The moans strikes the sensual note, action gains pace, and the viewers are ushered into the world of perverted sexual fantasies. The innumerable videos, snaps and stories with contrasting tags featuring diverse cultures, locations and techniques keeps frail human beings coming back for more. Concealing the reality, do try this at home is the message put across resulting in abject disappointment in real life. Shelving the responsible, constructive reporting of reality and banking on ‘exclusive’, ‘sensational’ and potentially viral news, the media houses have wholeheartedly imbibed the porn philosophy and are playing it for the senses. With TRP’s in mind, the directives to the Gutkha chewing local reporter to the cleavage showing news reader is straight and clear, “abeeyar sensational bana de.” The internet censorship fiasco is a classical example of irresponsible journalism placing media ethics in back burner. The epicenter of this news was from New York Times’ India Ink report which led to strong tremors being felt all over India.
Off late the craving for sensationalism has landed many journalists in hot soup. Vir Sanghvi and Barkha Dutt had to make lot of explanations to defend themselves regarding their relationship with Nira Radia. Jigna Vora went a step ahead to finish off her rival crime reporter J Dey to rein as the exclusive reporting queen of Mumbai underworld. The media journos stack up the news gained from the ‘sources’ and sieve the necessary facts and figure out to highlight the trivial issues which has the potential to go viral and create a controversy. This was what exactly happened with the Internet Censorship news that spread far and wide.
You may not find Kapil Sibal, one of the leading lawyers in the country and above all the minister of Communication and Information Technology constantly tweeting or updating facebook status messages but the knee jerk reaction to brand him #IdiotKapilSibal and make it trend on twitter defied logic. The ‘Breaking News’ loving aam janta in the local tea shops and the ‘High Profile’ Janta in the internet accentuated the fear mongering and ridiculed the attempt to sensor internet. Comparisons were drawn between UPA and communist dictators in China. Twitter, Blogger and Discussion forums were kept busy fantasying on ‘what’, ‘how’ and ‘why’ of censorship. The idea starving columnists jumped in the fray with harsh criticisms and tech writers pointed the folly in prescreening the content. Some Twiteratti went to the extent of typing #IdiotKapilSibal till the 140 world limit was over and challenged the Government to block his/her account!!
The sane voices who really understood what Kapil Sibal meant were sidelined and were branded as Congress Spokespersons and Trolls. One of them who had to bear the blunt was Shashi Tharoor whose excellent article titled Virtual Reality clearly brought to light the folly of the whole drama which was being played out in Televisions, Newspapers and Social media. As Tharoor rightly stated, “But publishing or circulating inflammatory material to incite communal feelings is akin to dropping a lighted match at a petrol pump. No society can afford to tolerate it, and no responsible government of India would allow it.”
Once the news is flashed, the analysis, discussion and verdict is declared within hours in the news rooms according to the prejudged norms of the news editors. The response of the person in questions is interpreted and manipulated to sync with the conclusions already drawn up. I would first place the blame on the India Ink who drafted the news and colored it with sensationalism and the other media housed who should have dared to state the truth rather than fanning the outrage.
While the whole attempt to meet the representatives of Internet sites were to take quick action when they know about the inflammatory content hurting religious feelings and also obscene and defamatory content has gone online, the whole attempt was hijacked by this line from the India Ink news report, “At the meeting, Mr. Sibal showed attendees a Facebook page that maligned the Congress Party’s president, Sonia Gandhi”. Thus Heather Timmons, the author of this article watered down the whole purpose, giving arms and ammunitions to initiate the anti congress rants. Why should my ‘Freedom of Expression’ be blocked or screened to protect Sonia Gandhi? As Kapil Sibal rightly explained in the press conference, post the controversy, “ I suggested that these platforms must evolve a mechanism on their own to ensure that such contents are removed as soon as they got to know of it…I have told them that this cannot go on.” The objectionable contents were shown to the reporters and what found mention in the post press conference articles was ‘the doctored images of Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh’!!
In Devil’s Advocate when Kapil Sibal was asked by Karan Thapar, “Have you drawn the attention to The New York Times to the fact that they have published a story which you believe is inaccurate? Sibal answered, “Well, someone from The New York Times said we want to keep you on your toes.”! While India Ink dismissed stating that ‘the phrase “just trying to keep you on your toes,” was intended as a friendly nod to the fact that he may not have liked the story, but that nothing personal was meant by it.’ The re reading of the news report of India Ink clears our doubt that this was a planned move to fan up discussions on a touchy topic like internet censorship when the government of India had not planned such a move in their wildest of their dreams.
Freedom of Press and Freedom of Expression doesn’t mean the right to publish anything and everything. The editors guild who were unanimous in condemning the directives given by Justice Katju has to evolve some ways to rein in the pervert journalists who are addicted to the Porn Philosophy that conceals the reality and strive for Sensationalism. Misleading a nation by placing media ethics in back burner for the sake of TRPs is a heinous crime that begs for punishment. But who will act?