Television coverage of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and communal violence in Northwest Delhi has come under the scanner of the central government. In a strongly-worded advisory issued to private TV channels on Saturday, the ministry of information and broadcasting said certain news bulletins and debates on these two issues had provocative and socially unacceptable language. The government said it also took exception to headlines such as ‘Parmanu (nuclear) Putin’ and ‘Ali, Bali aur Khalbali (unrest)’.
According to the advisory, the government found that news channels are making “false claims” and “frequently misquoting” international agencies while reporting on the Ukraine conflict. Reportage on “incidents” in Northwest Delhi, meanwhile, had been given a communal colour, the advisory stated.
“It has… been found that in the recent past several satellite TV channels have carried out coverage of events and incidents in a manner which appears to be unauthentic, misleading, sensational and using socially unacceptable language and remarks, offending good taste and decency, and obscene and defamatory and having communal overtones,” the advisory stated.
The Centre said such coverage and reportage “appear” to be violative of the Programme Code and infringement of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995. “Having regard to the above, the government expresses serious concern about the manner in which the television channels have gone about their operations in the matter of transmitting content,” read the advisory, which has two annexures giving details of such content shown on some TV channels.
The Centre has “strongly advised” such channels to “immediately refrain” from publishing and transmitting any content that can be seen as violation of rules.
The government has cited examples of “hyberbolic” statements by news anchors and “scandalous” headlines/taglines while reporting on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and disrupting the investigation process into the incidents in northwest Delhi by airing unverified CCTV footage. The advisory has highlighted headlines or taglines such as ‘Parmanu Putin se pareshan Zelenski (Zelenski worried about nuclear Putin)’, ‘Parmanu action ki chinta se Zelenski ko depression (Zelenski goes into depression over nuclear action)’, and making of “unverified claims misquoting” international agencies that a third world war has begun.
“One channel aired fabricated pictures claiming to be the proof of the upcoming nuclear attack on Ukraine. This completely speculative news story seems to be intending to misguide the viewers and arouse psychological upheavals inside them,” the advisory noted.
On the Delhi riots, the government has taken objection to a news channel repeatedly carrying a video clip of a man belonging to a specific community carrying a sword, and claims made by another that the violence targeting the religious procession was pre-planned.
Section 6 of the Programme Code under the Act states that “no programme should be carried in the cable service which offends against good taste or decency; contains criticism of friendly countries, contains attack on religions or communities or visuals or words contemptuous of religious groups or which promote communal attitudes; contains anything, obscene, defamatory, deliberate, false and suggestive innuendos and half truths”.
The ministry said it has time and again issued similar advisories to TV channels to adhere to the Programme Code under the Act.
(With PTI inputs)
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