Twitter-ised journalism: When a Odia daily painted Rajdeep Sardesai as a terror suspect

Quick. Here is today's News Wiz Quiz question: Is Rajdeep Sardesai one of India's best-reckoned TV journalists and anchors or is he a terror suspect?

A local Odia newspaper, Sambad, on Friday splashed on its front page a sketch of Sardesai as a terror suspect. The sketch was part of the newspaper's story on the terror suspect school children were reported to have spotted in Mumbai on Thursday, which had sent Mumbai security forces into a tizzy for two days, but with no success in catching the suspect.

The newspaper did apologise after a fuming Sardesai tweeted "@sambad_odisha is this journalism? U should be ashamed to put up photo shopped pics as news".

Apology accepted but expect it with the same prominence on your front page Tomw. And start a refresher course. https://t.co/Z7IAqbUE4a

— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) September 23, 2016

Sardesai accepted the apology but demanded that the newspaper publish the apology on the front page of the newspaper with the same prominence that they published the erroneous story with.

Sardesai has tweeted that he suspects the sketch is the mischief of some right-wing troll from among the so-called 'bhakts', a fringe tribe of fanatic Narendra Modi followers and right-wingers who revel in posting the most indecent messages about anybody who does not agree with their views.

Just saw a Odhiya newspaper Sambad puts up my sketch as a terror suspect based on RW Twitter gang mischief.If not war, these guys will kill!

— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) September 23, 2016

Yet, it's a mystery how it made to the front page of a newspaper where it must have been reviewed at multiple levels of editors before being published. Was it motivated calumny against Sardesai?

Photo shopped pics,lies,fake reporting, abuse: what next will this bhakt army stoop to on Twitter? And who will call their diabolical bluff?

— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) September 23, 2016