Cherry-picked photos, misleading narratives: How Postcard News, India Today got it wrong
“See the difference…” said a post by Facebook page Postcard English which juxtaposed two photographs- one showed former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and the other showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The photographs were placed together and compared the attitude of the two Prime Ministers vis-a-vis athletes who were successful at the Commonwealth Games. Dr. Manmohan Singh can be seen sitting while posing for a photo with the athletes, whereas PM Modi can be seen standing and interacting with them while they are seated.
The post was uploaded on July 27, 2018 and has been shared over 4200 times till now. The implication of the post is clear- there is a sea of difference in the attitude and behaviour of the two Prime Ministers. While the former PM is seated, PM Modi engages with sportspersons.
Is there a difference?
Indeed there is, but not in the manner that Postcard News has claimed. The two photographs which have been juxtaposed represent athletes who were successful at two different events and not the Commonwealth Games as claimed by the post by Postcard News.
The athletes present in the picture taken with Dr. Singh are the medal winners of the 2012 Olympic games held in London. This photograph along with others can be accessed here in this article by Firstpost dated August 17, 2012.
(Medal winners of 2012 Olympics with Dr. Manmohan Singh)
As for the photograph of PM Modi seen interacting with athletes, it was clicked in April 2018 when the Prime Minister met athletes who were victorious at the Commonwealth Games held in Australia.
It is a boon for our country to have a Prime Minister in @narendramodi ji who believes in the power of sports to transform our nation.
— Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) April 30, 2018
I thank him again for showing belief and appreciation for our #CWG2018 stars. His words are a great motivation for every athlete. #KheloIndia pic.twitter.com/YvgD4Zh6tR
So, is there a difference in the way the two Prime Ministers and by extension, the two regimes in the manner in which athletes have been treated? The photographs comparing the two as posted by Postcard News are misleading. This is because PM Modi is seen seated in the presence of athletes on other occasions. For instance, when he met the medal winners of the Asian Games of 2014.
With our medal winning athletes. pic.twitter.com/RntpmE1v5f
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 14, 2014
On another occasion, PM Modi can be seen seated in the presence of athletes bound for the 2016 Olympics at Rio de Janeiro.
PM Modi with Olympics-bound athletes, 2016. (Image : Indian Express)
Meanwhile, there are photographs of Dr. Singh as well, seen interacting with athletes, like the photograph below taken in 2012. Cherry-picking images to drive home a certain narrative is misleading at the very least.
India Today goofs up
India Today attempted to ‘fact check’ this claim by Postcard News, but the move backfired when the news outlet ‘busted’ a claim that was absent in the first place. India Today in its article claimed that Postcard News had faked data ‘to show more sports medals during NDA rule than UPA’.
However, there was no data present in the post by Postcard News and the conjecture was arrived at on the basis of the juxtaposed photographs referred to in this article. India Today‘s goof-up did not go unnoticed and Postcard News hit back at the media organisation for what it claimed was a misrepresentation of the post and its intent.
Postcard News has been notorious for spreading misinformation in the garb of news and can neither absolve itself of its bigoted role or claim vindication on the basis of an incorrect fact-check. Two images were put together to create a false impression in favour of PM Modi. Political propaganda expectedly works on the basis of optics and for supporters of political parties on social media, such tactics have become par for the course.
courtesy : altnews.in
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Union government assumes full control over TV ratings, TRAI role curtailed: Report
New Delhi: The Union government has assumed full control over television audience measurement, removing the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) from oversight of the ratings system that underpins the country’s ₹36,000 crore television advertising market, according to a report published on Wednesday.
The report in Mint said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) now has exclusive authority over the framework governing how television ratings are measured and regulated. TRAI had been entrusted with oversight of TV ratings in 2012 during the UPA government’s tenure. TRAI is no longer mentioned in the relevant policy document, effectively vesting sole authority in the MIB.
The report said TRAI will continue to regulate other aspects of broadcasting, including channel pricing, advertising caps, interconnection and distribution norms, service quality and compliance standards. Its role in determining how ratings agencies track viewing behaviour has been withdrawn.
Television Rating Points (TRPs), which reflect viewership patterns, guide advertisers in deciding where to allocate spending across channels and time slots.
A government source quoted in the report said the ministry could modify TRAI’s decisions even when the regulator oversaw broadcasting.
A former CEO of Prasar Bharati told the newspaper that the MIB has historically regulated rating agencies through licensing and guidelines, and by holding them accountable under existing norms.
During its tenure overseeing ratings, TRAI had taken decisions affecting the broadcast sector, which included capping advertising time at 12 minutes per hour following complaints about excessive commercial breaks and it now remains unclear how these matters will be addressed under the revised arrangement.
Satya N. Gupta, former principal advisor at TRAI, was quoted as saying that merging regulatory functions with policy oversight and removing an independent regulator from the process was a retrograde step.
TRAI’s involvement in broadcasting had earlier attracted criticism as well. In 2012, its consultation paper on quantitative limits on television advertising was viewed by some as overlapping with the Advertising Standards Council of India’s code. Subsequent recommendations covering television audience measurement, ownership of news channels and issues such as paid news had also raised concerns among sections of the industry.
Television ratings have faced scrutiny in recent years, including during the controversy involving the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), where officials of the ratings body were prosecuted over allegations of manipulation of viewership data.
