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<nowiki>#</nowiki>VandaliseLeftistWiki | |||
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{{short description|Right-wing Indian news portal}} | |||
{{redirect-distinguish2|Nupur J Sharma|Nupur Sharma, the actress who starred in ]}} | |||
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2020}} | |||
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}} | |||
{{Infobox website | |||
|name = OpIndia | |||
|logo = OpIndia logo with dark background.png | |||
|logo_alt = OpIndia logo | |||
|logo_size = 200px | |||
|type = News | |||
|url = {{URL|https://www.opindia.com/about/}} | |||
|language = English, Hindi | |||
|founder = {{plainlist| | |||
* Rahul Raj | |||
* Kumar Kamal | |||
}} | |||
|CEO = ] | |||
|owner = Aadhyaasi Media and Content Services | |||
|editors = {{plainlist| | |||
* Nupur J Sharma {{small|(English)}} | |||
* Ajit Bharti {{small|(Hindi)}} | |||
}} | |||
|launch_date = December 2014 | |||
|alexa = {{plainlist| | |||
* 14,316 (Global, {{as of|2020|3|19|alt=March 2020}}) | |||
* 1,135 (India, {{as of|2020|3|19|alt=March 2020}})<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=19 March 2020|title=opindia.com Competitive Analysis, Marketing Mix and Traffic|url=https://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/opindia.com|website=]}}</ref> | |||
}} | |||
}} | |||
{{Islamophobia|expanded=Media}} | |||
'''OpIndia''' is an Indian ]{{refn|{{r|JIIC|p=166}}<ref name="IJNE" /><ref>{{cite web|accessdate=21 April 2020|title=Jamia Millia Shooting: Making of a Hindutva Terrorist|url=https://thediplomat.com/2020/02/jamia-millia-shootout-making-of-a-hindutva-terrorist/|website=]|first=Soma|last=Bosu|date=3 February 2020}}</ref><ref name="Bhushan" /><ref name="ET IFCN" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theprint.in/politics/bjp-supporters-have-a-secret-weapon-in-their-online-poll-campaign-satire/232321/|title=BJP supporters have a secret weapon in their online poll campaign — satire|last=Mihindukulasuriya|first=Regina|date=8 May 2019|website=]|language=en-US|url-status=live|access-date=10 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/others/sunday-read/the-troll-who-turned/articleshow/64618891.cms|title=The troll who turned|last=Ghosh|first=Labonita|date=17 June 2018|website=]|language=en|url-status=live|access-date=10 November 2019}}</ref><ref name="Manish" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Chaturvedi|first=Swati|author-link=Swati Chaturvedi|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=NK5oDwAAQBAJ|title=I Am a Troll: Inside the Secret World of the BJP's Digital Army|date=2016|publisher=]|isbn=9789386228093|location=|pages=11, 23|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Tables Turn" /><ref>{{cite web|first1=Harish|last1=Pullanoor|accessdate=20 March 2020|title=After Pulwama attack, Indians vent their anger at Pakistan, ethnic Kashmiris, and media|url=https://qz.com/india/1552829/after-pulwama-attack-indians-vent-their-anger-at-pakistan-ethnic-kashmiris-and-media/|website=]|date=17 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="FPJ sacrifice" />}} ] founded in 2014 by Rahul Raj and Kumar Kamal.<ref name="Bhushan">{{Cite news|last=Bhushan|first=Sandeep|url=https://thewire.in/media/arnabs-republic-modis-ideology|title=Arnab’s Republic, Modi’s Ideology|date=25 January 2017|work=]|access-date=4 June 2020}}</ref> The website has published ]{{refn|name=Fake news|<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.altnews.in/search/OpIndia|title=Search results for OpIndia|website=]|language=en-GB|access-date=16 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200316032246/https://www.altnews.in/search/OpIndia|archive-date=16 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.boomlive.in/search?search=OpIndia|title=Search