Why did Lucknow court issue notice to ‘The Washington Post’?

A court in Lucknow has issued a notice to the American newspaper, The Washington Post, for publishing a story that claimed that a WhatsApp message was forwarded by Prasar Bharati to an Indian journalist about the Pakistani army chief getting arrested.

 

Former IPS officer Amitabh Thakur, who heads a political outfit called Azad Adhikar Sena, filed the suit that alleged that the newspaper failed to present any evidence to support the story despite a legal notice being sent to it. Thakur said that this was a matter that had ‘hurt every Indian’ and that the publication should pay a notional compensation of ₹100 (USD 1.17).

 

The said article, titled ‘How misinformation overtook Indian newsrooms amid conflict with Pakistan’ written by Karishma Mehrotra starts with the following: ‘Shortly after midnight on May 9, an Indian journalist received a WhatsApp message from Prasar Bharti, the state-owned public broadcaster. Pakistan’s army chief had been arrested, the message read, and a coup was underway. Within minutes the journalist posted the information on X, and others followed suit. Soon enough, it was splashed across major Indian news networks and went viral on social media.’

 

It goes on to say how the ‘country’s information system became inundated with falsehoods – and how it warped the public’s understanding of a crucial moment’, This, the writer says, is based on conversations with ‘more than two dozen journalists’.

 

Thakur, in his plaint has said that he wrote to the newspaper’s customer care email id, twice – on June 10 and on June 24 – asking for evidence to prove these claims, but received no response besides the auto generated ‘Thank you for contacting The Washington Post…’.

 

He also sent a copy of the legal notice sent to the newspaper, to Prasar Bharti.

 

Thakur’s argument is that since the newspaper is widely read, it ‘contributes to how international events and actors are perceived. This can influence how other countries and organizations respond to global issues’.

 

A civil judge has now issued a notice to the newspaper.

India