By Hazel Gandhi
The year 2023 was a busy one for the fake news industry - it led us fact-checkers at BOOM to write over a 1,000 fact-checks across three different languages. A closer look at our work revealed that 77 unique fact-checks were on false reporting, or misreporting, by news channels, news websites and wire agencies between January 1 to December 31, 2023.
Since 2020, BOOM has published an annual report all the fact-checks we did on false or misleading claims being spread by these media outlets, and the number has been steadily rising over the years. In 2020, as the world was gripped in a pandemic, we did 40 such fact-checks. The number fell to 27 in 2021, and rose sharply to 76 in 2022, while staying steady at 77 in 2023.
Through elections, Israel-Palestine war, violent riots in Manipur and the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup; one thing that remained common was Indian media misreporting news about the same.
We list out the details of how the media misreported and shared false news.
Which Media House Misreported The Most?
In 2023, out of the 77 fact checks, 62 were published by mainstream media through their own bylines. The remaining 15 are stories misreported by wire agencies and published by newsrooms as part of their syndicated feed.
In this, the three five spots were occupied by the News18 website, Times Now and Zee News. News18 and its regional language outlets were fact-checked the most this year, 21 times to be exact. Times Now and Zee News followed closely behind by being fact-checked 18 and 14 times respectively. In addition, the other habitual offenders include ABP news with 13 misreported stories, Hindustan Times with 11 and India Today with 10 stories where they reported false news.
Asian News International (ANI) remained the top wire agency in the media misreporting list with 8 instances of false news reported by them. The other wire agency in the list was the Press Trust International (PTI) with 4 misreported stories.
We also found that in several instances, media houses fell for fake news shared by right wing acocunt on X, like Megh Updates (@MeghUpdates), BALA (@erbmjha), Rishi Bagree (@rishibagree), The Right Wing Guy (@T_R_W_G), Kreately (@KreatelyMedia), Dr Nimo Yadav (@niiravmodi) and The Tatva (@thetatvaindia). Media outlets fell for at least nine tweets by MeghUpdates where the account shared false and unverified information.
BOOM fact-checked at least 12 news outlets more than five times this year. Other outlets including Times of India and ANI were fact-checked at least 8 times by BOOM. This year also saw a new entry into the list with The Indian Express being fact-checked for 4 instances of misreporting.
We also looked at instances where BOOMBangla and BOOMHindi fact checked Bangla and Hindi outlets and found that the top spots were occupied by Aaj Tak Bangla, News18 Bangla and Republic Bangla. In Hindi media, the most fact checked media outlets were Navbharat Times, IndiaTV, News18 Hindi and Sudarshan News.
Which Categories Did the Indian Media Fall For The Most?
An analysis of the total 77 fact-checks showed that the maximum instances of misreporting, happened around cricket especially about the ICC Men's ODI World Cup, the Indian Premier League (IPL) and individual cricketers. The launch of the Chandrayaan-3 brought accolades for India, but also saw its share of misreporting. International events like the Isarel-Palestine war, riots in France against police excess on minorities saw the Indian media go into an overdrive reporting false and unverified news.
BOOM also found that in 2023, several famous personalities including politicians, singers and actors were targets of misreporting by media outlets; including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
A new entry into the misreporting space was generative artificial intelligence content which saw several media houses fall for fake images and videos made using AI.
Also Read:2023 Review: Generative AI Amplifies Misinfo, Fraud, Deepfake Porn In India
We have compiled a list of top 10 fact checks from 2023 that show how media outlets spread, fell for misinformation and fake news and reported unverified information.
Fabricated News Supporting The Government
Media outlets: Economic Times, Times of India, Business Standard, Odisha TV, Lokmat, ABP, Jagran, Mint, CNBC TV 18, ANI, News18, India Today
Media outlets have over the last few years consistently increased positive one sided news supporting the ruling party Bharatiya Janata Party and its leader especially Prime Minister. This year we also saw media organsations fabricating and giving a pro-goverment spin to news stories especially international incidents like the Nobel Prize nominations.
1. False News of PM Modi Being a Contender for Nobel Peace Prize Widely Reported
News outlets falsely quoted Asle Toje, Deputy Leader of the Norwegian Nobel Committee to claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the BJP was the ‘biggest contender’ for the Nobel Peace Prize. BOOM found that Toje was never made such a statement but merely spoke about how all nations should strive to do the work that is required to be awarded the Prize. Read here.
2. News Outlets Falsely Claim District Renaming in Dubai Connected to India
ANI, News18, and India Today fell for fake news by a right wing X account, and published news that Dubai’s ruler, Shekih Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, was set to rename a district called ‘Al Minhad’ to ‘Hind City’ as an ode to India. BOOM reached out to the Dubai government’s media office who refuted the viral claim while explaining that Hind is an ancient Arabic word and the renaming did not reference India. Read here.
False and Communal Claims Against Muslims
Media outlets: ANI, WION, Zee News, India TV, Amar Ujala, Hindustan Times, DNA, ABP News, News24, Firstpost
The trend of news stories targetting Muslims and painting real incidents with a communal brush continued in 2023, as in the past few years. Incidents like two Manipur women being paraded nakes, murder of a policeperson and a curious case of locked graves were all given false communal spin targetting Muslims, by news outlets.
