Media distorted facts: Pinarayi

Thiruvananthapuram: Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday criticised the media for distorting the facts and spreading misleading details on the state's relief efforts for Wayanad landslide survivors.
"The disaster that occurred in Meppadi was unprecedented in the history of Kerala. The state has submitted a memorandum to the Centre requesting urgent additional financial assistance for disaster relief.The figures in that memorandum were misinterpreted as expenditure figures," the CM said.
By terming it as a crime against society, the CM said the figures were falsely misinterpreted as the expenditure already made for the relief activities. He also warned of legal action against the media which are misleading the people.
"The false narrative that Kerala is inflating figures to unjustly obtain central aid has deeply infiltrated the minds of a large section of the population. Both the people of Kerala and the state govt have been defamed before the world," Vijayan said.
"Therefore, it must be said that this is not merely a case of fake news or an issue of media ethics. The major problem with fake news is not the lies themselves but the agenda behind them. This agenda is against the state and its people. Those behind this agenda want to discourage the people who are contributing to the CMDRF, he added.
"The rescue operations we have conducted in Wayanad were praised both nationally and internationally. The govt has been providing all kinds of assistance to the victims and the dependents of those who died in the disaster. The agenda behind the fake news was to undermine that support and block aid. Another malicious aim was to dissuade ordinary people from contributing to the relief fund. Let it be stated unequivocally that this destructive media activity is a crime against society," the CM said.
He also said that not all media were to be blamed and added that it was commendable that some had realised their mistake and corrected the false news they had reported. "However, it has been observed that media in general have turned into controversy factories. They have forgotten their responsibility to strengthen democracy by objectively conveying the truth to society. Instead, they have descended into creating controversies, misleading the public, and implementing commercial political agendas," he added.
"In their haste to tarnish the state govt's reputation, they have betrayed the victims of the disaster. Fake propaganda aimed at undermining the credibility of disaster management systems and relief funds will have significant repercussions in society. Reporting such an important issue without adhering to the basic journalistic duty of verifying details with the parties concerned is irresponsible," he said.
Kerala submitted the memorandum in strict compliance with the guidelines issued by the Centre. The fake news creators misinterpreted it to mislead the public into believing there was fraud and corruption, aiming to turn them against the govt, he added.