Be cautious in publishing ads masquerading as news item, EC reminds newspapers

The Election Commission has reminded newspapers to be cautious in carrying political advertisements masquerading as news headlines meant to mislead people.

It has also said that there should be explicit restrictions on advertisements predicting the victory of a particular party.

"... and any form of speculative content related to election outcomes shall be avoided," the EC said while seeking to address the issues of unverified and baseless allegations in advertisements.

In a press note issued earlier this week on media coverage, the poll panel said advertisements in print media on the pre-poll day and poll day will require pre-certification from the concerned Media Certification and Monitoring Committee.

"...Political advertisements, especially skybus advertisements masquerading as news headlines to mislead readers, shall not be published in newspapers," it said referring to its advisory on plummeting levels of discourse during campaigning issued in March.

It drew the attention of the print media to the guidelines issued by the Press Council of India and norms of journalists' conduct-2022 to be followed during elections.

Similarly, it reminded the electronic media of the "Guidelines for Election Broadcasts" issued by the News Broadcasters and Digital Association.