical beast has stretched back to centuries, tales of a wild hairy beast roaming the Himalayas captured the imagination of climbers in Nepal in the 1920s, prompting many, including Sir Edmund Hillary, to go looking for the creature,” the article states. Given Hillary’s reputation as an accomplished mountaineer, such associations could lead the reader’s to think: if someone as accomplished as Sir Edmund Hillary can “go looking for the creature”, then perhaps it’s possible for the Indian Army to have found evidence of its existence.

It is only in the final paragraph of the article that the reader is nudged towards the idea that these claims could be more conjecture than truth. After an in-depth elaboration of unverified claims, the article gives a negligible amount of space to state that “scientists have found little evidence of the Yeti’s existence so far”.

Interestingly, the article ends by saying that “none of the claims [of Yeti sightings] could be verified, as of now”.

Hindustan Times

There were three separate articles in the paper that talk about the Yeti claim. While the headline on the flap, “Army revives the Yeti lore”, pointed towards the creature’s existence being based in folklore, the article itself follows TOI’s pattern of reportage.

The second paragraph only briefly mentions that scientists were yet to find evidence to back the existence of this creature. It quickly moves to the Army’s justification: “the account was based on physical proofs of on the spot narration, photos and videos and aimed to excite scientific temper”. Again, before continuing on Page 11, the paper only briefly hints at the possibility of the footprints—claimed to be of the Yeti by the Army— belonging to that of a bear or snow leopard.

However, on Page 13, the articles were more critical of the claims made. The first headline states: “Army Yeti footprints claim finds few takers”, while the second: “After Yeti Claim, New Chapter added in Nepali Folklore”. Both articles talk about the lack of evidence to corroborate the Yeti’s existence and elaborate on studies that justify this.

The Indian Express

The Indian Express carried two articles about the Yeti. The first article appeared on the front page while the second was filed under the Explained section of the paper. Express’s reportage stands out as the paper leaves little scope for speculation. The claims of the Indian Army are limited to the first paragraph with the very first line of the second paragraph stating: “Yeti or snowman is a mythical creature that is part of many legends and folklore … it has never been sighted, and most scientists believe no such creature exists.”

The articles in the Express put the facts of the matter front and centre. They clearly point out the sheer lack of scientific evidence to explain a Yeti’s existence. The article does this while pointing out the historicity of the sightings recorded. But it balances these claims with scientific studies that explain why these claims are unsubstantiated.

The Hindu

The Hindu‘s Yeti article appeared on page 9 of their issue. The article focuses on the Army claims, with five out of seven paragraphs describing the various aspects of the tweet put out by the Indian Army. However, the article ends with a detailed paragraph on a study that clarified that no scientific evidence, so far, has proved the existence of the creature.

The Hindu also carried two articles on its website. Both cited studies and examples to underscore that there might be little merit to a Yeti’s existence. Like Express, these articles present facts. “Existence of Yeti in the Himalayas as shown by the photographs of giant footprints by the Indian Army is not borne out by hard evidence but just belief,” one of the article states.  

Dainik Jagran

Dainik Jagran‘s reportage of the issue could put a lot of English newspapers to shame—the paper clearly put the scientific community’s disbelief in the first paragraph. The Indian Army’s claims are presented in the second paragraph. The article also makes references to reactions by political leaders such as Omar Abdullah and Bharatiya Janata Party’s Tarun Vijay.

While the article briefly talks about how the Yeti is among the most mysterious creatures known to inhabit the Himalayas, it immediately follows it up by a reiteration of the fact that a consensus regarding its existence was not unanimous among scientists.

Dainik Bhaskar

The paper led with the headline: “Himalaya me ek baar phir himmanav hone ki baat, iss baar dava bharatiya sena ne kiya hai…” While the headline could lead the reader to believe that the Army’s claims remain undisputed, this is contrasted with a bold red fact check at the centre of the article. The article picks up three cases of Yeti sightings and scientifically debunks them. The piece also discusses the details of studies conducted regarding the Yeti’s existence. It  states that the studies concluded that all evidence collected ultimately belonged to either bears or dogs.

Amar Ujala

Amar Ujala’s front-page article found ways not only to substantiate the Army’s claims but also dodged facts presented by other papers. The article also used a picture that was not tweeted out by the Indian Army.

Ironically, this particular picture was debunked by the Huffington Post in 2016. While the article mentions in passing that studies have discredited what was believed to be evidence of Yetis’ existence, it nevertheless concludes with details about a Yeti’s looks.