The MK Stalin-led DMK government in Tamil Nadu has conferred the Kottai Ameer Communal Harmony Award on Mohammed Zubair of Alt News for “rendering various services to promote communal harmony”.
In a press released, the DMK government said “Thiru. Mohammad Zubair has created a website called ‘Alt News’ and has been analyzing the veracity of the news coming out on social media and posting only the real news on his website. His work helps to prevent the occurrence of violence in society likely to be caused by fake news.”
However, there have been several instances when Zubair and his propagandist outlet Alt News has been caught peddling fake news.
The official press release of the DMK government further went on to cite the incident when North Indian migrant labourers, primarily from Tiruppur and surrounding areas, were fleeing the state fearing attacks against them.
“In March 2023, there was a rapid spread on social media that migrant workers were being attacked in Tamil Nadu. After verifying the authenticity of the video footage, he has published on his website ‘Alt News’ website that the footage in the video posted on social media was not actually taken place in Tamil Nadu and thus stopped the spread of rumors against Tamil Nadu and acted to prevent violence caused by caste, religion, race and language in Tamil Nadu.“, the DMK government’s official press release said.
“In appreciation of the services rendered by him in maintenance of communal harmony, Thiru. Mohammed Zubair is presented with KOTTAI AMEER COMMUNAL HARMONY AWARD for the year 2024.“, the DMK government said.
The North Indian Migrant Workers Controversy
In March 2023, was based on the report of Hindi Daily Dainik Bhaskar which stated that several migrant labourers from Bihar working in Tamil Nadu were attacked and that more than a dozen of them had lost their lives. The article published in Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar on 2 March 2023 claimed that as many as 15 Hindi-speaking migrant labourers lost their lives in “Talibani” style attacks in Tamil Nadu. This article which was published by Dainik Bhaskar in both print and online.
However, these reports were found to be exaggerated with many incidents cited in the original Hindi article being feuds and altercations that happened in other states.
When the exodus happened, Mohammed Zubair had gone out of his way to buttress the DMK government.
However, what the serial fake news peddler Zubair didn’t tell was how there was a climate of hate created against north Indian workers, with several DMK leaders spewing hate against them.
The weeks before the exodus saw several incidents of violence reported against workers from other states across Tamil Nadu.
In Tiruppur, a feud broke out between a local and a migrant worker from a garment unit at Thilagar Nagar West in Velampalayam after the former blew cigarette smoke at his face. The migrant worker retaliated and moved away from the spot. Later, the local along with a few friends entered the garment unit and attacked the worker. With the support of his colleagues, he retaliated.
Students at the RVS Engineering College in Kannampalayam, Coimbatore clashed with migrant workers at the college mess over the quality of chicken dish served.
A Bengali construction worker who was stranded near Kelambakkam in Chengalpattu district was blindly attacked by local youths who mistook him for a thief. Six people were arrested and charged with murder in connection with the attack.
North Indian migrant workers travelling in Vaigai Express train were abused and attacked by a Vizhupuram man who claimed that their jobs were taken by Hindi speakers. He was arrested after the video of the attack became viral.
These multiple instances of violence against migrant workers from other states can be seen as a fallout of the continuous hate campaign unleashed by DMK leaders including several Ministers, Seeman’s Naam Tamilar Katchi, Dravidian Stock YouTube channels and other fringe elements. Slurs like ‘Vadakkan’, ‘Paani Puri wala’, ‘Panparag vaayan’ have been normalised by DMK leaders and their sympathizers on through social media. The DMK had hitherto of peddled hate against north Indians with xenophobic rhetoric. In the run up to the 2021 Assembly elections, the DMK had also released political ads in which youngsters can be seen alleging that Edappadi Palaniswami government is giving Tamil Nadu jobs to north Indians. Full page ads were given in which it was peddled that Hindi-speaking north Indians were grabbing jobs of Tamils.
Zubair had completely whitewashed the hate speeches of DMK leaders.
