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Firstpost is an Indian news website owned by Network18 Group, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC TV18.[1][2] It has posted misinformation on multiple occasions.[1][2]
The Network 18 group was originally owned by Raghav Bahl. In January 2012, the group received an investment from Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries through a rights issue of up to Template:Currency.[3]
History
Firstpost began in 2011 as an online news portal of Network18.[4] In May 2013, the news group was merged with the Indian edition of Forbes India whose four top editorial heads, including editor in chief Indrajit Gupta, were dismissed.[5][6] The event led to a media furor.[7] Thereafter on 31 May 2013, Firstpost took over a satirical website Fakingnews.com for an undisclosed amount.[8] According to Scroll.in, "Network18, with its online outlet FirstPost, famously lost its primetime anchors in 2014 because of a diktat against criticising Modi."[9]
In 2015, The Caravan reported on censorship in Firstpost over criticism of political leaders such as Arun Jaitley.[10] In January 2019, a weekly English-language print edition of Firstpost began,[4][11] and then ended in June 2019, with publication of Firstpost continuing online.[12] As of April 2020, Jaideep Giridhar is the executive editor of Firstpost in Mumbai, while Sanjay Singh is the deputy executive editor.[13] On 26 January 2023, the prime-time show Vantage was launched, hosted by managing editor Palki Sharma Upadhyay, formerly of WION.[14]
Fact-checkers have found Firstpost to have posted incorrect information on multiple occasions. In 2023, it misreported a photo of a grave with an iron grille as having been taken in Pakistan, even though the grave was actually located in Hyderabad, India.[2] In 2023, it falsely reported that Atiq Ahmed's vote had 'saved' the United Progressive Alliance government in 2008.[15][1] In 2025, it passed off an unrelated image from a 2021 video as being that of the perpetrator of the 2025 Pahalgam attack.[16]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 News18, Firstpost Tweet Old Video of Waterspout as Cyclone Nisarga, Chatterjee, Swasti. BOOM(3 June 2020). Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Media misreport: Viral photo of grave with iron grille is from Hyderabad, not Pakistan. Alt News(30 April 2023). Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ↑ Reliance enters media by opening purse strings for Network18(4 January 2012). Retrieved 11 January 2014.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Firstpost newspaper targeted at niche, discerning audiences. Mint(23 January 2019). Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ↑ 'Forbes India' editors sacked for demanding stock ownership. The Hindu(9 June 2013). Retrieved 11 January 2014.
- ↑ Why Forbes' editors in India were sacked. Rediff. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
- ↑ No country for good journalists?. Business Standard(16 November 2013). Retrieved 20 February 2014.
- ↑ Firstpost buys current affairs satire portal FakingNews.com. Hindustan Times(31 May 2013). Retrieved 26 August 2020.
- ↑ Vadra investigation: Congress attacks NDTV as FirstPost gets praise – what's going on?. Scroll.in(3 June 2016). Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ↑ Why is Firstpost Being Asked to Refrain from Criticising Three Top Leaders from the BJP?, Dev, Atul. The Caravan(15 August 2015). Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ↑ Making news — Zee's financial woes, Firstpost launch and BJP's WhatsApp 'fake news'. ThePrint(28 January 2019). Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ↑ Network18 suspends publication of Firstpost newspaper. Mint(6 June 2019). Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ↑ About Firstpost - Firstpost. Firstpost. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
- ↑ Palki Sharma's Vantage - Changing geopolitical landscape through the Indian lens. Free Press Journal. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ↑ Fact-check: Did Atiq Ahmed's Vote 'Save the Upa Govt' in the 2008 Trust Vote?, Varma, Aishwarya. TheQuint(18 April 2023). Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ↑ Kashmir Terror Attack: Media outlets use screengrab from 2021 video, claim it shows terrorist from Pahalgam incident, Majumder, Shinjinee. Alt News(2025-04-24). Retrieved 2025-05-12.