The Wire (India)

The Wire
Type of site
Journalism, news, analysis
HeadquartersFirst floor, 13 Shaheed Bhagat Singh Marg, Gole Market, Delhi 110001, India
OwnerFoundation for Independent Journalism (FIJ)
Editor
URLthewire.in Edit this at Wikidata
CommercialNo
Launched11 May 2015; 10 years ago (2015-05-11)

The Wire is an Indian nonprofit news and opinion website.[1] It was founded in 2015 by Siddharth Varadarajan, Sidharth Bhatia, and M. K. Venu.[2][3] It counts among the news outlets that are independent of the Indian government,[1] and has been subject to several defamation suits by state governments, businessmen, politicians and multinational companies.

Its reporting of disinformation in the Meta-Tek Fog fiasco caused it to face scrutiny and backlash until it released a formal apology and admitted to having published the story without verification.

History

The Wire was founded by Siddharth Varadarajan, after he was removed from his job as editor at The Hindu.[4][5] It began operating on 11 May 2015; Varadarajan worked with Sidharth Bhatia and M. K. Venu who had initially funded the website. Later it was made part of the Foundation for Independent Journalism, a non-profit.[3] The Independent and Public Spirited Media Foundation has provided The Wire with funding as well.[3]

Varadarajan claims that the publication was created as a "platform for independent journalism",[4] and that its non-corporate structure and funding sources aim to free it from the "commercial and political pressures" which supposedly afflict mainstream Indian news outlets.[4][1][6] The Wire's founding is construed to be a result of and a reaction to a political environment which has "discouraged dissent" against the present Indian ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.[1]

According to one of the founding editors, the founders' basic value is to stand for the right of the individual against the normally overbearing nature of the State. He further added that the founders are socially and economically liberal in their approach.[7] Varadarajan said in an interview that he (and by extension The Wire, as asked in question) in all matters of journalism is guided by the Constitution of India.[8]

In 2020, The Wire joined Progressive International's Wire— a coalition of progressive media outlets from around the world.[9]

Content

According to a 2017 article of the Mint, the websites coverage primarily focused on the topics of development, foreign policy, political economy, politics and science.[4] Karan Thapar's regular show The Interview with Karan Thapar covers current affairs and events on The Wire.[10]

Reception

Dheeraj Mishra, Seemi Pasha Win Ramnath Goenka Awards for 2019 Reports for 'The Wire'.[11] Three journalists working for The Wire, have won the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards.[12][13] Neha Dixit, reporting on extrajudicial killings and illegal detentions, won the CPJ International Press Freedom Award in 2017, Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Women Mediapersons in 2016, and the Lorenzo Natali Journalism Prize.[14][15][16] A story published in the Columbia Journalism Review in late 2016 identified The Wire as one of several independent and recently founded internet-based media platforms-a group that also included Newslaundry, Scroll.in, The News Minute, The Quint and ScoopWhoop-that were attempting to challenge the dominance of India's traditional print and television news companies and their online offshoots.[1]

Siddharth Vardarajan was awarded with the Shorenstein Prize in 2017; jury member of the award Nayan Chanda mentioned Vardarajan's independent web-based journalism-venture and distinguished body of well-researched reports to be an epitome of journalistic excellence and innovation.[17] In November 2019, The Network of Women in Media, India criticised The Wire for providing a platform to Vinod Dua for making fun of an allegation of sexual harassment against him.[18] A December 2019 article by Dexter Filkins of The New Yorker, noted that The Wire is one of the few small outfits and the most prominent (other than The Caravan), to have engaged in providing aggressive coverage of the current Indian Govt ruled by BJP at a time when mainstream media is failing to do so.[19]

In September 2021, The Wire received the 2021 Free Media Pioneer Award given by the International Press Institute for being 'an unflinching defender of independent, high-quality journalism'.[20]

An Investigative Report Published on The Wire Wins Laadli Media Awards 2025.[21]

Meta/XCheck controversy

Main article: Tek Fog

On 10 October 2022, The Wire alleged Meta (formerly Facebook) provided Amit Malviya, the head of the Information Technology Cell of the incumbent ruling party in India, with the ability to delete any post on Instagram bypassing the usual content moderation system.[22] The article says Amit Malviya had these privileges since his account had the XCheck[23] tag. Meta categorically denied and called the Wire's reporting "false" and said it was based on "fabricated evidence".[24] Later the publication went on to publish a purported "internal message" from Andy Stone, the Communications Director, expressing frustration at the leak of Malviya's privileges. A further detailed report was also published which featured email-communication from two anonymous "experts" verifying the integrity of Stone's email and a semi-redacted video of an in-house moderation tool attesting to Malviya's privileges.[22]

