Media analysis Archives

Sudarshan News cherry-picks name of Muslim accused for tampering with COVID test in UP’s Basti

Kalim Ahmed4th June 20214th June 2021

Sudarshan News tweeted a video of a man handing a tube from an RT-PCR COVID test kit to another who fills it with an unused swab. The channel claimed that…

Dainik Jagran’s misleading reports portray mass burials in Prayagraj haven’t risen due to COVID

Archit Mehta & Prashant Singh30th May 20212nd June 2021

The second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in India did not only overwhelm an unprepared healthcare system but also choked crematoriums unaccustomed to performing mass funerals. Many of those unable…

BJP leaders share puff piece replete with misinfo to defend PM Modi on COVID crisis

Pooja Chaudhuri11th May 202112th May 2021

An article exalting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic made a sudden appearance on the Twitter timelines of BJP leaders. “PM Modi has been working hard; don’t…

Media falsely reports Ramayana, Mahabharata to be taught in Saudi Arabian schools

Archit Mehta3rd May 20214th May 2021

Since the third week of April, several media organisations reported that Ramayana and Mahabharata will be taught in Saudi Arabia as part of their ‘Vision 2030’ initiative. East Coast Daily,…

Aaj Tak misrepresents COVID facility in Delhi as Lucknow

Anuradha Prasad23rd April 2021

On April 21, Aaj Tak reported that the Lucknow District Administration reserved 1,550 beds for people suffering from COVID-19. The channel tweeted a picture of rows of hospital beds inside…

Times Now airs visuals from Andhra to report on large gatherings in Kerala

Pooja Chaudhuri20th April 2021

On April 19, Times Now aired a broadcast claiming large gatherings were seen in Kerala despite the “skyrocketing” of COVID cases. Large gatherings seen in Kerala despite skyrocketing of COVID-19…

No, a ‘Harvard’ study did not laud UP govt’s handling of migrant crisis

Archit Mehta15th April 202116th April 2021

A piece of news that was widely reported in the media in the first week of April claimed that a Harvard study hailed the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh…

Delhi man ‘angry with God’ defiles Hanuman idols, Sudarshan News adds false Muslim angle

Aqib Pathan14th April 2021

Sudarshan TV tweeted a video claiming that three temples were vandalised in Dwarka, Delhi. “Another temple was gripped by hate,” read its tweet. (Archive Link) “नफ़रत की उन्मादी आंधी की…

Did Johns Hopkins hail UP among toppers in managing COVID across the world?

Archit Mehta13th April 202114th April 2021

In the first week of April, media outlets reported that an unnamed study by Johns Hopkins University found that Uttar Pradesh’s management of crisis during the pandemic was among the…

News Nation misidentifies shop as samadhi in Malanggad, accuses Muslims of trespass

Archit Mehta7th April 20218th April 2021

On March 28, several news outlets including News Nation reported that Muslim men entered a Hindu place of worship and interrupted aarti in Maharasthra’s Malanggad. At 4:13 minutes into a…

Media analysis

News18 airs old photos from West Bengal during a show on recent post-poll violence

Did PM Modi table new vaccine plan prior to Supreme Court criticism?