Sensationalism is not a new term for the media world and is a successful tool to grab eyeballs of audience and garner likes.

A CSR portal that ran a so-called investigative operation against Fiinovation and published a story in their recent posts is a true example of bogus reporting. Innovative Financial Advisors Pvt. Ltd (Fiinovation), is a leading CSR consultancy operating in multiple disciplines of social development sector with emphasis on CSR and Sustainability. The organisation has grown phenomenally and has carved a niche for itself in the CSR domain/sector. It started its journey in 2008; the idea and intention behind establishing the company was to bring about a structural resource mobilization strategy and a transparent framework for the same.

At the core of their work is the ability to collaborate with corporations and implementing partners and leverage the combined capabilities of all stakeholders involved for maximized impact. Fiinovation creates CSR strategies which are aligned with the corporations’ values, expectations and vision, and assist in effective implementation for long-lasting impact. They are also associated with a large network of civil society organizations and relentlessly work towards bringing them closer to the CSR paradigm, facilitate conversations and help them forge partnerships with corporates.

Also, amidst this pandemic, when the world was stuck in lock down, their team was tirelessly working to forge successful partnerships in order to help the community during these unprecedented times.Fiinovation fosters partnership between the private and social sector. Since the outbreak of Covid-19, Fiinovation has partnered with reputed organisations like SMS India, Sandvik Group, Dhampur Sugar, Admitad India and others to implement relief interventions pan-India. These projects aimed at providing relief packages to the marginalized communities during the lock down. The organisation claims to have positively impacted million lives till now through their COVID 19 relief efforts.

The tete-a-tete the portal claims with no names only adds to one's suspicion on the genuineness of the story. We further did our bit and researched into the background of the organization and found that claims made in the story are nothing beyond pseudo journalist’s claim to fame. The story dropped in some huge number bombs to tarnish the image of the organization While speaking to Ms Purnima Dubey, COO, Innovative Financial Advisors Pvt. Ltd (Fiinovation), who was quoted in the story, she said, “I did speak to the Chief Editor & Managing Director of the portal, and all of their questions regarding the alleged claims made by one of our clients were answered in writing along with relevant proofs to present the true picture. I was shocked to see not only my comments were misquoted but also my words were molded into something I categorically didn’t mention”.

The supporting documents that we saw indeed clarifies that the organization has been a victim of fake news and false allegations in order to harm its reputation and adversely affect is partnerships with organizations.

We also contacted Dr Soumitro Chakraborty, the Chief Executive of Innovative Financial Advisors Pvt Ltd (Fiinovation) and while asking about this episode, he mentioned, “We are indeed shocked by what has been published but Fiinovation was not born out of someone's greed to make billions but it was born out of a need to structure the resource framework of this sector and I think this is worth appreciating. We have initiated necessary legal procedures against the concerned and I am sure the matter will be put to rest soon. Also, any organisation’s greatest strength is its stakeholders; both internal and external - the people who believe in the organisation’s vision and philosophy. It is not possible for any organization to stand tall for good 12 years and documented success stories, to survive without the support of its external stakeholders. We started with just five members and today, we are close to a hundred people. Needless to say, we wouldn’t have come this far with an intention to cheat”

Fiinovation understands clients can have grievances but for that they have a dedicated grievance redressal cell. It would be unfair to harm the reputation and defaming the brand on the basis of a grievance.

These days with social media being the strongest mode of communication and information dissemination, it becomes easy to publish not so authentic stories. It indeed gives a clear picture and an understanding of the intent of the person behind it.

It would not be unfair saying that now whenever we read any new story in media, we can assume that it has a pinch of salt in it, just to gather and attract audience.