Thread by @churumuri

All very easy to pile on the @IndianExpress which won’t influence a single vote. Three large Hindi newspapers, with 200-300 times more circulation in #UttarPradesh, carried the same “offending” advertisement. What about them? @JagranNews @AmarUjalaNews @Live_Hindustan

2️⃣ Beyond the fact-free content of #UttarPradesh ads, the real issue is the vomit-inducing splurge of taxpayers’ money to capture media. In just the 31 days of December, sangh mouthpiece ‘Dainik Jagran’ received 63 ads; ‘Amar Ujala’ 58; ‘Hindustan’ 37. #SochInaamdaarKaamDumdaar

3️⃣ Add advertorials, partnerships, events, slanted news (prepaid and postpaid) and puff pieces intended to massage the ego and secure more, and the obnoxious waste of public money by the @myogiadityanath government to buy up media becomes clear. #SochImaandaarKaamDumdaar

4️⃣ ‘Chacha, bhatija, babua, abbajaan, mafiavaad, kabristan’: The phraseology of headlines in #Hindi newspapers in #UttarPradesh sound no different from #BJP election rallies. Attribution and quote marks are sparingly used to leave no doubt in the minds of readers of the intent.

5️⃣ Not to mention editorials, cartoons and op-ed pieces which day after day, week after week, read like WhatsApp forwards of the BJP “IT Cell”. These are three December gems by ‘Dainik Jagran’ boss Sanjay Gupta, appointed as IIM Amritsar chairman by the @narendramodi government.

6️⃣ No media watcher has done a better job than Karthik Srinivasan @beastoftraal who has dutifully documented the profligacy of @myogiadityanath, which many media promoters and publishers see as a lifeline out of the revenue mess they find themselves in. #UttarPradesh

https://twitter.com/beastoftraal/status/1289760333213491200