About Mohammed Zubair
Self-proclaimed ‘fact-checker’ Mohammed Zubair of Alt News has a history of peddling fake news and propaganda against Hindus. It was Zubair who had shared an edited clip of former BJP leader Nupur Sharma’s remarks, which eventually led to targeted reverberation of ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ solgans in different parts of the country with mobs baying for Nupur Sharma’s blood. It also led to the killing of several innocent Hindus who had supported Nupur Sharma.
He ran a page called Unofficial Sususwamy in which he mocked and ridiculed Hindu Gods and symbols. He had later deleted this Facebook account and deleted some of his old controversial tweets that had come across as hurting Hindu sentiments.
Recently, Kobbi Shoshani who is the Consul General of Israel to India had called out the self-styled “fact-checker” for peddling fake news and hate against Israel.
Very recently, he tried to buttress DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran’s hate speech against north Indians/Hindi speakers saying that it was a four-year-old video.
He had twisted former cricketer Venkatesh Prasad’s tweet out of context and politicized it.
Mohammed Zubair and his fellow colleague, insinuated that Annamalai was attributing the victory of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in cricket to the BJP. The intention was to make it seem like Annamalai was crediting a political party for a sporting win. However, the truth behind the video, which is often the case with Zubair and his team, was quite different. A longer version of the video shared by netizens reveals that Annamalai was not claiming credit for CSK’s win but was responding to the politicization of the victory by the ruling party in Tamil Nadu, DMK.
He has also been slapped with an FIR for harassing a minor girl online under the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
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Fmr Editor Of The Hindu, Malini Parthasarathy, Condemns The Publication For Their Stand On Annamalai
Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party Chief K Annamalai had criticised allegedly biased journalists while explaining layers of the DMK onion at a book release function in 2022. He accused the first layer of journalists of promoting the Dravidian model and criticised their response to civilised debates. Following his comments on News18 Tamil Editor Karthigaichelvan’s interview of DMK Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin earlier in January 2023, Annamalai refused to apologise for calling the interview ‘toothless.’ Journalists demanded an apology and planned a protest. Subsequently, Annamalai posted a video highlighting the alleged biases of certain journalists, emphasising his stand against biased reporting.
A protest meeting at Valluvar Kottam in Chennai, attended by senior journalists and journalist association office-bearers, strongly condemned the “inappropriate” comments made by TNBJP chief Annamalai against media persons.
N. Ram, Director of The Hindu Group Publishing Private Limited, emphasised that Annamalai’s remarks were not an isolated incident and suggested filing a criminal defamation case against him while advocating for limiting his publicity. Ram highlighted that even prominent BJP leaders like Vajpayee, Advani, and Modi refrained from making such derogatory comments. Ram also said, “.. they say we must starve them of oxygen. I am not saying he (Annamalai) is a terrorist but he is an extremist. He is behaving that way. So we must not give him that oxygen. We are not asking for his removal from the BJP, that is not our business. We condemn your offence, if you do not mend your ways, then we will think about it. He cannot just issue an apology for a formality and continue business as usual.”
Nakkheeran Editor R.R. Gopal announced a media boycott of the BJP leader, accusing him of employing a ‘divide and rule’ strategy.
Other senior journalists and media organisation representatives joined in condemning Annamalai’s “insensitive” remarks, highlighting the need for responsible discourse in political leadership and media relations.
Following this, Malini Parthasarathy, Director at Kasturi & Sons Ltd., former Chairperson of The Hindu Group, and former Editor at The Hindu, expressed her concerns on the issue on her X handle. She wrote that as a significant stakeholder in The Hindu, she felt compelled to address what she perceived as biased and prejudiced news reports on their pages. Malini criticised the journalists in Chennai for attacking the TN BJP chief, especially the call to blackout coverage, deeming it unacceptable for any reputable news organisation. She emphasised that it would be a violation of the right to freedom of expression if The Hindu complies with the boycott call. Malini pointed out the absence of condemnation by the same journalists for the Madurai police booking the editor and publisher of Dinamalar over their report on the prohibition of various celebrations across Tamil Nadu for Ram Mandir Pran Prathishta. She clarified that her comments were not a defence of freedom of expression as claimed by those who consider themselves guardians of a free press.
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