Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has accused the right-wing website OpIndia of running a sustained and organised campaign against journalists in India, warning that its content has directly contributed to online harassment, threats and serious safety risks for media professionals.
According to an RSF analysis, OpIndia published at least 314 articles targeting journalists and media organisations between October 2023 and September 2025. Of these, 208 articles directly named 134 journalists, while several others indirectly targeted reporters or attacked independent news platforms. RSF said many of these articles used abusive and inflammatory language, branding journalists as “anti-national”, “anti-India”, “liars” or “fake news peddlers”.
In 2025 alone, between January and September, RSF recorded 91 articles published by OpIndia targeting journalists and media outlets. The organisation said 43 of these articles focused on just five journalists, and in 32 cases, the publication was followed by immediate waves of coordinated online harassment. RSF noted that these attacks were often amplified by a small network of social media accounts that regularly circulate OpIndia’s content.
“OpIndia is a central cog in the systematic harassment of journalists in India, which puts them in very real danger,” RSF Editorial Director Anne Bocandé said. She stressed that online harassment has become one of the biggest threats to press freedom in the country.
RSF said journalists such as Rajdeep Sardesai, Arfa Khanum Sherwani, Mohammed Zubair, Ravish Kumar and Rana Ayyub were among the most frequently targeted. Independent media organisations including The Wire, NewsClick and Newslaundry were also repeatedly attacked in similar ways.
Independent journalist Meer Faisal was also named in the RSF report. RSF said OpIndia published articles in June 2024 accusing him of spreading “fake information” and labelling him an “Islamist”, which triggered a wave of abuse against him online. Speaking to RSF, Meer Faisal said he was called a terrorist, subjected to hateful messages and threats, and faced attempts to expose his personal details. He said the harassment felt “systematic” and was aimed at damaging his reputation and endangering his safety.
The press freedom watchdog noted that OpIndia’s hostile articles often spark coordinated harassment campaigns on the social media platform X. In several cases, RSF identified links between these attacks and Telegram groups connected to Hindu nationalist networks, where members openly call for journalists to be targeted and abused.
RSF also said foreign journalists have been targeted in a similar manner. Correspondents from international media organisations were accused of running “anti-India” or “anti-Hindu” campaigns, after which they faced waves of online harassment.
After RSF included OpIndia in its 2025 Press Freedom Predators list, the website responded by publishing a series of articles attacking RSF and falsely accusing the organisation of being part of international “regime change” conspiracies. RSF described these claims as baseless and dangerous.
The organisation also raised concerns about OpIndia’s funding, noting that despite earlier advertiser boycotts, the site continues to earn revenue through Google AdSense. RSF said this was troubling because Google’s policies prohibit content that promotes hatred or discrimination.
RSF has called on Indian authorities to investigate cyber harassment campaigns linked to such publications and urged social media companies to act against abusive content. “Protecting journalists from online harassment is essential to defending press freedom in India,” Anne Bocandé said.
