Home Blog Page 2621

TRP manipulation case: CBI files charge sheet against ex-BARC CEO Sunil Lulla

OpIndia Staff
-
0
TRP manipulation case: CBI files charge sheet against ex-BARC CEO Sunil Lulla

On December 13, a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officer said in a statement that the investigation agency had filed the charge sheet against the former Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sunil Lulla, for his role in the alleged manipulation of the viewership rating of the channel during his tenure at the rating agency. Earlier, it was reported by Exchange4Media that Lulla was summoned by the agency. However, his spokesperson denied all allegations.

During an investigation based on a Lucknow-based advertiser’s complaint, the investigation agency found that the channels did not do any manipulation at the customer level. The manipulation of the TV rating took place when Lulla was heading BARC. Lulla has denied the charges levelled against him. As per the Indian Express report, the sources did not provide further details of the charge sheet as the special court has not taken cognizance of the same.

Lulla is booked under  406 (criminal breach of trust), Section 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), Section 465 ( Punishment for forgery), Section 468 (Forgery for purpose of cheating) and Section 477 (Fraudulently destroying or defacing, or attempting to destroy or deface, or secreting, a will, etc.) of the Indian Penal Code. Except Section 465, all the Sections are non-bailable. The court is scheduled to hear the matter and take cognizance of the charge sheet on December 15, the sources informed the Indian Express.

A spokesperson for Lulla said, “Sunil Lulla has been a high-integrity professional in his entire career and has an unblemished track record. His conduct has been as per BARC policies and procedures, and all the allegations against him are false. We completely believe in the rule of law and the Honourable courts.”

Sunil Lulla and TRP manipulation case

In January 2021, Enforcement Directorate summoned Sunil Lulla’s team in the TRP case as there were inconsistencies in their statements. Notably, in documents received by OpIndia related to the matter, there were incriminating details which raised eyebrows on BARC’s veracity in presenting an accurate picture of TRP of channels. We reported how 2016 internal BARC emails clearly hinted that BARC might not be working to present an accurate picture of TRP in the first place and is deeply open to data being rigged and results being flawed.

Furthermore, it was reported that then-BARC CEO Lulla responded to Republic TV’s email confirming that the Council had not found any violations against the channel and has, therefore not initiated any action against it. The statement also included that there had been no disciplinary action initiated against the Republic Media Network and that they would have been given a prior intimation to the channel if that were the case.

‘Fake TRP’ scam

In October 2020, Mumbai CP Param Bir Singh, in an explosive statement accused Republic TV of ‘TRP manipulation’. In a witch hunt attack against Republic TV and Arnab Goswami, the Mumbai Commissioner had claimed, that the channel had illegally paid some households to keep some channels on even if they were not at home to boost their TRP.

The Mumbai Police had filed a complaint against three channels namely Fakt Marathi, Box Cinema, and Republic-TV for manipulating television rating points (TRPs). 

However, by the end of the day, it was revealed that in the original FIR, Republic TV did not find a mention anywhere. In fact, it was India Today that had been named in the original FIR. Later, the Joint Commissioner had to admit even India Today was named in the ‘Fake TRP’ FIR.

Following this development, Republic TV also accessed the complaint filed by Hansa Research, the agency that manages the BARC bar-o-meter devices installed at panel houses, which had shown that they had mentioned India Today, not Republic. After that, Mumbai Police is continuously hounding and harassing the channel to know from where they accessed the report, while they have effectively burried the case against India Today.

What is TRP, and how is it calculated

TRP of Television Rating Points is the system to measure the popularity of a channel or a programme based on the ‘Bar-O-Meters’ installed at around 45,000 households across the country by BARC. These ratings help the advertisers to make a firm decision on which channel and during which show they want to promote their products or services.

The devices installed by BARC collect information on the programmes and TV channels watched at every household where they are installed. Based on this information BARC issues weekly ratings of the programmes and channels. The complainant registered the case at Hazratganj Police Station in Lucknow. Later, it was handed over to the CBI by the Uttar Pradesh Government.