results for OpIndia|website=Boom|access-date=16 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200316032306/https://www.boomlive.in/search?search=OpIndia|archive-date=16 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/duty-identity-credibility.pdf|title=Duty, Identity, Credibility: 'Fake News' and the ordinary citizen in India|first1=Santanu|last1=Chakrabarti|first2=Lucile|last2=Stengel|first3=Sapna|last3=Solanki|date=20 November 2018|publisher=]|accessdate=10 November 2019|pages=87-88}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1418915|title=Digital death|last=Khuhro|first=Zarrar|date=9 July 2018|website=]|language=en|access-date=10 November 2019}}</ref><ref name="Newslaundry January 2020" /><ref name="Newslaundry June 2020" /><ref name="Wire sacrifice" />}} and ]<ref name="Newslaundry June 2020" /> commentary on multiple occasions, including a 2020 incident in which it falsely claimed that a ] boy was ] in a ] ].{{refn|<ref name="Wire sacrifice" /><ref name="Quint sacrifice" /><ref name="Alt News sacrifice" /><ref name="Newslaundry sacrifice" />}} | |||
OpIndia is dedicated to criticism of what it considers "] media".<ref name="IJNE" /> According to ] researchers, OpIndia has ] journalists it deems opposed to the ] (BJP) and has alleged ] against Hindus and the BJP.{{r|JIIC}} In 2019, the ] (IFCN) rejected OpIndia's application to be certified as a ].<ref name="IFCN" /> IFCN-certified fact checkers identified 25 fake news stories and 14 misreported stories published by OpIndia from January 2018 to June 2020.<ref name="Newslaundry June 2020" /> | |||
The website is owned by Aadhyaasi Media and Content Services, a former ] of the parent company of the right-wing{{r|JIIC|p=167}}<ref name="IJNE" /> magazine '']''. The current CEO of OpIndia is ], and the current editors are Nupur J Sharma (English) and Ajit Bharti (Hindi). | |||
== History == | |||
] | |||
OpIndia was founded in December 2014<ref name="IJNE">{{cite book|first1=Kalyani|last1=Chadha|first2=Prashanth|last2=Bhat|editor-first=Shakuntala|editor-last=Rao|title=Indian Journalism in a New Era: Changes, Challenges, and Perspectives|chapter=The media are biased: Exploring online right wing responses to mainstream news media in India|chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322277601_The_media_are_biased_Exploring_online_right_wing_responses_to_mainstream_news_media_in_India|date=14 February 2019|isbn=9780199490820|pages=115–140|publisher=]|via=]|accessdate=12 May 2020}}</ref> by Rahul Raj and Kumar Kamal as a current affairs and news website. OpIndia is owned by Aadhyaasi Media and Content Services, a ].<ref name="Newslaundry June 2020">{{cite web|first1=Ayush|last1=Tiwari|accessdate=27 June 2020|title=OpIndia: Hate speech, vanishing advertisers, and an undisclosed BJP connection|url=https://www.newslaundry.com/2020/06/23/opindia-hate-speech-vanishing-advertisers-and-an-undisclosed-bjp-connection|website=]|date=23 June 2020}}</ref> In October 2016, Aadhyaasi Media was acquired by Kovai Media Private Limited, a ]-based company that also owns the ]{{r|JIIC|p=167}}<ref name="IJNE" /> magazine ''].''<ref name="Tables Turn" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/right-vs-wrong-arundhati-roy-mohandas-pai-funding-fake-news-busters-118040600594_1.html|title=Right vs Wrong: Arundhati Roy, Mohandas Pai funding fake news busters|last=Manish|first=Sai|date=7 April 2018|work=]|access-date=10 November 2019}}</ref> Kovai Media's most prominent investors were former ] executives ] (three percent ownership) and ] (two percent ownership). Kovai Media retained ownership of Aadhyaasi Media until July 2018.<ref name="Newslaundry June 2020" /> | |||
