New Delhi: In an interview for The wireAlt News founder Pratik Sinha spoke about the recent FIRs against his colleague Mohammed Zubair, calling the accusations “a form of targeting.”
“There is no case here. This has been going on for a month. Just a week ago, someone warned us that the political class had expressed a lot of interest in the case. So we know that the government is involved. If a legal body (like NCPCR) receives a complaint like this, it shows that it is not a minor problem. Alternative news and especially Zubair are being attacked for the work they do, ”said Sinha. The wirethe senior editor, Arfa Khanum Sherwani.
Following a complaint from the National Commission for the Protection of Children’s Rights (NCPCR), the cyber cell of the Delhi Police and the Raipur Police filed two FIRs against Zubair together with two Twitter users in Delhi and Raipur under sections of the TI Act and the POCSO Act to allegedly “harass and torture” a minor on social media.
Alternative news“The work of fighting fake news and misinformation has made it a target for the right-wing government,” Sinha said. While opposition parties have also shared fake news on several occasions, “the amount of misinformation spread by the right is much greater.”
“Although there are other agencies that do similar work, I think Alternative news“The work stands out for how we have shown how elected ministers and people in the ruling party spread misinformation through their social media accounts to create a narrative,” Sinha said. The wire. “Alternative news has countered the misinformation created around Tablighi Jamaat, where people started saying that Muslims are intentionally spreading the coronavirus. We countered the narrative that the women of Shaheen Bagh were taking Rs 500 to protest against the CAA / NRC. When Jamia was attacked, a widespread media channel showed how the police were responding to what Jamia’s students did: we exposed that the students were not to blame. “
“During the riots in Northeast Delhi, many news channels showed how a Muslim ravine started the shooting, but we showed that the shooting took place inside the ravine. So we repeatedly show how a false narrative is being created. That’s why i think Alternative news it became a target, ”he continued.
The propaganda has brainwashed people, Sinha said. “Therefore, the people who break the propaganda are like thorns in their path (of the ruling party). But what is also true is that people are also supportive. I think people just have to join. They are the ones most afraid of people joining. One has to fight back, obviously. If we sit in fear, they will try to scare us more. “
Alternative news issued a statement shortly after the FIRs were presented, supporting Zubair. “We will extend all forms of support towards Zubair,” Sinha said. The wire.
“He is one of us. Zubair is being attacked for his work. It is the responsibility of the organization that when a member is the target of their work, the organization should stand behind that person. We will fully support Zubair and support him in any way we can. We have no doubt in our heads that this case is wrong. At the same time, the team will continue to do the work that we are doing. “
On August 6, Zubair, while responding to online abuse by Twitter user Jagdish Singh (@ JSINGH2252), shared Singh’s screenshot with a girl (blurring her face) and wrote, “Hello Jagdish Singh. Does your cute granddaughter know about your part-time job of abusing people on social media? I suggest you change your profile picture. “
.