Soon, numerous flaws were spotted in the evidence that pointed to fabrication and skeptics, including former Facebook whistle-blowers, began to cast doubts.[22][25] Afterwards, as both the anonymous experts denied involvement with The Wire, the reports were subject to an internal review and retracted by The Wire; later the publication conceded its failure to verify the evidence and accused the reporter, Devesh Kumar, of deceit.[26][27][28] The developments also brought back focus on the publication's earlier investigative coverage of an app called Tek Fog—supposedly used by the ruling party to spread disinformation and harass dissenters, that Kumar had been responsible for. This story also was removed from the site,[29] and The Wire issued a formal apology, admitting to have rushed the story without having it double checked independently.[30]

Bloomberg and Editors Guild of India also later retracted their coverage of Tek Fog, which was solely based on The Wire's reporting.[31][32] The Guild in its statement, urged newsrooms 'to resist the temptation of moving fast on sensitive stories, circumventing due journalistic norms.'[33] The Guild also called the lapses by The Wire 'condemnable' in a subsequent statement.[34]

Temporary website access restrictions

The Wire reported on 9 May 2025 that their website was blocked across India by internet service providers following orders from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology under the 2000 IT Act, citing violation of press freedom. The Wire said they would challenge this restriction. Founding editor Siddharth Varadarajan stated that the website was blocked by ISP's in India due to publication of a story which claimed Pakistan had shot down an Indian Rafale during an air skirmish on the night of May 7 to 8, based on an earlier CNN report.[35] This restriction comes a day after the Indian government requested X (formerly Twitter) to restrict the access of 8,000 accounts following the military conflict between India and Pakistan.[36][37] The website was unblocked after they removed the Rafale story, as per claimed by The Wire.[38][39][40]

Litigations

Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha MP and venture capitalist Rajeev Chandrasekhar filed a defamation suit in a Bangalore civil court after two articles alleged a conflict of interest between his legislative role and his investments in the media and defence sectors.[41][42] The case was later dismissed, with the court ruling in favour of The Wire.[43][44]

