In a blistering statement that has echoed across the Northeast, the Media Association of Assam has come down heavily on national news outlet CNN News18 for peddling false, ignorant, and sensationalist misinformation about the Maa Kamakhya Temple—one of the most sacred and spiritually significant sites in India.

This comes on the heels of yet another instance of tone-deaf national media coverage—the Meghalaya Honeymoon Murder case—where mainstream outlets were slammed for reducing a complex and tragic incident into voyeuristic clickbait, all while revealing a disturbing lack of understanding about the Northeast’s culture, geography, and people.

"This isn’t just bad reporting—this is a pattern of deliberate distortion that insults the entire region," the Association said.

CNN News18’s latest faux pas involved a baseless claim that human sacrifices are carried out at the Kamakhya Temple, a statement that has sparked outrage and disbelief across Assam.

The temple, which attracts lakhs of pilgrims from all over the world, was portrayed with shocking ignorance, reinforcing harmful stereotypes and disrespecting a sacred Tantric tradition that has been grossly misunderstood by the uninformed.

Calling it an “assault on Assam’s dignity and cultural identity,” Association President Hiren Chandra Kalita and General Secretary Chandra Kumar Saikia condemned not just CNN News18 but a majority of national media houses that habitually portray Assam and the Northeast through a lens of exoticism, misinformation, and lazy journalism.

"From the Assam Agitation of the 1990s to the present day, national media has repeatedly failed to represent us truthfully. Instead, they resort to half-baked sensationalism that sells, but scars," the statement read.

The Association emphasized that Kamakhya is not a headline for horror tropes, but a living symbol of divine feminine power — revered across faiths and respected by seekers of spiritual knowledge from all over the globe.

"To reduce Kamakhya to a medieval horror story is not just inaccurate, it’s shameful," said the Association leaders.

The Media Association of Assam has urged the Central Government to take immediate regulatory action against CNN News18 and other such media houses that regularly push uninformed and culturally offensive narratives.

It also called upon Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to take a decisive stand in holding national media accountable when they tarnish the state’s heritage and image.

"We’ve seen enough—Kamakhya is sacred, Assam is dignified, and the Northeast is not your storytelling backdrop for cheap TRPs," the statement concluded.

This latest controversy adds to a growing list of missteps by national newsrooms, where the Northeast is often treated as a misunderstood ‘other’—a place exotic enough to be sensationalized, but never studied or represented with care.

As public outrage grows, one thing is clear: the people of Assam, and the entire Northeast, are no longer willing to stay silent while their culture is distorted and disrespected in the name of news.

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