There was a time when editors shaped public discourse. With journalistic integrity, fact-checking, and a healthy fear of the Press Council, the newsroom served as society’s conscience. However, that world is behind us now. Today, public opinion is not curated in newsrooms but manufactured by algorithms. What you see is no longer dictated by news ‘worthiness’, but by virality. Therefore, what spreads is not necessarily the truth, but what the algorithm thinks will keep you scrolling.
Nowhere has this been more evident than in the debacle surrounding Operation Sindoor undertaken in May 2025. In an appalling display of misinformation, some of the country’s most prominent TV channels ran unverified claims on prime-time television, live, pushing a fictional narrative with the confidence of gospel truth. There was no fact-checking, no ethical restraint. Just a desperate, performative chase for eyeballs, as an entire nation was served a concoction of nationalism, speculation, and spectacle.
This is no longer journalism but entertainment dressed up as patriotism.
But the consequences extend far beyond the newsroom. Brands, too, are now ensnared in this vicious web of algorithm-led sentiment. Campaigns that once celebrated culture, diversity, or tradition have become easy targets for outrage mobs. Take for instance, the Tanishq ad depicting interfaith harmony that had to be pulled down. Similarly, FabIndia’s Jashn-e-Riwaaz collection was attacked for its “un-Indian” branding. In addition to these, Dabur’s ad featuring a same-sex couple observing Karwa Chauth faced political backlash and was shelved, followed by an apology. These weren’t creative misfires. They were victims of a digital ecosystem that thrives on outrage and demands conformity.
UIn this age, brands are not building for consumers anymore. They are building for algorithms. Reputation management has become a defensive game, where silence is often seen as safer than standing one’s ground. The algorithm rewards speed and scale, but punishes nuance and truth. It doesn’t distinguish between satire and slander, fact and fiction, right and popular. It just amplifies what keeps people hooked.
So where does that leave us?
It leaves brands with a hard choice: chase temporary applause or stand for long-term values. It demands that PR professionals stop playing to the gallery and start investing in resilience. And most importantly, it forces us to ask: when public opinion is shaped by machines trained to mimic bias, who will speak for integrity?
The newsroom may be fading. The newsfeed is king. But integrity—real, human, earned integrity might just be the last thing worth fighting for.
— Keyur Barad, Founder and CEO, Gecko