Congress MLA accused of domestic violence; is the son of former Himachal Pradesh CM Virbhadra Singh: Details

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Congress MLA accused of domestic violence; is the son of former Himachal Pradesh CM Virbhadra Singh: Details

Congress party which emerged victorious in the recently concluded Himachal Pradesh assembly elections appears to have landed in a trouble. Congress MLA and cabinet member Vikramaditya Singh have been accused of domestic violence and a non-bailable warrant has been issued against him. 

The non-bailable warrant was issued against the Simla (Rural) Congress MLA by an Additional Chief of Judicial Magistrate of Udaipur in Rajasthan on the basis of a complaint lodged by Vikramaditya Singh’s estranged wife Sudarshana Chundawat on October 17. A criminal case was registered under Section 12 of the Domestic Violence Act.

Image credit: ecourts.gov.in

On November 17, 2022, during the first hearing, the Court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Udaipur, issued non-bailable warrants against Vikramaditya Singh, mother-in-law Pratibha Singh, sister-in-law Aparajita and her husband Angad Singh, and a Chandigarh girl. After Vikramaditya Singh failed to appear in court during the first hearing, he was ordered to appear on December 14.

Notably, Vikramaditya Singh is the son of ex-state CM Virbhadra Singh and state Congress President Pratibha Singh. 

In her complaint, Sudarshana has accused Singh and his family, including Pratibha Singh, of mental and physical abuse and financial exploitation for several years. She mentions that soon after her marriage, Singh began beating her.

It is worth noting that Vikramaditya Singh and Sudarshana Chundawat got married in 2019. However, soon the two started living separately. 

Congress MLA Vikramaditya Singh began his political career in 2013 after he joined the Congress committee and was soon appointed chief of the state unit of the Youth Congress. Singh held this post till 2017 and recently was elected as Shimla (Rural) MLA for the second time. 

The Congress party seized power in Himachal Pradesh from the Bhartiya Janata Party after a closely contested election recently in which the Congress party won 40 of the 68 assembly seats and the BJP won 25.

Twitter Files: Ex-CEO Jack Dorsey says there was ‘no ill intent, hidden agenda’, takes blame saying ‘attacking his staffers doesn’t solve anything’

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Twitter Files: Ex-CEO Jack Dorsey says there was ‘no ill intent, hidden agenda’, takes blame saying ‘attacking his staffers doesn’t solve anything’

Following Elon Musk’s exposure of sensational data about Twitter, the company’s founder and ex-CEO Jack Dorsey on Tuesday acknowledged responsibility for problematic content judgments made while he was in charge of the company. Dorsey claimed in a blog post that Twitter had too much potential to make content judgments under his supervision. Users should have had greater control over what they see on the internet, and Twitter did a bad job of developing tools to handle that. 

He meanwhile maintained that there was never any political motivation behind his company’s decisions and that it was his lone’s fault. “The Twitter when I led it and the Twitter of today do not meet any of these principles. This is my fault alone, as I completely gave up pushing for them when an activist entered our stock in 2020. I no longer had hope of achieving any of it as a public company with no defence mechanisms… I planned my exit at that moment knowing I was no longer right for the company,” he said.

Regarding former President Trump’s permanent ban from the platform, which Musk has since restored, Dorsey contended saying that “we did the right thing for the public company business at the time, but the wrong thing for the internet and society.” “I continue to believe there was no ill intent or hidden agendas, and everyone acted according to the best information we had at the time,” Dorsey wrote.

“Of course mistakes were made. But if we had focused more on tools for the people using the service rather than tools for us, and moved much faster towards absolute transparency, we probably wouldn’t be in this situation of needing a fresh reset (which I am supportive of). Again, I own all of this and our actions, and all I can do is work to make it right.”

Further, he shared his views on how he can fix the issues that were revealed on Twitter Files. “I’m a strong believer that any content produced by someone for the internet should be permanent until the original author chooses to delete it. It should be always available and addressable. Content takedowns and suspensions should not be possible,” he wrote.

He went on to criticize efforts by the government and huge companies to influence and control the public debate, and he reiterated that tweet authors should be the only ones who can delete their own tweets. Dorsey meanwhile also opined and wished that Twitter and every company should become uncomfortably transparent.

