TV TODAY BHARAT Ethics Policy sets out the ethical principles followed by our journalists, editors, contributors, photographers, video producers and other team members while gathering, creating, reviewing and publishing news content.
TV TODAY BHARAT, owned and operated by MEDIA CART BHARAT, is committed to accuracy, fairness, independence, transparency, accountability and responsible journalism.
1. Accuracy and Verification
TV TODAY BHARAT Ethics Policy: make reasonable efforts to verify information before publication.
Names, dates, locations, figures, quotations, photographs, videos, documents and other important details should be checked through reliable sources wherever possible.
Unverified claims, allegations and developing information must be clearly attributed to the relevant individual, organisation, authority or document.
Rumours, manipulated media and unsupported social media claims should not be presented as confirmed facts.
2. Fairness and Right to Respond
Reports involving allegations, criticism, disputes or conflicting claims should be presented fairly and in proper context.
Reasonable efforts should be made to obtain the response of the person or organisation affected by serious allegations.
When a response is unavailable at the time of publication, the report may state that an attempt was made to obtain it. The story may be updated when a verified response is received.
3. Editorial Independence
Editorial decisions are based on public interest, news value, relevance, accuracy and professional judgement.
Advertisers, sponsors, political parties, government authorities, business organisations or other external interests should not improperly influence editorial coverage.
Sponsored, promotional or branded content should be clearly identified wherever applicable.
4. Conflicts of Interest
Journalists, editors and contributors should disclose any personal, political, professional or financial interest that may affect their impartiality.
Team members should not use unpublished information obtained through their work for personal, financial or commercial benefit.
Coverage should not be influenced by personal relationships, gifts, favours, payments or promises of benefit.
5. Gifts, Payments and Benefits
Members of the editorial team should not accept gifts, cash, travel, hospitality, services or other benefits intended to influence news coverage.
Low-value customary items may be accepted only when they cannot reasonably affect editorial independence.
Any significant sponsored travel, event access or hospitality connected with published coverage should be disclosed where necessary.
6. TV TODAY BHARAT Ethics Policy Sources and Confidentiality
Sources should be identified whenever it is safe, lawful, and appropriate to do so.
Anonymous sources may be used when:
- The information is in the public interest.
- The source has a genuine reason for confidentiality
- The source is in a position to know the information
- Reasonable efforts have been made to verify the claim
The identity of a confidential source should not be disclosed without permission, except where disclosure is legally required.
Journalists should not knowingly misrepresent their identity while gathering information, except in rare cases involving significant public interest and after appropriate editorial approval.
7. Privacy and Human Dignity
TV TODAY BHARAT Ethics Policy respects individual privacy and dignity.
Private information should not be published merely to attract attention. Publication may be justified where there is a clear public-interest reason, such as public safety, serious wrongdoing, misuse of authority, or accountability of a public official.
Special care should be taken while reporting on:
- Children and minors
- Victims of sexual offences
- Grieving families
- Medical patients
- Accident victims
- Vulnerable individuals
- Victims of harassment or trafficking
- People experiencing personal tragedy
Names, faces, addresses and identifying details should be withheld where required by law, ethics or public interest.
8. Crime and Court Reporting
TV TODAY BHARAT Ethics Policy: A person accused of an offence should not be described as guilty unless convicted by a competent court.
Appropriate terms such as “accused,” “suspect,” “alleged,” “according to police” or “according to the complaint” should be used.
Police statements, FIR allegations and claims made by interested parties should not automatically be treated as judicially facts.
Court orders and legal proceedings should be reported accurately and without distorting their meaning.
TV TODAY BHARAT will not knowingly reveal the identity of a person where publication is prohibited by law.
9. Communal and Sensitive Reporting
Reports involving religion, caste, ethnicity, language, region or community identity must be handled with care.
Religion or community identity should be mentioned only when directly relevant to the story and supported by verified facts.
Headlines, thumbnails, images and videos should not deliberately inflame communal tension, encourage hatred or unfairly generalise the conduct of an individual to an entire community.
Statements made by political leaders, religious figures or public personalities should be clearly attributed and presented in context.
10. Headlines, Images and Thumbnails
TV TODAY BHARAT Ethics Policy Headlines, captions, thumbnails and social media posts should accurately represent the underlying report.
They should not:
- Create a materially false impression
- Present allegations as proven facts
- Use unrelated images
- Manipulate quotations
- Exaggerate death, violence or conflict
- Misidentify individuals
- Conceal important context
Representational, illustrative, edited or AI-generated images should be labelled where necessary to prevent misunderstanding.
Graphic images should be used only when there is a clear editorial justification and appropriate warnings or visual protections should be applied.
Corrections and Accountability
Verified factual errors should be corrected promptly and transparently.
A correction, clarification or update note may be added when a significant change is made to published content.
Minor spelling, grammar, formatting or style changes may be made without a separate correction note when they do not alter the meaning of the report.
Readers may submit correction requests through the Contact Page or email the Grievance Officer at:
Plagiarism and Copyright
TV TODAY BHARAT does not support plagiarism.
Material obtained from another publication, photographer, news agency, creator or copyright owner should be used only with appropriate permission, licence, attribution or another valid legal basis.
Quotations and extracts should not be presented in a way that falsely suggests original reporting.
Copyright complaints will be reviewed and appropriate corrective action may be taken where a genuine violation is established.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence tools may be used for transcription, translation, summarisation, research assistance, formatting or workflow support.
AI-generated information must not be treated as verified merely because it was produced by an automated system.
Important facts, quotations, legal claims, statistics and allegations should be checked against reliable sources before publication.
Content substantially generated or visually altered through artificial intelligence should be disclosed where necessary to prevent readers from being misled.
Final editorial responsibility remains with TV TODAY BHARAT and its human editorial team.
Social Media Conduct
Editorial team members should maintain professional conduct on official social media accounts.
Unverified information should not be shared as confirmed news. Personal opinions should not be presented as the official position of TV TODAY BHARAT unless authorised.
Corrections made on the website should also be reflected on relevant social media posts where technically possible and materially necessary.
Political and Election Coverage
Political parties, candidates and public representatives should be covered fairly and on the basis of news value.
Paid political content, sponsored interviews or promotional material should be clearly identified.
Opinion polls, election surveys and exit polls should be reported with appropriate methodology, attribution and compliance with applicable legal restrictions.
Editorial personnel should not allow personal political preferences to distort factual reporting.
Public Interest
Public interest includes, but is not limited to:
- Protecting public health and safety
- Exposing serious wrongdoing
- Preventing the public from being misled
- Examining the use of public money
- Holding powerful institutions accountable
- Reporting matters affecting constitutional or legal rights
Public curiosity alone will not always constitute public interest.
Complaints and Ethical Concerns
Complaints regarding ethical standards, published content, privacy, accuracy or journalistic conduct may be submitted to:
Chief Grievance Officer: Monika Sharma
Email: grievance@tvtodaybharat.com
News Platform: TV TODAY BHARAT
Operating Entity: MEDIA CART BHARAT
Complaints should include the concerned article or video URL, a clear explanation of the issue and supporting evidence where available.
Policy Review
TV TODAY BHARAT may update this Ethics Policy to reflect changes in law, technology, professional standards and editorial practices.
The latest version will be published on this page.
Last Updated: July 2026
As a digital news publisher, we also take into consideration the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, administered by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
