The left-liberal publications of the country have a long history of promoting Chinese interests in the country after receiving big bucks from their Chinese masters. The Hindu, one of the leading publications, championed by the liberals and pro-China lovers unlike has once again peddled fake news, where it claimed that PLA troops had occupied the finger 2 and finger 3 regions on the north bank of Pangong Tso lake whilst quoting a former BJP MP Thupstan Chhewang.
“The border situation is critical. The Chinese troops have not only further transgressed into our areas but they have also occupied prominent positions in Finger 2 and 3 areas of Pangong Tso, even Hot Springs area they have not fully vacated… this is what we have come to know from locals.” Mr. Chhewang apparently told the Hindu in the article.
As soon as the controversial report of The Hindu came out, the army and the government institutions were quick to denounce the news and termed it as a piece of fake news and a figment of imagination by the esteemed newspaper
The Government’s official fact-checking arm PIB tweeted a screenshot of the report and informed that it is fake news and that the Indian Army has refuted the statement.
.@the_hindu citing a claim, has published that Chinese troops have further transgressed into Indian territory and occupied positions in Finger 2 and 3 of the north bank of #PangongTso Lake.#PIBFactCheck: It is a #Fake news. @adgpi has refuted this statement. pic.twitter.com/PvNjUQRCt4
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) October 30, 2020
Retired Lieutenant General Satish Dua said that it is fake claim and fake news. He confirmed that there are no civilians living in the area, therefore the civilians quoted in the report are not correct.
False claim, Fake news.
There are no civilians living in that area, who are being cited as source https://t.co/I5AWUGBMRg
— Lt Gen Satish Dua🇮🇳 (@TheSatishDua) October 30, 2020
Experts, using satellite imagery, further dented The Hindu’s claims and exposed their bogus news reporting. An open-source intelligence handle posted on Twitter, the latest satellite images from the area, which showed that Indian positions had not changed and there is no Chinese incursion in the area.
Since a lot of people were asking, when checked last, #India was still holding its positions in the upper areas of north #PangongTso https://t.co/xlxpgUzCk4 pic.twitter.com/G5Ax6drVHf
— d-atis☠️ (@detresfa_) October 30, 2020
Reported by TFI, The Hindu’s love for China can be gauged by the fact that the newspaper carried a full-page propaganda ad of CCP in its publication.
CCP spends billions of dollars on overseas propaganda. Some newspapers help lubricate CCP's propaganda mill by publishing its full-page ads, without clearly marking them as ads. Any ad deceptively looks like the newspaper's own full-page coverage on China (as in The Hindu today). pic.twitter.com/vfTtJ55Mv0
— Brahma Chellaney (@Chellaney) October 1, 2020
That the Hindu had no qualms about publishing on its third page such Chinese propaganda goes on to speak volumes about how low certain Indian publications can fall for a few biscuit crumbs thrown towards them.
In September, when Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Prime Minister Modi had held a virtual summit to elevate the bilateral relations to a Green Strategic Partnership, The Hindu, once again had chosen to twist the meeting by claiming that the Danish PM expressed “deep concern” over India’s coronavirus situation. Ambassador of Denmark to India, Freddy Svane hit back as he retweeted the article and said, “Sorry – this is not true. Twisted News.”
The report quoting Frederiksen as saying, “The situation is very very difficult for you,” was later deleted by The Hindu. It was clear that the report was fabricated or twisted to corner the Modi government over the situation of Wuhan coronavirus in India. The Hindu clearly wanted the article to project the meeting as a major embarrassment for PM Modi and display India’s decreasing clout among the global fraternity.
The Hindu in September had done another shoddy piece of journalism when in a report titled, “China controls 1,000 sq. km of area in Ladakh”, the newspaper claimed that “in Depsang Plains, from patrolling point 10-13, the scale of Chinese control of India’s perception of the LAC stood at about 900 sq.km. About 20 sq. km in Galwan Valley and 12 sq. km in Hot Springs area is said to be under Chinese occupation, the official said. In Pangong Tso, the area under Chinese control is 65 sq. km, whereas in Chushul it is 20 sq. km.”
What is noteworthy is the fact that The Hindu provided no visual proof of its tall, unsubstantiated and hilarious claims. And to this date, the liberals of the country, who rather than believing the Government reports, continue to present this particular report to shame the government, knowing well and truly that The Hindu report has no legs to walk on.
1n A “journalist” known for brazen mendacity claimed India had been pushed back to finger 2. This time series since April shows, far from it, the ITBP camp at finger 3 expanded & we’ve occupied the heights at finger 4. I hope the editors @the_hindu do some serious introspection https://t.co/LZAnYrf6pi pic.twitter.com/0WBlScdDkI
— Abhijit Iyer-Mitra (@Iyervval) September 11, 2020
This is not the last time that The Hindu would have come up with fake news, in an attempt to bolster the Chinese position but in the day and age of Social Media, it is easier to catch the lies of such organizations and once again, The Hindu has been caught with its pants down. Wonder how many unofficial government sources or people that don’t even exist in reality, would The Hindu quote and use to save it from the embarrassment now.
