Jindal Group extortion incident
The channel was tried for allegedly extorting ₹1 billion from the Jindal Group revealed through a sting operation.[19] Two senior journalists Sudhir Chaudhary and Sameer Ahluwalia were arrested.[20][21][22] The two were sent to a 14-day judicial custody in Tihar jail and were ultimately released on bail.[23][24] Naveen Jindal had accused the two journalists of trying to extort inr 1,000,000,000 in advertisements for Zee News from him through blackmail by threatening to air stories against his company in the Coalgate scam. Zee News denied the charges and made counterclaims of Jindal offering them inr 200000000 to halt their investigations against Jindal Steel's involvement in the scam but filed no charges.[25] In July 2018, the Jindal Group withdrew the case against Zee News and both parties to the litigation stated that an out of court settlement had been reached which remains undisclosed.[26]
Cases of fabrication
Jawaharlal Nehru University sedition controversy
Zee News reported that students from the Democratic Students' Union (DSU) raised "anti-India" slogans such as Bharat ki barbadi (The destruction of India) and Pakistan Zindabad (Long live Pakistan) at an event in the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus.[27] In a letter, Vishwa Deepak, a journalist working at the channel, stated that "our biases made us hear Bhartiya Court Zindabad (Long live the Indian courts) as Pakistan Zindabad. Vishwa Deepak later resigned from the channel after expressing reservations over its "biased coverage". The footage on the newscast of Zee News had formed the basis of charges filed by the Delhi Police.[28] Sudhir Chaudhary, the editor and prime time anchor of the channel, however on a telecast, made a statement saying "our channel only showed what was happening there, whatever we have shown is 100% authentic."[29] A forensic report of the Delhi Police however later stated that the footage was doctored.[30]
Jawaharlal Nehru University sedition controversy
Zee News reported that students from the Democratic Students' Union (DSU) raised "anti-India" slogans such as Bharat ki barbadi (The destruction of India) and Pakistan Zindabad (Long live Pakistan) at an event in the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus.[27] In a letter, Vishwa Deepak, a journalist working at the channel, stated that "our biases made us hear Bhartiya Court Zindabad (Long live the Indian courts) as Pakistan Zindabad. Vishwa Deepak later resigned from the channel after expressing reservations over its "biased coverage". The footage on the newscast of Zee News had formed the basis of charges filed by the Delhi Police.[28] Sudhir Chaudhary, the editor and prime time anchor of the channel, however on a telecast, made a statement saying "our channel only showed what was happening there, whatever we have shown is 100% authentic."[29] A forensic report of the Delhi Police however later stated that the footage was doctored.[30]
GPS Chips in ₹2000 currency notes
Anchor Sudhir Chaudhary ran a Daily News and Analysis program announcing that the Indian 2000-rupee note issued after the 2016 Indian banknote demonetisation by the government have GPS chips which will allow it to track currency, thereby reducing corruption.[31] The Minister of Finance, Arun Jaitley dismissed the report as being rumours.[32] The Reserve Bank of India has also stated that no such chips are present in the currency notes.[33] The presence of "nano-GPS" in the currency notes has been classified as a hoax being spread on social media.[34][35]
Navjot Singh Sidhu – Alwar controversy
Zee News telecasted a video with the claim that the slogans of Pakistan Zindabad were raised at a rally in Alwar presided over by the Indian National Congress politician, Navjot Singh Sidhu.[36] Sidhu accused Zee News of playing a doctored video and threatened to file a defamation suit against Zee News.[37] Sidhu stated that slogans of Jo Bole So Nihal were misconstrued as being in favour of Pakistan.[38] Zee News accused Sidhu of calling a news broadcast to be fake news and sent a defamation notice to him. The notice demanded an apology from him within 24 hours and threatened to pursue legal recourse if an apology was not issued by him.[39]
Mahua Moitra criminal defamation case
Zee News telecasted a show featuring editor-in-chief Sudhir Chaudhary where he claimed that the Trinamool Congress legislator Mahua Moitra had plagiarised author Martin Longman in her maiden speech after being elected to the Lok Sabha.[40] Moitra accused the channel of false reporting and submitted a breach of privilege motion against Zee News and Sudhir Chaudhary.[41] Martin Longman responded and stated that the legislator did not plagiarise him.[42] Subsequently, Moitra filed a criminal defamation case against Chaudhary.[43]
Coverage of 2020 Delhi election results
The 2020 Delhi Legislative Assembly election was held on 8 February 2020.[44] The exit poll results predicted the Aam Aadmi Party to retain their government in National capital territory of Delhi. The Zee News telecast of the exit poll results featured Sudhir Chaudhary, who indulged in polemic commentary against the voters of the election.[45] He stated that the people of Delhi had chosen Pakistan over Hindustan and that the rule of Mughals will now return. He further alleged the people of Delhi are lazy and only concerned about "freebies" and that issues like Ram Mandir, Balakot airstrike and Revocation of Article 370 do not matter to them which is why they have rejected the Bharatiya Janata Party.[46] The telecast resulted in backlash and mockery of Zee News and Sudhir Chaudhary on social media.[47]
Ban in Nepal
On 9 July 2020, Nepal's satellite and cable television operators banned Zee News and some other Indian privately owned news channels, citing "propaganda and defamatory report against the Nepali government".[48][49]
Alleged interference in Canadian issues
Zee Media's and its subsidiary WION were cited in a September 2024 report from RRM Canada on "Potential Foreign Information Manipulation, and Interference following PM Statement on Killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar". The report examined content from popular Indian State-aligned media outlets and influencers, including WION, finding that "Modi-aligned outlets amplified several state-supported narratives about Prime Minister Trudeau, "Canada's High Commissioner to India, Canada's national security agencies, Canada's Punjabi Sikh diaspora, and Hardeep Singh Nijjar's political beliefs." The report highlighted the “massive digital footprint” of some of the named media outlets in comparison to Canadian media outlets, estimating Zee Media's total audience is 68 Million people.[50][51][52][53]
