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

New Delhi: The Election Commission has issued a reminder to newspapers to exercise caution when publishing political advertisements that could be mistaken for news headlines and potentially mislead the public. The Commission has also stated that advertisements that predict the victory of a specific party should be explicitly restricted.

In an effort to address the issue of unverified and baseless allegations in advertisements, the Commission has advised against any speculative content related to election outcomes.

According to a press note released earlier this week regarding media coverage, the Commission has stated that advertisements in print media on the day before the poll and on the poll day itself will need to be pre-certified by the relevant Media Certification and Monitoring Committee.

The Commission has specifically stated that political advertisements, particularly skybus advertisements that could be mistaken for news headlines and mislead readers, should not be published in newspapers. This statement refers to an advisory issued in March concerning the declining levels of discourse during campaigning. The Commission has drawn the attention of the print media to the guidelines issued by the Press Council of India and the norms of journalists’ conduct-2022 that should be adhered to during elections.

In a similar vein, the electronic media has been reminded of the “Guidelines for Election Broadcasts” issued by the News Broadcasters and Digital Association.