The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) has appealed to media giant Reuters and its editor-in-chief Alessandra Galloni to consider terminating its partnership and investments with news agency ANI (Asian News International) after many flagged its alleged Islamophobic reportage.
In a statement released on Saturday, August 5, the IAMC pointed out a recent report in violence-torn Manipur by ANI where it falsely accused a Muslim man of gang rape. The tweet was shared extensively but later deleted after fact-checkers flagged it.
“As one of India’s largest news services providing video segments to TV networks around the world, ANI’s dishonest practices damage both the domestic and global media ecosystems,” the statement read.
“ANI repeatedly chooses to report the names of Muslims accused of serious crimes while not reporting the known names of non-Muslims of the same crime,” the statement read mentioning several such reports.
“In recognition of the real-world impact of anti-Muslim propaganda, which daily endangers countless Muslim lives in India, and in consideration of @ReutersPR, @thomfound explicitly stated commitments to “independence, integrity, and freedom from bias”, the coalition letter demands @Reuters, @ReutersPR, @aagalloni immediately divest all stakes from @ANI and promptly condemn the organization (sic),” IAMC tweeted.
