The NBSA, India’s self-regulatory body for the country’s so-called news channels, has imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on India Today-owned Aaj Tak for attributing fake tweets to late Sushant Singh Rajput after his tragic death on 14 June this year. The NBSA has also asked Aaj Tak to issue a public apology in Hindi on 27 October at 8 PM. The NBSA also directed Zee News, India TV and News 24 to air apology for their own violations.
Apology by Aaj Tak
Aaj Tak apologises that while reporting on the incidents relating to the suicide of Sushant Singh Rajput, we had run certain tweets on Aaj Tak channel and wrongly reported the screenshots calling them real and attributing them as the actor’s last tweets. By doing so, we have violated Clause 1 of the “Specific Guidelines Covering Reportage” relating to “Accuracy” which states that Information should be gathered first-hand from more than one source, if possible; Reports received from news-agencies should be attributed and where possible be verified; Allegations should be reported accurately as made and errors of fact should be corrected at the earliest, giving sufficient prominence to the broadcast of the correct version of fact(s).
Apology by Zee News
The NBSA also issued the text of apology to be broadcast by Zee News on 27 October at 9 PM. The pro-BJP TV channel has been asked to run the following text in Hindi with a voiceover:
Zee News apologises that while reporting on the incidents relating to the suicide of Sushant Singh Rajput, by using the taglines “7 questions on Sushant’s death”. “Patna ka Sushant, Mumbai me fail kyu?” in our telecasts, we have violated the Specific Guidelines Covering Reportage relating to Fundamental Standards-Clause B which states that “Reporting should not sensationalise or create panic, distress or undue fear among viewers”; Clauses 3.6 and 3.1 relating to Law & Order, Crime & Violence, which state that “the dead must be treated with respect. …”; “Content should not glamorize or sensationalize crime or condone criminal actions, including suicide”; Clauses 2 and 5 relating to Impartiality, Neutrality, Fairness and Privacy.
Apology by India TV
According to the NBSA, India TV run by Rajat Sharma must run an apology for a similar violation on 27 October at 9 PM. The text of the apology should read in Hindi with a voiceover;
India TV apologises that while reporting on the incidents relating to the suicide of Sushant Singh Rajput, we have violated Clause 3.6 of the “Specific Guidelines Covering Reportage” relating to Law & Order, Crime & Violence which states that “The dead must be treated with respect. Close-ups of dead or mutilated bodies should not be shown”.
Apology by News24
News 24 channel too was found to have breached the guidelines during its coverage of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. The channel has been asked to run an apology in Hindi with a voiceover at 9 PM on 29 October. Here’s the text:
News 24 apologises that while reporting on the incidents relating to the suicide of Sushant Singh Rajput, by using the taglines “Hey, why didn’t you watch your own film Sushant?” (Referring to the actor’s film Chhichhore which dealt with the topic of Mental Health). 2. “What was you stood up for in your movie, you forgot in your real life” (again referring to the same movie) in our telecasts, we have violated the Specific Guidelines Covering Reportage relating to Fundamental Standards-Clause B which states that “Reporting should not sensationaliseſ or create panic, distress or undue fear among viewers”: Clauses 3.6 and 3.1 relating to Law & Order, Crime & Violence, which state that “the dead must be treated with respect. …”. “Content should not glamorize or sensationalize crime or condone criminal actions, including suicide”; Clauses 2 and 5 relating to Impartiality, Neutrality, Fairness and Privacy.
