Deafening studio sirens. Recycled war footage. From defending the indefensible to peddling outright fake news, there isn't a conflict usual suspects on mainstream TV media won't exploit.
The escalating war between Israel, the United States, and Iran is now being re-edited and 'Godi-fied' for living rooms across the country.
Aaj Tak’s Anjana Om Kashyap shared a two-day-old video from Manama, Bahrain, where you can see an Iranian drone hitting a skyscraper, claiming that it’s from Dubai. Their sister channels, India Today and NDTV, also ran the same visuals, even though the viral video shows ‘Zaya Tower’ in Manama.
Here, @aajtak's @anjanaomkashyap starts her day with a fake news. Shares a two day old video from Manama, Bahrain claiming that it is from Dubai today. Do these News Channels and News Anchors even realise what parents and relatives of people living in Dubai, UAE would be going… https://t.co/J2pNf43tRF pic.twitter.com/BZLDk2UXFw
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) March 3, 2026
This video is two days ago from Manama, Bahrain, Not Dubai as claimed by @ndtv and @IndiaToday. You can 'Zaya Tower' in the viral video. https://t.co/XtCJcMI8uS pic.twitter.com/wE40F72nhQ
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) March 3, 2026
The video is from Manama, Bahrain two days ago. Not Dubai, UAE. You can locate the building 'Zaya Tower' in the viral video. @aajtak please verify before Posting. https://t.co/qFdfzzKalR pic.twitter.com/9Mp3tA2WC1
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) March 3, 2026
Rahul Shivshankar’s amplification of the clip came with a predictable layer of subtext. By highlighting the cries of ‘Allahu Akbar’, Shivshankar engaged in the kind of dog-whistling that has become a staple of Indian newsrooms, while clearly ignoring the fact that Muslims invoke this phrase in moments of grief, fear, gratitude, and joy alike. By stripping the words of their context and framing them as a signifier of conflict, Shivshankar isn't just reporting on the Iran crisis; he’s reinforcing a domestic bias under the guise of geopolitical ‘analysis’.
IRANIAN SHAHED DRONE STRIKES DUBAI
— Rahul Shivshankar (@RShivshankar) March 3, 2026
A Shahed 136 drone delivered a significant impact on a building in Dubai where American military personnel were stationed.
INTERESTING AUDIO. SAYS A LOT. pic.twitter.com/2vVicrB5vW
Meanwhile, NDTV circulated a one-week-old video to showcase how the US Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was attacked by two Iranian drones. The conflict started only on February 28 – a fact their desk editors missed.
The Saudi Ministry of Defense announced that the US Embassy in Riyadh was attacked by two drones. Hello @ndtv @NDTVWORLD, Ask your field reporter @AdityaRajKaul and desk editors to use the latest visuals instead of circulating old videos. pic.twitter.com/nEinn4xmfQ
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) March 3, 2026
Taking matters to an extreme, ABP News hosted a panel of astrologers versus scientists debating the conflict in West Asia. Forget any sober geopolitical analysts, the astrologers on the panel claimed that the conflict was happening because Iran’s ‘kundali’ (horoscope) was bad.
Iranian Media: The war started as a cover up for Epstein Files.
— Jawaharlal Nehru (@PMNehru) March 3, 2026
US Media: The war started because Iran was building nuclear weapons.
Indian Media: Actually it started because Iran's horoscope was bad. pic.twitter.com/7I36hcbcUs
ABP news panel of astrologers vs scientists debating the latest Gulf war.
— Tanvi Madan (@tanvi_madan) March 2, 2026
Forget all your analysis. Astrologers say it's all cuz of the lunar eclipse. Predictions include: escalation till March 15! April will be worse! China will get involved! It's also a bad time for Pooteen! pic.twitter.com/fXSlcbVJ3E
If you have family in the Gulf, avoid relying on Indian TV channels for “news.” What you’re seeing is sensationalism dressed as journalism, with unverified reports, recycled clips, and, of course, the shrill theatrics of screaming anchors thrown in for effect.
— SamSays (@samjawed65) March 3, 2026
If this wasn’t bad enough, our very own ANI had no issue platforming Goldie Ghamari, falsely claiming that the Iranian regime was responsible for a strike that killed 165 people – mostly schoolgirls – in an elementary school in Minab, a city in Iran’s Hormozgan province. Ghamari is a former Canadian lawmaker of Iranian descent and a pro-Reza Pahlavi, pro-Donald Trump Iranian diaspora voice.
#WATCH | Ontario, Canada | On reports of a strike at an elementary girls’ school in Minab amid the West Asia conflict, Lawyer and former Canadian Lawmaker of Iranian descent, Goldie Ghamari, says, "Who released the news? The Islamic Republic... From all reports that I have seen,… pic.twitter.com/1ahqfZTYtI
— ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2026
This claim, however, has been debunked by Shayan Sardarizadeh, the BBC's disinformation reporter.
