PM Modi "Press Freedom Predator", Riding On National Populism and Disinformation: RSF Jul 6, 2021 https://youtu.be/ceeZCYKKVk8?t=98
From 2016 onwards India has consistently slid down on the World Press Freedom Index. Currently, it is at 142nd rank. which is same as last year. But that makes us country in the ranks with Pakistan and Bangladesh etc in terms of Press Freedom index. Even Nepal and Bhutan have better ranking than India. This report By Reporters Without Borders, a media watchdog said that India shares the “bad” classification with Brazil, Mexico and Russia.
Now Reporters Without Borders, has published another report in which it has listed leaders from around the world who are classified as “press freedom predators”. And the report has also named Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in its list of 37 heads of states who have astronomically suppressed Press Freedom in their respective countries.
French media watchdog lists Modi as ‘predator of press freedom’, govt rubbishes it as ‘baseless’ https://theprint.in/india/french-media-watchdog-lists-modi-as-predator-of-press-freedom-govt-rubbishes-it-as-baseless/690574/
International non-profit Reporters Without Borders alleges Modi preys on the press by using a method based on national populism and disinformation.
Kanchan Gupta, senior advisor in the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, rubbished the report, calling it “fact-free” and “baseless”.
“A report is framed on the basis of facts and figures. A fact-free, broad-brush labelling of the elected Prime Minister of the world’s largest democracy as a ‘tyrant’ and baselessly accusing him of ‘divisive disinformation’, is at best an ill-informed opinion beneath contempt,” he told ThePrint when reached for comment. “…at worst, it’s a malicious and malevolent targeted attack not only on the Prime Minister of India but also on the country’s established political process as well as its sovereign laws. Media freedom is hale and hearty in India and does not require any intervention by an agenda-driven foreign NGO,” Gupta added.
A 'predator' with an 'insidious strategy': Narendra Modi figures on RSF's list of 'press freedom predators' https://www.newslaundry.com/2021/07/06/a-predator-with-an-insidious-strategy-narendra-modi-figures-on-rsfs-list-of-press-freedom-predators 06 Jul, 2021
Describing Modi's methodology, the report claimed that he floods mainstream media "with speeches and information tending to legitimise his national-populist ideology" and pushes forward the discourse of “media against journalism”.
The report continued: “On the one hand, by visibly ingratiating himself with the owners of leading media outlets, their journalists know they risk dismissal if they criticise the government. On the other, prominent coverage of his extremely divisive and derogatory speeches, which often constitute disinformation, enables the media to achieve record audience levels.”
Furthermore, Reporters Without Borders' report talked about the tools that Modi employs to enforce his control which include judicial provisions, such as the vague charge of sedition, and an army of online trolls that “wage appalling hate campaigns on social media against the journalists they don’t like.”