Reporters Without Borders claims OpIndia has key role in discrediting independent media in India
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International press freedom organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has accused right-wing media platform OpIndia of repeatedly targeting independent journalism and contributing significantly to efforts to undermine credible news outlets in India.
In a report released by the Paris-based NGO, which works to protect freedom of information, RSF said that between 2023 and 2025, OpIndia published more than 300 articles aimed at journalists. It noted that these pieces often triggered or intensified coordinated online harassment campaigns.
RSF in a statement has asked Indian prosecutors to initiate an investigation into what it described as cyber harassment linked to these publications. The organisation also called for stronger regulation of online information platforms and demanded an end to OpIndia’s advertising revenue through Google AdSense.
According to the findings, OpIndia—founded in 2014 and described by RSF as closely aligned with Hindutva ideology—published at least 314 articles over the past two years that specifically singled out journalists, Maktoob Media reported.
The report identified several journalists as frequent targets, including India Today consultant editor and anchor Rajdeep Sardesai, who featured in 36 articles; The Wire journalist Arfa Khanum Sherwani, named in 18; Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair, cited in 15; and The Hindu’s Mahesh Langa, mentioned in 13. It added that independent journalist Ravish Kumar, Washington Post columnist Rana Ayyub, and Newsclick editor Prabir Purkayastha were also repeatedly targeted.
RSF said that journalists working for international media organisations were also among those targeted, naming The Guardian correspondent Hannah Ellis-Petersen and ABC News journalist Avani Dias.
In a statement, RSF editorial director Anne Bocandé described OpIndia as playing a key role in what she called the systematic harassment of journalists in India, warning that such campaigns expose reporters to serious risks. She said RSF was urging the Indian justice system to probe the cyber harassment linked to the platform’s publications. Bocandé also stressed that online platforms, particularly X, should take responsibility for removing hateful content that fuels these attacks. She added that Google AdSense continuing to fund the website appeared incompatible with its conduct and argued that tackling online harassment was essential to safeguarding journalists and press freedom in India.
The report said RSF analysed content published during the period that targeted five journalists in particular—Arfa Khanum Sherwani, Mohammed Zubair, Rajdeep Sardesai, Ravish Kumar and Rana Ayyub—and found that 32 of the 43 articles examined were followed by spikes in online harassment against them. According to RSF, these campaigns involved roughly a dozen accounts that frequently amplified OpIndia’s content, including several accounts followed by the site’s administrators.
RSF noted that in some instances, the publication of hostile content coincided with coordinated harassment efforts organised through Telegram groups linked to Hindu supremacist networks. It said it had identified one public group with around 30,000 members that explicitly called for harassment of journalists, along with three other public groups that regularly circulated hostile posts during such campaigns.
The organisation further observed that trolling and cyber attacks tended to rise sharply after OpIndia published articles targeting journalists. As an example, RSF cited an incident from June 2025 involving Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair, who was targeted after an online outlet accused him of “Hinduphobia” for drawing attention to an old tweet in which he had shared a cartoon of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
According to the report, OpIndia’s account on X reshared the article targeting Zubair three times between June 20 and 21, with each repost followed by a fresh wave of coordinated attacks. RSF said that while about 762 posts mentioning Zubair were recorded in the 24 hours before OpIndia’s publication, the number surged to around 3,300 in the following 24 hours.