“The current attacks on my former colleagues could be dangerous and doesn’t solve anything,” he said. “If you want to blame, direct it at me and my actions, or lack thereof,” he noted in the blog post that was made public on December 13.

Recently, former US President Donald Trump thanked Elon Musk for allegedly exposing how the FBI and the Justice Department colluded with Twitter officials to manipulate the 2020 US Presidential elections. “ELON: The Twitter releases are a revelation in that they show, in a very powerful fashion, the FBI and ‘Justice’ illegally colluding, proving conclusively, in one more very powerful way, that the 2020 Presidential Election was Rigged & Stolen. What everyone is REALLY waiting to see, however, is the Twitter information and thought process leading up to the time of the so-called ‘Election’, and ultimately the ‘Deplatforming’ of the President of the United States. Big moment in history. Thank you!” he said.

On December 9, the third tranche of confidential conversations between top Twitter executives was released on the micro-blogging platform. Journalist Matt Taibbi pointed out that the ‘intellectual framework’ to de-platform former US President Donald Trump was laid in the months preceding the January 6 incident in Washington.

The first part of ‘Twitter Files 3.0’ exposed how the likes of Vijaya Gadde (former Head of Legal, Policy, and Trust at Twitter) and Yoel Roth (former Global Head of Trust & Safety) were making decisions based on whims and fancies. The senior executives of Twitter also were in constant touch with federal agencies ahead of the 2020 US Presidential elections.

As reported earlier, it was brought to light that many of the Twitter employees also wanted ban imposed on Donald Trump’s account. The ban was executed despite the Safety Team of Twitter concluding that Donald Trump did not violate any of the platform’s rules.

China: Foxconn’s iPhone factory continues to face protests over Beijing’s ‘Zero COVID’ policy

ANI
-
0
China: Foxconn’s iPhone factory continues to face protests over Beijing’s ‘Zero COVID’ policy

Foxconn, Apple’s largest supplier, has faced unending chaos in the last two months at its Zhengzhou plant, which happens to be the largest iPhone factory in the world, located in the Henan province in central China, reported Portal Plus.

Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant which earlier employed over 2,00,000 workers, is facing violent protests by employees since November. The chaos which seems to be the result of China’s zero-Covid policy, started after Foxconn held an employment drive in October due to a majority of Foxconn workers leaving the compound amid fear of the “barbaric methods adopted by the management to deal with the country’s coronavirus pandemic outbreak”, reported Portal Plus.

The plant received over 1,00,000 new applications. Protests began after the new workers became acquainted with the work scenario which was different from the one promised during recruitment.

Newly-hired employees were promised a bonus payment of 3,000 yuan after 30 working days, and another 3,000 yuan at the completion of 60 days. However, the promises turned out to be mere tactics of enticement, as workers upon arrival at the factory were intimated that the bonus would only be given out much later, according to Portal Plus.

The new workers took no time to stage a protest against the management. Foxconn, in light of the violent protests, paid its workers two months of salary ($1400) and asked them to leave.

China’s faulty zero-Covid policy seems to be the reason behind the chaos at Foxconn. It is the state’s inability to handle the virus and subsequent crisis which has ultimately led to this situation. China has had to face unprecedented economic repercussions, which have created ripple effects all over the world ultimately impacting the global economy, according to Portal Plus.

Owing to China’s Covid response, 78 per cent of the responding brands in a survey said that China was an unattractive choice for investment.

As a result of the protests at Foxconn, Apple suffered a loss of nearly $1 billion per week in iPhone sales. The company is now considering pulling production out of China.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

What Twitter Files brought to light is only the tip of the iceberg: Lessons India needs to draw to avoid being Titanic

Sachin R
-
0
What Twitter Files brought to light is only the tip of the iceberg: Lessons India needs to draw to avoid being Titanic

American billionaire Elon Musk bought social media giant Twitter in November 2022. You already know that. You also know he promised to bring transparency to Twitter and has allowed some journalists access to Twitter’s past operations. The information that has been exposed so far, dubbed Twitter files, is very worrying. It is a story of “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”.

