On August 8, NDTV succumbed to the pressure from ‘Muslim activist’ Sharjeel Usmani and deleted a representational image of a Muslim man getting tested for COVID, which the media house used as the representational featured image for one of its articles. Despite the radical Islaimts’ veiled threat, now, another two media houses, the likes of NDTV have gone on to use similar representational images of Muslim women for their articles.
Both, Hindustan Times and Times Now have published reports on August 8 and 9 respectively in which they have also used representational images of Muslim women. While Hindustan Times shows a Muslim woman getting vaccinated against the pathogen, Times Now has used an image of a Muslim woman getting tested for Covid-19.
Interestingly, while Hindustan Times published the report on the same day when NDTV was bullied into removing a similar image of a Muslim man getting tested for Covid-19, Times Now went on to publish the report on August 9 (Monday), a day after the controversy erupted.
Sharjeel Usmani had issued a not-so-subtle threat against NDTV, demanding that other employees disclose the name of the employee who used the representational image featuring a Muslim man getting tested for Covid-19.
One wonders if the representational images by HT and Times Now are a subtle message that they will not cower before an Islamist troll. While one could not say it for certain, the opportune timing of it does lead one to reach that conclusion.