How TOI, HT, Indian Express and The Hindu Covered Cobrapost’s Exposé

Note: This story has been updated to incorporate details of coverage by the Indian Express and TOI’s response.

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On May 25, Cobrapost released video recordings of business executives and owners of 25 media houses agreeing to accept money (and in some cases black money) from an undercover reporter offering cash in exchange for a political campaign to be run in advertorial (and in some cases plain editorial) form. This, despite their prospective “client” explicitly saying his aim is to cause polarisation.

The fact that this investigation was not considered newsworthy by the country’s largest English language dailies tells its own story.

You can read The Wire’s coverage of the Cobrapost investigation here.

1. 1. Big media houses say yes to Hindutva, black money, paid news
   2. At the Times Group, Cobrapost Sting Shows How Cash is King
   3. The two West Bengal newspapers that refused to sell out
   4. Senior VP at Paytm claims firm was asked to share user data with PMO
   5. Watch: Siddharth Varadarajan breaks down the Cobrapost exposé
   6. Watch: Vinod Dua on the Cobrapost sting

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Cobrapost’s own stories and videos can be accessed here.

Update: The Indian Express carried a detailed story on the Cobrapost expose on the 9th page in their May 27 print edition. You can read it here:

Meanwhile, TOI carried their version of the story on their website claiming that they actually conducting a reverse sting. You can read it here.