A news report by a globally reputed news agency – Reuters – had shocked entire Andhra Pradesh for a few hours.
The Reuters had flashed a story stating that Korean firm, Kia Motors, was planning to shift its base from Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu.
Reuters is a reputed news agency across the world and obviously the news had its value and the reaction was tremendous. But, the social media took up the issue and exposed it as fake news in no time.
The governments of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu too had to respond denying the report while the Kia Motors too had to come up with a statement dismissing the news.
But by then, the news had its two core purposes served – political and business – besides victimising one of the journalists who was tactfully used in the process.
The journalist was fired by the Reuters and the four senior journalists who edited, processed and cleared the story, were served notices internally seeking explanation.
The credibility of Reuters was thus exposed for a small mistake committed by a journalist who was in the trap.
The political interest was that to put the ruling party in trouble and create some negative image among the people against the government, besides scaring the investors whoever shows interest in the State.
The interest was served to some extent but had backfired following the exposer in the social media and denial by the AP and TN government besides the Kia Motors itself.
The report also served some business interests of the Kia group, which was given huge financial benefits by the TDP government and which are being reviewed by the present government.
The financial benefits were offered to the company for next 20 to 40 years by the TDP government, besides others and they are being reviewed by the present government.
The news had kept the government to take one step backward from the review and thus its interests were served.
There is one more hidden agenda for the company to plant this news through Reuters. The company is facing severe political pressure from the ruling party leaders – at least three top leaders.
A local MP, one woman MLA from the neighbouring district and one MLA close to the chief minister’s family were putting pressure on the company for various reasons.
It is said that they were asking for the contract of the canteen inside the plant, the transport contract for the raw material supply and the work force.
These are the prerogatives of the company and the management is feeling suffocated with the political pressure.
The story planted thus through Reuters had served all these interests – the interests of the management and the interests of the opposition party.
The management is safe from the financial benefits it was assured by the previous government and got some relief from the political pressures.
Several birds were thus fired with one single shot.