An OSINT handle shared a detailed thread on their official X handle that will expose global media’s propaganda against India. In the first of the series, they expose the BBC and the thread has been reproduced here for our readers.
BBC is one usual offender with a long history of peddling biased narratives when it comes to reporting on India—from CAA, Article 370 & Kashmir, etc.
BBC’s reports frequently paint Indian riots & protests in communal colors. BBC remains a brazen propaganda portal that focuses on narratives that divide and polarize.
And not once, but ad nauseam times, the portal has been caught peddling fake news & propaganda.
BBC’s reporting on India often reeks of a colonial hangover—selective negativity, political bias, & cultural insensitivity. From their choice of language, headlines, & editorial tone in their reporting to extend its modern imperialistic influence.
In the last few years, the BBC has been exposed for its twisted and slanted narratives for reporting on issues like the CAA to Article 370, & Kashmir, & giving sympathetic coverage to radical groups & separatist movements like the Khalistani movement.
Citizenship (Amendment) Act aims to provide refuge to minorities facing persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh, & Afghanistan. It doesn’t strip any Indian of their citizenship!
But BBC termed it “anti-Muslim” & amplified global criticism, ignoring the govt’s clarifications.
In its coverage of the anti-CAA Delhi riots, BBC ignored initial attacks on police & preplanned violence by some anti-CAA protestors, which police investigations revealed. Instead, they framed it as a one-sided narrative, portraying the government as oppressive!
Article 370’s abrogation integrated J&K into India, extended equal rights, & boosted development. BBC called it “Hindu nationalist ideology,” peddled Pakistan’s stance, & ignored the Indian govt’s efforts to foster peace, & unity & curb Pak-sponsored terrorism in Kashmir.
BBC also targeted the move of the abrogation of Article 370 peddling narratives of repression, Censorship of the Press, & not reform. While ignoring India’s Supreme Court’s validation of the move.
BBC’s animosity against the Indian Govt isn’t limited here. There’s more.
BBC’s take on the Khalistan issue has been skewed for years. For years, BBC has been on a spree of whitewashing the terrorism aspect of the Khalistani issue. Terms like ‘Sikh activists’ or ‘separatists’ for Khalistanis including Gurpatwant Singh Pannun & Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Not long ago, in Nov 2023, BBC had lapped up a shoddy piece of disinformation report shared to them EXCLUSIVELY by a UK-based Centre for Information Resilience (CIR) whose founders have been linked to the UK government.
The report is essentially a work of linguistic jugglery combined with graphical gimmicks with bold assertions & shallow claims to expose a set of 33 ‘Sock Puppet’ social media handles, running a ‘large-scale disinformation’ campaign on social media.
The report deliberately equates the farmers’ protests & Khalistan movement (also described as ‘Sikh Independence’) & that they largely constitute the ‘Sikh Political interests’ in India. Similar bias was recurring in the entirety of that propaganda report!
Most recently, BBC was also criticized for its reporting on the Mahakumbh Mela, for using insensitive choice words showing the lack of cultural & religious awareness. Terms & phrases like “bathing spectacle led by naked ash-smeared ascetics,” tended to mock the spiritual significance of the event.
Following the backlash, BBC changed the headline, removing “naked” and altering “ascetics” to “holy men.” In contrast, BBC’s reporting on European vents like the “Nudefest” is reported as “Europe’s largest naturist festival” exposes BBC for its cultural & religious bias.
The story gets more interesting!
In Feb 2023, BBC released a documentary, “India- the Modi Question” accusing the Indian PM of being complicit in the 2002 Gujarat riots when he was the CM of Gujarat.
The documentary was released at a time to possibly tamper with political discourse as India geared up for its general elections, which could be a clear ploy for maneuvering the political discourse in India. The documentary, which was laced with statements from anti-govt voices, at the same time refrained from mentioning that in June 2022, the Supreme Court of India upheld the SIT clean chit to the Indian PM in the 2002 Gujarat riot case & dismissed a plea in the case.
Released ahead of India’s 2024 elections. Coincidence?
BBC’s documentary portrayed Modi’s policies as “ethnic cleansing,” rehashing old, debunked narratives while ignoring the complex context of the riots, including the Godhra train attack.
In Feb 2023, BBC offices in India were raided by the Income Tax department over tax irregularities. The news was portrayed as an act of intimidation of Press Freedom and harassment of the press in India by several global media.
Speaking of election interference, BBC’s reporting before Lok Sabha 2024 focused mainly on Muslim marginalization under BJP rule. BBC pushed narratives, including CAA misinformation & Islamophobia by ruling the ruling party.
While the BBC was peddling such narratives, BBC Hindi ran ads on Facebook for India’s election news. A part of it included promoting stories that could create communal discord among Indians & violated FB’s ad policies & were removed by the platform.
In 2023, BBC was one of the many global media exposed to have been targeting the Indian pharma industry through its biased, incomplete, and/or misleading coverage. For instance, the tragic cases of Gambia involving the deaths of around 70 children due to Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) and how mass-scale propaganda was peddled around the Indian pharma relating to it. In July’22 news came that several children died in Gambia bcoz of India-made cough syrup. WHO issued a warning & news media screamed– Indian med killed Gambian children. The news was first broken by #Retures & #AlJazeera, repeated by Indian media. But it was pure propaganda.
In July'22 news came that several children died in Gambia bcoz of India-made cough syrup. WHO issued warning & news media screamed– Indian med killed Gambian children. The news was first broken by #Retures & #AlJazeera, repeated by Indian media.
But it was pure propaganda.
3/n pic.twitter.com/0H51CabS7r
— DisInfo Lab (@DisinfoLab) January 25, 2024
BBC completely ignored reports that found that the presence of E.coli bacteria was a probable cause for the infection among the kids which led to their deaths.
Secondly, while the BBC reported on the panel that held the syrups culpable for the deaths of the children, it completely ignored the flawed investigation which could not establish the cough syrups were the reason behind the deaths.
In Nov 2018, BBC published a report on India under the title “Beyond Fake News” to claim that nationalism was driving fake news in India. However, the survey was based on a meager sample size of 40 Indians in a country with a population of 1.4+ billion!
As per its website, BBC prides itself as an ‘Independent’ news broadcaster. Reality however speaks otherwise. Funded by a royal charter & license fee, it’s basically a taxpayer-backed PR machine wrapped in journalistic virtue-signalling.
UK government gave BBC World Service £20M in March 2023 to ‘support language services & counter disinformation’ (translation: push state narratives). BBC also gets USAID funds. BBC isn’t just a broadcaster; it’s a sponsored narrative machinery.
BBC’s bias isn’t just for India – it’s global. Trump branded it ‘fake news’, Musk exposed its ‘state-funded’ status & Guyana’s President Ali challenged its bias – world leaders have repeatedly questioned BBC’s credibility as a news source.
Not long ago, In 2021, BBC launched Young Reporter India (YRI), partnering with Delhi-based DataLeads & US-based Internews. DataLeads’ founder Syed Nazakat is a Henry Luce Foundation fellow through the International Center for Journalists. The irony begs for validation!
The case of BBC shall go down as a masterclass in biased journalism. From twisting CAA & Article 370 to whitewashing Khalistani extremism & smearing India’s pharma industry—BBC’s propaganda knows no bounds. Funded narratives, selective outrage, & colonial hangover intact.
This article is based on an X thread by OSINTWa_.
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