A company creates a new product, a social media that allows news dissemination & political debate in a few words. Media is finally democratised and people flock to it. The medium becomes the most effective media in socio-political space in many countries. Every government adopts it. Those disenfranchised by elitist mainstream media get means to reach common people directly. The company escapes all editorial scrutiny by promising it is just a platform and users are responsible for what they post. A perfect open marketplace of ideas where the people decide which ideas are the best, not a bunch of well-networked elites. This makes Twitter immensely powerful. It starts becoming a problem for the establishment.

Twitter plays an important part in the conservative electoral backlash of the 2010 decade in the west. This does not go unnoticed. Soon Twitter comes up with noble-sounding words like safety, protection of vulnerable populations, hate speech, even more subjective ‘hateful conduct’, special privileges for “activists” etc as excuses to censor speech. Censorship is kept completely opaque, highly subjective and unprofessionally biased. People are shadow-banned while Twitter executives hide behind technicalities to publicly lie about it. The company is staffed almost exclusively with leftist activists. Users who say things that Twitter employees do not like are summarily de-platformed. Tellingly, even humour challenging leftist ideas is curtailed. Elections are influenced. Like-minded far-left “fact checkers” are deployed to officially become the arbiters of truth. Twitter becomes a weapon of power control.

But is it only Twitter?

Users who have been noticing the obviously biased behaviour of Twitter are experiencing the exact same behaviour on all other major platforms too. Recently we published a report on Instagram condoning hate speech against Hindus. These same social media giants jump in quickly to curtail even fair doctrinal criticisms of Islam. For years Hindu users who post on civilisational, cultural and political issues on these platforms have been complaining of extreme bias. They may feel vindicated by the Twitter files exposé, but the issues continue. All they are getting from elitist media is gaslighting.

Gaslighting is defined as “To manipulate (someone) using psychological methods into questioning their own sanity or powers of reasoning”. Media is gaslighting the users who complain of the bias with laughable claims that no such bias exists, or if it does, it actually favours the other side. For example, the far-left propaganda portal ‘The Wire’ has been publishing fabricated stories about social media favouring BJP.  Those stories are still being cited globally when they have now been exposed to be total lies. There is no public acknowledgement of the oppression faced by some people on social media dominated by unprofessional leftist activists. If you complain, you are dubbed a conspiracy theorist. This is happening now in the US with Twitter files too. Mainstream media is pretending it is a non-issue. They are lying.

What are the lessons for India? Let us now see what we can learn in India before we are also completely overrun by blue haired activists.

  1. Just because a company is a high profile successful global giant, do not assume their employees are discharging their duties professionally. Many of these companies are almost exclusively staffed with radical leftist activists who have no interest in sticking with the traditional understanding of professionalism.
  2. Do not believe what social media companies say openly. In the post-truth world, where the left has perfected the art of bending the meaning of words, there is no reason to believe their public protestations. The people of India deserve transparency and fair treatment. It will only come when people have the scrutinising eye of the law with them.
  3. Finally, platform or publisher? Social media companies have hidden behind this grey area for too long. If these companies insist on editing content going forward beyond what is legally mandated, then the people of India should have the right to hold them accountable as publishers.
  4. Twitter files disclosures are not about Twitter alone. In fact, there is cautious optimism that Twitter is getting fixed. The real issue is all other media that are out of reach of public scrutiny.
  5. Prevent shadow-banning for better decision-making. A huge risk that even liberals are unwittingly ignoring is the risk of taking bad decisions. This is something dictators face. As no counter-views are allowed, decisions are based on inadequate information, risking catastrophic decision-making.
  6. Defend diversity in media fiercely. We at OpIndia know how the global radical leftist ecosystem has tried to suppress our voice to maintain its monopoly over discourse. From Wikipedia to random Hijab wearing “journalists” working for The Guardian, they have all tried to discredit our voice for wrongthink (opinions that run contrary to the prevailing or mainstream orthodoxy). If we fail to defend our freedoms now, we may never have the means to win them back.

In short, what Twitter Files brought to light is just the tip of the iceberg. Do not let our democracy become the Titanic to it.

