On Thursday, the News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) instructed the Hindi news channel Aaj Tak to remove a fictional video portraying Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as a robber. The NBDSA cautioned the broadcaster to exercise care when airing similar fictional videos in future broadcasts.
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NEW DELHI: On Thursday (29 Feb), the News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) issued a directive to Aaj Tak, a Hindi news channel, to remove a fictional video portraying Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as a robber.
“The NBDSA remarked that the fictional video lacked tastefulness and should have been avoided. It further instructed that the video be taken down from the channel, YouTube, and other online platforms,” stated the NBDSA.
According to the NBDSA,
“It would be appropriate for the broadcaster to remove the fictional video in the impugned broadcast, if still available on the website of the channel, or YouTube, and remove all hyperlinks including access which should be confirmed to NBDSA in writing within 7 days of the Order.”
The controversial video aired during an episode of ‘Black and White’ on March 24, 2023.
This broadcast followed Gandhi’s conviction by a Surat court on March 23, 2023, for defamation due to his remark
“All thieves have Modi surname.”
A complaint lodged with the NBDSA on March 31, 2023, by Srinivas Bhadravathi Venkata, the National President of the Indian Youth Congress, alleged that the video initially surfaced on Aaj Tak’s official handle and later featured on ‘Black and White,’ hosted by the channel’s consulting editor.
The complaint accused the Aaj Tak anchor of maliciously comparing Gandhi to someone accused and caught for robbery, despite Gandhi’s vocal objections to offenses committed by Nirav Modi and his demands for government accountability.
The video aimed to suggest to the public that Rahul Gandhi was involved in a serious offense.
According to the complainant,
“While creating and publishing the said video, the anchor flagrantly violated journalism norms and ethics by callously publishing the said video, which wrongly depicted Mr. Gandhi as someone accused of an offense of robbery.”
The accused purposefully disseminated the video with the aim of tarnishing Rahul Gandhi’s reputation, directly targeting the stature of the Congress party and the Indian Youth Congress, and causing distress to millions of supporters and workers.
“The tweets from the handle and its subsequent amplifications appear to be a well-crafted conspiracy initiated at the behest of Mr. Gandhi’s political opponents with the sole objective of lowering his reputation in the eyes of the citizens of our country. It appears to be an attempt at the behest of the divisive forces, which Mr. Gandhi continues to expose,”
-alleged the complainant.
Therefore, the complainant urged an immediate removal of the defamatory video from all platforms, along with a broadcast of an unconditional apology on the channel.
The channel, however, asserted that the anchor did not insinuate that Gandhi was convicted of a serious offense. The anchor also denied making any malicious remarks about Gandhi or portraying him as an accused in a robbery. The channel also argued that the fictional story presented in the video broadcast did not reference anyone, including Rahul Gandhi.
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Significantly, Aaj Tak highlighted tweets from Priyanka Gandhi in which she questioned why Rahul Gandhi was being singled out while others were not facing punishment.
“The entire essence of the broadcast was somewhat based on what Priyanka Gandhi had tweeted,”
-the channel contended.
NBDSA observed that although the anchor provided a different interpretation of the tweets, both parties admitted that the tweets from Priyanka Gandhi were accurately broadcast by the channel. NBDSA also remarked that the fictional video aired during the broadcast, along with the narrative of the depicted robber and its implications regarding Rahul Gandhi’s conviction, lacked tastefulness and should have been avoided.
Accordingly, NBDSA ordered the removal of the video from all platforms and advised the broadcaster to exercise caution when airing similar fictional videos in future broadcasts.
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