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Indian TV anchor’s texts spark cries for security leak inquiry after he discussed Pakistan airstrikes before they happened
18 Jan 2021 16:32
FILE PHOTO: Indian Air Force fighter jets on May 3, 2020. © REUTERS/Amit Dave
Opposition politicians in India have called for an investigation into a potential national security leak after a TV anchor’s messages showed he had prior knowledge of airstrikes launched against Pakistan in February 2019.
Amid a series of text messages sent from Arnab Goswami, news anchor and editor-in-chief of Republic TV network, to the head of a TV ratings agency, Goswami mentioned that India would launch a “bigger than normal strike” on Pakistan. The messages were sent on February 23, 2019, just three days before India struck military targets in Pakistan, but weren’t made public until earlier this month as part of a separate investigation.
A transcript of the messages was included in a charge-sheet filed by Mumbai police as part of an investigation into allegations of rate fixing by Republic, which the network denies.
“On Pakistan, the government is confident of striking in a way that people will be elated. Exact words used,” Goswami’s message reportedly read.
The anchor has denied having any prior knowledge of the military action, arguing that his message was in reference to the officially stated government position that India would “hit back at Pakistan after the Pulwama attack.”
On February 14, 2019, a Pakistan-based group launched the deadliest single attack against Indian forces in Kashmir since 1989, killing 46 soldiers in a suicide bombing. In response, India launched airstrikes against militants in Pakistani locations, escalating tensions and nearly bringing the two neighboring states to the brink of war.
Addressing the calls for an investigation into a potential government leak, Goswami criticised India’s opposition parties, accusing them of being a “mouthpiece” for Pakistan.
The Indian government has not responded to the demands from the opposition parties, nor to suggestions of impropriety or leaking.
Alongside the internal issues caused by the content of the messages, the issue also risks international outcry. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has suggested the texts show that the strikes were a political act, and not a military move, to help Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi secure re-election.
Americans’ trust in mainstream media has never been lower –
but journalists insist it’s the audience’s fault, not theirs
22 Jan 2021 03:59
FILE PHOTO. © Reuters / Shannon Stapleton
Fewer than half of Americans trust mainstream media, according to PR firm Edelman’s annual “trust barometer.” But rather than attempt to repair the relationship, media outlets blame their audience’s poor ‘information hygiene.’
Long headed for collapse, Americans’ trust in the media establishment hit an all time low in 2021, falling three points overall to just 46 percent, according to Edelman’s most recent annual survey. The figure marks the first time Americans’ trust of journalism sank below the 50 percent mark.
Americans’ trust in social media also hit rock bottom, clocking in at a miserable 27 percent, according to Edelman’s annual “trust barometer.” Globally, people’s faith in social media wasn’t much better, with just 35 percent of users deeming it a trustworthy source for “general news and information.”
Survey respondents did not hesitate to expound on their dim view of the journalistic profession, either – 56 percent of Americans agreed the media was “purposely trying to mislead people by saying things they know are false or gross exaggerations,” while 58 percent agreed most outlets were “more concerned with supporting an ideology or political position than informing the public.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, breaking the numbers up by political party revealed a sharp contrast between Biden and Trump voters, with only 18 percent of the latter crowd deeming the media trustworthy in the wake of November’s presidential election. Even among Democrats, however, only 57 percent deemed the media trustworthy.
Conservatives, including the offspring of former president Donald Trump, took to social media to roll their eyes at what for them was stating the obvious. Most establishment outlets had after all been gushing about President Joe Biden's inauguration in truly outrageous terms, comparing his inaugural speech to that of JFK and waxing poetic about Vice President Kamala Harris' hair.
Others brought up dubious connections to “independent” media – including Edelman itself – suggesting the trust crisis had less to do with the media losing its touch than it did with Americans becoming more savvy regarding their manipulation.
The only group trusted by a majority of Americans out of Government, Media, NGOs, and Business in 2021 was, ironically, Big Business – even though corporations largely pull the strings of the media, politics, and the other institutions so many Americans seem to agree are not trustworthy.
Axios and other opportunistic journalists reading Edelman’s 2021 report have called for these CEOs to “visibly embrace the news media” in order to burnish the media’s public image.
'Visibly embrace', is that as opposed to 'invisibly embrace'?
“Now it’s time for [CEOs] to use the trust they’ve built up to help rebuild our civic infrastructure,” Axios concluded, specifically referring to outreach to Trump voters, whose trust in CEOs (61 percent) runs 40 points higher than their trust in the media. However, given conservatives’ unabashed loathing for mainstream media, the plan could backfire and drag corporations down a few notches in the MAGA crowd’s estimation.
Even while admitting that media distrust was a global issue rather than “a function of Donald Trump’s war on ‘fake news,’” Axios appeared to blame its audience for their refusal to put their faith in the Fourth Estate, posting a series of links tipping worried journalists off on why their propaganda might be missing the mark. Clutching pearls on topics from the Covid-19 pandemic and “vaccine hesitancy” to the US election scandals, the overarching message was simple – don't confuse your audience with opinions other than the one you want them to have.
However, Americans’ own distrust in the majority of their institutions does not bode well for the US’ “brand,” Edelman’s survey revealed. Other countries have apparently been paying attention, as trust in companies headquartered in the US fell four points to what was reportedly an all-time low of 51 percent.
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