Bollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha slammed Indian news channels for their sensationalised coverage of current military operations. In a scathing post on social media, the actress criticised the media for prioritising drama over facts during a time of national tension.
Tension between India and Pakistan escalated after the latter launched drone and missile attacks across several Indian states, including Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir on May 8. Indian forces successfully neutralised each of these threats.
On May 9, the Ministry of Defence issued an official advisory to media outlets and digital platforms to avoid live or real-time coverage of defence operations and troop movements, citing national security concerns.
Reacting to the post, Sonakshi wrote on her Instagram story, "Our news channels are a joke! I'm so done with these over dramatised visuals and sound effects, the screaming and shouting! What are you'll doing? Just do your job, report facts as they are."
She added, "Stop sensationalising WAR and creating panic on people who are anyway anxious for God's sake. People just find a reliable news source and stick to that.. stop watching this garbage in the name of news."
Meanwhile, the government's advisory warned that premature or unverified reporting can compromise operational safety and endanger lives, referencing past incidents like the Kargil War, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, and the Kandahar hijacking.
The Ministry called on all media stakeholders to uphold responsibility, sensitivity, and vigilance.
Escalation followed India's launch of Operation Sindoor -- a series of focused and precise strikes on nine terror camps located in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) - in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people.
