How Indian Media Lost Nepal (Again)

LEARN WITH BOOM

Scammers are placing orders in other people’s names to create “verified” purchases and post fake reviews. Apparently, this tactic is called brushing. The packages may be cheap, unexpected, and can be used for further fraud. In India, the courier service Delhivery has been accused of several such fake orders.

What the scam is

A seller or fraudster orders items to real addresses so they can verify information collected from public sources or other breaches. The parcels are usually low-value items (such as beauty products, jewellery, and gadgets) and may arrive with no record of you ordering them.

How to spot

• You receive a package you didn’t order. The executive refuses to take it back or show you proof of the order. 

• An unexpected “delivery” notification or text about a purchase you don’t recognise. Sometimes it may even have tracking updates inside the retailer’s app or website. 

• Later, you may even find product reviews posted online under your name or an account you didn’t write. Check your account activity and review history.

What to avoid

Don’t click on unknown links in texts or emails claiming to be about the delivery, since these can be phishing attempts. Always check orders inside the official app/website. 

Don’t accept responsibility for the review or confirm any “payment” requests that arrive after an unsolicited parcel. Legitimate retailers won’t ask you to pay for items you didn’t order.

Read Titha Ghosh’s story to find more such tips.

📢 TIACoN 2025, hosted by the Trusted Information Alliance (TIA), brings together media professionals, technologists, policymakers, and platform leaders to discuss the challenges of our digital information ecosystem and to collaborate on building solutions.

Through thought-provoking panel discussions, interactive workshops, and hands-on product demonstrations, this conference will explore how we can protect trust, ensure safety, and promote the integrity of information in the AI age.

DECODE

How Indian Media’s Misinformation Machine Broke Its Ties With Nepal, Again

Nineteen people were dead. Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli had resigned. On the city’s streets, groups of young protesters were no longer just fighting the government, they were fighting to protect their own movement from chaos, hijack, and misinformation. 

Amid the commotion stood a reporter from TV9 Bharatvarsh, microphone in hand, surrounded by a camera crew and confusion.

“Godi media!” shouted a group of Nepali youths as they advanced toward him. “We are not your enemies,” the reporter pleaded. “We are your brothers.”

The hostility toward Indian journalists didn’t begin this year. It started a decade ago, under the rubble of the 2015 earthquake. 

Distrust, years in making: Independent Nepali journalist Rohej Khatiwada told Decode’s Shivam Bhardwaj:

Why Indian media gets Nepal wrong: The problem, say experts, runs deeper than a few bad broadcasts. “India’s mainstream media is biased. Nepal’s news is presented according to Indian state intentions, often based on assumptions, lacking facts and reality. During the earthquake, coverage highlighted India’s aid sensationally, ignoring Nepal’s sovereignty. Everything happening in Nepal is viewed from India’s potential interests. Nepalese politics is filtered through the prism of Indian power,” said veteran journalist Kanak Mani Dixit, founder of Himal Southasian magazine.

LAW, JUSTICE ET AL

The Digital Arrest Scam That Made India’s Supreme Court Take Note

The nightmare for the Sachdevas from Ambala, Haryana began when money meant for their son-in-law was mistakenly credited to someone else’s account. Vikram Singh got 15,000 rupees that was meant for Vikram Kumar, their son-in-law. 

A trap: The Sachdevas went to Punjab Sindh Bank to get the mistake rectified. But the visit triggered a series of events that led to the elderly couple’s ‘digital arrest’ for nearly a fortnight. 

What is digital arrest?: It is a scam where fraudsters impersonate police officials and use fake documents and bogus threats of arrest and frozen bank accounts, to extort money from victims.

The couple immediately filed an FIR and decided to narrate their ordeal in a letter to the Supreme Court hoping to bring attention to the scam. The top court heeded this letter and on October 17, took suo motu note of the rise in digital arrest scams. It directed all states and union territories to give details of all FIRs related to digital arrest scams, and considered transferring the probe of all cases to the CBI.

EXPLAINED

Explained: MeitY’s Draft AI Rules Seek Transparency But Could Stifle Free Speech

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has floated draft amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, in a bid to tackle the growing menace of AI-generated misinformation, deepfakes, and synthetic media. 

While the government frames the move as a step toward building an “open, safe, trusted, and accountable internet,” legal and policy experts warn that the proposal could trigger steep compliance costs, over-censorship, and fresh free speech concerns for social media platforms. 

The draft guidelines introduce a set of sweeping obligations for online intermediaries—particularly large platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram—to identify, label, and verify AI-generated content. Once finalised, the rules are expected to take effect later this year. 

Speaking to BOOM’s Hera Rizwan, experts said that while it’s encouraging to see the government finally acknowledge the real harms posed by deepfakes, the proposed amendments “raise more questions than they answer”.

'FAKE NEWS’ YOU ALMOST FELL FOR

🔍  An old video of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar making a gaffe during a 2024 general election rally, where he mistakenly said, “Narendra Modi should become the chief minister again”, was shared on social media with the misleading claim that it is from a recent rally. Read 🔗 Anmol Alphonso’s ↗️ fact-check.

🔍  Is this video of Union Home Minister Amit Shah showing him addressing a crowd and saying that the Indian Army belongs to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) real? 🔗 Srijit Das ↗️ tells you the truth.

🔍  Has Bollywood actor Salman Khan been labelled a “terrorist” by the Home Department of Pakistan’s Balochistan province, following his recent remarks making a distinction between Pakistan and the people of Balochistan? Several Indian media outlets claimed so. But, is this true? Find out in 🔗 Anmol Alphonso’s ↗️  fact-check.

🅱️ RECOMMENDS

This week's recommendation is: Winning with misinformation: New research identifies link between endorsing easily disproven claims and prioritizing symbolic strength

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Verified By Boom is written by Divya Chandra, edited by Adrija Bose and designed by H Shiva Roy Chowdhury.

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