Imposing a penalty of Rs 1,00,000 on Zee News for a report that falsely claimed that a truck driver offering namaz atop his vehicle had caused traffic jam on the Srinagar Jammu Highway, the News Broadcasters & Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) has … Read on blog or Reader Alt News Read on blog or Reader 'Namaz by truck driver causing traffic jam': Zee News fined for false, communal reporting By Shinjinee Majumder on 26th February 2026 Imposing a penalty of Rs 1,00,000 on Zee News for a report that falsely claimed that a truck driver offering namaz atop his vehicle had caused traffic jam on the Srinagar Jammu Highway, the News Broadcasters & Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) has issued a set of guidelines to media outlets for doing stories based on information available on social media. All information, images, gathered from social media must be verified before being broadcast or published, the media regulatory body said. Merely disclaiming that the image or video is circulating on social media and that its authenticity cannot be verified would not be enough, NBDSA added. The directives came on February 18, 2026, in response to complaints filed by activist Indrajeet Ghorpade and three others over a Zee News report that falsely claimed that a traffic jam on a highway had been caused by a Muslim truck driver offering namaz. Alt News fact-checked the claim right after the bulletin had been aired. In reality, traffic had come to a halt as the Srinagar–Jammu highway was blocked due to bad weather and a landslide. The driver himself was stranded in the jam and offered his prayers while waiting for the road to reopen. According to the complaint filed on March 4, 2025, a segment in Zee News programme DNA on March 3 featured headlines like "Truck par namaz, highway kiya jam" and claimed that the driver stopped in the middle of the highway without regard for others, blocking one side while the opposite side remained clear for vehicular movement. Citing Alt News's fact-check report, Ghorpade pointed out that Zee News had aired an unverified video, violating accuracy standards and religious stereotyping guidelines, among others. A second complaint was filed by Utkarsh Mishra regarding the same episode on March 6, 2025. Mishra highlighted impugned statements communalising the incident, breaching NBDSA's stipulated guidelines to prevent communal colour in reporting crime/riots and code principles on neutrality, impartiality, and objectivity. A third compliant was lodged by Syed Kaab Rashidi on March 19, 2025, criticizing the report. According to his submission, Zee News amplified hate intending to portray Muslims as irresponsible road-blockers, risking misinformation echo chambers. The complaint quotes what the channel said in its report, which is as follows: जम्मूकश्मीर से हैरान कर देने वाला एक मामला सामने आया है दरअसल यहां पर हाईवे पर ट्रक की छत पर ड्राइवर ने नमाज अदा की जिससे वहां पर जाम की स्थिति हो गई और ट्रक ड्राइवर इस बात से बिल्कुल बेफिक्र नजर आया हाईवे पर ट्रक खड़ा है और उसके ऊपर ड्राइवर नमाज अदा करते हुए आपको नजर आ रहा होगा ड्राइवर की वजह से बीच हाईवे आएगी जाम लगा और गाड़ियों से उतर कर लोग उसे देखते नजर आए हाईवे की दूसरी तरफ आपको बिल्कुल खाली सड़क नजर क्योंकि उस पर इस ड्राइवर की तरह किसी ने नमाज अदा नहीं की वरना वहां भी स्थिति कुछ इस तरह होती बताया जा रहा है कि ड्राइवर गांदर बल के रामबन से ट्रक लेकर जा रहा था इस दौरान नमाज पढ़ने का समय हुआ तो उसने ट्रक को साइड में नहीं लगाकर बीच हाईवे नमाज अदा की Translation: A shocking incident has come to light from Jammu and Kashmir. Here, on a highway, a truck driver offered namaz on the roof of his truck, which led to a traffic jam, and the driver appeared completely unconcerned about it. The truck was standing on the highway, and the driver could be seen praying on top of it. Because of him, traffic got stuck in the middle of the highway, and people got out of their vehicles to watch. On the other side of the highway, the road looked empty because no one there was offering prayers like this driver; otherwise, the situation there would have been similar. It is being reported that the driver was taking the truck from Ramban in Ganderbal, and when it was time for prayers, instead of parking the truck to the side, he offered namaz in the middle of the highway. Zee News' Defence Zee News categorically denied the allegations as "false, misleading, and frivolous". In its defence, the channel stated that the coverage stemmed from a widely viral social media video which was aired as public-interest viral content without independent verification, explicitly disclosed on air via packaging, anchors, and reporter disclaimers, to maintain transparency and avoid presenting it as a confirmed fact. Zee also dismissed Alt News's fact check as unsubstantiated, claiming that the linked tweet and video from Mohammad Zubair had failed to explain the cause of the traffic jam. They claimed that the broadcast video clearly depicted the Namaz-offering individual with vehicles backed up behind and people watching, justifying coverage. No