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December 17, 2025 – India –
International press freedom organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and allied watchdogs have sharply criticised the Indian digital news platform OpIndia, arguing that its extensive campaign against independent journalists and outlets contributes to a broader erosion of media freedom in India. According to RSF’s latest analysis, OpIndia has published more than 300 articles targeting journalists between 2023 and 2025, often energising coordinated online harassment and undermining credible news reporting. These activities have raised alarm among media freedom advocates about the impact of cyber-harassment campaigns on independent journalism and the safety of individual reporters.
RSF’s report notes that articles published by OpIndia frequently single out prominent independent media figures, including Rajdeep Sardesai (India Today), Arfa Khanum Sherwani (The Wire), Mohammed Zubair (co-founder of Alt News), Ravish Kumar (independent journalist), and Rana Ayyub (columnist at The Washington Post). In analysing 43 specific pieces focused on these five journalists, RSF found that the majority were followed by immediate waves of online abuse and hostile digital activity — behaviours it describes as “cyber-harassment.” Much of the hostile content appears to be amplified by a network of social media accounts and group chats with tens of thousands of members linked to ideological advocacy platforms.
Maktoob Media and other press outlets reporting on RSF’s findings highlight that such digital campaigns extend beyond editorial critique, frequently portraying independent reporters as actors aligned with foreign interests or in opposition to nationalist narratives. RSF argues these tactics are not merely rhetorical but actively facilitate coordinated attacks on individuals, contributing to a toxic online environment where journalists are subjected to threats, trolling, and reputational damage.
In response to these trends, RSF has called on Indian legal authorities to investigate the alleged cyber-harassment linked to OpIndia’s publications and to develop robust regulation of online platforms to protect journalists and curb coordinated abuse. The organisation has also urged that Google AdSense and similar advertising mechanisms reconsider funding for outlets whose content fuels harmful harassment campaigns. Observers of press freedom in India argue that greater oversight of digital media ecosystems is critical at a moment when concerns about misinformation, digital abuse, and the safety of independent reporting continue to grow.
The scrutiny of OpIndia comes amid broader debates over the media landscape in India, where press freedom advocates say rising alignment of influential outlets with political movements and intensified online hostility pose significant challenges to independent journalism and democratic discourse.
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