Godi media (pronounced as /hi/; ; idiomatic equivalent: 'lapdog media';[1] [2] [3] [4] is a term coined and popularised by veteran Indian journalist Ravish Kumar for "sensationalist and biased Indian print and TV news media, which openly supports the ruling NDA government (since 2014)".[5] [6] [7] The term is a pun on the name of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has become a common way to refer to television and other media that are perceived as "mouthpieces" of the leading party of the NDA, the Bharatiya Janata Party.[8]
As per an opinion piece by Debasish Roy Chowdhury for Time magazine, Modi's ascension to national power, in 2014, led to the taming of India's media. His rise coincided with a reorganisation of the editorial authority of some of India's most important news institutions, particularly national television networks. The previous generation of senior editors, who were viewed as more devoted to India's liberal outlook than the BJP's Hindu nationalist ideology, were moved out on charges of having left-wing biases, and new channels and news anchors with devotion to the BJP and Modi were developed. Because of their large state and party advertising budgets, India's state and central governments hold considerable control over media companies, more so in the backdrop of the decline in television viewership caused by the rise of online news & Youtube[9] orchestrated by increased access to Internet.[10] In the 2019-20 fiscal year, the central government alone spent roughly on advertisements per day.[11] Access to power and business favours are additional incentives for the media to continue with the pro-BJP messages. This ensures that bad news never affects the government or goes public. With a few exceptions, the government has made sure that the media outlets seek government approval for their reporting & in exchange, the channels are rewarded with contracts to host advertisements of government schemes & products of corporate entities.
The phenomenon of Godi Media is not unique to India. Media bias and the influence of political power on journalism are global concerns. A thematic comparison of Kazuo Ishiguro's novels and the post-2014 Indian media highlights the failure of individuals not taking a stand against the tide of the times and instead going with the flow.[12] This interdisciplinary approach situates the issue of Godi Media in a broader, global context.
The term was coined and popularised by a veteran journalist Ravish Kumar, which translates to "media sitting on the lap like a lapdog".[13] In one of his shows, Kumar used silent actors to mime "godi media". This was accompanied by miming what the currently ruling party leaders wanted to listen to, using the Hindi film song "Bagon Mein Bahar Hai".[14]
Detractors of Godi media allege that instead of practicing honest journalism, such media publishes fake news and inflammatory stories, which are often untrue, working in the interest of the BJP government and Hindutva ideology of the Sangh Parivar or corporate and elite sources for their benefit.[15] Media houses and news entities alleged as Godi media include Zee News, Times Now, India Today, Republic Bharat, Republic TV, Aaj Tak, ABP News, Sudarshan News, CNN-News18, India TV, the TV Today Network, NDTV and others.[16] [17] [18]
Rajdeep Sardesai, an Indian news anchor and author, said that "a large section of the Indian media… has become a lap dog, not a watchdog".[15]
In 2018, on World Press Freedom Day, many journalists and social activists held a demonstration which protested, among other things, against the "godi media".[19] The term was also widely used at the time of the Citizenship Amendment Act protests and the 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest, with the claim that the protests and the farmers were not being represented fairly & were instead being vilified as Khalistani supporters.[20] [21] [22] [23]
The News Broadcasting & Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) called for several television news programmes to be taken down and fine paid, for their role in spreading Islamophobia and communal disharmony.[24] [25] Arnab Goswami of Republic TV attained notoriety by portraying an assembly of migrant workers at Bandra railway station demanding from the government to make arrangements for them to return home during the COVID-19 lockdown as an assembly of Muslims gathered purportedly on the orders of the imam of a local mosque in an attempt to deliberately spread the viral infection among Hindus in an act of jihad,[26] following reports of similar accusations of biological terrorism being levied against Muslim vegetable sellers in Uttar Pradesh by the BJP IT cell[27] in the backdrop of a Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi being classified as a superspreader of the disease, drawing on similar antisemitic tropes of well-poisoning.
In the run-up to the 2024 general elections, the Congress led Opposition alliance had decided to boycott talkshows hoisted by 14 anchors including Goswami and others like Amish Devgan, Shiv Aroor and Sudhir Chaudhury, all of whom are noted for their sycophancy towards the BJP and were considered as the representative faces of "godi media".[28] Chaudhury had caught national headlines for coining the term 'gaming jihad' by claiming that Hindu teenagers were being lured into converting into Islam by Muslims through interactions held in online gaming platforms like Twitch & Discord.[29] Chaudhury is also renowned for creating other similar Islamophobic tropes like 'mazhar jihad' by claiming that Muslims are gradually taking over the country's land by illegally encroaching over properties of Hindus, government bodies & public property through converting them into Islamic graves.[30] Another anchor, Rajat Sharma, who became renowned for his unabashed flattery of Narendra Modi during the elections,[31] was caught on live camera for allegedly hurling derogatory abuses towards a Congress spokesperson.[32] These outlets also claimed, citing Russian sources that the Biden administration was attempting to interfere in the elections against Modi & the BJP.[33] [34]
The Godi media is actively involved in promoting the personality cult of Narendra Modi. Many such outlets pictured Modi as an invincible figure, the 2024 general elections as a 'foregone conclusion' & instead focused on the 2029 general elections. In a live interview given to one such outlet, Modi claimed himself to be of divine origins.[35]
The reputation of Godi media outlets saw further damage after the ruling NDA alliance was reduced from 353 to 293 seats in the 543 member Lok Sabha in the 2024 general elections, contrary to their exit poll estimates of obtaining around or even more than 400 seats.[36] Talking in a show of BBC Hindi, political strategist Yogendra Yadav described the Godi media's endorsement & accreditation of the NDA's aim of obtaining 400+ seats as crowd manipulation orchestrated by the media & stated that had these media outlets been honest about the situation on ground, the BJP wouldn't have won even 200 seats.[37]
Following the violent overthrow of Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh in July 2024, Godi media outlets were actively involved in spreading fake news related to the subsequent anti-Hindu riots, disseminating disinformation related to the events & discrediting the interim government,[38] [39] with the aim of fearmongering & setting off retaliatory violence against Muslims in India.
Following the downturn in India-Canada relations in October 2024 caused by the Canadian government accusing the Indian High Commissioner of being involved in the murder of Khalistani activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar[40] & India expelling the Canadian ambassador in protest of these allegations,[41] Godi media outlets launched a vitriolic campaign of villifying the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, accusing him of converting Canada into another haven of anti-India terrorists like Pakistan.[42] [43]
The Godi media has been slammed for it sensationalist & anti-Palestinian coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.[44]
The dominance of Godi media within the mainstream news media of the country has led to the rise of alternative media that have taken Internet platforms like online newsreporting, web feeding & YouTube as their main platforms of connecting with the masses without government interference. Prominent media outlets that have arisen directly to oppose the Godi media are ScoopWhoop, The Wire, NewsClick, The Quint, ThePrint, Scroll.in & Newslaundry.[45] Many of these outlets are operated by those media persons who were removed from their positions in abovementioned channels after 2014. Several Youtubers like Akash Banerjee, Dhruv Rathee & Ravish Kumar have also emerged as competitors of Godi media in their individual capacities.[46]