India's broadcast self-regulator, the News Broadcasting & Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA), fined Zee News Rs 2 lakh on September 11 for its coverage of an August 2025 student protest at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). The NBDSA found that the channel misrepresented footage to present a communal narrative and ordered Zee News to remove the content from all platforms within seven days, confirming compliance in writing.
The NBDSA, chaired by former Supreme Court judge Justice A.K. Sikri, determined that Zee News omitted the actual cause of the protest—a tuition fee hike—and instead focused on a brief, decontextualised slogan suggesting the agitation was about the Israel-Gaza war. The channel aired three segments on August 16, 2025, on its shows "Deshhit" and "DNA", highlighting a 10-15 second clip from an 18-minute speech delivered on August 12. The regulator also criticized provocative on-air language, including a reference to giving protesters "Yogi-style treatment," which it said was more likely to incite action against students than report the news, according to medianama.com.
The fine and content removal order underscore the NBDSA's role in enforcing the broadcast industry's code of conduct, particularly regarding accurate and responsible reporting on sensitive issues. The case highlights challenges in media coverage of student protests and communal narratives in India. The penalty is part of broader regulatory scrutiny over news channels' portrayal of protests and social movements, reflecting ongoing tensions between media freedom and accountability.
Zee News has been directed to remove the contested content from all platforms and submit a compliance report within seven days, as per the NBDSA order dated September 11, 2026, medianama.com reported.