A day after a Marathi TV Channel reporter was arrested for “fake news” , the ministry of Information and Broadcasting served notice to a Kannada news channel Public TV Kannada for a news aired on one of its shows which said that government would airdrop currency from helicopters to help alienate the sufferings of migrants who were penniless and far from home.
The notice said – “On April 15 Public TV broadcast a “panel discussion” titled “HELICOPTER MONEY- will Modi throw from the helicopter? at 8.30 PM, which is false, mischievous, and deliberate. (It) clearly violates the Broadcasting Code and Rules. When the whole country is fighting the COVID-19, your channel, instead of creating awareness and educating the public, (is) spreading false information, creating panic and social unrest. In view of the above serious violation of Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 and Rules, you are hereby directed to show cause why your channel should not be taken out of air immediately.”
Additionally, PIB also tweeted saying the ‘government is going to do no such thing’.
A screenshot of a Public TV broadcast, with the ticker stating “Corona effect! Will Modi throw money from helicopters?” is doing the rounds on social media. In the screenshot, there is also an image of PM Modi surrounded by notes of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500.
However, a video titled ‘Helicopter Money’ uploaded on the Public TV YouTube channel, shows a serious discussion on the subject. It is unclear whether Public TV had other programmes on the topic and if it has taken down videos from its YouTube channel, in which they claimed blatantly that the government would throw money from helicopters.
Lately, fake news in the media, especially on regional channels which the majority of the population tunes in to, has caused serious concern. Besides Marathi TV ABP Majha stating that the government was arranging a train to ferry back people to their native places from Mumbai, the Hindi daily Live Hindustan yesterday carried a story which said the Railways was planning to resume normal services, just a day after the prime minister said all public transport would continue to be off until May 3.