When a nation is involved in conflict against an external enemy, it is natural for its citizens to rally to the flag. That feeling exists among journalists too but their situation is a little more complicated as they also have a duty to the truth, no matter how uncomfortable it may be.
Unfortunately, it appears that much of the Indian media has set aside this duty in the current imbroglio between India, Pakistan and Pakistan-based terrorists and militants.
No one is more gung-ho about this conflict than the media of both countries and they have equally engaged in flights of fancy and complete make believe.
The Indian media has collectively adopted the stance that what the Indian government says is true and what the Pakistanis say (if their point of view is even given a hearing) is false. But to do so is unwise, if not downright foolish.
Understandably the Indian media wants to stand with its armed forces as they are engaged in an important fight. But this has led to numerous inventions carried as fact by news channels and newspapers. One of the most egregious of these is the blatant piece of fiction that purported to claim that Karachi’s port had been destroyed by the Indian Navy.
Other examples of fake news peddled by Indian media included reports that several cities in Pakistan had been destroyed, Islamabad captured, their Prime Minister in hiding, Pakistani tanks were charging the Indian border, the list goes on.
Truth, they say, is the first casualty of war but one expects better from the media in India with its proud history of democracy compared to Pakistan, which faces military rule and all the repression that brings periodically.
Although war in the past has led to press censorship, no formal announcement of such has been made in India. The relevance of censorship in the 21st century is also questionable.
Despite this, India is in a battle to ban access to Pakistani points of view on X and other avenues. Worst of all, The Wire, a frequent critic of the central government, appears to have had its website blocked, apparently on the orders of the Centre.
It is incredibly dangerous to take everything that a government says at face value, even in a time of war. An unquestioning media throws away its credibility and cannot be trusted.
To be sure, there is plenty of bogus misinformation coming from the enemy but the parroting of nonsense by the Indian media is unparalleled in our history.
This has to be called out and put a stop to. One piece of drastic fake news could cause all out panic on our side and lead to grievous consequences. Who will bear responsibility for that?
