Censorship – Publications

Issued via a government order on 15 May 2020, the 53-page document bears a clear warning both to the owners of the media houses as well as to the journalists they employ. According to the empanelment guidelines of the policy, which lays down the criteria for the media’s eligibility to obtain government advertisements, the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) would go into the “antecedents of the paper/news portal as well that of its publishers/editors/key personnel” before the empanelment. Similarly, it would also do a “robust background check including verification of antecedents of each journalist.” (Information Department 2020).