After FIR By BJP’s Amit Malviya, ‘The Wire’ Editors’ Homes Searched

Delhi Police on Monday evening conducted search operations at the homes of two editors from The Wire news portal.

The homes of The Wire editors Siddharth Varadarajan and MK Venu were searched and their devices were examined, sources said.

New Delhi: Delhi Police on Monday evening conducted search operations at the homes of The Wire founders Siddharth Vardarajan, and MK Venu. None of them have been arrested or detained. Earlier, an FIR was registered against the news portal The Wire on allegations raised by BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya for cheating, forgery, and publishing “fake stories”, against Meta, Instagram and Malviya himself.

The move comes after a complaint was registered by Amit Malviya who heads the BJP IT Cell. Malviya in his complaint alleged that the news portal “forged documents with a view to malign and tarnish” his reputation.

The case involves Meta stories that were retracted by the news website after Meta and various other experts pointed out critical flaws in their reporting.

Why Did Amit Malviya Filed Complaint Against The Wire

According to a report published in The Wire, Amit Malviya, who is the IT cell chief of the BJP, had certain privileges to take down posts from Meta-owned Instagram. The news article published by the portal reported that an Instagram post was taken down immediately by a private account namely “Cringearchivist”.

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The reports soon sparked a row, with questions being raised over its authenticity. Questions were also raised over the credibility of the sources cited by The Wire.

Initially, The Wire editor Siddharth Varadarajan stood by the report stating that the “stories came from multiple Meta sources—whom we know, have met and verified”.

However, on October 11, Meta’s Communication Head, Mr Andy Stone, issued a categorical denial and stated that the documents presented by The Wire in its report were “fabricated”.

The Wire was later forced to retract the story and also had to issue an apology.

The Wire’s Response To The Allegation

The Wire, on Saturday issued a statement, which read, “Journalists rely on sources for stories and do their best to verify material they receive. Technological evidence is more complicated and the usual due diligence may not always reveal the fraud perpetrated upon a publication. This is what happened to us. In the life of any publication, an occasion may come when it is misinformed. The moral test is whether the publication persists or speaks the truth. We chose the latter when we realised, we had been given fraudulent information. Whether the person who brought all the material to The Wire deceived us at anyone’ else’s behest or acted on his own is a matter that will be subjected to judicial process in due course. The malintent to discredit The Wire is obvious. Other than this, we have nothing to say.”