3. ANI Claims Man Arrested in Relation to Manipuri Women Being Paraded Naked Was Muslim
One of the most distressing visuals to come out of the ethnic clashes in Manipur was the viral video of two Kuki women being paraded naked in the Thoubal district. The incident initially took place in May, but legal action was taken only in July after the video began circulating online. Wire agency ANI was quick to give a communal colour to the disturbing act, claiming that the police arrested Muslim named Abdul Hilim for the crime. BOOM found that Hilim was arrested in Imphal for an unrelated case and his arrest was not related to the incident of women being paraded naked in Thoubal. ANI later retracted its post and put out an apology. Read here.
4. Image of a Locked Grave From Hyderabad Falsely Connected to Pakistan With Necrophilia Spin
News outlets reported on a viral image of a grave secured shut with a padlock, fgiving it a bizarre false claim that it was from Pakistan where parents were putting up locks on graves of their deceased daughters to them against necrophilia. BOOM found that the grave in the photo was in Hyderabad and that padlocked graves were a common practice in the area, to keep grave grabbing at bay. There was no reported complaints of necrophilia as claimed by news outlets. Read here.
Landmark Events In India Accompanied By Misinformation
Media outlets: India Today, Zee News, Times Now, News18, Indiatimes
The year past, was an eventful one for India, with the country hosting the G20 Leaders' Summit and men's ICC ODI World Cup. The Chandrayaan launch and elections in several states kept newsrooms busy with reporting. But with this also came, misreporting about the big events.
5. India Today, Zee News Falsely Claim Pop Singer Dua Lipa Was To Perform At ICC World Cup
While news of Dua Lipa performing at the ICC World Cup first started as 'chatter' on X, news outlets like India Today and Zee News gave it a verified stamp by publishing the news. Except that the news was never verified by the singer or the ICC. BOOM found that the source of the news was an interactive session between the musician and some of the cricket players where she replied to a hypothetical question with a list of songs she would choose if she were to perform in India. Read here.
6. Old Video Of ISRO Chairman Dancing Shared As Recent
Following Chandrayaan-3's landing on the moon's south pole, a video of ISRO's Chief S Somanath dancing at an event went viral online. It did not take long for news outlets like Times Now, News18, and Indiatimes to publish the video claiming Somanath broke into a dance step after the landing of Cahndrayaan-3. BOOM spoke to the journalist who had shot the video and found that it was an old video, shot at a different event, not related to celebrations post Chandrayaan-3's launch. Read here.
Misreporting Of International News
Media outlets: ANI, News18, IndiaTV, TV9 Bharatvarsh, Zee News, Live Hindustan
While Indian news outlets sent reporters to Israel to cover its ongoing war with Palestine and did extensive reporting on several other international events; some outlets also misreported or put out unverified reports about the India-Canada diplomatic row, the war in Gaza, riots in France, the earthquake in Turkey.
7. ANI Falsely Reports Canada Updated Its Travel Advisory Amid Khalistan Row
In September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of its involvement in the killing of Sikh-Canadian and pro-Khalistani citizen Hardeej Singh Nijjar; an allegation strongly denied by India. In the purview of this, ANI reported that Canada government updated its website, advising citizens to exercise caution while traveling in and to Jammu and Kashmir. BOOM found this news report was be misleading; and that the advisory existed long before India-Canada’s diplomatic row began and was not issued in connection to the Trudeau’s recent allegations. Read here.
8. News Outlets Air News False News That Saudi Arabia Banned Loudspeakers In Mosques During Ramzan
Several news channels carried false claims of Saudi Arabia banning the use of loudspeakers during the month of Ramzan. BOOM accessed the Saudi Arabian government's official guidelines for mosques during Ramzan and did not find any ban on loudspeakers. Further, we found that the government had merely restricted the number of loudspeakers to four per mosque, and had not entirely banned them. Read here.
Reporting AI Generated Images As Real
Media outlets: PTI, News18, Times Now Navbharat, India Today, Hindustan Times, The New Indian Express, Zee News, Republic TV
This year we got a glimpse of how generative artificial intelligence (AI) can be misused and used especially generate misinformation. While AI generated imagery were rampant on social media, news outlets also fell for the same and reported these as real.
9. AI-Generated Photo of Uttarakhand Tunnel Rescuers Shared As Real
In November, forty one workers were trapped inside Uttarakhand’s Silkyara tunnel for over two weeks with intense efforts made to rescue them, that lasted over 17 days. Post their rescue, an AI-generated photo of people that were dressed like the workers, posing with the Indian flag, went viral on social media. This was soon published as a real photo and included in wire agency PTI's syndicated feed leading to outlets like The New Indian Express, News18, India Today, Hindustan Times, and Loksatta carrying the same.
BOOM found that the photo was AI-generated and not real. Read here.
10. News Outlets Share AI-Generated Image of Pentagon Blast As Real
A hoax message about a blast near the Pentagon, the headquarters of the United States Department of Defence went viral after which several outlets including Zee News and Republic TV reported on the incident using a photo to lend authencity to the news. BOOM found that this photo was not real and created using AI. Additionally, the Fire Department of Arlington County in Virginia, where the Pentagon is located, also clarified that no such blast had occurred in the area. Read here.
