Gujarat it seems is in a payback mode. Its home minister, Pradipsinh Jadeja has asked authorities to register a case against NDTV for a “motivated attempt to adversely impact the law and order and incite violence in Gujarat”.
This is in reference to the fake news which NDTV and other media houses, including Indian Express, ran yesterday about a mob threatening a Tanishq showroom in Gandhidham, Kutch and browbeating the manager of the showroom in issuing an apology over the controversial Tanishq ad which fell into the crosshairs of netizens and led to the ad being dropped by the makers.
Jadeja took to twitter in these words: “The news of an attack on a showroom in Gandhidham, Kutch by @ndtv is TOTALLY FAKE. This is a motivated attempt to adversely impact the law & order & incite violence in Gujarat. I have asked to register a case & take strict action against those who spread this fake news.”
On Wednesday, NDTV began running story about the showroom which it claimed had been attacked by a mob, both in its digital and electronic media. But their fake news was flipped on its head by a vigilant netizen who took the trouble of going to the showroom and asking for their version. The showroom manager, apparently, denied any such incident to have taken place. Thereafter, NDTV began watering down its news from attack to threat to apology by the showroom manager. By then other media houses had painted the town red including Indian Express which quoted an unnamed employee of the showroom that it was a mob of Hindus who had descended on to the outlet. Actor Swara Bhasker too let out a series of tweets and retweets around the incident. Police later made a preliminary inquiry and termed the news as “fake” and “propaganda.”
