BJP's Amit Malviya To File Criminal And Civil Proceedings Against The Wire For 'Tarnishing Reputation'

BJP's IT department head Amit Malviya on Thursday said he will file criminal and civil proceedings against 'The Wire', as he accused the news portal of using "forged documents with a view to malign and tarnish" his reputation.

The Wire in a series of news reports, now retracted, had alleged that Meta, the parent company of social media giants -- WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram -- has accorded special privileges to Malviya that enable him to get posts removed from its platforms.

The reports had insinuated that the BJP leader was behind the removal of some posts from Instagram.

"After consultation with my lawyers and seeking their advice, I have decided to file criminal and civil proceedings against 'The Wire.' Not only will I be setting the criminal process in motion but I will also sue them in civil court seeking damages as they forged documents with a view to malign and tarnish my reputation," Malviya said in a statement.  

Under scrutiny, including from some experts, over the reports, The Wire last week formally retracted its Meta stories after conducting an internal review of the technical source material used, with the help of external experts.

The news portal also apologized to its readers for slippage in its editorial assessment. "This combination of not fully grasping the complexities of technology and a slippage in the editorial assessment of tech-related matter resulted in the publication of stories that did not eventually hold up. For this we owe an apology to our readers," the news portal said.

(Inputs from PTI)