A Parliamentary panel on Information Technology (IT) has given its seal of approval and batted for the early implementation of the Law Commission’s recommendation to make paid news an electoral offence. According to a report by The Print, a report titled ‘Ethical Standards in Media’ compiled by the panel will be tabled in the winter session of the Parliament, which is beginning on 29 November.
Currently, the paid and fake news spreaders are penalized under the Indian Penal Code 1860, the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules 2011.
Earlier this year in June, Chief election commissioner Sushil Chandra had written to Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad urging him to take action on the proposed electoral reforms. Chandra was quoted as saying by PTI, “I have written to the law minister to expedite these proposals and hopefully they will be taken up early by the ministry,”
What is paid news?
The Election Commission (EC) has called paid news, a term that refers to propaganda in favour of a candidate masquerading as news reports or articles, a “grave electoral malpractice” on the part of candidates to circumvent expenditure limits.
From Madison Square Garden hall-of-Famer Rajdeep Sardesai to honorary occupant of 2-BHK Rohini Sing — the implementation of the ‘electoral offence’ for paid news will, unfortunately, bring an end to the livelihood of several foot soldiers masquerading as journalists, currently doing the bidding of the parties that have paid them to do so.
Rajdeep Sardesai- the epitome of everything bad with Indian journalism:
Reported extensively by TFI, Sardesai, throughout his supposed journalistic career has used fake, purported news to show that one can get by doing low-quality journalism for well over 30 years.
Such was the extent of falsehood that Sardesai was forced to issue an unconditional apology to the Hyderabad court in 2019 for a programme he had run in May 2007, titled ‘30 Minutes – Sohrabuddin, The Inside Story’, as Editor in Chief of CNN-IBN. Reportedly, Sardesai had propagated fake news on Sohrabuddin’s alleged encounter killing.
In the programme, Rajdeep tried to frame the Gujarat government, which was then led by Modi and Shah, and Rajiv Trivedi, who was then part of the Hyderabad Special Investigation Team probing the Sohrabuddin case. PM Modi was then CM of the state and Amit Shah was the home minister.
The program bulletin read, “Police sources say Vanjara and Pandian nabbed Sohrabuddin and Kausar Bi in Bidar with the help from SP Rajiv Trivedi of the Hyderabad Special Investigation Unit…Rajiv Trivedi provided cars with fake number plates in which Sohrabuddin was brought to Ahmadabad and then killed in a fake encounter,”
Later the Andhra Pradesh government filed a case against Rajdeep Sardesai and ten reporters of CNN-IBN. After which, Sardesai filed an affidavit in the court, issuing an unconditional apology, which read, “I further submit that I also realise that there is nothing to substantiate the allegation that Rajiv Trivedi provided cars with fake number plates in which Sohrabuddin was brought to Ahmedabad and then killed in a fake encounter which news telecast by us about Shri Rajiv Trivedi, IPS was also false.”
Read More: Rajdeep Sardesai acquitted by court in Sohrabuddin case after he accepts he was spreading fake news
A wizard in spreading fake news:
And it’s not only paid news, Sardesai has wizardry in spreading fake news as well. As reported by TFI, earlier this year, Sardesai had gone on a rampage on Republic Day, alleging that the farmer who died during the violence at ITO was shot by the Delhi Police – an unsubstantiated claim made with no evidence to back it.
In order to paint Delhi Police in a bad light, Sardesai tweeted, “One person, 45-year-old Navneet killed allegedly in police firing at ITO. Farmers tell me: the ‘sacrifice’ will not go in vain.” He tweeted the above statement with the hashtag “ground zero”, trying to indicate that he was present at the incident and saw the Delhi Police shooting at the farmer with naked eyes.
As a direct repercussion of his action, India Today took Sardesai off the air for two weeks and was stripped of his salary for one month.
While the farm protestors claim that the deceased Navneet Singh was shot at by Delhi police while on a tractor, this video clearly shows that the tractor overturned while trying to break the police barricades. The farm protestors allegations don’t stand. Post mortem awaited.👇 pic.twitter.com/JnuU05psgR
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) January 26, 2021
Rohini Singh — the Samajwadi Party mouthpiece:
While TFI cannot confirm but rumours have been swirling ever since the last Uttar Pradesh assembly elections that Rohini Singh had received a 2BHK apartment by Samajwadi Party headed by Akhilesh Yadav to write favourable puff pieces.
This rumour was further given wind by the fact that though the writing on the wall was clear, till the day before the results, Rohini Singh was adamantly asserting that SP was coming to power in the state. Further, after the election results were announced, she disappeared, deactivated her social media accounts and went underground.
We continue to believe that she had taken the much-required rest to recuperate after a hectic season of accurate political reportage but the netizens continue to fuel the conspiracy that she was embarrassed and simultaneously furnishing the new, swanky 2 BHK flat.
With the new upcoming law, the likes of Rajdeep and Rohini will have to find new avenues to make a living. However, given the way they have sustained themselves over the years, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they can find a loophole around the new law.