Raj left OpIndia over a disagreement with the site's editorial stance.<ref name="Tables Turn">{{cite web|accessdate=19 March 2020|title=Tables Turn on Twitter's Hindutva Warriors, and It's the BJP Doing the Strong-Arming|first=Aleesha|last=Matharu|url=https://thewire.in/media/twitter-handles-bjp-free-speech-right-wing-media|website=]}}</ref> OpIndia and Aadhyaasi Media separated from Kovai Media in November 2018.<ref name="Newslaundry June 2020" /> ] was appointed the CEO of OpIndia,<ref>{{cite web |title=OpIndia CEO Rahul Roushan calls for mob violence, deletes tweet|url=https://www.altnews.in/opindia-ceo-rahul-roushan-calls-for-largescale-mindless-violence-deletes-tweet/|date=17 February 2019|accessdate=18 March 2020|website=]}}</ref> and Nupur J Sharma became the editor.<ref name=":2" /> Roushan and Sharma each owned half of Aadhyaasi Media after the transition. In January 2019, Aadhyaasi Media was acquired by Kaut Concepts Management Pvt Ltd, which gained 98 percent ownership of Aadhyaasi Media and left Roushan and Sharma with one percent each. Kaut Concepts has a 26 percent stake in TFI Media Pvt Ltd, the operator of ''TFIpost''—a ] website also known as ''The Frustrated Indian'', and is directed by Ashok Kumar Gupta, who is associated with the ] and campaigns for the ] (BJP). Aadhyaasi Media's directors are Sharma, Gupta, and Roushan's wife, Shaili Raval.<ref name="Newslaundry June 2020" /> | |||
In the 2018–2019 financial year, Aadhyaasi Media reported {{INRConvert|1|m}} in profit.<ref name="Newslaundry June 2020" /> | |||
== Content == | |||
OpIndia solely denounces what it describes as "] media".<ref name="IJNE" /> In an analysis of the 284 articles published by OpIndia in 2018, ] researchers Prashanth Bhat and Kalyani Chadha identified five recurring patterns in OpIndia's content:<ref name="JIIC">{{cite journal |last1=Bhat |first1=Prashanth |last2=Chadha |first2=Kalyani |title=Anti-media populism: Expressions of media distrust by right-wing media in India |journal=Journal of International and Intercultural Communication |date=31 March 2020 |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=166–182 |doi=10.1080/17513057.2020.1739320 |publisher=]|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17513057.2020.1739320|accessdate=21 June 2020|doi-access=free }}</ref> | |||
# ''Portraying mistakes as ]:'' OpIndia has provided coverage of "misquoted statements, incorrect headlines, or errors" in various ] outlets, including ], ], and ], and claimed them to be "fake news". After the outlets published corrections, OpIndia continued to allege that the errors were intentional. According to Bhat and Chadha, the rhetoric employed by OpIndia is similar to the strategies used by European ] publications that aim to engender distrust in the mainstream media.{{r|JIIC|p=170–171}} | |||
# ''] journalists:'' OpIndia has attacked the "professional ]" of specific mainstream media journalists that the website believes to be opposed to the ruling BJP, including journalists from '']'', '']'', NDTV, and '']''. OpIndia has accused these journalists of ], ], ], "malicious editing", and other forms of unethical behavior. Some stories in this category were obtained by monitoring the journalists' ] accounts for "inconsistencies or contradictions". Bhat and Chadha compared OpIndia's method of attacking journalists to practices used by American right-wing publications.{{r|JIIC|p=171–172}} | |||
# ''Alleging partisanship:'' OpIndia has alleged the existence of a "news media conspiracy" in which mainstream media outlets are biased against the ruling BJP and India itself, and favourable of the opposition ] (INC), which the website considered part of the "]". OpIndia claimed that the media produced too little coverage of the INC's use of ], while providing too much coverage of the BJP's handling of the ]. English-language outlets are the primary targets of OpIndia's criticism.