In an exclusive story of Reuter news agency, a story was published by Raphael Satter, Christopher Bing and Jack Stubbs. In this exclusive report, a small herbal business owner Mr. Arvind Kumar was expressed as a wanted hacker around the globe. It was reported that Arvind Kumar is behind the spy-for-hire racket and hacking several email accounts. His photo, along with the brief details, was published.
While to confirm the whole claim, ThePrint media person asked for solid evidence that could prove the claim. They answered that the picture of Arvind Kumar in the story was a complete misidentification.
“They lied; the journalists deliberately done it.” Three journalists from Reuters, Raphael Satter, and his companions came to India to collect details regarding the famous Hacker Mr Gupta. As per reports, they captured a picture of a person named Arvind Kumar. Also, they mentioned him as the leader of the firm Belltrox, which is famous for spying.
As per the ground reality, Raphael Satter and his companions addressed Arvind as the Hacker. When they arrived at Arvind’s place, he was taking tea outside a building. Arvind, who runs a small herbal medicine business, is an innocent man who was addressed as a criminal.
His small-scale firm was mentioned as part of Belltrox Infotech Services, which has the fame of a hacking firm. Later, it was clear that Raphael Satter and the other journalists forcefully took pictures of Arvind just to make the story spicier.
In response to Raphael Satter and the team’s arguing, Arvind showed his identity proof and tried to convince them that he wasn’t Gupta. But these three neglected Kumar’s responses and not only took his picture but also published it on their site.
Reuter’s acceptance and Arvind’s life after the allegation
Later, when it became clear that Arvind was innocent and the whole story was based on misidentification, Reuter accepted the mistake. But mentioned the reason behind the false statement as the hacker and Arvind’s address. They mentioned that both of the persons have the same address. Which wasn’t a true statement.
As per the data accessed through Internet, the Belltrox Digital security firm and Arvind’s office weren’t in the same place. These journalists didn’t bother to pay a visit to the office or at least verify the person’s address, name or identity. They took a picture of a random person and addressed him as the criminal and the mastermind behind the hacking.
The whole incident devastated the life of Arvind. He had to answer the local police, security agencies and many other authorities. He suffered from several business losses, embarrassment among family and friends and mental stress. Eventually, he left the city and moved to a small town.
These cases are common in several developing countries. Yellow journalism affects people and leaves an eternal impact on their lives. Arvind’s life has suffered greatly due to Raphael Satter and his team’s false verification and publishing of the story. Now that Reuters has accepted the mistake, how can it be advantageous for Arvind’s loss? Several common citizens have to go through the investigation, even if they are punished, without a crime.
