Mainstream media is deeply infested with Hinduphobia. From distortion of Hindu history to flippant remarks on Hindu Gods and Goddesses and the customs and traditions of Hindus, it has done it all. The coverage of the Ram Mandir Consecration Ceremony by the western media is a case in point. Their deliberate distortion of history and the omission of what had happened on the Ramjanambhoomi land prior to the construction of the Babri Mosque in the 16th century, haven’t gone down too well with netizens.
Hindu diaspora across the world have been calling out the hypocrisy of western media vis-à-vis Ram Temple Inauguration Ceremony coverage through social media. Many Hindu organizations like CoHNA in the US and COHHE in Canada are taking up the anti-Hindu bias of western media and documenting evidence to systematically depict the bias in western media reports over the years.
But how aware are ordinary Hindus of the dangers of woke media? Many Hindus are clueless about the ecosystem of the woke media and how it systematically distorts Hindu issues. Many of these media outlets enjoy an unprecedented level of global credibility. Thus, unsuspecting Hindus eulogize these media outlets and don’t see anything wrong with their coverage. These media outlets, in turn, operate through a complex web of propaganda where they wouldn’t directly attack Hindu Dharma or Hindus but frame the news in a way that Hindus automatically come across as the culprits.
The woke media doesn’t use primitive propaganda techniques. It won’t tell you at your face that Hindus are bad or that Hindus are full of hatred against people of other religions. It would pretend to put across the Hindu point of view and then very cleverly counter it with its own rhetoric, thus supposedly proving objectively that Hindus indeed have an issue.
As Hindu issues are getting more visibility across the world and Hindu Dharma is making a resurgence in Bharat for good even as it fights back against anti-Hindu hatred and Hinduphobia in the west, it’s high time Hindus educate themselves on the motivations and patterns of woke media.
So here is a media manual for Hindus on how to handle and consume mainstream media. It’s not a one-sided manual asking you to read only certain kinds of newspapers, go through only certain kinds of websites, and read only news with a specific tilt. The only intention of this manual is to alert you to the inherent anti-Hindu biases of the woke media and help you make an informed choice based on your own understanding and critical faculties.
So here we go!
Ask Direct and Pointed Questions
This tip is for Hindus who are approached for sound bytes on Hindu issues from various media.
Now, there are two kinds of people. The first kind is those who detest being stopped on the street and asked questions. They would not give a sound byte to an unknown person no matter what! The other kind are those who are thrilled by the idea of their name being published in the newspaper or their video interview footage being aired on the television or internet.
If you belong to the second category, you have to be cautious. If a media publication wishes to take your opinion on Hindu issues, make sure you ask them specific questions. Firstly, you must know which media outlet you are giving your interview. Then, you have a right to know for what purpose they will be using your interview. Most media publications, be it print, online, or broadcast media, would use a portion of your sound byte to fit in their pre-existing viewpoint. Unfortunately, that’s how most of the media functions. They already have a point of view to be conveyed through the story and the sound bytes of random people are used in accordance with how well they fit in within that point of view. If that means distorting your sound byte by over-editing it from here and there or presenting it out of context, they will do it.
For example, a news reporter asks your opinion on the Ayodhya Ram Temple Consecration Ceremony. You are a Ram Bhakt and give them a response saying you are in favour of the temple and it’s a moment of pride for India. You come back home happy thinking you have made your point. But you have no idea how your interview will be used. If you had a video interview, chances are a small portion of your sound-byte will be run with an English voiceover ( if you gave the interview in Hindi ) along with background running commentary of Bharat being a Hindu majoritarian country before and after the sound byte. If the overall story has been framed in way that the anti-Hindu bias runs strong, then your sound-byte about the positive impact of the Ram Mandir won’t make a difference. In other words, the ideological structure within which your sound-byte is inserted can increase or decrease its appeal.
Therefore, you have no control over how your words are going to be presented in front of the audience. Nobody will change what you said or put the wrong words in your mouth. That the media doesn’t do. But there are millions of ways of discrediting your point of view or using your interview to prove a point that’s exactly the opposite of what you intended.
Ultimately, whom you choose to give your interview to is your personal decision. But you need to keep this point in mind, especially while giving your opinion on sensitive matters concerning Hindu Dharma.
Be sceptical of certain kinds of media
This is again not trying to tell you what to read and what not to read. That is your personal prerogative.
