Updated on: March 5, 2018
All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) had issued a letter accusing the channel of falsely accusing the Jamaat-e-Islami India chief Maulana Jalaluddin Umri of being a terrorist.
All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) had issued a letter accusing the channel of falsely accusing the Jamaat-e-Islami India chief Maulana Jalaluddin Umri of being a terrorist.
Taking exception to the channel’s ‘mischief,’ several Muslim groups including All India Muslim Personal Law Board wrote a letter to the channel condemning its act and demanding an immediate apology.
Realizing the consequences of reporting fake news, Republic TV apologized and released a statement on Sunday.
“CORRIGENDUM & APOLOGY for taking a wrong image of Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umri carried on Republic TV at 4:03 PM. It was an inadvertent error, the video editor concerned carried the wrong image which was wrongly broadcast once & immediately corrected,” their tweet read.
A primetime apology is yet to be issued by Republic TV.
While posting its letter, the AIMPLB wrote, “We strongly condemn @republic channel for falsely accusing Ml Jalaluddin Umri, the vice president of @AIMPLB_Official, of being a terrorist. We also condemn @CNNnews18. It has committed blasphemy against Madjids in Mecca, Madina and Quds. Both channels must apologize.”
The letter by the AIMPLB also condemned CNN-News18 for committing ‘blasphemy’ by linking three of the holiest sites for Muslims to Jaish chief Masood Azhar’s ‘terror factory.’
The channel used the images of the three holy mosques with a super titled ‘JeM terror factories,’ outraging Muslims across the world. Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Group owns CNN-News18.
In its broadcast on Saturday, the channel claimed to unearth the property details of Jaish chief Masood Azhar, the man behind the Pulwama terror attack. While flashing the headlines ‘JeM terror factory in Bahawalpur,’ the channel showed the photos of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, a mosque in Madina and Al-Aqsa implying that they were part of Azhar’s terror factory. These mosques are considered to be the three of the holiest sites for Muslims around the world, Janta Ka Reporter said in its report.
Responding with their clarification, CNN-News18 said in a tweet that the images were used by JeM in their propaganda video and they had the JeM watermark on them so the ire should be directed at JeM.
The statement by CNN-News18 defended its decision to broadcast the three most revered mosques (Makkah, Madina and Al-Aqsa) for Muslims under the ‘JeM terror factory’ headline.
The statement said that any criticism should be directed at the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) since the channel had sourced the images of the Holy mosques from the outfits’ propaganda video.
The statement said, “The footage used in our broadcast is clearly watermarked with a JeM logo and was clearly referred to as a propaganda video. The use of the video has drawn ire from certain quarters. But given the context it was used, any religious offence and outrage should be directed at the JeM.”
Many on social media felt that a clarification instead of an apology was not enough as they should have not broadcast sensitive material irresponsibly.