MORE INSPIRED RIDICULOUSNESS

I think this Facebook response by Barkha Dutt to someone who posted Chetan Kunte's post there verges on the absurd and the tantalizingly revealing:

Mr Saini,

Just because some random bloke can sit at a computer and make up stuff doesnt mean he or others like him need to be dignified with responding to their utter and total rubbish. rubbish is what it is. And as already mentioned. Mr. Kunte has been served a legal notice for libel by NDTV. That should give you some indication of where we and I stand. The freedom afforded by the Interent cannot be used to fling allegations at individuals or groups in the hope that they will then respond to things that arent worthy of engagement.

If you have any remaining questions my column on media coverage is available online.
Happy New Year.

But isn't the entire Internet pretty much a collection of "random blokes sitting at computers and making up stuff"? In fact isn't that the whole purpose of freedom of the Internet, that anyone can make up any stuff he or she wants to? But more importantly, isn't the Internet supposed to be the ultimate free market of ideas? If someone makes up ridiculous stuff, most of us will ignore it and it will peter out of the pool of valuable opinions. What I still fail to understand about this is why NDTV took such umbrage to the opinions of one lone blogger (who is not even some influential mover or shaker). NDTV is a big and successful organization; it's not even that Chetan Kunte's post exposed some big lie which would have brought them down. If some people are going to be misled by what Kunte wrote, let them get out on the record and correct the allegations. After all they would be guaranteed an audience much bigger than Chetan Kunte. And by pompously serving Kunte a legal notice, hasn't NDTV "dignified" him with the ultimate response? Obviously NDTV was concerned about some effect that Kunte's post would have. I am still trying to figure out what effect they considered so serious that they felt the need to muzzle this blogger.

Also, the last line quoted by Ms. Dutt (assuming it is Ms. Dutt) is in her own words, utter and total rubbish. Nobody can disallow anyone else to spout as much rubbish about someone as they want on the Internet. In response, nobody then stops the concerned party from responding as vociferously and clearly as they want. Barkha Dutt could have started a whole blog named "Lies That Chetan Kunte Told You: Setting The Record Straight" and it would have been fine and in fact very much in the spirit of the Internet. The Internet is precisely the vehicle for expressing all kinds of opinions. It's simple; if Kunte's allegations were baseless, then NDTV could have easily exposed them by providing some details. If not, then they wisely could have just kept quiet. But by serving him some ridiculous notice, they have simply done the most undiplomatic and unworthy thing that they can.

For now, some simple words for them; When in a ditch, stop digging. Better still, reach out for a hand.

Facebook link: Musefree

ON THE FECUNDITY OF THE LOWER EXTREMITIES

Only two things are infinite; the universe, and human stupidity- Albert Einstein

A couple of weeks ago, a New York Times editorial about freedom of press in India quoted a Chinese citizen who had visited India, who was amazed by the brazen statements that journalists were allowed to make during the November terrorist attacks in Mumbai; in China such journalists would have been almost instantly muzzled, if not worse. But now it seems that for all the freedom of press in our country, at least NDTV wants to deny that same freedom to criticize to individuals. For some reason, they still seem to have trouble understanding that supporting freedom of speech precisely means supporting the freedom of those who vehemently criticize you and disagree with you.

By now the story must have become known to many. It's really simple; blogger Chetan Kunte harshly criticizes Barkha Dutt and NDTV for their reporting during the Mumbai attacks that sounded like they may have compromised the safety of those hostages still inside. At the very least they sounded highly intrusive for the people who had just gotten out; most people who have barely escaped with their life don't appreciate being bombarded with questions and having microphones being thrust into their faces.

It does not even matter whether I agree with the blogger's views. Digressing briefly though, I have to say that I at least partially do; because of the Thanksgiving holidays I was watching the coverage for almost a full day, and I do agree that many annoying journalists including Barkha Dutt were a tad too enthusiastic about getting details that would make more than a few special forces personnel uncomfortable. Freedom of speech cannot extend to publicly divulging sensitive information, although I understand the line is not easy to define or enforce.

But that does not matter. What the blogger did was express a personal opinion and linked to sources he thought were relevant. Now all that appears on his blog is a very sad-to-read apology tendered to Barkha Dutt and NDTV. His original post has disappeared, although still visible in Google Cache. To my knowledge we don't know what happened, but the most logical conclusion is that he was muzzled, bullied and threatened by NDTV's legal cell. Maybe he was asked to pay some ridiculous amount of money for "defamation". Now what; NDTV threatening Google to remove the post from their cache?

In doing this, both NDTV and Barkha Dutt have nicely shot themselves in the foot with a Howitzer (as if Barkha Dutt wasn't getting enough criticism and craved more of it). As Gaurav says, forget about rights and wrongs; they have made a huge tactical blunder. After Chetan wrote the post, maybe a few dozen bloggers at most were aware of it and either supported it or disagreed with him. Now hundreds more are not only going to know about his post, but are going to disdain NDTV and Dutt for their scare tactics. Now their name is going to be all over the Internet(s). What better way to popularize your organization and its views! Obviously NDTV hasn't learnt from another infamous incident.

As long as people don't learn that allowing someone the freedom to vehemently and vituperatively disagree with them is the most important type of freedom, their foot is always going to keep looking like an exceedingly palatable target. Shoot away!

Original source: Gaurav and Patrix
Updates: Desipundit