Cambridge Dictionary enters ‘gender identity politics’, changes the definition of ‘man’ and ‘woman’: Here is how they define it now

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Cambridge Dictionary enters ‘gender identity politics’, changes the definition of ‘man’ and ‘woman’: Here is how they define it now

Cambridge Dictionary is under fire for changing the definition of ‘man’ and ‘woman’ to include those who do not identify with the gender they were assigned at the time of birth. The entry of a “well-reputed” dictionary into ‘gender identity politics’ has raised several questions, and netizens, especially women, have expressed their anguish over the same.

As per the Cambridge Dictionary, a ‘man‘ can now be defined as “an adult who lives and identifies as a male though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth.”

Definition of “man”

On the other hand, the dictionary defines a ‘woman‘ as “an adult who lives and identifies as female though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth.”

Definition of ‘woman’

The changes made by the dictionary are in line with the “gender identity” politics of the LGBTQ+ that claims the sex and gender of a person are different. The step taken to redefine man and woman has sparked controversy; netizens have called it an attack on women’s identity.

Daily Caller writer Mary Rooke said, “F-ing traitors to the truth. Cambridge Dictionary is only the latest. If we don’t stop them from erasing women, our civilization is ngmi.”

Man/gay rights activist BuckAngel said, “The erasure of women right in front of our eyes!”

Twitter user Mina Caputo said, “Why is the world hellbent on erasing Biological, Female Mammals?!? Go!”

Author Matt Walsh said, “The “what is a woman” question has been so effective that they’re now rewriting the dictionary to try and neutralize it. It’s absurd and Orwellian, but also a sign that we’re winning the argument.”

City Journal writer Christopher F Rufo said, “Notice that the dictionary writers say “*they* may have been.” They couldn’t bring themselves to write “she may have been,” because they know they’re lying. That’s the tell.”

Journalist Megyn Kelly said, “They won’t stop until we don’t remember what real women are anymore.”

Director-Producer Robby Starbuck said, “I refuse to play along with this delusion. Airbrushed makeup, heels, fake breasts and an exaggerated valley girl voice impersonation do not make you a woman. The fact some people think it does is insulting. Stop erasing women.”

Author Ashley St Clair said, “Women should loathe trans activists for their vicious attempts to completely erase us. Issues REAL women face are thrown under the rug so that the cries of men playing dress up can be heard.”

Defense Attorney Marina Medvin said, “Imagine inverting **the dictionary definition** of a term that defines half of the world’s population while simultaneously claiming cultural handicap.”

It is a well-known fact that it took countless protests and revolutions for women to get their rights. Not to forget, women were not even allowed to vote in countries like the United States for a very long time. Many women are still struggling to get equal pay for equal jobs in several sectors. In such a world where women have to fight for everything every day, gender identity politics have opened another floodgate of problems for them as men who do not want to “identify themselves as men” are trying to take their position in society. Cambridge Dictionary’s step to change the definition of man and woman will only deepen the fissure between women and equality.

Muslim League leader Abdurahiman Randathani slams Kerala govt for teaching ‘masturbation and homosexuality’ to children, objects to ‘mixed seating’

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Muslim League leader Abdurahiman Randathani slams Kerala govt for teaching ‘masturbation and homosexuality’ to children, objects to ‘mixed seating’

On Tuesday, December 13, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader and former MLA Abdurahiman Randathani stoked controversy after he said that mixed seating in schools, gender-neutral uniforms, and several other educational reforms would promote “masturbation and homosexuality” among students.

Randathani spoke at a United Democratic Front (UDF) protest event in Kannur on Tuesday, criticising the Left government’s proposed education reforms in Kerala, which included mixed seating plans in classrooms and gender-neutral uniforms.

According to the leader of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a Congress ally, “the government was encouraging homosexuality and pervert acts like masturbation in the name of sexual education.”

The government claims that making a boy and a girl to sit together will bring revolutionary changes in the field of education,” he said. “However, in the name of sex education, children are being taught about homosexuality and masturbation, then what will happen to our faith and culture.”

