Key Points:
Journalist Timsy Jaipuria recently talked about the incident that changed her entire life when PM Modi personally responded to a report by CNBC-TV18.
PM Modi’s rare move to personally respond with a “fact check” to a report became a prime-time headline.
After the incident, Timsy Jaipuria shared that she faced personal attacks and extreme trolling on social media.
ON MAY 15, 2026, a report by CNBC-TV18 was directly debunked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an X post. And hell broke loose. The report was by journalist Timsy Jaipuria, who was also tagged in the post made on X. It claimed that the government was considering a cess, surcharge, or tax on foreign travel. The report further mentioned that “nothing had been finalized.”
PM Modi’s rare move to personally respond with a “fact check” to a report by a platform specializing in finance and business news, which featured the name of a journalist with more than 18 years of experience covering economic policy, international trade, and taxation, became a prime-time headline.
The news came just days after PM Modi’s address to the people of India, in which he asked them to refrain from purchasing gold for one year or travelling abroad, among other things, during a public event in Telangana on May 10, 2026.
PM Modi’s address happened when the West Asia conflict had entered its third month, around the same time as Jaipuria’s report on the government’s alleged plan. Right after PM Modi’s X post was published at 9:51 p.m., Timsy Jaipuria, who was working as an editor covering Finance and Economic Policy at CNBC-TV18 at the time, became the focal point of the matter. Later, she stopped appearing on-air, followed by her resignation.
In a conversation with journalist Sanket Upadhyay on his podcast DoubleCheck, Timsy Jaipuria narrated how her life completely changed on May 15, 2026. The podcast was released on YouTube on September 16, 2026, during which Jaipuria shared the official story from her side and spoke about her next steps following her resignation from CNBC-TV18.
Sanket Upadhyay welcomed Jaipuria and referred to her as, “Bharat ki pehli reporter jisko seedha Pradhan Mantri ne fact-check kara. Swagat hai aapka (India’s first reporter to be directly fact-checked by the Prime Minister. Welcome).” Jaipuria laughed it off and stated that PM Modi’s post was a “denial” and not a “fact check,” as no facts were presented to debunk the claim.
On the night of May 15, 2026, PM Modi reposted CNBC-TV18’s claim about the government considering a cess, surcharge, or tax on foreign travel and wrote, “This is totally false. Not an iota of truth in this. There is no question of putting such restrictions on foreign travel.”
Jaipuria referred to the report as “normal” and expressed her shock over PM Modi’s post denying the report and calling it false.
She explained her disbelief at the moment, stating that the report had been verified through her sources and re-verified as well. “My sources were reliable and longstanding, and the information had been verified twice. Until then, the government had not denied it either,” said Timsy Jaipuria. She told Upadhyay that the day completely changed her life and added that she found out about the post on a Friday night, right before going to sleep. She said that she would have Saturday and Sunday off.
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Jaipuria shared that her phone did not stop ringing after that moment and added that she immediately told her office to “pull down the story,” a reaction that was also shared by her boss. The report was withdrawn just minutes after PM Modi’s post, and an official statement by CNBC-TV18 was issued at 10:11 p.m., saying, “Our story on the government considering tax/cess on foreign travel is not accurate. We withdraw the story and regret the error.”
After the incident, Timsy Jaipuria shared that she faced personal attacks and extreme trolling on social media.
Jaipuria described the situation as if a building had fallen on her and shared that turning off her phone and distancing herself from the matter was extremely difficult at the time. After the incident, she shared that her family became a pillar of strength and supported her. Calling her home her “safe place,” Jaipuria became emotional and shared that her family prioritized her mental health during that period.
The host Sanket Upadhyay asked Jaipuria about the reason behind her resignation. She said, “I was getting these feelings that there is a distance between me and the organisation which was not there till yesterday.” She shared that after the incident, she neither appeared on-air nor wrote for the digital platform. She told Upadhyay, laughingly, “Aap dekh sakte hain, aap search kar sakte hain. Meri aakhri khabar 15 May ki hai” (You can check it; you can search for it. My last news article was published on May 15).
Timsy Jaipuria expressed her gratitude to PM Modi for giving her the courage to take the next step in her journalistic career. On September 8, 2026, Timsy Jaipuria started an independent platform called Newseconomy on YouTube. Jaipuria is a senior journalist with over 18 years of experience.
She joined CNBC-TV18 in 2016 as a special correspondent. Prior to that, she worked as a special correspondent in the Business Bureau at The Hindustan Times, a special business correspondent at The Financial Express, and a senior business reporter at The Pioneer. Timsy Jaipuria is a graduate of Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi, and holds a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Pioneer Media School.
(Edited by Harsh Pandey)
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