Dharmendra Hoax: When the Media Forgot to Verify and the Politicians Looked Away

By Dr Kumar Rakesh
It began like so many internet storms do — with a whisper that became a roar. “Dharmendra passes away,” claimed posts on X and WhatsApp. Within minutes, smaller portals picked up the story, and condolences started pouring in. Even all so called big National Tv also ran this news without verifying the concern & horses mouth.

By the time Dharmendra Ji’s wife & MP Hema Malini and daughter Esha Deol spoke out, the damage was done. One of India’s most beloved stars had to reassure fans that he was, in fact, alive.he has been released from mumbai hospital on 12th Nov morning .

The question isn’t just about a careless headline — it’s about an entire system that allows such misinformation to thrive. Who verifies the verifiers?

For years, Bharat has lived with a half-built structure for media accountability. The Press Council of India deals only with print. Television and digital media largely regulate themselves — an idea that sounds noble, until it fails spectacularly. The result is what we saw with Dharmendra: the race to be first completely replaces the responsibility to be right.

I remember asking this very question back in 2003, when we met with Mr Ravi Shankar Prasad ,then Information & Broadcasting Minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s cabinet. After discussing many media related issues ,I asked him directly, “Why can’t Bharat have an independent media council that oversees all forms of media — print, TV, and now digital?”

He smiled and said something vague — “How is it possible?” What you want ? You want media fraternity should be enemy of our government??After understanding his intentions, I was speechless.
Two decades later, that same avoidance still defines every political regime.

Neither the Congress-led UPA governments that followed nor the BJP-led NDA governments of recent years have touched the idea seriously. Ministers have come and gone — from Jaipal Reddy and Ambika Soni to Prakash Javadekar ,Smriti Irani, and Anurag Thakur — but the conversation about authenticating information before it hits public space never really took root.

Why? Because a strong, independent media council is inconvenient. It would demand transparency from newsrooms and from the government. It would hold both to account. And in the political calculus of every party, that’s one headache too many.

But the cost of doing nothing is visible every time a false report goes viral — every time a family is forced to deny a death that never happened, every time trust in journalism sinks a little lower.

Dharmendra’s case should not be dismissed as just another internet rumour. It should be the last straw. If the media can declare a living legend dead without a second thought, what hope do we have when the next fake claim involves a crisis, a riot, or a policy decision?

This isn’t the first time a national figure has been “declared dead” by social media before facts could catch up. In July 2024, similar rumours claimed that former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani had passed away. Within minutes, hashtags trended, channels picked up the false claim, and public figures began posting tributes. We were among the first to confirm that the news was fake and condemn the reckless reporting that accompanied it. Yet, just like now, there was no introspection — no collective pause in newsrooms, no accountability from the Information & Broadcasting Ministry, no lesson learned.

India deserves better — a system where speed never outruns truth, and where governments, regardless of party, stop pretending that a media council is “impossible.” It’s not impossible. It’s just inconvenient.I think .present Modi govt should think .rethink about the status of media with establishment of National Media Council to protect the privacy of all concern with promote accountability & transparency in all manners.

In last 35 years. I have come across many experiences about utility of media by politicians for their vested interests despite the public interest.

The relationship of media & politics should also be properly defined in public interests.