As the outrage sparked, the IUML leader justified his controversial remarks by saying that he intended to critique the curriculum framework’s erroneous notions saying that the ‘flawed curriculum reforms’ were against the ‘culture’ of Kerala. “The Kudumbashree volunteers’ handbook contains references to masturbation and homosexuality.” “We are warning against the decline of moral values in society,” he was quoted as saying by The New Indian Express.

On Monday, IUML MLA N Samsudheen said in the state assembly that the new education policy would create ‘gender confusion’ and lead to ‘sexual anarchy’.

“The education policy seeks to promote gender equality in addition to rational thought.” That cannot be permitted at the expense of the state. It will lead to the negation of religion. Therefore, it has to be omitted from the education policy,” IUML MLA said.

“What we need is equal opportunities, not gender equality.” Gender-neutral viewpoints will lead to sexual anarchy, which cannot be tolerated in education. “They (the government) are attempting to create gender confusion among children and the general public,” Samsudheen added.

Notably, after protests by several Islamic organisations over the issue calling the reforms an attack on Islam, the Kerala government decided to take a U-turn. Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty on Monday confirmed that there are no plans to change school hours at this time. The state education minister also stated that there are no plans to implement gender-neutral uniforms in all schools.

“The school curriculum revision committee made some suggestions, but the government has yet to make a decision on them,” he said, adding, “School management and parent-teacher associations can make decisions on uniforms.” The government has no plans to impose any reforms.”

Did BJP MLA threaten Muslims with no development if they don’t vote for him? AltNews’ Zubair spreads lies, Muslims say ‘ready to fact check misleading claims’

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Did BJP MLA threaten Muslims with no development if they don’t vote for him? AltNews’ Zubair spreads lies, Muslims say ‘ready to fact check misleading claims’

On the 13th of December, AltNews’ out-on-bail fact-checker, who fancied himself as winning the Nobel prize (which also turned out to be fake news) shared a video of Karnataka BJP MLA Preetam Gowda. In the tweet where he shared the video, Mohammad Zubair said, “BJP MLA Preetam Gowda from Hassan, Karnataka warns Muslims of not taking up any development work if they do not vote for him in the coming elections”.

An archived version of the tweet can be found here.

The insinuation made by AltNews’ “fact-checker” Mohammad Zubair was that the BJP MLA essentially threatened the Muslims of the area by claiming that if they do not vote for him in the upcoming elections, he would ensure that no development work would take place in the area.

When one looks at the complete video, however, what Preetam Gowda said is completely different from what Zubair claimed.

“You will call us Anna, but you do not vote for us. It will make anybody angry. Will you not get angry if you do not get wages for the work you did? Do not you think I will also get upset if you say do not vote for BJP even after carrying out several developmental projects? I am making it simple so that even children can understand. I have always treated you as my family, and continue to do. However, we (politicians) may come to the conclusion there is no point in helping as they will not help us even after carrying out several developmental projects. It is your responsibility to ensure that we do not come to such a conclusion“, he said.

“You have cheated me thrice. In the next six months, the elections will be held. If you do not help me again then, I will also be the same and I will not be available to you. If you come to my house, I will offer coffee and send you back. Water, road and drainage work will be done as it is my duty, but I will not be there for your personal work”, he continued.

The full video of Preetam Gowda’s speech can be found here:

It is clear from the video and the transcript of his speech that he did not say that he will withhold development work in the area, instead, he said he will not be doing personal favours for them. The BJP MLA categorically says, “Water, road and drainage work will be done as it is my duty, but I will not be there for your personal work”.

What the Muslims of the area said about the speech by BJP MLA Preetam Gowda

Local Muslims countered the misleading claims essentially confirming that Mohammad Zubair was peddling fake news.

The Muslim man in the video says, “Preetham Gowda visited us a few days back. He promised to build houses for poor Muslims. He did not demand or warn us to vote in his favour. This is a lie and misleading video”.

Another video of a local Muslim has emerged.

The Muslim woman says, “The video is misleading. There is no such thing as Hindu-Muslim. We will vote for those who have carried out developmental activities in our area. Nobody has the right to demand our vote. Preetham Gowda is like our brother, whatever that is doing rounds in the media is misleading. We are ready to fact-check those people who are sharing misleading videos on the internet”.

