> Broadcasters, while reporting on any issue concerning the LGBTQIA+ community, must strive for diverse representation and ensure that voices from different segments of the LGBTQIA+

community are provided a platform to express their views. Speaking to TNM, Indrajeet said that while petitioning against the programme, he also wanted them to release some guidelines,

specific to reporting LGBTQIA+ issues. “It becomes easier for them to understand and easier for people like me to fight such cases. Once the guidelines are in place, we don't have to

establish homophobia or stereotyping each time. So I had proposed guidelines in context of the case,” he said. WHAT IS THE CASE ABOUT? Indrajeet, founder of LGBTQIA+ advocacy group _Yes, We

However, Indrajeet, in his complaint, stated that the visuals were not from the pride event but from an event hosted by the White House. The channel has responded saying that they had only

said that it was a “family event” and that charges were framed against the three persons.  In the video, the anchor explains an image on the screen of three persons topless and calls it

“indecent exposure” and claims that three persons were “banned from events after they posed topless” and that the White House had to issue an apology for the same. Indrajeet contended that

the three persons were in fact a trans woman and two trans men showing their top surgery scars and that it was not indecency under DC (District of Columbia) law. He also stated that there

were no charges against the three as claimed by the channel. He also pointed out another image of the Federation of Canadian Naturists, a nudist group, used by the channel, and said that

they were not an LGBTQIA+ group. “It's a very old image that is pulled up every Pride month by homophobic people to spread hate and fear,” he said. He added that another decade-old

image was also used in the video. Stating that a simple reverse image search can help separate facts from fake news, he said that the broadcasters were “either incapable of fact-finding or

had mala fide intent to sensationalise and spread fear against minority communities.” The channel denied and responded to each of the allegations by Indrajeet and claimed that “when the

entire impugned broadcast is seen as a whole and in its full context, the video is a celebration of diversity in sexual orientation, and it promotes the Pride Movement while lending

unabashed support to the community.” Further, it also claims that the intention of the programme was to “say that the pride parades in India were organised in a responsible, dignified and

inclusive manner.” A hearing of both parties was held on October 6, 2023, with advocate Vrinda Bhandari appearing for India Today. When NBDSA questioned the broadcaster about their usage of

unrelated images in the programme, she argued that a  search for such reports, showed “these images of the USA appear in the result.” She also argued that the programme broadcasted “the

concerns of some conservative groups and parents in the USA in response to the LGBTQIA+ movement, particularly trans activism, in schools and compared the situation with India.” This is not

the first time a media outlet has been held responsible for insensitivity while reporting LGBTQIA+ issues. NBDSA, in April 2022, pulled up two Telugu news channels – TV9 Telugu and Sakshi TV

– for sensationalising a police raid on a house party in Hyderabad after neighbours complained of loud noise. In the media report, they broadcast visuals of those attending the party,

violating their privacy and outing their sexual orientation and gender on television without their permission. This case was also filed by Indrajeet. READ: _TELUGU CHANNELS DEMONISE LGBTQIA+

PERSONS ON AIR, LET OFF WITH JUST A WARNING_