But there are certain kinds of media in India that are outrightly biased in their portrayal of Hindu Dharma and Hindus. They do such “in your face” vicious anti-Hindu propaganda that it gets hard to not call them out specifically. The likes of The Quint, TheWire, Newslaundry, Lallantop, NewsClick, etc. come in this category. These so-called news websites run in-your-face anti-Bharat and anti-Hindu propaganda. Their sole motive of existence seems to be somehow toppling the BJP government at the centre, and therefore their anti-Hindu rhetoric is intrinsically linked to their anti-Bharat rhetoric.
Amongst the newspapers, I would say, Hindus should be a bit sceptical of The Hindu and The Indian Express. Sometimes, the anti-Hindu propaganda done by these is subtle, but these publications have a systematic history of combining anti- Bharat and anti-Hindu bias. I would be ok with newspapers like The Times of India and Hindustan Times. The kind of stories they carry are a fairly mixed bunch and they don’t seem to adhere to any particular ideology, at least these days.
Within international media outlets, I would take BBC Hindi, The Guardian, The New York Times, Deutsche Welle, The Economist, etc. with a pinch of salt. Again, these are huge media conglomerates that publish news and views on a variety of issues. I am by no means suggesting that Hindus should boycott these publications. On the contrary, they do have a plethora of interesting insights and perspectives on many issues. But when it comes to topics concerning Hindus and Hindu Dharma, I’d be a bit sceptical of the fairness and objectivity of their coverage.
Consume news from a wide variety of sources
If you watch and read news only from certain kinds of sources, you are prone to brainwashing.
The woke media uses this psychological deficiency of people to normalize anti-Hindu stereotypes and biases. If your sources of news regarding Hindu issues are limited to publications like The Washington Post, The Guardian, The New York Times, etc., chances are you will gradually internalize those anti-Hindu stereotypes.
The only way to keep yourself safe from that is by diversifying your news consumption basket. International media is not limited to a couple of media conglomerates dominated by a few western countries. These days almost every country in the world has online publications in English. Try to get some news from non-western publications in African countries, countries in the Caribbean, South American countries, etc. Or, consume news from lesser-known sources in European countries like Greece, Spain, Poland, etc. This will give you access to diverse viewpoints and prevent you from getting brainwashed.
For example, Greece has an English newspaper called the Greek City Times. Unlike the biased coverage of the Ram Mandir Pran Prathishtha ceremony by western media, the Greek City Times has done an objective coverage of the ceremony. “Modi hails a new ‘divine India’ as he inaugurates restored Hindu temple destroyed by Muslim invaders”. The coverage is the exact opposite of mainstream western media coverage that tells its audience Modi built a temple on the site of a razed mosque.
Highlight Hinduphobic news on social media
If you come across a news report with an anti-Hindu bias or a writeup that demonizes Hindu Dharma and Hindus, make it a point to highlight such news on social media.
Share such news as widely as you can through social media platforms like X, Facebook, etc. describing in detail how this news is inaccurate and how it offends the sentiments of Hindus or distorts an issue.
Social media with its wide reach can be a game changer in these times. If netizens can compel a streaming platform like Netflix to take off a Hinduphobic web series, they can certainly compel news outlets to take off Hinduphobic news items.
Publicize pro-Hindu media
There are many pro-Hindu Dharma web publications that offer a refreshingly different perspective on Hindu issues compared to mainstream media.
However, most of these publications have limited funds and do not have the resources to spend a fortune on marketing or advertising. They depend on their subscriber base to spread the word around.
As a Hindu, you must publicize pro-Hindu media. You don’t have to go out of your way. A simple share or retweet of their news articles on social media platforms is good enough. If Hindus take the initiative of publicizing and highlighting pro-Hindu media on social media, we have a good chance of bringing the fence sitters onto our side. Most Hindus who seem woke are actually just fence sitters; they haven’t really had access to any alternative viewpoint and are thus a bit prejudiced. They are not staunch left-wing. Publicity of pro-Hindu publications by Hindus through social media can widen the network of people who understand the woke distortion of Hindu issues.
Learn how to read between the lines
It’s easier said than done.
How to consume news critically and not passively is something that’s taught in journalism classes. But going by the amount of distortion, bias, and manipulation that’s crept into the making of news, it’s high time ordinary Hindus learn how to read between the lines.
