‘Don’t trust forwarded news on WhatsApp blindly; they are fake’

With the support and blessings of Mrs Sushma Paul Berlia, the honourable Chairperson of Apeejay Stya Group and Apeejay Svran Group, VisioSpeak – Perspectives from Apeejay Visionaries, an innovative programme launched by the Human Resource Department of Apeejay, have garnered great appreciation from all the members of the Apeejay family. To keep up with this tradition, the Human Resource Department organised the third discourse.

VisioSpeak is a comprehensive initiative designed to enhance collaboration, streamline communication  while further fostering a culture of growth and development. Through this programme, the Apeejay family’s endeavour is to improve efficiency and productivity as well as create a more enjoyable and fulfilling work environment.

The third session of VisioSpeak commenced with Dr Anjana Nath, Chief People Officer, Apeejay Education, introducing the speaker of the day – Professor Sanjay Ahirwal, Dean at School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Apeejay Stya University in Gurugram – who delivered an intriguing talk on the topic: Is Media the New “Weapon of Mass Destruction”. 

Prof Ahirwal has over 25 years of experience in broadcast journalism. He was a political reporter who had carved his niche in covering stories from areas of conflict and war. The media expert was the editorial head of NDTV India, the Hindi news channel of NDTV before moving to NDTV Worldwide as its Managing Editor. Prof Ahirwal, who has a Master’s degree in English Literature from Delhi University and B.A. (H ) degree in English Literature from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, has also devised an unique initiative ‘art of storytelling’ for the students of broadcast journalism.

Starting the talk session by sharing his career journey, Prof Ahirwal emphasised,  “I have lived news and lived news for almost 25 years.What I want to talk to you about is, we all consume news and consume it without even realising the tremendous influence it has on us. News brainwashes us and we fail to question that what has been shown is right or wrong. Earlier people read the newspaper in the morning or watched the news at 9 pm. But now they have access to news 24/7 and the media has become the most influential thing in life.”  

Is Media the WMD (Weapon for Mass Destruction)?

He further led the talk by asking a key question to the attendees: Is Media  the New Weapon for Mass Destruction? Prof Ahirwal shared examples of the mainstream media coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict. He mentioned that a massive war is going on with innocents dying in both Israel and Palestine but how some media is doing biased reporting and one-sided coverage. 

The former journalist also highlighted how social media platforms like Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), and so on have also become a new source of news for people. He then mentioned how in 1991 television broadcasting brought “war into our homes through live coverage.” The Gulf War was broadcasted live. 

Prof Ahirwal also shared his experience of on-ground reporting and how he went to cover the Kargil War. He also explained the concept of embedded journalism,a practice where journalists travel with the military/army to cover the war and they would cover only what the army would want them to cover.  “They would show the anti-septic coverage of the war,” he highlighted. 

“Media is making a public opinion,” and so he further requested his audience to decipher and analyse the news that they watch or read. 

Dr Nath raised an important question: The statistics that are shown by the media – are those correct? To which, Prof Ahirwal responded,  “We absolutely need to question the bodies providing the sources even if it is the government, CBI, police, etc. Even if you don’t belong to the media, still question. I always teach my students to question. Don’t trust forwarded news on WhatsApp blindly; they are fake. WhatApp is fine till sharing good morning messages.When you receive any news on social media, your first reaction should be that it’s fake. Mainstream media has credibility. They want to be trusted. But don’t trust anything blindly.”

The interesting question asked was how to authenticate news and identify which fake news. Prof Ahirwal said, “There are ways to find out what is real.” 

The third session of VisioSpeak was intriguing and engaging, leading the audience to ask more and more important questions. The session ended with a narration of a poem. Concluding the session with an anecdote, Prof Ahirwal in the end mentioned, “Films too have a great influence on individuals.”