DNA Special: Does reporting about hate news mean spreading hatred?

Reporting about hate does not mean spreading hatred. However, a lot of people in our country only want to hear that version of the news which suits them. According to these people, talking about ‘Jihad’ is to spread hatred and according to them opposing fanatical Islam is opposing all Muslims.

Like all Muslim countries, these days, there are protests against France in Bangladesh. However, in Bangladesh, protestors are not just burning French flags, but also the houses of Hindus living there . More than 10 Hindu households were vandalised and torched in the Comilla district of Bangladesh after a man reportedly shared a Facebook post on the controversy surrounding the publication of a cartoon of Prophet Mohammed in France on Facebook. 

The incident took place at Korbanpur village under the Muradnagar Upazila of Comilla on Sunday afternoon. 

The office of the local Union Parishad Chairman Bankumar Shiv and the house of accused, Shankar Debnath, were set on fire. More than 10 Hindu households were attacked, vandalised, and torched.

There were large-scale protests against France in Bangladesh. The streets of capital Dhaka were filled with thousands of protesters and the protest was organised by 'Hifazat a Islam'. The organization is a group of teachers and students who belong to thousands of Islamic schools in Bangladesh. These people not only protested but also tried to capture the French embassy in Dhaka.

You may remember two days ago we showed you pictures of the protests in India against France. All this was possible in India because the Constitution of India has given everyone the freedom to speak and lodge protests, many a time, despite the misuse of this freedom, there is no such violence in India, but these people should think whether minorities in countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan have such freedom? The answer is no.

We are reporting the hatred against Hindus in a neighbouring country and we may report this to many people. But is this spreading hate? When hate is spread in the world in the name of religion, no one opposes it, however, if as responsible news channels, we report it, we are accused of spreading hate.

Hate News accusers want to determine the definition of the news according to their minds. On October 31, as many as 95 former government officials in India wrote to Indian companies and corporates asking them to stop giving advertisements to news channels that spread hatred.

These 95 former officers have created a group named Constitutional Conduct Group. The group claims that it does not support any political party and members of this group are with fairness and the Constitution of India. The letter is the first to target the country's companies, business houses, and corporates and says that these are the people who make India prosperous but these companies are doing nothing to stop the hatred and discrimination spreading in the society.

Corporates have been accused of freely advertising media houses that spread hatred, dividing the country in the name of religion and caste, offering a false narrative and changing law-abiding citizens into criminals.

The letter says that these advertisers may have never thought about it or made the mistake of advertising news channels without knowing, but now such advertisements should stop.

But the question is, how can 95 people in the country decide whether news channels are spreading hate or just reporting it?