Don’t take any news at face value. Cross-check from other sources to confirm the veracity of what is being reported. Be wary of opinionated writeups without evidence. A lack of evidence is a red flag. If an article is talking about saffron terror without any evidence (well, simply because there isn’t any), it simply means they are doing propaganda.
A lot of woke media, for example, casually calls RSS a paramilitary organization. This again is a woke construct that has no basis in reality or rationality. Stay alert to such irrational exaggerations while consuming news.
Look for balance and objectivity in news reporting on Hindu issues. For example, if you watch a news video on a Hindu-Muslim issue, draw your own inferences on the nature of coverage. Are they giving equal weightage to opinions from both sides? Or, are they giving disproportionate attention to one particular viewpoint to create a biased picture? If they are quoting experts, are they only quoting particular kinds of experts with an anti-Hindu viewpoint? Why are they not balancing it with a pro-Hindu viewpoint as well?
Ideally, journalism should be neutral and objective giving space to divergent viewpoints. If you keep these points in mind, you will slowly learn to spot the anti-Hindu bias in media stories.
Be wary of repeated rhetorical patterns
If you consume a lot of mainstream media, you will see a common pattern in reporting on the Indian government and Prime Minister Modi.
A lot of western media calls the Indian government a “Hindu majoritarian government” and suggests that Indian government is suppressing the minorities by giving prominence to Hindutva and things like that. Many news reports also called India’s democratically elected government a populist government that’s heralding an era of autocracy. You will see that all anti-Hindu and anti-Bharat stories repeat a formula. The formula consists of calling India a Hindu majoritarian state that’s suppressing the rights of minorities. Most anti-Hindu news, if you see, repeats these same set of allegations in different tones and styles.
By consuming news regularly, you would learn to spot these rhetorical patterns and recognize an anti-Hindu news item instantly.
Don’t go by the “prestige” of a media organization
That’s where many Hindus falter. And that’s what the anti-Hindu propagandists take advantage of.
We tend to get carried away by the prestige of mainstream media organizations. A lot of Hinduphobic western media enjoys a great degree of international credibility because of their wide reach, formidable branding, and the sheer scale of their operations. It’s human nature to get carried away by anything that looks ultra slick, sophisticated, and uber- professional. Thus, we take a lot of Hinduphobic media at face value going by their apparent credibility and reputation.
Hindus need to get rid of this mindset. It’s a part of the colonial hangover. Media organizations, these days, are commercial entities just like any other business. They are not doing charity or philanthropy. Their editorial policy will reflect the interests of their sponsors and various other stakeholders involved in their management. Thus, it’s naïve to assume that a media organization will offer objective and fair coverage of all issues just because it’s well-known and reputed.
Thus, Hindus need to learn that when it comes to stories on Hindu issues, the supposed prestige of a media organization can’t be a litmus test.
Be wary of experts celebrating Hinduism but denouncing Hindutva
It’s a common tactic of the woke lobby.
You would come across the writings and video interviews of many woke media experts who claim to celebrate Hindu Dharma while denouncing Hindutva. According to these woke experts, Hindutva is the political side of it which corrupts this peace-loving ancient religion. Thus, Hindu Dharma is all good as long as it stays out of politics, as per these experts.
Hindus should watch out for such media experts. They are more dangerous than people who openly denounce Sanatan Dharma. Such woke thought leaders create confusion in the minds of educated Hindus. They would wax eloquently on the great values of Hindu Dharma, its ancient philosophy, etc., and denounce Hindutva as a political project of the BJP government.
They subtly justify the conversion industry, love jihad, and all sorts of acts of violence being committed against Hindus by essentially saying that Hindus just need to continue being tolerant and all will be well.
Hindus should learn to watch out for such woke media experts.
Be wary of media stories that try to “secularize” Hindu Dharma
It’s another dangerous trend.
Many media stories would try to secularize Hindu Dharma by staying silent on the Hindu traditional aspect of Hindu festivals and over-simplifying them from a secular point of view.
Diwali would thus become the “festival of lights” minus its Hindu roots. A lot of mainstream media is full of such feel-good articles about Hindu customs and traditions where their Hindu roots are completely diluted.
Hindus need to be wary of such feel-good but misleading media stories that try to secularize Hindu Dharma.
