India Calls Out BBC Over ‘Militant’ Label in Kashmir Terror Attack Coverage
India Objects to BBC’s Language on Kashmir Terror Attack
The Indian government isn’t happy with how the BBC framed a recent terror attack in Kashmir. They’ve sent a strong message to the BBC, saying their use of the word ‘militant’ to describe the attackers minimizes the seriousness of the situation.
The controversy stems from a BBC article titled “Pakistan suspends visas for Indians after deadly Kashmir attack.” In the article, the BBC referred to the attack as a ‘militant attack,’ prompting the Indian government to write a formal letter to the BBC’s India head, Jackie Martin.
India’s External Publicity and Public Diplomacy Division made it clear to Martin that they are closely watching the BBC’s reporting on this and other issues.
Not the First Time
This isn’t the first time the use of the word ‘militant’ in reporting on this kind of attack has caused a stir. Just recently, a US Senate panel criticized The New York Times for using the same term, saying it downplayed the severity of the attack. The US House Foreign Affairs Committee also weighed in, publicly calling out the Times for using ‘militants’ and ‘gunmen’ instead of ‘terrorists’ in their coverage.
The committee even shared a screenshot of the Times’ article on X (formerly Twitter), striking out the word ‘militants’ and replacing it with ‘terrorists’ in bold red.
India Takes Action
In response to the Pahalgam terror attack, India has taken steps to combat misinformation. They’ve banned 16 Pakistani YouTube channels, including former Pakistani cricket star Shoaib Akhtar’s channel, which had millions of subscribers.
