The government, aiming to prevent panic-inducing speculative news coverage, instructed the suspension of Television Rating Points (TRPs) for TV news channels during Operation Sindoor. Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L. Murugan informed Parliament about the need to curb sensational and unwarranted content broadcasted by some channels during crises like Operation Sindoor. This move was taken to address concerns over misleading information that could trigger fear among the public, especially those with connections to affected areas.
Operation Sindoor, initiated on May 7, 2025, in response to the tragic killing of 26 tourists in Pahalgam, led to accusations against Indian television news channels for misreporting and spreading misinformation. Some channels, in a bid to boost TRP ratings, resorted to airing AI-generated and video game clips as real attacks by the armed forces. This competitive environment fostered a trend of reporting without proper verification, contributing to the dissemination of false narratives.
During this period, a notable Hindi channel aired outdated video clips, including footage from unrelated events like the Israeli Iron Dome system and airstrikes in Gaza, misleadingly portraying them as live visuals of Indian missile strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammed terror bases in Pakistan. Similarly, another channel misrepresented old aerial attack footage from Israel on Lebanon as Pakistani missile strikes on Indian cities like Jalandhar during Operation Sindoor. The Press Information Bureau (PIB) intervened to debunk these false reports, prompting some channels to issue apologies for their erroneous broadcasts.
