The JNU Tapes sting did sting some. The secret filmed recordings that exposed the truth behind the violence on the JNU campus set the trend for news in India at a time when even the police were unable to ascertain just who orchestrated the attack. India Today TV exposed both groups involved in the violence.

While the purpose of the expose was to unmask the masked men and women who unleashed the January 5 violence and vandalism, India Today TV did not specifically blame any one group. But one group took it upon itself and reacted by viciously trolling our journalists on social media and elsewhere.

Within an hour of the show’s broadcast, hashtag #JNUTapes made it into the top Twitter trends. In addition to our viewers and audiences supporting us, journalists from rival media groups came out to laud what has come to be widely regarded as courageous and bipartisan journalism.

Since then, however, a vicious attack is underway to undermine the investigation we carried out and to slander the reputation of India Today TV’s News Director Rahul Kanwal and correspondent Tanushree Pandey.

The first allegation that was hurled at the Group was that the sting camera used during the investigation shows an old date. We immediately put out a clarification saying that the date settings in one camera used for recording were not updated and that the confusion was regretted. Also, there was no such situation at JNU in October 19 (the date shown in the camera), which would have demanded a sting. That the people on tape were speaking about a January 5 incident was lost on the trolls.

Undeterred, the troll army went personal and attacked Rahul Kanwal and Tanushree Pandey. The baseless allegation against Tanushree Pandey is that she is seen in a hush hush off the record conversation where she appears to be coaching’ the person (JNUSU VP Saket Moon). A video clip was shared on Twitter as proof.

Those even remotely aware of how news television works would tell you that before a reporter goes live, it is standard operating procedure for her to give a quick set of instructions to the person who is being interviewed over satellite links. This is not called coaching nor should it be seen as a means of trying to influence the interviewee. This is done simply to prevent the interviewee from freezing on camera or fumbling when asked questions.

The trolls accused Rahul Kanwal of believing that chanting Vande Mataram is anti-national. Once again, a clip from an India Today TV debate is used but after conveniently editing the context. Rahul Kanwal has since then clarified on Twitter: Taking one line from a debate and editing it to make it seem as if the anchor believes chanting Vande Mataram is anti-national is a malicious act. During the debate even the guest agreed that violence unleashed by lawyers in court was wrong. He has also shared the clip so that there is no room for confusion.

When public opinion is so polarised on almost every issue facing us, it becomes a daily challenge to do journalism without fear or favour. We, at the India Today Group, strive to do exactly that to uphold the Gold Standard of Journalism we have strived hard to achieve. This co-ordinated, vicious attack on social media for doing honest journalism is ill-informed and malicious.