{"id":13592,"date":"2018-06-02T19:57:29","date_gmt":"2018-06-02T14:27:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/?p=13592"},"modified":"2018-07-09T18:27:12","modified_gmt":"2018-07-09T12:57:12","slug":"patanjalis-chat-app-kimbho-runs-into-multiple-controversies-how-did-top-media-houses-report-the-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/patanjalis-chat-app-kimbho-runs-into-multiple-controversies-how-did-top-media-houses-report-the-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Patanjali’s chat app Kimbho runs into multiple controversies. How did top media houses report the news?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kimbho, the messaging app launched with much fanfare by Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali became the subject of controversy barely a few hours after its launch. In a report dated May 31, Alt News had exposed<\/a> how the app, marketed aggressively as the first messaging app developed in India was actually a rebranded version of an app called Bolo messenger developed by a company registered in Fremont, California. Kimbho invited further controversy when a French security researcher Elliot Alderson (@fs0c131y)<\/em> tweeted that the app has serious security loopholes. The app was later withdrawn and lasted on the Google play store for less than 24 hours.<\/p>\n

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Hi @KimbhoApp<\/a> before trying to compete #WhatsApp<\/a>, you can try to secure your app. It’s possible to choose a security code between 0001 and 9999 and send it to the number of your choice #kimbhoApp<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/YQqK8lfIeI<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Elliot Alderson (@fs0c131y) May 30, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Patanjali has been one of the biggest advertisers for mainstream media since its launch in 2006. It would thus be interesting to find out whether these mainstream news outlets reported about these controversies and if they did, how exactly did they report the news. The Alt News expose was published at 2:45 pm on May 31.\u00a0We looked at both print and television news outlets that broadcast\/print in English or Hindi.<\/p>\n

We found that media reports on the story fell into three categories-<\/p>\n

I. Those which reported only about the disappearance of the app<\/p>\n

II. Those which reported the security concerns surrounding the app and<\/p>\n

III. Those who also referred to the origin of the app as well as the security concerns<\/p>\n

I. Reported only on disappearance of app from store<\/strong><\/h2>\n

English<\/strong> media<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Asian News International (ANI)<\/strong><\/h4>\n

News agency ANI<\/em>\u00a0published an article on the evening of May 31. There was however not a single mention of the fact that the app has been exposed for pretending to be a ‘swadeshi’ app when in fact it is not. Neither was there any reference to the serious security concerns that have been raised. Instead, the article strongly came across as an endorsement of the app, the headline of which read “Patanjali’s new app ‘Kimbho’ receives great response”<\/em>. The article now stands deleted but Alt News has archived it, and can be accessed here<\/a>. Another article published by ANI which reported how the app is set to take on WhatsApp too stands deleted<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Times Now<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Times Now<\/em>, one of the most popular English news channels published an article<\/a> on the evening of May 31, hours after the Alt News expose. The write-up essentially read like a promotional article for Kimbho app, listing out its various features and lauding the creator of the app. There was not even a cursory mention of the security concerns raised over the app, nor any reference to the controversy over its origin. Not just that, there were in all 4 articles on Kimbho which were promotional in nature. An excerpt from the article linked above reads, “Patanjali\u2019s Kimbho app was pulled down from the Google Play Store but Patanjali will be bringing back the chatting platform soon. The company confirmed in a tweet that they\u00a0received extremely high traffic on the Kimbho app.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hindi media<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Zee News<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The report by Zee News<\/em> on the disappearance of the app was an eyewash. A one minute video was broadcast by the channel in which screenshots of the app were interspersed with text stating that the app cannot be found on the Google play store. The report also mentioned how the app was downloaded over 50,000 times in less than a day. There was no reference to the controversies surrounding the app.<\/p>\n