Have Television News Channels Become Propaganda Platforms?

There is nothing wrong with patriotic journalism during times of national crisis, provided the media does not fail to question and/or cross-check official claims and does not stifle dissenting voices.

But when media houses parrot official statements, rely on press releases and studio debates instead of on-ground reporting, and do not hold those in power to account, journalism, to quote veteran television journalist Ravish Kumar, becomes “stenography”.

Considering that the media is a vital watchdog over government and other powerful institutions in a democratic country, ensuring accountability and transparency, the sheer absurdity of passing propaganda and jingoism as journalism is not only a disservice to the profession but also a disgrace to the nation.

But then we are living in “New India”, where propaganda is presented as news and news channels have become so politically biased that it is difficult for common viewers to disentangle news from political propaganda.

The race to break news and biased and jingoistic approaches to reporting have crossed the limits of principles of ethics and journalistic standards of accuracy, objectivity, and impartiality.

Given the way several social media news platforms and television channels have been weaponised by the government to control the political narrative, both have become increasingly sensational and theatrical in recent years and, particularly, during moments of geopolitical tension.

So, when the borders heat up, so do the newsrooms, often prioritising nationalistic and jingoistic fervour over journalistic integrity.

The question arises—have television news channels become propaganda platforms? The answer is obvious. Take, for instance, some of the news reports that chronicled India’s overwhelming success during, and since, India and Pakistan’s recent intense military confrontation.

Much of the disinformation on social media, some of it highly specific, like “Indian attacks had struck a Pakistani nuclear base and downed two Pakistani fighter jets and blasted part of Pakistan’s Karachi port”, was not true, but some of it also made its way into the mainstream media, which alarmed many media analysts monitoring falling journalistic standards in India, particularly of television news channels.

More than 200 million Indian households own a TV set, and around 450 TV stations are dedicated to news, making TV one of the major sources of information in the country.

However, the credibility of most of the leading news channels has hit the lows, so much so that they are referred to as the lapdog media and the “government’s propaganda platforms”. The Centre for Media Studies has reported that trust in Indian media fell by 17 per cent from 2018 to 2023, particularly during times of national crisis.

During the four-day conflict between India and Pakistan, the race to break news and an aggressive nationalistic approach to reporting reached such a feverish pitch that TV news anchors and commentators became cheerleaders for war, collateral be damned as long as the image of political leadership shines.

Some well-known news TV networks are reported to have aired unverified information or even fabricated stories amid the burst of nationalistic fervour. As “evidence”, they reportedly played clips from war games, from wars in other countries or AI-generated visuals.

Some news verification sites tried to identify fake news, but the sheer volume of it was too much. In an armed conflict, warring sides do spread lies and propaganda, and mainstream news outlets have not been immune from presenting their countries’ battlefield efforts in a favourable light. But rushing to publish or broadcast information that later turns out to be incorrect is overzealous prime-time patriotism that does not just misinform, but polarises.

When news channels prioritise dramatic headlines over facts, the casualty is verified news, and viewers get to hear only what they want to believe. Take, for instance, the coverage during the Balakot airstrike in 2019, when leading TV channels featured dramatic visuals of fighter jets and fiery monologues by news anchors.

And news debates, needless to add, sounded more like war rooms than balanced discussions. A Newslaundry study in 2020 found that 64 per cent of conflict-related news segments lacked diverse perspectives, often excluding voices that questioned government narratives.

The news ecosystem this time was not any different from 2019, as manufactured emotions took centre stage. Did the electronic media forget that during war, psychological operations, in which the media can play a vital role, are meant to manage the perception of the enemy country’s populace and not misinform own countrymen?

The problem with fervent prime-time patriotism and sycophant journalism is that it is excessively flattering towards a powerful political leadership or a political party and tends to present a one-sided, positive view, rather than an objective and balanced perspective.

A compromised mainstream media that prioritises pleasing powerful individuals or institutions over informing the public raises ethical questions and, therefore, is a liability for democracy and the country’s image.

But over the last decade, many news outlets have become the “mouthpiece of the ruling party”, suppressing news damaging to the government’s reputation. Many news television networks have come to broadcast news and debates that are blatantly favourable to the government and hostile towards the Opposition.

Surprisingly, this is the same media that had taken the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government to task on several issues—corruption, crony capitalism, policy paralysis, inflation, terrorism, women’s safety, and so on.

The decline of what once was a vibrant and reliable journalistic scene in India is a sad reflection of today’s political ecosystem that presses for loyalty from media instead of letting it do its duty as an independent entity.

This is not surprising for the chroniclers of “New India”, where every event or occasion is an opportunity to pitch for votes with the help of a pliant media. The selection of news and content of prime-time debates confirms the steep slide in the media’s credibility as an important pillar of democracy that it was before 2014.

The writer is a senior, independent Mumbai-based journalist. He tweets at @ali_chougule