There are certain facts that emerge from the transcript of the video and what local Muslims said:

  1. MLA Preetam Gowda never threatened to withhold development work if Muslims don’t vote for him.
  2. He said development work was his duty, however, he will not do any personal favours.
  3. The local Muslims consider him their “brother”.
  4. A local Muslim man also revealed that he had promised to build houses for poor Muslims.
  5. Mohammad Zubair was peddling fake news.

Interestingly, the video was first shared by a journalist called Imran Khan. He had written, “An alleged video of #BJP #Hassan MLA Preetam Gowda is going viral wherein he threatens #Muslim constituents of Shrinagar to vote for him or else he won’t carry out any of their personal work.He goes on to say, he treats #Muslims with love and affection.But, they have ditched him”.

While Imran Khan shared the video with the correct interpretation, Zubair but altered the correct version to peddle fake news against Gowda.

It is clear from the screenshot that Zubair shared the video that was tweeted by Imran Khan, however, he ignored what Khan had said and peddled fake news deliberately.

Nupur Sharma controversy, Alt News and Mohammad Zubair’s role

On May 26, former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma took part in a debate on Times Now about the Gyanvapi disputed structure case, where the other panelist from the Muslim community repeatedly insulted Bhagwan Shiv. Sharma responded by narrating what is written in Islamic holy scriptures about Prophet Muhammad. What she said has been widely quoted by Islamic scholars, including hate preacher Zakir Naik.

Mohammad Zubair, the co-founder of the so-called fact-checking website AltNews, used a cleverly trimmed video clip of the debate to target Nupur Sharma. He tweeted shortly after the debate, “Prime Time debates in India have become a platform to encourage hate mongers to speak ill of other religions.” Navika Kumar, the anchor of Times Now, is encouraging a rabid communal hatemonger and a BJP spokesperson to say things that can incite riots. Shame on you, Vineet Jain.”

It was after Mohammad Zubair shared the edited video clips of the debate that sparked outrage against Nupur Sharma and anti-India campaigns emanating from Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Pakistan. Multiple Islamic leaders and organisations made death and beheading threats to Nupur Sharma. Riots erupted in several parts of the country. On 10th June 2022, Islamist mobs led to riots in many areas after the Friday Namaz. Muslim mob raised hateful slogans against Nupur Sharma, vandalized public property, and even attacked police and citizens. In Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur, Prayagraj, and other districts several incidents of stone pelting and vandalism were reported. While the names of the places changed the pattern of ‘protests’ remained the same. 

In June, a Hindu tailor Kanhaiyalal was beheaded in Rajasthan’s Udaipur by two Islamist terrorists for supporting Nupur Sharma. ‘Sar tan se juda’ became the new ‘normal’ response to anyone opposing the Islamist ideology.

Md Zubair and the platform Alt News have been at the forefront of spreading deliberate fake news and misleading information, especially of a communally sensitive nature, on social media.

Mumbai Court summons Javed Akhtar over his remarks comparing VHP, RSS to Taliban, next hearing on Feb 6

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Mumbai Court summons Javed Akhtar over his remarks comparing VHP, RSS to Taliban, next hearing on Feb 6

A Mumbai court summoned self-proclaimed atheist and Bollywood lyricist Javed Akhtar on Tuesday in connection with a defamation lawsuit brought by a lawyer over his purported statements against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) during a televised interview last year. 

Santosh Dubey, the lawyer, had lodged a case against the 77-year-old lyricist-poet in October last year before the metropolitan magistrate’s court in suburban Mulund under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 (defamation) and 500 (criminal conspiracy) (punishment for defamation).

In the interview to NDTV news channel, Akhtar had drawn comparisons between the Islamic terrorists of the Taliban and members belonging to Hindu organizations like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal in the context of the former extremist outfit assuming control in Afghanistan in September 2021.

“The way the Taliban are trying to build a Muslim nation. In the same way, some people present the concept of Hindu Rashtra to us. These people have the same mentality. The Taliban are violent. Are wild. But the people who support RSS, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal have the same mentality,” Akhtar had said.

“They have no love for minorities, like Taliban. They want women to be home, like the Taliban. What is the difference between the two? They say no law is superior to their religious faith, that is what the Taliban say. How are you different from them?” he added.

