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NBSA Slaps Rs 1 Lakh Fine on Aaj Tak for Telecasting Fake Tweets About Sushant’s Death

Underlining the importance of sensitivity while reporting suicides, NBSA directed Aaj Tak to air an apology for not conducting the “due diligence required prior to telecasting the tweets and attributing them to late Sushant Singh Rajput”

Clarion India

NEW DELHI — The News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA), an independent body of news channels mandated to hear complaints about broadcasts, has imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on Aaj Tak, a Delhi-based Hindi news channel, for telecasting fake tweets about death of the late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput (SSR).

NBSA is an autonomous body created by the National Broadcasting Association.

The October 6 order of NBSA said: “It has decided the fine of Rs 1,00,000 be imposed on the broadcaster (Aaj Tak ) payable to the News Broadcasters Association within seven days of receipt of this order.”

NBSA has also asked Aaj Tak and two more channels–Zee News and News 24–to air an apology. It also warned News Nation and ABP News, media watchdog Newslaundry said.

NBSA observed that the press ran a sensational campaign to gain TRPs while violating the right of “Death of Dignity” for the actor.

Underlining the importance of sensitivity while reporting suicides, NBSA directed Aaj Tak to air an apology for not conducting the “due diligence required prior to telecasting the tweets and attributing them to late Sushant Singh Rajput”.

The order also asks the broadcaster to remove the videos of such programmes if uploaded online.

The NBSA decision came months after complaints were lodged by six individuals regarding the media coverage of SSR’s alleged suicide.

An NBSA statement says the complaints stated that the media coverage of the suicide case was “abhorent, shameful, insensitive, anti-human rights, unprofessional and sensational”.

The death of the emerging actor reportedly by suicide became a national issue as news channels held noisy prime-time debates.

The issue took a political colour after politicians of national parties dished out accusatory statements. The supporters of BJP launched a campaign seeking action against those they alleged were responsible for SSR’s death.

His girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, also an actor, was subjected to 24×7 media witch-hunt with news anchors targeting and blaming her for “murder”. She has been accused of misusing Rajput’s money and being part of drug cartels to supply drugs to him. She was arrested after being questioned by the Enforcement Directorate and the Narcotics Agency

The family and media asked for a CBI probe into SSR’s death even as they accused the Mumbai police of bias. However, reportedly, the CBI probe is said to have found that Rajput died by suicide.

Political observers said that the media witch-hunt and social media campaigns were done by the BJP in Bihar, SSR’s home state, to derive political mileage ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.

The Bombay High Court on September 3 had reprimanded news channels for their coverage and directed them to show restraint in reporting the case. But, a week later, the court expressed surprise over the lack of state control on electronic media as the sensationalism went on unabated.

Interestingly, only a few days ago, Rajdeep Sardesai, news anchor of India Today, the English news channel of Aaj Tak, had called out Arnab Goswami of Republic TV for the channel’s coverage of the SSR suicide case, saying Goswami was running a ‘Banana Republic channel’.

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