NBDSA censures Zee News for airing false news targeting Muslims

The News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) recently censured Zee News for airing misleading and communally sensitive content that relied on unverified material to falsely implicate Muslims.

In two separate orders dated May 19, NBDSA Chairperson Justice AK Sikri held that the broadcasts violated core principles of accuracy, verification and communal harmony.

It directed the removal of content in one case and issued a warning in another.

In one of the matters, the case arose from a broadcast on Zee News concerning an incident during the Kanwar Yatra (a Hindu pilgrimage done by Shiva devotees) in Delhi, where broken glass was found scattered on a road. According to the records, the incident had occurred after an e-rickshaw carrying glass panels was hit from behind, causing the glass to spill.

However, in a programme aired from July 13, 2025, the channel conducted a debate framing the incident as a possible deliberate conspiracy targeting Kanwar yatris. The broadcast featured leading and suggestive questions by the anchor, amplified claims made by certain participants, and aired unverified allegations that the act was intentional and linked to hostility against Hindu pilgrims.

The NBDSA found that the channel built a narrative based on speculation and political statements without independent verification. Observing the risks of such reporting, it said,

"In the absence of such verification of facts, it was highly improper for the news channel to conduct a debate that had the potential to stigmatise a community and create communal disharmony."

Zee News argued that it had later aired a clarification based on the Delhi police statement that there was no evidence of conspiracy. But NBDSA found this insufficient.

"While the broadcaster had submitted video clips of the clarifications it aired based on the statement made by the Delhi Police, those clarifications were less than a minute long and appeared to be lip service rather than corrective action, particularly given that the original broadcast lasted 55 minutes," it held.

The NBDSA further noted that the broadcast had used terms such as "jihadi action" to describe the incident, along with claims about spitting in food. This, the NBDSA said, amounted to linking the incident to a broader, unrelated and inflammatory allegations against the Muslim community.

It found that such language, coupled with stereotypical visuals like a man in a skullcap engaging in these acts, reinforced communal stereotypes and aggravated the misleading nature of the broadcast.

Holding that the programme violated guidelines on accuracy and racial and religious harmony, the NBDSA directed the channel to remove the broadcast from all platforms and issued a formal reprimand.

"In view of the above, NBDSA decided to admonish the broadcaster and directed it to be careful and avoid such violations in future broadcasts," it said.

In a separate order concerning a December 1, 2024 broadcast, NBDSA examined Zee News’ coverage of alleged attacks on Hindu temples in Bangladesh.

The complaint, Advocate Indrajeet Ghorpade, alleged that the channel had aired visuals of a deity being desecrated and attributed them to Bangladesh, while the footage was actually from West Bengal and was a traditional ritual.

Ghorpade submitted that the ritual involves a centuries-old practice in which an idol is ceremonially broken and immersed at periodic intervals as part of a local religious tradition, before a new idol is created.

The NBDSA recorded that the broadcaster failed to produce any material to substantiate its claim that the video was from Bangladesh. Accepting Ghorpade's version, it held that the visuals were misattributed and misleading.

Taking note that the video had already been removed by the channel, NBDSA issued a caution rather than a penalty.

"The broadcaster has violated the principle of Accuracy as enshrined in the Code of Conduct by airing unrelated visuals. Since the visuals have now been removed by the broadcaster of its own accord, treating it as a mitigating factor, NBDSA considers it appropriate to caution the broadcaster against reporting inaccurate news," it observed.

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