Asian News International

Asian News International (ANI) is an Indian news agency that offers syndicated multimedia news feed to news bureaus in India and elsewhere. Established by Prem Prakash in 1971, it was the first agency in India to syndicate video news, and, is the biggest television news agency in India.

ANI has been accused of having served as a propaganda tool for the incumbent central government, distributing materials from a vast network of fake news websites,  and misreporting events on multiple occasions.

Establishment and early years (1971–2000)
Prem had started his career in the field of photography before being employed by Visnews (and Reuters) as a photojournalist, where he went on to cover some of the most significant historical events in post-independence India. A significant figure in the domain of news and documentary film-making in the 1970s, he commanded considerable respect among foreign journalists and film-makers, and received the MBE.

In 1971, Prem established ANI (initially TVNF, India's first television news feature agency), which gained influence within the Congress Government. TVNF played a key role in fulfilling Indira Gandhi's wishes of showcasing a positive image of India. It produced numerous films for Doordarshan and went on to gain a monopoly in the sector.

Smita Prakash, an alumna of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, joined ANI in 1986 as an intern and was later became a full-time employee. The daughter of Inna Ramamohan Rao, former director of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, she married Prem's son Sanjiv in 1988, which furthered ANI's access within the government. In 1993, Reuters purchased a stake in ANI, and it was allowed to exert a complete monopoly over their India feed.

Later years (2000–present)
By 2000, India saw a boom of private 24x7 news channels; however, unsustainable revenue models meant that they lacked the capacity to hire video-reporters across the country. This allowed a massive expansion of ANI's domestic video-production capacities at the behest of Sanjiv, who rose through the ranks. Smita also rose through the ranks with him. Asian Films TV was incorporated in 2000 to provide feed for newspapers and periodicals. The Caravan though notes that most of its foot-soldiers were low-cost recruits, who had little to do with journalism.

In 2000, the NDA government launched a Kashmir-based regional channel—DD Kashir, and ANI was allowed to produce its programs. By the end of 2005, ANI's business-model was faring impressively on a consistent basis and it shifted its office out of Gole Market, to a new five-storey building in R. K. Puram. ANI continued to be trusted by the upcoming UPA governments, to the extent that the Ministry of External Affairs chose Smita to be a part of the two-member contingent of Indian journalists at both of the joint press conferences between the incumbent prime ministers of India and the United States.

In later 2000s, the increasing charges for ANI feed and low quality of its journalism, coupled with the introduction of broadcast vans, led to several national and regional channels unsubscribing ANI. The launch of UNI TV in 2010 by Yashwant Deshmukh gave stiff competition as well. However, Ishaan Prakash, Smita's son who joined the company in 2011, procured multiple units of LiveU, expanded ANI's overseas bureaus and signed contracts with multiple state governments and union ministries. A monopoly was again re-created and most of its competitors eventually shut down.

By late 2011, ANI accounted for about 99% of the Reuters feed from India, and in FY 2017–18, it was paid ₹2.54 crore for the services. Archive videos were sold at rates as high as ₹1000 per second; in FY 2017–18, the firm reported revenues of ₹68.23 crore and a net profit of ₹9.91 crore.

Lawsuit against Wikipedia
In July 2024, ANI Media Private Limited filed a lawsuit against Wikipedia in the Delhi High Court, claiming that the news agency was defamed in a description on the website. ANI is also seeking Rs. 2 crores (239,554.80 US dollars) in damages from Wikipedia. The case is scheduled for a hearing on August 20. In response to the lawsuit, the Wikimedia Foundation said: "As a technology host, the Wikimedia Foundation generally does not add, edit or determine content published on Wikipedia. Wikipedia’s content is determined by its global community of volunteer editors (also known as the 'Wikimedia Community') who compile and share information on notable subjects."

Propaganda
Long-form reports by The Caravan and The Ken, along with reports by other media watchdogs have detailed how the agency has served as a propaganda tool of the incumbent union government.

The Caravan notes that for decades under Congress rule, ANI effectively served as the external publicity division of Ministry of External Affairs, showing the Army in a positive light and suppressing news about any internal discontent; the private nature of the organisation and the repute of its founder gave an air of non-partisan legitimacy to their videos. During the peak-spans of militancy in the Kashmir conflict, ANI was the near-sole purveyor of video-footage, especially with Rao having been recruited as the media advisor to the state. ANI grew even closer to the government after Bharatiya Janata Party was elected to power in 2014; effects have ranged from sympathetic covering of the political campaigns by BJP to reporters being highly confrontational, when dealing with politicians from opposition parties.

In 2020, an investigation by EU DisinfoLab concluded that ANI was publishing pro-Modi government disinformation with opinion pieces and news content, including opinion pieces falsely attributed to European politicians and that they were sourcing material from a vast network of fake news websites run by a certain "Srivastava Group". The report also concluded that they had spread anti-Pakistan and sometimes anti-China disinformation with the primary aim of this fake news coverage was to "discredit Pakistan" in international forums. The report noted that mainstream Indian news media regularly relies on content provided by ANI, and that ANI had on several occasions provided legitimacy and coverage to the entire "influence operation" run by the fake news network, which relied "more on ANI than on any other distribution channel" [to give it] "both credibility and a wide reach to its content". ANI is also believed to have gained access to India's intelligence establishment in recent years; in foreign affairs many of its videos depicted protests by fringe lobby groups and activists as if they were large-scale and mainstream.

Misinformation
Fact checkers certified by the Poynter Institute's International Fact-Checking Network have accused ANI of misreporting events. The Caravan found several video footages from ANI, wherein logos of random television channels from Pakistan, along with Urdu tickers, were superimposed on news showcasing India in a positive light; their video editors have admitted to forging clips.

On 20 July 2023, ANI falsely blamed Muslims for the sexual assault and rape of two Kuki women during the 2023 Manipur violence.

Employee management
Under new management, ANI has been accused of practicing an aggressive model of journalism focused on maximum revenue output, where journalists were considered dispensable. Multiple employees have accused ANI of not having any human resource management system and ill-treating its ex-employees.