New Delhi: Om Thanvi, Vice-Chancellor of Haridev Joshi University of Journalism and Mass Communication slammed some media houses after they reportedly spread fake news over Tablighi Jamaat incident.
On the twitter account, he wrote that police had also condemned the fake news over the incident.
He also wrote that Tablighis had committed a mistake whereas, authorities remained negligent.
It may be mentioned that misinformation regarding COVID-19 has peaked since the Tablighi Jamaat markaz in Delhi’s Nizamuddin emerged as one of the hotspots of the outbreak. On April 7, 2020, news agency ANI tweeted quoting the DCP of Gautam Budh Nagar that those in Sector 5, Harola, Noida who came in contact with Tablighi Jamaat members have been quarantined.
DCP Noida terms the report “fake news”
ANI’s news regarding the link with Tablighi Jamaat was however refuted by DCP Noida’s official twitter handle saying that people who had come in contact with the positive case were quarantined as per the laid procedure. “There was no mention of Tabligh Jamat. You are misquoting and spreading fake news,” wrote the DCP. ANI subsequently deleted the tweet without any explanation.
In another incident, Zee News on Thursday, April 9, had reported that there were 11 positive cases of COVID-19 in Arunachal Pradesh and linked them to the Tablighi Jamaat gathering.
However, lashing out at Zee News for carrying an “inauthentic” report, the Government of Arunachal Pradesh tweeted: “This is to clarify that Arunachal Pradesh has got only 1 COVID-19 positive case till date. The reporting by Zeenews is false and does not carry any authenticity.”
After it was slammed by the Arunachal Pradesh government, Zee News on the channel issued a clarification stating in Hindi that “Arunachal Pradesh mein corona sankramit sirf 1 mareez ki pushti huwi hai. Manawya bhool se ZEE NEWS par Arunchal Pradesh mein Tablighi Jamaat kay 11 logaun kay sankramit honay ki khabar dikhayi gayi. Is ghalti kaa hamein khed hai!” (Only one coronavirus patient has been confirmed in Arunachal Pradesh. Due to human error ZEE NEWS showed report of 11 Tablighi Jamaat people affected with it. We regret the mistake).
Who is Om Thanvi?
Om Thanvi is the Vice-Chancellor of Haridev Joshi University of Journalism and Mass Communication. The university is located at Jaipur, Rajasthan.
His most famous work is a book titled Muanjodaro.