Social media circus

India’s social media discourse is a divided house now. There are a bunch of people who believe India accepting a ceasefire with Pakistan post mediation by the US is a set-back for the country’s leadership. This vocal lot have managed to dig out photographs of Indira Gandhi, calling her an Iron Lady who put the US in its place. There is a second lot which believes India should have gone for an all-out war with its nuclear neighbour. Nuke the neighbour, literally! There is a third which believes de-escalation is the right approach — whatever be the trigger or cause. And finally, there is a vocal fourth one — equally vocal as the first, but with one difference. This lot believes in larger-than-life rhetoric and nationalism. And, of course Group 1 and Group 4 are battling for digital space. And it is a digital soap opera: nostalgia versus nationalism, with war hawks and peaceniks as sidekicks. India’s X is basically a reality show.

Breaching the embargo

An over-smart a reporter from a global news agency recently breached an embargo for an off-the-record conversation a senior SEBI official had with the media. All journalists were clearly told that the outcome of the briefing should get reflected only on Sunday 6 pm online/wires. But this reporter was itching to be the first to “break the news”. So, he wrote the story on the day the briefing happened (Friday, May 9), thus breaching the embargo. Usually, reporters don’t break the embargo for fear of being blacklisted. It remains to be seen if SEBI will take a leaf out of RBI’s book and bar the said agency from its conferences for a few months for crossing the “Lakshman Rekha”.

Shift in stance

The Chennai media fraternity found an intriguing invitation in their mail boxes. As the MK Stalin-led DMK government completed its fourth year of rule, the chief minister sent out personal invitations to editors of media houses to share with them the progress the government had made in the four years. The meeting saw the CM sit amidst the journalists and media publication owners as every minister of his Cabinet and the State bureaucrats made an extensive presentation of their departments. Though the content was something all journalists were aware of in-depth, it was still a rare gathering as the State’s policymakers are historically known to be guarded when it comes to the media. As the CM ended the meet asking journalists to share their views, many grabbed the opportunity to request a one-on-one chat with Stalin.

PIB and fact checks

The authenticity of news is something that has become worrisome for everyone. Recently, we all were flooded with “Operation Sindoor” related news, many without any authentication, creating panic among the people. This prompted the Press Information Bureau to come out with “fact checks” on a regular basis — at least five on any given day.

Cars and beauties

The 72nd Miss World Pageant being held in Hyderabad has kicked off an interesting debate on the relative merit of cars and beauties in adding to brand Telangana globally. The Revanth Reddy-led Congress Government surprised car lovers when it decided to call off a pact to hold Formula E Race in Hyderabad, which was entered into by the previous BRS Government. But notwithstanding frequent statements about financial crunch, the State government is now hosting the global beauty contest.

Is a beauty contest better than a car race?

Published on May 11, 2025