Annie Gowen, the India bureau chief of the Washington Post, has caused a huge embarrassment for Prime Minister Narendra Modi with her tweet exposing that private PR companies representing Indian government had approached them twice in ‘recent weeks.’
She tweeted;
We have been contacted twice in recent weeks by private PR companies representing Indian govt. officials. Good use of govt funds? @PMOIndia
— Annie Gowen (@anniegowen) November 27, 2015
Modi’s detractors have been quick to interpret it as the government’s attempt to ‘manipulate’ the foreign media. The centre’s BJP government has always been accused of dictating editorial decisions of Indian media through various means including luring them with financial benefits. This has led to severe loss of credibility for media in India.
Twitter users suspect that Gowen’s extraordinary revelation is a sign that the government is now using similar tactics against foreign media too.
Foreign media has been very critical of Modi’s style of functioning and his performance in recent months. Big international news brands such as Washington Post, New York Times and Guardian have carried several articles and editorials unfavourable to PM Modi.
As expected twitter has been buzzing with conversation on Gowen’s revelation with users dubbing this as Modi Media Gate. The hashtag #ModiMediaGate has been a top trend since Saturday morning.
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