As India evolves and communication technologies improve by the day, the role of the media in India’s future is becoming increasingly critical. The tendency to report based on unverified information is fast becoming the norm, as you will see in the case of the various articles referenced here.

Take the example of this news report on Kumar Vishwas’ rally in Amethi. It clearly says that the event was a success despite some hiccups. Now, take a look at this report that deems it a flop! It’s the exact same event that is being reported on. But the conclusions are diametrically opposite. Clearly, they both can’t be true! The issue of whether an event is a success or a flop can be a matter of opinion. But there should be no ambiguity about the real “data” – how large the crowd was, the response of the crowd, etc.

Here is another interesting example. The Faking News website put out a piece (obviously meant to be tongue-in-cheek) that the AAP was going to make the Metro free for up to three stations. Interestingly, this has been believed by many as the truth. Check out this expert’s piece where he refers to free metro rides! Meanwhile, here is another expert who refers to 90% reservation in Delhi colleges by the AAP government as though it were a fact!

All of this can be ignored at some level as mere noise. But there is another side to the complete lack of investigative rigor practiced by our media. Irresponsible reporting can have very severe unintended consequences. Take the case of the recent death of Sunanda Pushkar. It has hit the headlines of most newspapers, but some of the reports appear to be based on mere speculation. If you read some of the reports carefully, there has been very little in terms of actual confirmation of facts. It is sad enough that someone died under mysterious circumstances, but it’s pathetic that the media adds speculation about the cause of death without paying attention to actual facts or corroborative evidence.

The case of drug trafficking in Delhi and the purported actions of the AAP’s minister, Somnath Bharati, is yet another example. Almost every major newspaper has termed this as “vigilantism,” referring to the “mid-night raid” by the minister and AAP volunteers, calling for the minister’s dismissal, etc. The Congress and BJP leaders were quick to call the AAP leaders “anarchists.” People who read these media reports were quick to conclude and pronounce their verdicts on social media saying, “Bharti should be dropped from the cabinet.”

Anyone who reads all the media reports is bound to come to similar conclusions. It is then that I came across another interesting piece written by an individual who is much closer to the actual location arguing to the contrary! Then, another individual from the same locality spoke on a TV debate (scroll to the 41 minute) confirming this view. Later, Arvind Kejriwal, in a free-wheeling interview, gives his side of the story which is much closer to the two pieces I just referred to. Also, R.K Singh, former home security, openly accused the home minister of a whole host of things that seems to bolster the stand of the AAP government in Delhi. Meanwhile, the AAP released its own video based on Kejriwal’s interview with a major news channel. Then, there was this news report about the women being attacked by the minister and AAP supporters. Following this, there was a report that the Ugandan women actually thanked the Delhi government for their actions!

Who and what is to be believed? This incident was a perfect example where the media could have done its ground work and come out with a stellar report piecing together the exact sequence of events. Were repeated complaints made by the people in the area like the AAP government claimed? Was it a well-known that there was a drug and sex racket in the area? What actually happened on the night of the incident? What was the police version? Did they actually run away from the site and why? Were the foreigners involved subjected to ill-treatment? Were they humiliated in public?

Yet another case in point is the recent Janata Durbar of the Delhi CM. Twenty thousand people turned up for the event. It’s true that the crowds were unmanageable and the CM was forced to leave the venue. On the one hand, it is evident that the people have tremendous faith and hopes in the current Delhi government. On the other hand, it is also true that the government failed to anticipate the overwhelming response. BJP fans were quick to point out that the newly elected Rajasthan CM had a Janata Durbar too, and many of its other CMs have been doing this for years. Unfortunately, there has been very little “data” available in terms of how many people showed up and how many issues were addressed by these CMs. Perhaps there are lessons to be learned for all CMs. The media could certainly play a critical role in highlighting these “facts” by bring to light the accurate information so all our states can learn from it.

The late Daniel Patrick Moynihan, former US Senator, once said, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.” The problem today is that our media is always in a rush to churn out news reports that are most likely to rake up their TRPs. The result is that very little effort seems to go into finding and reporting the truth before it hits the headlines. Unfortunately, once reported, all and sundry including so-called experts build on these reports and opine as if they are all well corroborated facts!

The number of these instances of poor reporting have been growing by the day. Whenever there is talk of regulating the media, there are outcries and talk of “self-regulation.” It’s about time the media did some serious soul-searching and introspection and chose to “self-regulate,” if not in their own interest then at least for the sake of the country at large.

You can read Pran’s tweet’s at http://twitter.com/pkurup