The Editors Guild of India on Tuesday urged journalists to exercise utmost restraint in reporting communal disturbances. The press body issued a statement amid an alarming rise in communal clashes in several parts of the country over the last few weeks.

The Guild noted a lack of due diligence in the “evaluation and presentation of reports of the clashes between communities”.

It also warned against misreporting in the rush to break a news, which the press body said could have “lasting implications”.

“In the understandable desire to be first with the news, and to catch the eye of news consumers, many editors and reporters appear to be rushing to conclusions, and assigning responsibility to one or the other community, without a full appreciation of the facts, context and calculations at work,” the Guild said.

The Editors Guild also urged the editors to make use of their experience and perspective to see through the “patronage of politicians, police, officials and non-state actors” while reporting on communal clashes.

“As the long arc of communal violence in the country shows, most incidents are rarely what they seem to be on the surface,” it noted.