How western media’s bias against India can be corrected

Source: The post is based on an article “How western media’s bias against India can be corrected” published in The Indian Express on 22^nd September 2022.

Syllabus: GS 2

Relevance: Global media and issues associated with it

News: There has been an increase in spreading the wrong information about India by the writers and editors of other countries.

What are the issues with the articles being published?

A report titled “An Analysis of Global Media Coverage of Events in India” has taken an in-depth review of more than 3,000 India-related articles published by global newspapers.

The have found a consistent pattern of emphasising political controversies in India with sensational headlines.

These include keywords such as hate, fear, violence, riot, mob, Hindu and Kashmir.

This has led the negative image of India among its readers globally and it also shows that a small controversy India can lead to undesired result.

These analyses show that there is an increase in the importance of India in the global news.

The report also found that there has been an increase in the digital readership of these global media.

For example, the Indian readership of New York Times increased by 22% while there has been decline in the global readership by 8%. This has been due to the controversial topics written in the newspaper.

Further, global media is looking to India as a topic for its growth and they have also made digital investments for it.

India’s significance as a subject of global media interest can rise even further with India assuming the presidency of the G20 this December.

What is the present condition of India in global media and what needs to be done?

The present condition of India shows that India is far from establishing a strong global media voice that can stand at the equal level with the established global media.

Therefore, a strong global media is needed to correct the wrong understanding of India democracy and stereotypical perspective of the socio-cultural diversity of India.