'Election Commission of India' Report🔗

The Election Commission is reported to have identified more than 1,400 cases of paid news between 2009 and 2013, during which elections were held in 17 states of India.[7] [8]

The rise of 'Paid News', the report says, "has undermined the essence of a democratic process."

| 8 September: Lens on News - EC detected over 1,400 paid news cases during | | Assembly polls |

EC detected over 1,400 paid news cases during Assembly polls

New Delhi, Sep 8 - More than 1,400 cases of alleged paid news have been detected by the Election Commission in the last four years during Assembly polls held in 17 states. The maximum of 523 cases were detected during Assembly polls in Punjab last year, followed by Gujarat - 414, Himachal Pradesh - 104 and Karnataka - 93 (this year), according to official data.

97 such cases were reported in Uttar Pradesh, while 30 instances of paid news were detected in Uttarakhand and nine in Goa. In the states which went to polls in 2011, Kerala had 65 such cases, Assam - 27, Tamil Nadu - 22, West Bengal - eight and Puducherry - three.

In Bihar, during Assembly polls of 2010, 15 such instances were detected.Except for Assam, none of the north eastern states reported any instance of paid news and there were no cases registered in Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Manipur.

The total cases detected were 1,410 since 2010 till the Karnataka elections this year. A number of candidates were issued showcase notices after these instances were reported and the EC is adjudicating these cases.

The EC has created an exclusive wing -- Election Expenditure Monitoring cell -- to monitor cases of paid news and has taken onboard a team of Income Tax sleuths to check the menace during polls. PTI

[7]-http://www.lensonnews.com/lensonnews/1/59/48201/1/ec-detected-over-1400-paid-n ews-cases-during-assembly-polls.html]

14 December 2013: The Indian Express - Congress goes buying reporters in Chhattisgarh, offers ours Rs 25,000