The complainant, who is said to be an RSS follower, contended that the former Rajya Sabha member brought the name of the Nagpur-based organization into the debate needlessly and defamed it in a “calculated and well-planned manner” in order to obtain political advantage.

“The statement made by the accused during the interview was a well-planned move to defame the RSS as well as to discourage and misguide people who have joined the organisation or would like to join it,” Dubey stated.

After hearing a brief conversation and reviewing the evidence, metropolitan magistrate PK Raut issued a summons to Akhtar. According to the complainant, the case has been postponed until February 6, when Akhtar is scheduled to appear in court.

Ukrainian FM Dmytro Kuleba blames India for purchasing cheap Russian oil, says it should extensively help Ukraine as a ‘balancing act’

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Ukrainian FM Dmytro Kuleba blames India for purchasing cheap Russian oil, says it should extensively help Ukraine as a ‘balancing act’

Days after India’s decision to not support the price cap on Russian oil announced by the G7 countries and their allies, Dmytro Kuleba, the Foreign Minister of Ukraine tried to blame India for purchasing Russian oil at the expense of the sufferings of common Ukrainians.

“You enjoy the benefit of cheap Russian oil because someone in Ukraine is dying due to Russian aggression,” he said on Tuesday.

The Ukraine Minister also asked its Indian partners to extensively help the country as a ‘balancing act’ if they wish to continue to buy Russian oil at cheap prices. “Every country has a right about what to do for its economy to benefit. But the message that we are conveying to our Indian partners is very simple. You have the opportunity to buy cheap Russian oil. Russia is selling you cheap oil because it stands under enormous pressure from sanctions and other types of pressure. And the reason is its aggression against Ukraine,” the Foreign Minister said.

“If you take this element into account and continue to buy Russian oil then as a balancing act you begin to support Ukraine more heavily in a more extensive way because you understand that you enjoy the benefit of buying cheap Russian oil because someone in Ukraine is dying,” he added, the video of which was shared by journalist Sidhant Sibal on Twitter.

On December 11, Russia happened to welcome India’s decision to not support the price cap on Russian oil announced by the G7 countries and their allies. According to the reports, the price cap on Russian oil was imposed on December 5 by the G7 countries and their allies. the Group of Seven major nations, the European Union, and Australia agreed to a $60 per barrel price ceiling on Russian seaborne crude oil after EU members overcame Poland’s opposition.

The price limitation aims to limit Russia’s earnings as punishment for its war on Ukraine while ensuring Moscow continues to supply the global market. In an obvious reaction, Russia rejected the oil price ceiling and warned the West of retaliation. India meanwhile reiterated that it will continue to purchase oil from Russia with Moscow assuring that it will directly negotiate with its crude buyers. Hardeep Singh Puri, India’s Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas also stated that India’s oil import from Russia is very limited and that India now sources oil from 39 countries including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and UAE, and is also exploring trade possibilities in Africa.

Also on December 7, EAM S Jaishankar stated that Indian refiners look for the best deal they can find and that the Indian government does not direct them particularly to buy Russian oil. He reiterated in the Parliament that India has always urged both Ukraine and Russia to resolve disputes through dialogue and return to diplomacy. As per the statement issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry, India’s imports of Russian oil surged to Rs 16.35 million tonnes till August 2022.

Earlier last week also, Dmytro Kuleba, the Foreign Minister of Ukraine had blamed India for purchasing Russian oil at the expense of the sufferings of common Ukrainians. “The opportunity for India to buy Russian oil at a cheap price comes from the fact that Ukrainians are suffering from the Russian aggression and die every day. They are living in houses without heating, hot water, and electricity. And this fact, we hope, should be appreciated by those who make decisions on purchasing Russian oil,” he alleged.

Dmytro Kuleba further claimed that the Ukrainian government is equally critical of all countries that are purchasing Russian oil in bulk. Later, he contradicted his statement by applauding the decision to put a price cap ($60 per barrel) on Russian oil imports by the European Union and G7 countries.

1...2,6202,6212,622...7,600Page 2,621 of 7,600