NEW DELHI: On Saturday, India Today journalist Rahul Kanwal trended for his investigative report on “Madrasa Hotspots” amidst the novel coronavirus pandemic.
CPI-ML leader and activist Kavita Krishnan lashed out at Kanwal for “dividing the victims of COVID-19 based on religion”.
“This is a message specially for Rahul Kanwal and India Today who are doing a story at 8 tonight on Madrasa Hotspots. This is during a pandemic. This is during a immense human tragedy that we are witnessing today in the world and in India and here is a man calling himself an Indian journalist.”
She continued, “This is not journalism. Behind that nice, smooth face that you are in the same category as the Zee News and the (Arnab Goswami’s) Republic TVs of the world and that is where you belong. You belong in the dustbin of journalism. This is not journalism, this is hate-mongering. You are a hate monger and history will remember you, history will judge you and will judge each of your colleagues who remain silent.”
Kanwal, the next day took to his Twitter account and has slammed “sit-at-home journalists and pundits” for suggesting him stories.
Kanwal was brutally trolled and soon #ThooRahulKanwalThoo trended on Twitter on Saturday.
On Friday, Zee News issued an apology over a fake news report regarding coronavirus spread in Aurnachal Pradesh and so #ThooSudhirChaudharyThoo started trending on the micro blogging site.
Last week on Tuesday and Wednesday, a Twitter hashtag #ThooSmitaPrakashThoo and #SmitaPrakash_is_LadyGoebbels began to trend after the Noida Police shared a tweet accusing the news agency’s Uttar Pradesh handle, @ANIUP, of spreading fake news. Following this, ANI Editor-In-Chief Smita Prakash also trended on Twitter.