Zee News expresses regret for linking false report with Tablighi

New Delhi, 11 April 2020 [Fik/News Sources]: Amid fake news pandemic sweeping across the nation, Zee News aired yet another unverified and false report on the novel coronavirus or COVID-19 and linked it to Tablighis who have become a soft target since Nizamuddin event. Making a gigantic blunder Zee News on Thursday, April 9, had reported that there were 11 positive cases of COVID-19 in Arunachal Pradesh and linked them to the Tablighi Jamaat gathering.

However, lashing out at Zee News for carrying an “inauthentic” report, the Government of Arunachal Pradesh tweeted: “This is to clarify that Arunachal Pradesh has got only 1 COVID-19 positive case till date. The reporting by Zeenews is false and does not carry any authenticity.”

In the past few weeks, fact checkers, governments, and even the Uttar Pradesh police have called out multiple media outlets for peddling misinformation and fake news, mostly involving the Tablighi Jamaat.

It must be noted that this is the second incidence in a week where the police had called out Zee News for broadcasting fake news. Earlier Firozabad police had called out Zee News for the report that said stones were pelted on the medical team which went to receive the four Tablighi Jamaat patients in Firozabad.

After it was slammed by the Arunachal Pradesh government, Zee News on the channel issued clarification stating in Hindi that “Arunachal Pradesh mein corona sankramit sirf 1 mareez ki pushti huwi hai. Manawya bhool se ZEE NEWS par Arunchal Pradesh mein Tablighi Jamaat kay 11 logaun kay sankramit honay ki khabar dikhayi gayi. Is ghalti kaa hamein khed hai!” (Only one coronavirus patient has been confirmed in Arunachal Pradesh. Due to human error ZEE NEWS showed report of 11 Tablighi Jamaat people affected with it. We regret the mistake.