CHENNAI: Controversy erupted on Republic Day after Chief Minister MK Stalin presented the Kottai Ameer Communal Harmony to Mohammed Zubair, the co-founder of fact-checking website AltNews, with the BJP criticising the move. The chief minister, in a post on X, highlighted the award given to Zubair, which also entails a cash reward of Rs 25,000, a medal and a certificate.
Reacting to the news, state BJP president K Annamalai said, “The social harmony award to a biased manipulator on Republic Day is an insult to all recipients of this award in the past. Creating social disharmony would be the right category to place this person. ”
“DMK’s choice doesn’t surprise us, as they continue to call a suicide bombing a cylinder blast and they’ve developed a new liking for half-truth peddlers under the disguise fact-checkers. Tax money is down the drain, but does it matter to the DMK Govt?,” he added.
Zubair told reporters, “Lot of fake news is going around. Debunking them at the right time is very important.”However, he could not be reached for comments regarding the criticism. Later, in a post on X, he said, “Didn’t know the multiple fact checks by my team debunking dangerous fake news related to migrant workers from Bihar in Tamil Nadu would be recognised by the govt. Thank you everyone. I am overwhelmed to receive the ‘Kottai Ameer Communal Harmony Award’(sic).”