{{r|JIIC|p=172–173}} | |||
# ''Amplifying criticism:'' OpIndia has regularly featured stories in which celebrities and public officials criticised mainstream media outlets, and reports in which the outlets apologised to critics. In these stories, OpIndia accused journalists of various faults, including "insensitivity and irresponsibility", misinformation, publishing sensitive information, and compromising "national security". In one story, OpIndia covered the ]'s criticism of journalist ], then played down the Minister's correction after the situation was revealed to be a "misunderstanding".{{r|JIIC|p=173–174}} | |||
# ''Alleging bias against India and ]s:'' OpIndia has accused Indian publications of having a ] ] and of publishing stories that are "anti-India", particularly regarding ]. The website published allegations that mainstream media outlets were "anti-Hindu", including in rebukes of ] and ] for covering ] tips and ] bans around ]. Bhat and Chadha wrote that OpIndia's portrayal of the mainstream media as "pro-minority and anti-majority" is in line with the narratives communicated through Norwegian and German right-wing websites, and that the Diwali accusations resemble the "]" allegations published by American right-wing outlets.{{r|JIIC|p=174–176}} | |||
Raj, in 2014, intended for OpIndia to combat ] and distinguish "what is being reported" from "what the facts are".<ref name="Newslaundry June 2020" /> In 2018, Sharma stated that OpIndia is openly right-leaning and does not claim to be ideologically neutral.<ref name="Manish">{{Cite web|url=https://www.rediff.com/news/special/busting-fake-news-who-funds-whom/20180408.htm|title=Busting fake news: Who funds whom?|first=Sai|last=Manish|date=8 April 2018|website=]|language=en|access-date=3 March 2020|via=]}}</ref> Sharma described OpIndia's dislike of ] ideas as the website's "] positions on the basis of which we operate" in 2019.<ref name="ET IFCN" /> As of June 2020, OpIndia declares on its website that it aims to produce content "that is free from the burden of liberal bias and ]".<ref name="Newslaundry June 2020" /> The site accepts article contributions from its readers.<ref name="IJNE" /> | |||
] certified by the ]'s International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), including ] and Boom, have identified multiple instances in which OpIndia has published fake news.<ref name="Fake news" /> According to a '']'' data compilation, OpIndia published 25 fake news stories and 14 misreported stories between January 2018 and June 2020 that were fact-checked by other organisations. False reports on OpIndia frequently criticise ].<ref name="Newslaundry June 2020" /> ''Newslaundry'' found 28 articles on OpIndia released from 15–29 November 2019 with headlines that explicitly named Muslims as perpetrators of various crimes. A writer who left OpIndia due to this trend told ''Newslaundry'', "If the accused in an incident belongs to the Muslim community, then you have to mention his name in the heading. The news is to be published in such a way that if the reader is a Hindu, then he starts developing hatred for Muslims."<ref name="Newslaundry January 2020">{{cite news|url=https://www.newslaundry.com/2020/01/03/fake-news-lies-muslim-bashing-and-ravish-kumar-inside-opindias-harrowing-world|title=Fake news, lies, Muslim bashing, and Ravish Kumar: Inside OpIndia's harrowing world|last=Kumar|first=Basant|date=3 January 2020|work=]|accessdate=3 January 2020|language=en-UK}}</ref> | |||
=== Bihar human sacrifice claims === | |||
] claims.<ref name="Wire sacrifice" /> The ] was later revised.<ref name="Quint sacrifice" />]] | |||
