Shouting fire in a crowded theatre

Express Media Group puts record straight vis-à-vis Fawad Chaudhry’s false tweets.

On August 23, Fawad Hussain Chaudhry, one of Express News analysts, tweeted “Government putting pressure on Express admin to remove me from panel of discussion”. Since then this allegation has widely circulated on social media, especially amongst members of the media fraternity, with many people reacting with predictable moral outrage. Normally, our organisation would not respond to individual allegations of this sort but in this instance we have made an exception since we believe the ongoing political and civil instability is an issue that demands complete and proactive transparency on our part. We also strongly believe that Mr Fawad Chaudhry is guilty of manufacturing news, and in an attempt to cover himself, tweeting more falsehoods and exploiting the good faith of the public.

Having completed an investigation into the incident, it is clear to us that the allegations made by Fawad Chaudhry are totally baseless and designed to mislead the public and members of the media fraternity.

The facts of the matter are as under:

On the evening of August 18, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) supporters started marching into the Red Zone. This was a very sensitive time given the uncertainty about how the government would react. Express News was covering this event live like all other channels. During this transmission, Fawad Chaudhry stated on air that “ Dr Sahab (referring to Dr. Moeed Pirzada) some channels and persons are insisting that they have heard that in some places rubber bullets have been fired and in some places there has been lathi charge, our reporters have not confirmed this but it has been reported on other channels”

Express News had not aired this news because it was false. Other channels had run tickers but our reporters had not verified it and as per professional journalistic responsibility our newsroom had decided not to put this patently false news on air. By referring to this concocted news on air, Fawad Chaudhry not only violated a fundamental principle of verification, he also by-passed the newsroom to announce something which was baseless and in fact dangerous. Newsgathering and broadcasting guidelines clearly state that all news emanating from bureaus and wire services are to be verified by the newsroom before it is aired.

Had such disinformation spread among the crowd entering the Red Zone, it could have led to disastrous consequences. This was akin to inflaming passions by shouting fire in a crowded theatre.

Our investigation into the incident reveals that upon receiving a text message from a ‘source’ Fawad Chaudhry decided to broadcast the false news. He did not have the authority to broadcast such news.  He should have also realised the danger of reporting such false news during one of the most serious and politically vulnerable moments in our country’s politics.

Nevertheless, the Express News management decided to give the benefit of doubt to Fawad Chaudhry pending the outcome of the internal investigation and he was permitted back on air. However, immediately afterwards, he sent the tweet accusing the management of Express News of bowing to external pressure to remove him. In retrospect it’s clear he sent this tweet in order to preempt the investigation so that it would look like he is being censured due to government pressure rather than the real cause of conspiring to cause possible mayhem. Indeed, when asked to provide names of individuals  who were supposedly being pressured to pull him off air as he mentioned in his tweet, Fawad Chaudhry had nothing to say.

At Express News, we treasure our freedom of expression and fully understand and appreciate that this freedom comes with a certain professional responsibility. We take this responsibility very seriously and assure our viewers that our screen is a product of the highest form of professional journalism. We cannot allow any individual to abuse this sacred trust by broadcasting statements which are false, provocative and dangerous. We will defend this trust that our viewers have bestowed upon us at every cost. Whoever betrays this trust has no place within our ranks.

In every organization or membership body there are bound to be a few bad apples. These consist of individuals who use their position to push their own or others’ agenda for monetary or other purposes. When confronted, they are quick to shout ‘wolf’ and accuse the organization of ‘bias’ and ‘censorship’. This practice should be frowned upon by members of the media fraternity. It not only reduces public faith in the media as a whole, it also guarantees that disreputable and unethical behavior continues unchecked. It also distracts from the serious and actual cases when members of the media are facing coercion and come under pressure for reporting facts. On such occasions we must all come together and unite. This is not one of those cases.



Published in The Express Tribune, August 25^th, 2014.