Four prominent Kannada newspapers on Thursday had the same front page with the exact same news stories published against the Congress party. However, it was an advertisement by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka, displaying a collection of old news articles criticising the opposition party.
The advertisements published in Kannada Prabha, Vishwavani, Samyuktha Karnataka, and Hosa Digantha had a lead story from a 2008 news article India today titled, ‘Rahul in party mood when Mumbai was under terror attack.’ The article referred to the Mumbai terror attacks which took place on 26 November 2008. The advertisement was a collection of news articles from different media organisations from the last 15 years.
The identical front page ads confused readers since it was not immediately obvious that it was an advertisement. The print at the bottom right of the page clarified that it was an advertisement by the BJP to target the Congress’s ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi which has gained momentum in the state.
Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Karnataka last Friday and the party’s interim president Sonia Gandhi joined the event on Thursday, Priyanka Gandhi is so expected to participate in a few days. The yatra which began in Kanyakumari will end in Kashmir after travelling 511 kilometres across seven districts in 21 days.