This claim, taken from a Telegram channel, is completely untrue.
— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) March 2, 2026
Iranian authorities have not taken responsibility for a deadly blast near a primary school in Minab that killed dozens of school children, nor have they said that the damage was caused by an IRGC missile. https://t.co/0OmFpJUL4T
On News18 India, Aman Chopra repeatedly claimed the Saudis had contracted the US to kill Khamenei, citing a Washington Post report that had been dismissed hours before Chopra’s telecast by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Notably, the Post report mentioned both Saudi Arabia and Israel as behind the lobbying efforts. Still, Chopra focused on the former, in keeping with the outdated idea that it was merely the Sunnis vs the Shias, that Muslims populated warmongering nations. The American and Israeli unprovoked aggression, despite the Iranian position on nuclear negotiations, wasn’t even a footnote in the anchor’s agenda.
The show was largely framed around the question of why India, especially Modi, should intervene in another country’s internal matters. Without the context: the accusation that Modi had already aligned himself by skipping any statement on Khamenei’s killing and by an ill-timed visit to Israel that was seen by Israeli media as a clear alignment.
Narrative building against Iran
Beyond the outright lies, fake visuals, and disinformation, there is also an attempt to build a narrative against Iran – a country with which India shares historical ties.
News18 India’s Amish Devgan recently took to X to school the Opposition on why Prime Minister Modi needn't bother with reaching out to Iran in this difficult time. His logic? Iran has never stood by India, citing the 1965 and 1971 wars as proof.
As he noted, “Those people should just recall when Iran stood with India.... Be it the Mumbai attack or the 1965 and 1971 wars.... Every time, Iran has stood against India.”
देश का पूरा विपक्ष प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी पर आरोप लगा रहा है कि वो ईरान के पक्ष में बयान क्यों नहीं दे रहे....उन लोगों को ज़रा याद कर लेना चाहिए कि ईरान कब भारत के साथ खड़ा था....मुंबई हमला हो या 1965 और 1971 का युद्ध....हार बार ईरान भारत के खिलाफ ही रहा है... #IranWar pic.twitter.com/yNmefTW4ZN
— Amish Devgan (@AMISHDEVGAN) March 3, 2026
There’s just one tiny, chronological hiccup: The Islamic Republic that Devgan is critiquing didn’t exist until the 1979 Revolution.
As veteran defence reporter Man Aman Singh Chhina pointed out in The Indian Express: “It is worth noting that, while India has had reasonably good relations with Iran since the 1979 regime change, the country’s earlier ruler, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, was decidedly pro-Pakistan. Pahlavi, who ruled Iran from 1941 to 1979, was instrumental in helping Pakistan with military aid during the 1965 and 1971 wars with India. And much of this military help was given at the bidding of US administrations.”
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's position on Kashmir was complex. After taking over as Supreme Leader in 1989, he often invoked Kashmir in his speeches and sermons.
When violence erupted in 1990, he said, “Kashmir is a contemporary example. Muslims there speak out their rights. Anyone who is informed of what Kashmir has gone through knows what the Muslims of Kashmir express is nothing but truth and justice. Those who silence them have an unjust cause.”
At the same time, Iran has historically refused to align with Pakistan's position on Kashmir. Most famously in 1994, then-President Rafsanjani blocked a UN resolution condemning India’s human rights record in the region. By refusing to support the move, Iran effectively denied Pakistan the consensus it needed, causing the resolution to be withdrawn and saving New Delhi from international censure – a high-stakes diplomatic favour many still recall, even as our newsrooms choose to forget it.
As this explainer in The Indian Express also noted: "Iran was also instrumental in raising frequent objections to Pakistan’s anti-India resolutions in forums such as the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (formerly the Organisation of the Islamic Conference), among others.”
Khamenei was often critical of India over Kashmir and other domestic issues, yet during his tenure, bilateral ties reached unprecedented heights.
What many – including our primetime anchors – fail to grasp is that Khamenei wasn't just Iran’s Supreme Leader; he was a preeminent religious figurehead for Shia Muslims globally. While he frequently spoke out against policies he viewed as harmful to Muslim interests, he simultaneously maintained a functional, even warm, relationship with New Delhi – a rarity in a regional neighbourhood that has grown increasingly hostile. None of this nuance, however, has stopped our TV anchors from flattening the facts to peddle a convenient anti-Iran narrative.
WAS IRAN UNDER AYATOLLAH KHAMENEI A FRIEND OF INDIA?
— Rahul Shivshankar (@RShivshankar) March 2, 2026
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's stance on India:
1. 2017 he urged Muslim nations to back “oppressed Muslims of Kashmir.”
2. After the 2019 abrogation of Article 370, he demanded a “just policy."
3. During the 2020 Delhi… pic.twitter.com/nuoiYztv0U
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