religious stereotyping, they claimed, occurred; reporting stayed neutral and was focused on public reaction without bias or sensationalism toward any community, fully complying with accuracy and ethical standards, and hence no corrigendum was needed, it maintained The reader must note that in its fact check, Alt News clearly presented additional footage showing traffic congestion even ahead of the concerned truck. It was amply clear from the report that the traffic jam was not caused by the driver stopping for prayers. Rather, he, himself, was stuck in the congestion. Zee emphasized that there was no communal colour or breach of neutrality/impartiality/objectivity principles. The channel highlighted immediate deletion of the video upon authenticity doubts, underscoring proactive correction. NBDSA Found Clear Violations The NBDSA found clear violations of its principles in Zee News's reporting. In the order, it noted that Zee admitted to basing the broadcast on an unverified viral social media video, with the reporter disclosing no verification on air. This constituted a "clear lapse" and "serious" violation of the accuracy principle which required verification before airing any news. According to the order, the complainants proved misrepresentation: the highway jam was caused by the weather and thus was not the driver's fault. Summarily, the airing of unverified claims amplified misinformation with communal undertones.​ While imposing a penalty of Rs 1,00,000 on Zee News, the body issued six binding guidelines beyond the existing codes: All information, images and/or videos gathered from social media must be verified by the Member to be accurate before broadcasting/publishing.  Wherever possible, all such information, images and/or videos should be corroborated by on-ground reporting and from other reliable sources, such as eyewitness testimonies, police and government official accounts.  As far as feasible, the authenticity of the images and/or videos should be fact- checked for distortion/manipulation and/or for being AI-generated. Content should not be presented out of context as reporting information, images and videos, which, although authentic, but out of context may lead to misinformation. Furthermore, any use of content on social media while reporting any news relating to any military operation, armed conflict, internal disturbance, communal violence, public disorder, crime and other similar situations should be tested on the touchstone of "public interest" AND "accuracу". Merely disclaiming that the image or video is circulating on social media and that its authenticity cannot be verified will not absolve the Member of their responsibilities under the Code of Conduct. Transgender Issue On November 8, 2024, Zee Telugu News had falsely claimed that a group of trans-women arrested by Cyberabad Police for alleged public nuisance were "fake" transgenders. In the report, images of trans women unrelated to this case were used. Activist Inderjeet Ghorpade had moved the NBDSA in this issue as well. In his complaint, Ghorpade questioned how the channel obtained these images and why they were used, given that the report did not concern the private citizens featured in them. He further stated that the assertion that the trans-women were "fake" was "transphobic, unverified, and inaccurate". With the news report, Ghorapde asserted that the Zee had violated several NBDSA rules including, but not limited to, those regarding accuracy, objectivity, neutrality, privacy, defamation, and guidelines on reporting issues concerning the LGBTQ+ community. Zee, in its defence, denied and disputed all allegations, insinuations, and averments made in the complaint, and termed them "baseless, false, misleading, and frivolous". It asserted that the impugned broadcast did not contravene any guidelines, the code of ethics, or self-regulation principles. The broadcaster asserted that the program highlighted "the distinction between those committing inappropriate acts in public spaces and the larger transgender community" and that the content of the program was derived entirely from information provided by local authorities and was corroborated by other news agencies. Admitting to the error, however, Zee clarified that the caption accompanying the impugned initially contained the word "fake," which was an inadvertent error. This error, they said, was immediately rectified upon its being brought to its attention. NBDSA's Decision The NBDSA, in its order, held that the pictures used by Zee in its programme were fake, a fact that was not disproved by the broadcaster. The explanation that these photographs were provided by the police had no documentary evidence. "Moreover, the broadcaster itself accepted that it had corrected the error by removing the word "fake". Consequently, a penalty of Rs. 1,00,000 was imposed and the photographs were asked to be removed . "These directions should be complied with within 7 days from the issuance of the Order". NBDSA said.

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