NBDSA directs Aaj Tak to remove video showing Rahul Gandhi as robber

The News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) on Thursday directed Hindi news channel Aaj Tak to take down a fictional video showing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as a robber. .The NBDSA said that the fictional video was not in good taste and should have been avoided and ordered that the same should be removed from its channel, YouTube and other online platforms."It would be appropriate for the broadcaster to remove the fictional video in the impugned broadcast, if still available on the website of the channel, or YouTube, and remove all hyperlinks including access which should be confirmed to NBDSA in writing within 7 days of the Order," the NBDSA directed.The video in question was telecast on a show called 'Black and White' on March 24, 2023.The show was telecast after Gandhi was convicted by a Surat court on March 23, 2023 for defamation for his remark "All thieves have Modi surname'. .A complaint was filed with the NBDSA on March 31, 2023 by the National President of the Indian Youth Congress, Srinivas Bhadravathi Venkata, alleging that the video in question was initially tweeted from the official handle of Aaj Tak and later aired on the show Black and White which is hosted by the consulting editor of the channel.It was alleged that the Aaj Tak anchor maliciously compared Gandhi with someone accused and caught for the offence of robbery, even though he was fully aware that Gandhi had been objecting to the offences committed by Nirav Modi and was seeking accountability from the Government of India.The video was telecast to give an impression to the public that Rahul Gandhi was committed for some serious offence. "While creating and publishing the said video, the anchor flagrantly violated journalism norms and ethics by callously publishing the said video, which wrongly depicted Mr Gandhi as someone accused of an offence of robbery," it was alleged..The accused deliberately published the video with the intent to harm the reputation of Rahul Gandhi, directly targeting the prestige of the Congress party and the Indian Youth Congress and causing distress to millions of supporters and workers."The tweets from the handle and its subsequent amplifications appear to be a well-crafted conspiracy initiated at the behest of Mr. Gandhi's political opponents with the sole objective of lowering his reputation in the eyes of the citizens of our country. It appears to be an attempt at the behest of the divisive forces, which Mr. Gandhi continues to expose," the complainant alleged.Therefore, the complainant requested an immediate deletion of the defamatory video from all platforms, along with a telecast of an unconditional apology on the channel.The channel on the other hand claimed that the anchor had not given any impression that Gandhi was convicted for a heinous offence. The anchor also denied having made any malicious statements about Gandhi or depicting him as a robbery accused.It was also submitted by the channel that the fictional story depicted in the form of a video in the broadcast was not in reference to anyone including Rahul Gandhi. Pertinently, Aaj Tak also highlighted the tweets put out by Priyanka Gandhi in which she had asked why Rahul Gandhi was being targeted while many others were not getting punished.The whole point of the broadcast was to an extent based on what Priyanka Gandhi had tweeted, the channel contended..NBDSA observed that though the anchor gave a different narrative to the tweets, it was admitted by both the parties the tweets made by Priyanka Gandhi were broadcast accurately by the broadcaster.NBDSA also noted that the fictional video aired during the broadcast, including the story of the robber depicted in the broadcast and the imputation it carried with it concerning Rahul Gandhi's conviction, was not in good taste and should have been avoided.Accordingly, NBDSA ordered take down of the video from all its platforms and also advised the broadcaster to be careful while airing such fictional videos in future broadcasts.Advocate Kapil Madan represented the complainant..[Read Order]