Smita Prakash

OpenAI

In November 2024, Asian News International sued OpenAI for allegedly reusing the former's content for model training, as well as allegedly creating false stories attributed to the agency. ANI also sought ₹2 crore (equivalent to ₹2.1 crore or US$220,000 in 2026) in damages. The lawsuit alleged that while some of ANI's content was publicly accessible, certain news items and reports were only available to subscribers, and OpenAI had no right to use this material without a license. ANI also claimed that ChatGPT had produced responses attributing false interviews to the agency, including an interview with Rahul Gandhi that never took place. OpenAI defended its practices, stating that its actions were legal and transparent, and argued that it had not accessed any subscription-only content. The company also raised questions about territorial jurisdiction, noting that it had no physical presence in India.

In October 2024, before the lawsuit was filed, OpenAI had blocked ANI through its opt-out policy, which allows websites to opt out of automated use of their text by web scrapers. However, ANI argued this was ineffective as their content was still accessible through third-party content syndication. The case raised questions about India's approach to AI and copyright law, as the country's fair use provisions did not directly reference AI training models. OpenAI defended against claims of verbatim reproduction by arguing that copyright protects expression rather than ideas or facts, and that its models sufficiently modified the original expression to claim copyright exceptions. The Delhi High Court heard the case first on 19 November 2024, and then again on 28 January 2025.

Controversies

Relationship with the Indian government and allegations of bias

A 2019 long-form report in The Caravan described ANI as having "a disturbing history of producing blatant propaganda for the state". According to The Caravan, for decades under Congress rule, ANI effectively served as the external publicity division of the 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 nonpartisan 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 the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was elected to power in 2014; effects have ranged from sympathetic covering of the political campaigns by the BJP to reporters being highly confrontational when dealing with politicians from opposition parties. ANI journalists are generally the only members of non-state media organisations to accompany Modi on foreign trips. According to an investigation by Newslaundry, ANI was involved in contract negotiations with the chief ministers of several states for a "PR package" to provide coverage by ANI in exchange for payment.

A 2019 Association for Computing Machinery conference paper that analysed the Twitter activity of BJP members of parliament identified that "the highest levels of engagement are with those [accounts] known to be pro-ruling party—ie the party media mouthpiece (BJP Live), the two national news outlets—Doordarshan and All India Radio, and the ruling party-aligned Asian News International (ANI)".

According to Newslaundry, ANI consistently reveals the religion of Muslims accused of crimes, while generally omitting this information if the accused is Hindu. After the enactment of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, an Alt News report showed that among protests outside India in response to the legislation, ANI's coverage only included protests in support of the legislation while excluding protests that opposed it.

Srivastava Group

In 2020, an investigation by EU DisinfoLab, a non-profit disinformation watchdog, 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 the "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 being 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.

A later investigation by EU DisinfoLab in 2023 found that ANI had consistently quoted think tanks and experts associated with the Srivastava Group that did not appear to actually exist.

Misinformation

Fact checkers certified by the Poynter Institute's International Fact-Checking Network have accused ANI of misreporting events. The Caravan found several pieces of video footage 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.

In July 2021, ANI falsely reported that Chinese weightlifter Hou Zhihui, who won the gold medal in the women's 49 kg weightlifting at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, would be tested by the International Testing Agency (ITA) for doping, according to ANI's unnamed source. The article also stated that Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, who won silver medal in the same event, would be upgraded to a gold medal if the tests were positive. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and ITA debunked the reports, saying they knew nothing of such tests being carried out and that any developments would be transparently reported on their website.

In April 2023, ANI falsely reported a photo of a padlocked grave in Hyderabad, India, as being from Pakistan, claiming it was locked to prevent necrophilia. Fact-checking revealed that the grave was actually secured to prevent unauthorised burials and to protect it from being trampled. In July 2023, ANI falsely blamed Muslims for the sexual assault and rape of two Kuki women during the 2023 Manipur violence. ANI later apologised for the mistake, blaming erroneous reading of tweets posted by the Manipur police.

In August 2024, ANI disseminated misinformation regarding attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh. The controversy erupted after ANI shared a video on social media, which falsely claimed that a man who was seeking justice for his missing son was a Hindu—he was Muslim. The video, initially shared by ANI, was quickly picked up by right-wing accounts and other media outlets that rely on ANI's feed, further spreading the false narrative. Though ANI deleted the video after being called out for the misleading content, the misinformation continued to circulate on various social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, perpetuating the false narrative.