Big Media in India Has Made International Coverage Into Propaganda and a Spectacle

A segment of mainstream Indian television media has adopted an increasingly theatrical tone in its coverage of international policy, particularly since Operation Sindoor, the tariff standoff with the United States, and the recent SCO summit in Tianjin, China. Rather than presenting these events as complex geopolitical developments, leading outlets have framed these events as triumphant spectacles of Indian ascendancy, casting the prime minister as the architect of a new global order and India as the sole legitimate actor, while reducing others as either caricatured antagonists or passive spectators. 

This trend is underpinned by a social media-centred production model that prioritises virality over veracity. News coverage, saturated with emotionally charged language, dramatic visuals and populist framing, and designed to deflect scrutiny instead of informing the public, amplifies state-driven narratives. The result is a media ecosystem where propaganda is not only prevalent but also palatable, consumed, liked and shared daily by lakhs of Indians. Propaganda, in this context, refers to political messaging crafted to persuade the public of a leader’s competence and moral authority.

Sarcastic, mocking and easily shareable ‘humour’ is deployed to ridicule foreign governments, challenge competing narratives and portray government actions in a favourable light. It simplifies complex international events into memorable soundbites. This tactic not only influences domestic sentiment but also serves as a form of public diplomacy, aimed at bolstering national reputation in a global arena where “whose story wins” increasingly determines influence.

Following the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 civilian lives, Indian news outlets swiftly broadcast the retaliatory strikes under Operation Sindoor, framing them as precise and justified counter-terror measures. Headlines like ‘Justice is served. Jai Hind!’ dominated prime-time coverage. Yet, in their haste to break the story, several channels aired unverified claims, blurring fact with fiction. Rather than treating the conflict with the gravity it deserved, much of the media turned it into a spectacle, mixing real footage with sensationalised narratives. 

Speaking on Al Jazeera’s show The Listening Post, Hartosh Singh Bal, editor of The Caravan magazine, summarised this phenomenon, “As the war was unfolding in real time, their (Indian public) only choice was to turn to television to mainstream media to find out what is happening. This was a moment of tension of concern for every Indian. And at this point of time what they were getting was misinformation, an attempt to deceive. At the same time what you were getting was a performance on television almost a celebration of war antics in a circus.” 

Likewise, the 2025 Trump tariff shock was cast not simply as a conventional trade dispute and more as a defining inflection point in India’s evolving global stance, an audacious challenge to India’s sovereign agency. Television coverage magnified nationalist sentiment, portraying the episode as a dramatic convergence of economic fortitude, and strategic recalibration.

News outlets selectively frame summits and diplomatic events prioritising  optics over substance, offering little insight into India’s evolving strategic posture. As television hailed Prime Minister Modi’s diplomacy with China as a “masterstroke,” they sidestepped deeper strategic questions. At the SCO leaders’ summit, Modi condemned the Pahalgam terror attack as “an open challenge to every nation” and denounced “double standards on terrorism”, yet pointedly avoided naming Pakistan. Narratives celebrated a united front between Modi and Xi in resisting Trump’s tariff regime, but few critically engaged with India’s 2019 rejection of the RCEP or India’s dismissal of the proposed BRICS joint currency which Brazil, Russia, China, and South Africa rallied behind at the Summit in Rio de Janeiro. 

As Modi extends an invitation to President Xi Jinping for the 2026 BRICS Summit in India, critical questions remain unasked: will India recalibrate its stance on de-dollarisation, or will it continue to hedge?  If economic autonomy is to be celebrated domestically, what is India’s path forward vis-a-vis global trade alliances? 

Mainstream TV news anchors have shifted their narrative on China like the wind – one moment calling for economic boycotts and retaliation, the next applauding diplomatic overtures and trade partnerships.

India’s stance at the SCO exposed strategic contradictions. Though it joined other members in denouncing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the June 2025 strikes by Israel and the U.S. on Iran, it had conspicuously withheld support for a similar resolution earlier that year. The media remained silent on this pivot, preferring celebratory narratives over rigorous scrutiny. 

The fusion of propaganda, humour and infotainment has blurred the line between information and spectacle, eroding meaningful media discourse on foreign policy issues. As audiences grow more attuned to entertainment than analysis, media channels gain disproportionate influence over public perception. In light of their central role in shaping opinion and policy, the media must be held to higher standards, demanding greater transparency, accountability and intellectual rigor.

Vaishali Basu Sharma is a strategic and economic affairs analyst.

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