One would have imagined mainstream media has hit the lowest of the lows but just when people assumed the media couldn’t sink any lower, the media surprised us all. They revealed they were not done yet, not just yet.
Thus it happened that on the day Mamata Banerjee filed an FIR against Sudhir Chaudhary and another Zee News reporter for their coverage of Dhulagarh riots, the mainstream media was busy discussing trolls on the internet allegedly on the payroll of the BJP.
Because obviously, trolls on the internet are bigger threats than a democratically elected government trying to persecute journalists for exposing the rapidly deteriorating law and order situation in their state, right?
The silence of the mainstream post the attack on journalists by the TMC government reveals the deplorable double standards that has come to symbolize the mainstream media. Instead of focusing on the blatant attack on the independence of media by the TMC, they preferred to attack the BJP on spurious allegations of sponsoring trolls to attack voices from the opposition. When NDTV was threatened with suspension for irresponsible coverage of a terror attack, there was much hue and cry about the fascistic nature of the BJP and the need for unity among different sections of the media to resist the imagined fascism. But now that we are actually witnessing intimidation of journalists by a government for exposing their incompetence, suddenly the media has discovered new ways to divert attention from the issue. It only goes on to highlight the utter lack of professional integrity on their part.
Contemplate for a moment the utter depravity and lack of ethical standards of these self righteous propagandists who disguise themselves as journalists. The organized attack on Hindus by members of the peaceful community in Dhulagarh was not worthy of coverage for these propagandists but alleged trolls on the internet were deemed to be grave concerns. How depraved does one really have to be to attempt to divert attention from the misery of Hindus suffering from communal persecution because of personal hatred of a specific political party? How depraved does one have to be to not merely refuse to cover the concerted attack on Hindus but actively try to divert attention from the fact that those who actually covered the attacks are being persecuted? I am not questioning the ethics of these propagandists here, I am denying its existence.
The most obscene aspect, hilarious and horrendous in equal parts, of the whole charade against alleged trolls is the fact that the face of this entire propaganda is a woman who is an abuser par excellence. There are plenty of screenshots available on Social media to prove this fact. Swati Chaturvedi, the woman concerned, is the same woman who had tried to destroy the professional life of @bhak_sala because he inconvenienced her with facts and logic. Swati Chaturvedi criticizing trolls is equivalent to Adolf Hitler preaching about racial harmony, Hillary Clinton teaching how to successfully run an election campaign and Barkha Dutt and Rajdeep Sardesai lecturing on journalistic integrity.
The recent tirade against trolls by liberals is part of a larger attack to regulate social media to censor free speech. Liberals, both in the West and here in India, have suddenly discovered that equality, which they so love to sing ballads about, doesn’t taste too good when the other side can hit back with equal intensity when you use every weapon in your arsenal to delegitimize their concerns. This organized charade against online trolls is sheer Goebbelesian propaganda to censor free speech on the internet and silence opinions that undermine their authority. It is a prelude to the censorship of free speech on the internet and internet freedom is facing an existential threat from these propagandists who want nothing more than to silence voices on the internet who expose their duplicity.
The timing of the organized charade against alleged trolls is of high concern here. It is a blatant attempt to divert attention from the fact that Hindus are suffering from communal riots in Bengal and that journalists covering the riots are being intimidated by the TMC. Not only did they not cover the persecution of Hindus in Bengal, they’re actively trying to divert attention from the fact! Really, ask yourselves, which should be a bigger priority for journalists? The fact that people are being persecuted for their religion while the state is proving to be absolutely incompetent in protecting them or the fact that a woman well known for her abusive nature claimed in her book that BJP is leading a band of trolls on the internet? Which should be a bigger priority for journalists? The fact that a government is attempting to silence journalists who are exposing their incompetence or hurt feelings of snowflakes on Social Media? The deliberate attempt to deflect attention from the attack on journalists for highlighting the sad state of Hindus in Bengal by a certain section of the media is the most glaring example yet of their being unethical immoral propagandists who would gladly sell their souls for a penny.
