Jagran Exit Poll Gets More Curious. A Paid Advertisement Allegedly Done by a BJP Leader’s Polling Agency???
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Read the our previous coverage of the Jagran Exit Poll: HERE
What started out as a mere case of breaking Election Commission ban on exit polls on investigation turns out revealing even more serious crimes. Apparently the poll was a paid advertisement and the polling agency - Research and Development Initiative – owned by a BJP leader. We provide you extracts from Wire.in article.
What started out as a mere case of breaking Election Commission ban on exit polls on investigation turns out revealing even more serious crimes. Apparently the poll was a paid advertisement and the polling agency - Research and Development Initiative – owned by a BJP leader. We provide you extracts from Wire.in article.
Many
sins were committed when the owners of Dainik Jagran decided to run an
exit poll on its website on February 12, 2017 claiming the BJP had a massive
lead over its rivals in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
The publication of the exit poll, which Sanjay Gupta – CEO and editor of the
Dainik Jagran group – said was “carried by our advertising department” was an
example of paid news.
Since
we know the poll was a form of paid news, the individual or party that has paid
the bill needs to disclose the amount and method of payment as part of their
formal returns to the Election Commission.
Ironically,
given the way Indian media houses operate, the editor is the last person in the
organisation to be consulted about material that is “carried by [the]
advertising department”.
But
websites are not governed by the PRB Act. Thus the editor cannot automatically
be held responsible for whatever is uploaded on to a website. Indeed, since the
owners have admitted the exit poll was carried by the advertising department,
it is evident that the decision to run the poll was a commercial and not an
editorial one. Thus, charging the editor makes no sense. The EC and police run
the risk of turning him into a scapegoat while the real culprits get off scot
free.
Read
the full article: HERE
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