Misdirection by Godi Media: How India’s Lapdog Press Skews the Narrative
In India, the term “Godi Media” — coined by NDTV journalist Ravish Kumar — has become shorthand for news outlets accused of sitting in the lap of power, particularly the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. Literally meaning “lap media,” it’s a biting critique of a press that’s traded its watchdog role for one of a loyal lapdog. But beyond bias, Godi Media’s real sleight of hand lies in misdirection — flooding airwaves and headlines with noise to drown out what matters. From sensationalist distractions to burying inconvenient truths, this orchestrated chaos keeps the public looking the wrong way. Let’s dive into how it works, with some hard numbers to back it up.
The Art of Distraction
Picture this: in September 2024, as the rupee hit a historic low of 83.99 against the dollar and the stock market saw a brutal crash — wiping out ₹10 lakh crore in investor wealth in a single day — prime-time TV was busy elsewhere. A post on X highlighted a telling pattern from ANI, a major news agency often linked to Godi Media: 127 tweets on fake laddu controversies, 432 on comedian Samay Raina’s latest spat, and just one on the rupee’s plunge. The stock market crash? Also one tweet. Meanwhile, a stampede at Delhi’s Anand Vihar station killed 30 people — barely a blip on the radar with one mention.
This isn’t random. It’s a playbook. When economic distress or governance failures loom large, Godi Media pivots to trivia — celebrity weddings, temple disputes, or manufactured outrage. In 2020, during the peak of the COVID-19 crisis, as migrant workers trekked hundreds of kilometers amid a botched lockdown, channels like Republic TV and Zee News fixated on actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. For weeks, conspiracy theories about “gaming jihad” or “love jihad” dominated, while oxygen shortages and mass cremations got sidelined. The News Broadcasting & Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) later fined outlets like Sudarshan News for Islamophobic rants, but the damage was done — attention diverted, accountability dodged.
Cooking the Numbers
Misdirection isn’t just about what’s covered; it’s about what’s twisted. Take the BJP’s economic claims. In 2019, PM Narendra Modi boasted of attracting $130 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) since 2014. Fact-checks later pegged it at $101.72 billion — impressive, but a far cry from the hype. Godi Media ran with the inflated figure, rarely correcting the record. Similarly, the claim of “95% rural electrification” by 2018 was trumpeted loudly — until data showed it counted a village as “electrified” if just 10% of its homes had power. The real story? Millions still in the dark, but the narrative had already moved on.
During the 2024 elections, exit polls on channels like India Today and Times Now predicted a BJP landslide — some claiming over 400 seats for the NDA. The reality? 293 seats, a sharp drop from 353 in 2019. Political strategist Yogendra Yadav, on BBC Hindi, called it “crowd manipulation” by Godi Media, arguing that honest reporting might’ve seen the BJP dip below 200. The inflated polls weren’t just wrong — they shaped perceptions, muting dissent until the ballots proved otherwise.
The Farmer Protests: A Case Study
The 2020–2021 farmer protests are a masterclass in misdirection. Over 700 farmers died during the year-long agitation against three farm laws, facing barricades, water cannons, and even a minister’s son mowing down protesters. Godi Media’s response? Label them “Khalistani terrorists” or “greedy middlemen.” A Supreme Court panel later found 84% of farmer organizations supported the laws’ intent — but that nuance never made the headlines. Instead, channels like Aaj Tak and Republic Bharat spun tales of foreign conspiracies, while nails on roads and bloodied heads were brushed off as “necessary measures.” The laws were repealed, but not before Godi Media had shifted focus to the next shiny object.
Why It Works — and Who Pays?
This isn’t chaos by accident. Media houses rake in big bucks from government ads — ₹6,491 crore over eight years (2014–2022), per RTI data cited on X. Corporate ownership amplifies the tilt: Reliance Industries owns CNN-News18, while The Times Group runs Times Now. When ad revenue and political favor align, truth becomes negotiable. A 2023 study of six listed news companies showed their revenues stagnated (₹6,325 crore in 2014 to ₹6,691 crore in 2023), yet profits tanked from ₹761 crore to ₹254 crore. Adjusted for inflation, they’ve shrunk — suggesting propaganda doesn’t even pay well. So why persist? Power, not profit, seems the prize.
India’s press freedom rank reflects the toll: 150th out of 180 in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, down from 142nd in 2019. Reporters Without Borders notes a “concerted effort to control discourse,” with self-censorship and harassment silencing dissent. Godi Media doesn’t just misdirect — it erodes trust. During the farmer protests, reporters from these outlets were chased off sites, a rare rebuke from a public fed up with spin.
Seeing Through the Smoke
Misdirection thrives in noise, but it’s not invincible. The rise of independent outlets like The Wire or Scroll.in, alongside citizen media on X, offers a counterpoint — raw, unfiltered, and closer to the ground. Yet, the average viewer, scrolling past 432 tweets on a comedian’s gaffe, might miss them. The fix isn’t easy: media literacy, like FactShala’s grassroots efforts, helps, but it’s a slow burn against a firehose of distortion.
Godi Media’s game is simple — keep us distracted, divided, and doubting. The rupee falls, the market bleeds, the dead pile up, but look over here: a laddu scandal! It’s misdirection with a body count, and the longer we fall for it, the harder it gets to see what’s really at stake. Time to change the channel.