Between 9–14 May 2020, OpIndia published a series of seven articles (one in English and six in Hindi)<ref name="Wire sacrifice">{{cite web|accessdate=20 May 2020|title=Bihar: Case Against Rightwing Sites For Fake Claims of Communal Angle in Minor’s Murder|url=https://thewire.in/communalism/bihar-opindia-khabartak-minor-murder-muslims|website=]|date=15 May 2020|first=Mahtab|last=Alam}}</ref> falsely claiming that Rohit Jaiswal, a Hindu boy, was ] in a ] in Bela Dih – a village in ], ], ] – after which his ] in a river on 28 March.<ref name="Quint sacrifice">{{cite web|accessdate=20 May 2020|title=Hindu ‘Sacrificed’ in Bihar Mosque? Family Says Nobody Witnessed|url=https://www.thequint.com/news/india/bihar-gopalganj-case-minor-hindu-boy-sacrificed-in-mosque-family-says-nobody-witnessed|date=18 May 2020|website=]|first=Divya|last=Chandra}}</ref> In the articles, OpIndia alleged that the suspected perpetrators were "all Muslims".<ref name="Quint sacrifice" /> One of the articles asserted, "A new mosque had been built in the village and it is being alleged that there was a belief that if a Hindu was 'sacrificed', the mosque would become powerful and its influence would increase."<ref name="Quint sacrifice" /><ref name="Alt News sacrifice">{{cite web|accessdate=20 May 2020|title=Gopalganj case: Boy drowns in river, OpIndia claims he was sacrificed in a mosque|url=http://www.altnews.in/gopalganj-boy-drowned-in-river-opindia-falsely-claimed-that-minor-hindu-boy-sacrificed-by-mosque/|date=17 May 2020|website=]|first1=Priyanka|last1=Jha|first2=Pratik|last2=Sinha}}</ref> The stories were accompanied with videos of Jaiswal's sister and father, in which neither of them mentioned a sacrifice or mosque.<ref name="Alt News sacrifice" /> | |||
Jaiswal's ] report indicated that his cause of death was "] due to ]".<ref name="Alt News sacrifice" /><ref name="Newslaundry sacrifice">{{cite web|first1=Basant|last1=Kumar|accessdate=20 May 2020|title=‘Human sacrifice in mosque’: How OpIndia communalised a Bihar boy’s death|url=https://www.newslaundry.com/2020/05/19/human-sacrifice-in-mosque-how-opindia-communalised-a-bihar-boys-death|website=]|date=19 May 2020}}</ref> Local residents in the village, including Jaiswal's mother, declined to corroborate the human sacrifice claims,<ref name="Quint sacrifice" /><ref name="Alt News sacrifice" /> and a local journalist said that the village did not have a new mosque.<ref name="Quint sacrifice" /> The ] (FIR) filed by the father on 29 March listed six suspects (five Muslim boys and one Hindu boy)<ref name="Wire sacrifice" /> and did not reference a sacrifice or mosque.<ref name="Alt News sacrifice" /><ref name="Newslaundry sacrifice" /> OpIndia later released an audio recording of its interview with Jaiswal's father, in which he claimed that Jaiswal was murdered in a mosque. In a follow-up interview with ''Newslaundry'', the father retracted the claim and said that he made the accusations in "sheer frustration" of the attention around Jaiswal's death. After ''Newslaundry'' interviewed Ajit Bharti, the editor of OpIndia Hindi, OpIndia deleted the word "all" from the phrase "all Muslims" in its description of the suspected perpetrators.<ref name="Newslaundry sacrifice" /> | |||
Vijay Kumar Verma, a ] of ], disclosed on 14 May that he had filed an FIR against OpIndia under Section 67 (]) of the ] and ] (inciting religious outrage) of the ] for its reporting of the false human sacrifice claims.<ref name="FPJ sacrifice">{{cite web|accessdate=17 June 2020|title=Why Bihar Police filed an FIR against OpIndia and other right-wing website over minor's death|url=https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/why-bihar-police-filed-an-fir-against-opindia-and-other-right-wing-website-against-minors-death|website=]|date=17 May 2020}}</ref><ref name="Wire sacrifice" /><ref name="Quint sacrifice" /> The FIR stated that OpIndia published the claims "without knowing or understanding the case".<ref name="Alt News sacrifice" /> On 17 May, the ] of Bihar Police, ], examined the drowning incident and found no evidence supporting the human sacrifice claims or the suspicion of ] behind the death.<ref name="Quint sacrifice" /><ref name="Alt News sacrifice" /><ref name="Newslaundry sacrifice" /> | |||
