Cobrapost's 'shoddy' sting on Paytm: Pertinent questions remain unanswered
What's the story
Cobrapost, arguably the king of sting operations in India, is back with another in its Operation-136 series, which reveals media houses' willingness to peddle content (mostly 'Hindutva'-related) for money.
But today, we address another matter: the part in which they conduct a similar sting on Paytm.
Consequently, #UninstallPaytm is trending as much as #MediaOnSale.
But how reliable is this Cobrapost sting, really?
Operation-136
About Cobrapost's 'Operation-136'
For those who don't know, 'Operation-136' (named after India's ranking in the 2017 world press freedom index) has targeted big names in the industry.
Part-I covered ScoopWhoop, DNA, Dainik Jagran, Amar Ujala, India TV and Rediff, among others.
In part-II, stings have been conducted on other top players including Times of India, Hindustan Times, India Today, Network 18, Red FM, Big FM and Open Magazine.
Paytm sting
Coming to the Paytm sting
In the Paytm sting, Cobrapost journalist Pushp Sharma meets Paytm-VP Sudhanshu Gupta as a 'Shrimad Bhagwad Gita Prachar Samiti' promoter, and proposes a deal for promoting Hindutva.
Sudhanshu shows how they're doing the same for PM Modi's book 'Exam Warriors.' He adds they can make quizzes to promote Pushp's agenda.
Another meeting with Senior-VP Ajay Shekhar Sharma, brother of founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, follows.
Details
The details that have set the internet on fire
During the meeting, Ajay boasts about his association with RSS and top ministers, including Narendra Singh Tomar, Arun Kumar and Shivraj Chouhan.
But he expresses surprise that no one from the RSS has talked to him directly about the agenda Pushp was citing, and refuses to commit without talking to 'sources.'
"RSS has made us do things I can't even reveal," he vaguely mentions.
Information
The 'ultimate' revelation
The 'ultimate' revelation comes when Ajay mentions stone-pelting in Kashmir. "Remember when stone-pelting stopped in Kashmir? The PMO called me personally and asked for data, they said maybe some of them are Paytm users, do you understand?"
Findings
Cobrapost's claims are far from what the sting actually reveals
Cobrapost calls the sting "shocking" since "top honchos...boast of their close-association with RSS."
Fact: Most people have political/religious-affiliation. It's questionable only when it affects work unethically.
Cobrapost adds Ajay confessed sharing data of users.
Fact: In the video, Ajay only mentions they were asked for data.
Cobrapost also claims Ajay supplied data to a "political party."
Fact: Ajay only mentions PMO in this context.
Twitter Post
Cobrapost's tweet, far from truth, has netizens overreacting
#MediaOnSale Ajay Shekhar of paytm revealed that how they provided the data of their users to a political party, on the order of PMO. pic.twitter.com/fKZPQ2LDGZ
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) May 25, 2018
Flaws
The sting leaves many other doubts unanswered
Cobrapost's video is a compilation of selected quotes. Without the unedited footage, it's impossible to determine if there was misinterpretation/misquoting.
The only revelation Paytm 'almost' makes is that it shared user data in violation of its privacy policy, and again, even that's not proven in this video.
The pertinent question is - why did Cobra lie in its tweet? The data was asked by PMO and not a political party. And, the worrying fact is Twitterati's quick reactions!
Information
All said and done, Paytm should come clean
When you and I give our information to private companies, we also put in a lot of trust into them. In a time and age when privacy has become a joke and often blatantly disregarded by these companies, Paytm should come clean if they have shared our data.
Conclusion
We wish Cobrapost does well what it is known for
If Cobrapost's claims are true, they merit an investigation: no company should be allowed to break laws without consequences.
But at present, whether Paytm actually did so is far from conclusive.
Cobrapost has exposed groundbreaking truths: it got rule-breaking MPs expelled, exposed money-laundering in top banks, and revealed damning details about Babri Masjid demolition.
But this time, it has missed the mark by far.