Zee News, Times Now Navbharat violated ethics code over anti-Muslim coverage: NBDSA
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India’s self-regulatory body for news has found Zee News and Times Now Navbharat guilty of breaching its Code of Ethics by airing Islamophobic and misleading content promoting conspiracy theories such as “Mehendi Jihad” and “Love Jihad.”
The News Broadcasting & Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) issued separate rulings in response to complaints filed last year by journalist and media researcher Indrajeet Ghorpade, who accused the channels of spreading anti-Muslim hate speech and misinformation.
In one of the orders, the NBDSA concluded that Zee News violated ethical standards through a series of reports claiming that Muslim men disguised as mehendi (henna) artists were allegedly attempting to convert Hindu women.
The channel aired multiple segments with provocative headlines, including references to “Mehendi Jihad,” and broadcast allegations with headlines such as “Mehendi Jihad par de dana-dan” and “Lathi se lais rahenge, jihadiyon ko rokenge,” that Muslim artists spat into mehendi before applying it, using their profession to lure women into conversion, Maktoob Media reported.
According to Ghorpade, the channel not only amplified inflammatory anti-Muslim slogans but also promoted calls to boycott Muslim mehendi artists without verifying the claims or presenting counterviews.
He criticised the NBDSA’s response, noting that despite the channel promoting violent threats against Muslim artists, the authority issued only an admonition and ordered the videos to be removed—more than a year after they were first aired on television and shared online.
He further pointed out that while the NBDSA has the authority to impose penalties ranging from ₹2 lakh to ₹25 lakh, it chose not to do so, which, in his view, leaves little deterrence for channels engaging in divisive content.
In an another case, the NBDSA concluded that Times Now Navbharat violated the Code of Ethics in its coverage of a controversial "Love Jihad" case in Uttar Pradesh. The channel showed claims that echoed a judgement by Bareilly District Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar, who sentenced a Muslim man, Mohammed Aalim, to life in prison for allegedly forcing a Hindu woman to convert to Islam.
The woman then told the court that her parents and Hindu right-wing groups forced her into filing a bogus complaint, which the channel did not mention.