== Reception == | |||
In March 2019, the IFCN rejected OpIndia's application to be certified as a fact checker.<ref name="ET IFCN">{{Cite news|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/can-fact-checking-emerge-as-big-and-viable-business/articleshow/69210719.cms|title=Can fact-checking emerge as big and viable business?|last=Ananth|first=Venkat|date=7 May 2019|work=]|access-date=10 November 2019}}</ref> While noting partial compliance on a number of categories, the IFCN rejected the application on grounds of political partisanship and lack of transparency, and raised concerns over questionable fact-checking methodologies.<ref name="IFCN">{{Cite web|url=https://ifcncodeofprinciples.poynter.org/application/public/opindiacom/EED18C9F-C8B2-258A-BB43-7E90FA57C26C|title=OpIndia.com: Conclusions and recommendations|last=Kaur|first=Kanchan|date=11 February 2019|website=]|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190310013235/https://ifcncodeofprinciples.poynter.org/application/public/opindiacom/EED18C9F-C8B2-258A-BB43-7E90FA57C26C|archive-date=10 March 2019|access-date=12 December 2019}}</ref> The rejection disqualified OpIndia from fact-checking contracts with web properties owned by ] and ]. In response, Sharma criticised the IFCN assessment and urged for acceptance of outlets with "declared ideological leanings".<ref name="ET IFCN" /> | |||
After co-founder Raj departed OpIndia, he described the website as a "blind mouthpiece" of the BJP on ] in August 2019.<ref name="Newslaundry June 2020" /> Raj criticised Sharma, alleging that she and others "started as ]" and "abuse and ] when questioned".<ref name="Tables Turn" /> OpIndia was blacklisted from ] in 2020 alongside ''Swarajya'' and ''TFIpost''.<ref name="Newslaundry June 2020" /> | |||
], a British ] campaign, urged organisations to withdraw their advertising from OpIndia in May 2020 after the website published an article asserting that businesses should be able to declare that they do not hire Muslims. The head of the campaign, Richard Wilson, said that "OpIndia is becoming internationally notorious for its hateful and discriminatory coverage" and that the campaign has "rarely seen such overt advocacy of discrimination on religious grounds". Over 20 organisations,<ref name="Newslaundry June 2020" /> including advertising network ], video streaming service ], personal care brand ], and the ], ceased advertising on OpIndia as a result of the campaign. Sharma responded that she would "stand by our article and our content 100%" and that OpIndia would "never alter its core belief system or content".<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=4 June 2020|title=MUBI, other brands drop advertisements from OpIndia following 'Stop Funding Hate' campaign|url=https://scroll.in/latest/963320/mubi-other-brands-drop-advertisements-from-opindia-following-stop-funding-hate-campaign|website=]|date=30 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|accessdate=4 June 2020|title=OpIndia Loses Ads After UK-Based 'Stop Funding Hate' Campaign|url=https://www.thequint.com/news/webqoof/opindia-loses-ads-after-uk-based-stop-funding-hate-campaign|date=29 May 2020|website=]|first=Kritika|last=Goel}}</ref> Roushan stated that advertisements constitute a minority of OpIndia's revenue, and that OpIndia received a "700% jump" in donations during the campaign.<ref name="Newslaundry June 2020" /> | |||
== See also == | |||
* ] | |||
==References== | |||
{{reflist}} | |||
== External links == | |||
* {{Official website|https://www.opindia.com/about/}} | |||
] | ] |
Revision as of 06:55, 19 August 2020
#VandaliseLeftistWiki