Raghbir Singh Brar
FARIDKOT
September 8, 2026
Email:raghbirsinghbrar@gmail.com
With India relegated to the 157th rank out of 180 countries in the global press freedom index, the general public is left increasingly confused about whom to trust for authentic news.
While state and central governments repeatedly face allegations of suppressing voices of dissent, the truth still manages to surface through various alternative media outlets, though not without its own set of challenges.
Whenever reporters are confronted about harboring an anti-government stance, the standard defense is that the media’s primary job is to question the ruling party.
However, critics point out a glaring hypocrisy: very few journalists are willing to question the political parties that previously ruled and contributed to weakening the democratic system over the decades.
“If one is pursuing journalism out of passion and honesty, they must set aside their personal bias. Unfortunately, many people currently in the field operate with deep personal biases,” said Mohar Singh Gill, a veteran with 30 years of experience in vernacular journalism.
Suraj Parkash,a senior reporter, noted that while credible news organizations do not mandate reporters to favor specific narratives, certain desks do filter content into pro- or anti-government columns.
“Our organization actively avoids any political bias, exposing victims, or encouraging divides in society,” Suraj said.
However, he pointed out that the real damage is being done in the unregulated digital space. “Actually, YouTubers and Facebook content creators have created massive confusion. They mostly do not verify the content and are only focused on influencing viewers to increase their view counts,” he added.
This growing segment of social media commentators often operates without formal journalistic training or degrees.
Armed simply with smartphones, they frequently bypass ethical limits in their pursuit of virality and livelihood. Highlighting the erosion of trust in mainstream and digital platforms alike, Darshan Singh Dhilwan, Halqa Incharge of Jaitu, heavily criticized the current state of the press.
“Most of the media is allegedly ‘Bikau’ (compromised), working purely for selfish benefits. Media houses are openly supporting one political party or another, mostly the ruling ones, causing the institution to lose its credibility entirely,” he stated.
Dhilwan further noted that many individuals who entered the fray via social media end up standing with specific leaders or parties for personal gain. “Because of this, the common man suffers from the widespread misinformation spread by the media.
It has lost the profound impact it had decades ago,” he said.
The political tug-of-war over media narratives is not a new phenomenon, but it has evolved dramatically with technology.
Rachpal Singh Sosan, Halqa Incharge of AD WPD, provided a historical perspective on this shift. “Before the BJP came to power led by Narendra Modi in 2014, the official media was largely controlled by the Congress. Afterwards, the BJP, which was initially helped by private channels to spread its ideology, attempted to control the broader media landscape,” Sosan explained. He added that the advent of the internet brought a massive public awakening. “During the Kisan Andolan (Farmers’ Protest), several web channels stepped up to play a crucial role, completely changing the scene. The governments quickly realized the power of this alternative media and are now trying to control it by hook or by crook.”
As the lines between objective journalism, political propaganda, and social media engagement continue to blur, the ultimate casualty remains the truth, leaving society to navigate an increasingly complex web of misinformation.
There is also a big question mark againt the word freedom of press which took its birth during the India’s freedom movement the British.Then it originated to specifically educate the enslaved citizens of India but afterwards Indian media had a shift to many allied business .
One media house allegedly runs some businesses, gets plum posts in the government and so does a reporter as per his or her value.
If media houses are only dedicated to impart unbiased information, they may not have side businesses. So may do a reporter. He must be given handsome salary which is not there.So who is ready to work unpaid is questionable.
The allegations are there that powerful persons,some political parties and many others alledly backchanneled fund the social media influencers.
AI GENERATED representative image.