In the age we are living in we are exposed to a flurry of news and information. Based on such news and information, we sometimes form our views and opinions, at times to our detriment. It is therefore, very important, to read a cross-section of the media before forming any opinion. Media which are associated or linked to political parties or organisations which have a negative reputation are best avoided. Here is an article which holds lessons for all of us in view of the heated debate we have just had.
Orissa violence: lies and media reports Extract: The *Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh* (RSS) spokesperson Ram Madhav told CNN IBN yesterday that Christians were behind the killing of *Vishwa Hindu Parishad*(VHP) leader Laxmanananda Saraswati and four others in Orissa’s Kandhamal district on August 23. Madhav pointed out that Orissa police had arrested workers of the Christian organization World Vision for the killing. He should have had his facts right before making a statement on a national channel. Madhav’s statement may have been based on a report in a newspaper (*The Pioneer*, August 25): “The police have arrested Pradesh Kumar Das, an employee of the World Vision, a Christian Charity, from Khadagpur while escaping from the district at Buguda. In another drive, two other persons Vikram Digal and William Digal have been arrested from the house of Lal Digal, a local militant Christian, from Nuasahi at Gunjibadi, Nuagaan. They have admitted to having joined a group of 28 other assailants.” The newspaper report, which is being circulated by email and on the Web by supporters of the Sangh Parivar, is not only inflammatory, but also factually incorrect. Disturbed by the report, I spoke to Deputy Inspector General (Southern Range) R.P. Koche in Bhubaneshwar, who categorically denied it. “No one has been arrested in ‘connection’ with the attack on Swami’s Ashram. We have merely made some preventive arrests for interrogation,” he said. http://www.thehoot.org/web/home/story.php?storyid=3286&pg=1&mod=1§ionId=5&valid=true Regards, Marshall
