Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Press bodies slammed for supporting The Wire on fake “Meta” story

Days after The Wire retracted its Fake stories on Tek Fog and Meta targeting the BJP, the National Union of Journalists- India NUJ(I) has condemned the portal for publishing fake stories, and slammed press organisations for supporting the portal. 

In a statement, the NUJ (I) called out various press organizations for maintaining convenient silence over the faults of ‘The Wire’ and issuing prompt statements against the police inquiry in ‘The Wire-Meta Story’. 

The statement by NUJ-I came after a large number of media and journalist bodies issued statements condemning the police for the searches at The Wire office and the homes of its editors.

The organisation stated that while press organisations and guilds remained silent on The Wire forging documents in its Meta story, these groups were prompt to condemn the police investigation after an FIR was filed against the portal. 

It is notable that a lot of liberal and left-leaning media houses have reported the whole Meta versus The Wire episode in a manner that may suit the stand of the serial fake news-peddling propaganda website ‘The Wire’. Several and left-wing media organisations have issued statements defending the portal.

While criticizing the various press bodies, the NUJ said in its statement: “…the fact is that these press associations and guilds maintained a studied silence in the face of undeniable forgery that formed the core of The Wire reports. In contrast, their promptness in issuing a statement against the police inquiry, that seeks to trace the genesis of the forgery, makes these associations and guilds seem like partisan players.”

NUJ (I) concluded with the remark that “…those who are serial fake news paddlers should not be given the leeway to utilise the card of freedom of the press to escape the consequences of their deliberate actions over months and years.”

The controversy is being investigated by the Delhi Police. BJP’s IT Cell head Amit Malviya filed a complaint with the Delhi Police against the Wire, its editors and reporters. The FIR was lodged after The Wire took down Meta stories that claimed Malviya was able to take down Instagram posts critical to the government, no question asked. 

It is notable that the Editors Guild had issued a statement yesterday criticising the police for conducting a search at the Wire office and the homes of its editors in relation to the FIR filed against them on the complaint of Malviya. 

Earlier, the Guild had withdrawn its reference to the Tek Fog story made in a statement earlier this year, where they had demanded a Supreme Court probe on what has been proved to be fake now.

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