Self-styled ‘journalists’ at The News Minute, a rabid leftist and Dravidian Stockist portal, often project themselves as champions of democracy, free speech, justice and what not. However, their bravado and ‘truth to power’ attitude is aimed at one party and one section of the people. There are numerous instances of selective outrage of this leftist Dravidian Stockist portal but this one specifically needs to be called out because it is from the portal’s Editor-in-Chief herself.
In April 2023, the central government granted the Press Information Bureau (PIB) enhanced authority to fact-check and request the removal of any information deemed “fake, false, or misleading” about the Central government from social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google.
Dhanya Rajendran of The News Minute however found this problematic. In her monologue on her news portal’s YouTube channel “No Filter With Dhanya Rajendran,” she said “The Indian government has a problem with any journalist or media organisation that reports critically on the government. After many covert and overt attempts to muzzle the media, the government is ready with its latest attempt.”
This certainly isn’t the case as there has never been a government at the Centre which continues to be criticized day in and day out by heavily biased media outlets both within and outside the country, including The News Minute. Dhanya Rajendran’s blanket statement makes it appear as if Communist dictators have taken over the country.
Dhanya in the video vehemently criticised the central government’s attempts to control news content and labelled the draft amendments to digital media ethics rules as “clearly unconstitutional.” She raised doubts about the government’s ability to distinguish between misinformation and disinformation.
She laments that giving these powers to PIB is a clear attempt by the government to decide about news content and that this was just a way to censor Indian media. She then also goes on to accuse the PIB to be the PR wing of the government and that instead of doing PR, she wondered if the PIB would now decide what news is acceptable or not.
Ofcourse, the PIB or the Department of Information & Public Relations (DIPR) of a state is meant to do PR for the government. It’s in the name itself – Public Relations (PR) and that’s their only mandate. Does Dhanya expect the state’s own propaganda arm to be critical of it? Where is the logic in accusing PIB of doing “PR” for the government? How come nobody else has called out this ridiculous assertion by Dhanya Rajendran?
Be that as it may. Now let us move on to something that happened in Tamil Nadu in March 2022. While Dhanya portrays herself as a crusader for media freedom, her selective outrage and double standards become evident when we examine her silence on similar issues concerning the local DMK government in Tamil Nadu.
In the state budget presented by the then Tamil Nadu Finance Minister PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan, he announced that the state government had decided to form a special Social Media Monitoring Centre under the police department and that the Social Media Monitoring Centre was set up to ‘battle fake news and misinformation on social media platforms’.
According to reports, a whopping 203 officials and police personnel have been deputed for the task of “monitoring fake news on social media intending to create tension, riots, online frauds, drug smuggling, etc”.
Back in March 2022, The Commune had expressed concerns about this stating that the DMK government with the state police machinery under its control might use it to muzzle dissenting voices which is what seems to be happening.
In April 2022, the Twitter handle @ITWReports handle surfaced and it identified itself as an ID to report abusive content against individuals, organisations, and Tamil Nadu Government (read it as DMK leaders, DMK, and the DMK government) that will work to clamp down on fake news and other malicious content on social media.
Instance of ITW Reports functioning like Hitler’s private militia has been detailed in this report.
Our readers, we ask of you, by the looks of it, isn’t this a more dangerous and a direct attack on freedom of speech and expression? But guess what? Neither Dhanya Rajendran nor her organization have even uttered a word about the blatant abuse of power by the DMK with the police being used as mercenaries to hunt down on critics.
It is a very well-known fact that the DMK government in Tamil Nadu has been taking extreme action on comments critical of their government made on social media platforms ever since they came to power. Here are a few instances when this has happened:
- In July 2021, a case was filed against the AIADMK party’s TV channel, News J, and several members of its IT wing, pertaining to certain posts they had published in the past.
- On 9 December 2021, YouTuber Maridhas was taken into custody following a controversial tweet concerning the demise of Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat. The arrest came after a complaint was filed by a DMK functionary, who expressed concern over Maridhas’ tweet drawing a comparison between Tamil Nadu and Kashmir.
- In November 2021, Kishore K Swamy, another political commentator known for his criticism of the DMK, was incarcerated for 6 months after slapping the Goondas Act on him.
- BJP IT wing office-bearer Saravana Kumar from Dindigul was arrested for criticising the DMK government and later released following a protest by BJP cadres in front of the police station.
- Kalyana Raman, a BJP functionary, was apprehended on charges of making derogatory remarks against Chief Minister Stalin and his deceased father Karunanidhi.
- In April 2023, Vice President of Tamil Nadu BJP’s Industrial Cell, Selva Kumar was arrested for allegedly making remarks against MK Stalin & DMK Minister Senthil Balaji.
- BJP supporter and political analyst Krishna Kumar Murugan was arrested in connection with posters mocking Stalin.
- More recently, a netizen was arrested on 6 June 2023 for sharing an old news and misattributing DMK to an illegal liquor-producing gang in Tiruppur in connection with the recent hooch tragedy in Tamil Nadu.
And in news just coming in, a BJP worker from Kanchipuram, Selvam, has been arrested for tweeting that money in temple hundi belongs to the temple priests while sharing an unrelated video of Bangaladeshi Muslims counting money collections.
மதம் சார்ந்த கருத்து – பாஜக நிர்வாகி கைது #TNBJP | #Arrested pic.twitter.com/pogbV8F8xm
— PuthiyathalaimuraiTV (@PTTVOnlineNews) June 12, 2023
In none of the above-mentioned cases did Dhanya Rajendran or her news portal cry foul or accuse the DMK government of suppressing freedom of expression or being unconstitutional in its behaviour?
Does Dhanya Rajendran not see this as an attack on freedom of expression? Is this kind of monitoring common in a democracy? Is this how fake news is tackled? Why did Dhanya Rajendran not voice out her views on her No Filter series against the DMK government for arresting dissenting voices in Tamil Nadu? Does she and her news portal have a tacit understanding with the DMK?
As a journalist, it is essential to maintain impartiality and hold all governments accountable, regardless of their political affiliations. Dhanya’s failure to criticize the DMK government’s monitoring of social media and the arrests of individuals for expressing dissenting views raises questions about her credibility and the objectivity of her reporting. While she readily goes guns blazing against the central government’s peddling unfounded allegations and fearmongering about potential threats to media freedom, she conveniently turns a blind eye to the fascist actions of the DMK government. Her silence and selective outrage only goes on to prove that The News Minute is nothing but an unofficial mouthpiece of the DMK.
Media freedom is a fundamental pillar of democracy, and it should be protected and defended in all circumstances. However, when journalists exhibit bias and apply different standards based on their political preferences, it undermines the very principles they claim to uphold. It is crucial for journalists like Dhanya Rajendran to maintain consistency in their stance on media freedom and not allow personal or political biases to cloud their judgement. Or better declare your political preferences openly (like we do) instead of hiding under the garb of ‘independent media’ to shove down their opinions down the throats of gullible people.
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