Times Now censured, two Kannada channels fined over Tablighi Jamaat coverage
12:22PM Fri 18 Jun, 2021
On June 16 (Wednesday), the News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) censured English news channel Times Now and fined two Kannada channels — News 18 Kannada and Suvarna News — for their biased coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, in which ‘they had targeted members of Tablighi Jamaat as well as the Muslim community in 2020. NBSA, an independent body set up by the News Broadcasters Association (an association of news television broadcasters), has taken the action based on complaints filed by Bengaluru-based Campaign Against Hate Speech (CAHS) in 2020.
The campaign, which is run by a group of activists, parents, lawyers, and academicians to hold the media accountable, had moved the NBSA against these channels for the hateful coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. News18 Kannada has been fined Rs 1 lakh, which has to be paid to the News Broadcasters Association within seven days of the receipt of the order, for violating the Code of Ethics and Broadcasting Standards as well as Principles of Self Regulation relating to impartiality and objectivity under the NBSA.