In 2017, Jay Shah, son of then Home Minister Amit Shah, filed a criminal defamation case against The Wire over an article alleging irregularities in his business dealings.[45][46] During the COVID-19 pandemic, The Wire faced action from the Uttar Pradesh government led by Yogi Adityanath.[47][48] In September 2021, the Supreme Court of India granted interim protection from arrest but declined to quash the FIRs.[49] In February 2022, Bharat Biotech filed a ₹100-crore defamation suit against The Wire over its coverage of Covaxin.[50]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Chaudhry, Lakshmi. "Can the digital revolution save Indian journalism?". Columbia Journalism Review. No. Fall/Winter 2016. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  2. ^ "About Us". The Wire. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Kohli-Khandekar, Vanita (2 November 2015). "Online portals seek a new face of journalism". Business Standard India. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d Choudhary, Vidhi (8 May 2015). "Former editor of 'The Hindu' to launch news website". Livemint. Archived from the original on 7 June 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  5. ^ Chaudhry, Lakshmi. "Can the digital revolution save Indian journalism?". Columbia Journalism Review. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  6. ^ "Jay Shah files criminal defamation case against 'The Wire'". The Economic Times. 9 October 2017. Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  7. ^ Girija, Sreekala (1 March 2020). "Political Economy of Media Entrepreneurship: Power, Control and Ideology in a News Media Enterprise". Nordic Journal of Media Management. 1 (1): 88. doi:10.5278/njmm.2597-0445.3651. ISSN 2597-0445. Archived from the original on 1 March 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  8. ^ Venkatesh, H. R. (25 November 2020). "What about Scroll, The Quint, The Wire and The News Minute? | BOOM". www.boomlive.in. Archived from the original on 27 February 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  9. ^ "The Wire". Progressive International. Archived from the original on 5 June 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Exclusive News Stories by Karan Thapar on Current Affairs, Events at The Wire". The Wire. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  11. ^ "Dheeraj Mishra, Seemi Pasha Win Ramnath Goenka Awards for 2019 Reports for 'The Wire'". The Wire. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Awards 2017". Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards, Ramnath Goenka Memorial Foundation. Archived from the original on 16 November 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  13. ^ "Awards 2016". Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards, Ramnath Goenka Memorial Foundation. Archived from the original on 16 November 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  14. ^ "Neha Dixit". International Center for Journalists. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  15. ^ "Neha Dixit, India. International Press Freedom Awards". Committee to Protect Journalists. 2019. Archived from the original on 24 November 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  16. ^ Kumari, Jyoti (7 August 2024). "A decade in the making, Neha Dixit's book illuminates India's invisible female workers". Vogue India. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  17. ^ "The Wire's Siddharth Varadarajan wins Shorenstein Journalism Award". Outlook. 11 April 2018. Archived from the original on 16 November 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  18. ^ Sites covering this episodes are:
  19. ^ Filkins, Dexter (2 December 2019). "Blood and Soil in Narendra Modi's India". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Archived from the original on 22 April 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  20. ^ "Indian news site The Wire to receive 2021 Free Media Pioneer award". IPI. 1 September 2021. Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  21. ^ "An Investigative Report Published on The Wire Wins Laadli Media Awards 2025". The Wire. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  22. ^ a b c Roth, Emma (17 October 2022). "Everything you need to know about The Wire's retracted reporting on Meta". The Verge. Archived from the original on 27 October 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  23. ^ "Who Does Facebook's VIP 'XCheck' Program Protect in Community Standards Shield?". Wayback Machine: Newsweek. Archived from the original on 6 November 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  24. ^ "Meta slams Indian media expose on Facebook favouring BJP as 'outlandish'". The Independent. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  25. ^ Agrawal, Aditi (13 October 2022). "Explained: What's the Wire vs Meta fight all about?". Newslaundry. Archived from the original on 2 November 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  26. ^ Roth, Emma (26 October 2022). "The Wire blames retracted Meta story on "deception" by staff member". The Verge. Archived from the original on 27 October 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  27. ^ Agrawal, Aditi (31 October 2022). "Meta vs The Wire vs Devesh Kumar: The story so far". Newslaundry. Archived from the original on 2 November 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  28. ^ Team, N. L. (27 October 2022). "The Wire issues apology, cites 'deception by a member of our Meta investigation team'". Newslaundry. Archived from the original on 2 November 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  29. ^ Team, N. L. (28 October 2022). "Wire-Meta saga: Editors Guild withdraws Tek Fog remarks, Economist points to 3 lessons from 'own-goal'". Newslaundry. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  30. ^ "The Wire Editorial: To Our Readers, an Apology and a Promise". The Wire. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  31. ^ Pollard, Ruth (31 October 2022). "Bloomberg Retracts Column on Tek Fog". The Washington Post.
  32. ^ Service, Tribune News. "Post Wire apology, Editors Guild retracts statement on Tek Fog, urges due diligence in reporting". Tribuneindia News Service. Archived from the original on 2 November 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  33. ^ Scroll Staff (28 October 2022). "Editors Guild retracts Tek Fog remarks after 'The Wire' takes down its articles". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 13 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  34. ^ "Editors Guild urges police for 'impartial' probe into complaints against The Wire". The Hindu. 2 November 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 23 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  35. ^ "How an Indian news website was blocked by the government amid the conflict with Pakistan | Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism". reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk. 12 May 2025. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  36. ^ "Over 8,000 X accounts blocked in India; The Wire says will challenge site blocking". The Hindu. 8 May 2025. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
  37. ^ Jeelani, Gulam (9 May 2025). "The Wire says access to the news website blocked after Govt orders". Mint. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
  38. ^ "The Wire says website unblocked after portal removed article". The Hindu. 10 May 2025. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  39. ^ "The Wire site unblocked after Union govt forces takedown of story". The News Minute. 10 May 2025. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  40. ^ "The Wire site 'unblocked' after takedown of Rafale story, editor calls it attack on press freedom". The Telegraph. 10 May 2025. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  41. ^ Sharma, Betwa (8 March 2017). "Rajeev Chandrasekhar Says He's Fighting A Congress-Media Conspiracy". Huffington Post India. Archived from the original on 10 July 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  42. ^ "In highly unusual move, Bengaluru court orders The Wire to remove articles on Rajeev Chandrasekhar". Scroll.in. 7 March 2017. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  43. ^ "Why Court Dismissed BJP MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar's Plea Against The Wire". The Wire. 14 March 2019. Archived from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  44. ^ "Order urging The Wire to pull articles on Rajeev Chandrasekhar vacated". Bar & Bench. 14 March 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  45. ^ Singh, Rohini (8 October 2017). "The Golden Touch of Jay Amit Shah". The Wire. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  46. ^ PTI (9 October 2017). "Jay Shah files criminal defamation case against 'The Wire'". The Hindu BusinessLine. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  47. ^ Ghoshal, Somak (1 July 2020). "Open book? In India, journalists are worried about surveillance". Index on Censorship. 49 (2): 53–55. doi:10.1177/0306422020935803.
  48. ^ Mukherji, Rahul (2020). "Covid vs. Democracy: India's Illiberal Remedy". Journal of Democracy. 31 (4): 91–105. doi:10.1353/jod.2020.0058 – via Project MUSE.
  49. ^ Kakkar, Shruti (8 September 2021). "Supreme Court Grants Protection to The Wire Journalists". Live Law. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  50. ^ "Court Orders The Wire To Take Down 14 Articles on Bharat Biotech". The Quint. 23 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wire_(India)