NBDSA has directed all news broadcasters to ensure thumbnails and tickers reflect actual discussions. The move follows a complaint against a Times Now Navbharat broadcast for spreading a misleading communal impression.
The News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) has sent an important advisory to all news broadcasters, asking them to make sure that the tickers and thumbnails shown during or before news discussions and interviews should match the actual content shown in the programme.
This advisory came after a complaint was filed against a news programme aired by Times Now Navbharat in September last year. The complaint was made by Indrajeet Ghorpade.
The complaint was about a news report that carried controversial thumbnail text. The thumbnail included the following statements:
“1) ‘अवैध Masjid’ पर Mahilaon ने मुसलमानों पर खुलकर सब बताया ! (Women openly tell everything about illegal mosque)
2) Musalman ladke hume… Jummeh ke din toh…”
According to the NBDSA, the video showed a reporter interviewing four women in Shimla regarding a mosque.
The reporter asked the women questions such as:
“Has the number of Muslims visiting the mosque increased?”
“Do women feel safe compared to earlier?”
“What is the change in the mahaul with the rise in population of Muslim persons in Shimla?”
“Kya darr ka mahaul hai?”
However, none of the four women said that they had experienced any kind of safety problems or harassment from Muslim individuals or from people visiting the mosque.
The NBDSA noted that the thumbnail text wrongly gave the idea that Muslim men were harassing women, even though this was never said by the women in the video. In his order dated June 6, 2025, Chairperson Justice (Retd.)
AK Sikri stated:
“The thumbnail text gave the impression that Muslim men were harassing women, though it was not so stated by the women interviewed. Thus, this was not only misleading but also not in the interest of communal harmony.”
Justice Sikri also observed that in many such news programmes, broadcasters are not careful while choosing the tickers and thumbnails.
These often give a twisted or exaggerated version of what is actually said in the show or interview.
He said that the tickers and thumbnails should always match the real content and narrative of the programme.
The order clearly states:
“Observing that in many programme broadcast, due care is not taken in choosing the tickers and thumbnails, which give a distorted version of the actual narratives of the discussions/interviews and that the tickers and thumbnails should conform to the actual version of the discussions /interviews”
The NBDSA has directed Times Now Navbharat to either remove or edit the misleading thumbnail from the video of the impugned broadcast, if it is still available on the channel’s website or YouTube.
The channel must confirm in writing to the NBDSA that it has complied with this direction within seven days of the order.
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