India Disinformation Profile
Foreign Disinformation Operations
- Indian Chronicles 2005-present (target EU)
India Domestic Disinformation
India Media Environment
There is a great diversity of newspapers and Television stations in India with privately owned media being a significant portion of these media.[1] India is ranked 142 out of 180 in the 2020 World Press Freedom Index as authorities have used security, hate-speech and defamation legislation to diminish voices critical of the government.[2][3]
In 2019 the internet penetration rate for India was 41%.[4]Facebook is the most popular social network, with roughly 300 million users in 2019.[5] Authorities in India routinely shut down the internet, particularly in Indian administered Kashmir.[6]
Attacks on Journalists
Government sponsored cyber troops have attacked critical journalists online in India.[7] Lists circulating online in September and October 2020 labeled certain journalists as "anti Hindi" or as "Indian Agents" led authorities to investigate several journalists.[8] In 2019 the internet penetration rate for India was 41%
Communal Violence
Social Media such as Twitter and Whatsapp has been implicated in causing a number of incidents of communal violence in India.
2013 Muzaffarnagar riots where a 2 year old video from either Afghanistan or Pakistan of children being beaten circulated through WhatsApp and caused communal violence.[9] Nearly 50 people died during the riots.[10]
WhatsApp has been tied to a number of lynching cases over rumors sent over the messaging platform. These rumors often make accusations that suspects are child kidnappers or other criminals.[11]
Social media often stokes religious tensions between Hindu and Muslim populations in India.[12] Sometimes conspiratorial disinformation makes it to mainstream news outlets, like the ""Jihad Chart" an anti-Islamic piece of disinformation which made it on Zee News.[13] Recently COVID-19 has been incorporated into these posts, with the anti-islamic #coronajihad slogan going viral on Twitter.[14]
Election Disinformation
India is flooded with disinformation generated by domestic political parties utilizing "cyber armies" to disseminate mistruths harming political opponents over platforms like Facebook and What's App.[15]
Pro-Government Incitement of Violence Against Protesting Farmers (Kisan Andolan) 2021
Protestors in India have been protesting for months against bills which liberalize the agricultural industry of the country. This includes a bill which would limit the Minimum Support Price guarantee system for agricultural goods. The bills were forced through Indian Parliament which generated controversy and opposition. It would also get rid of the Mandi system which is the social safety net for farmers.[16][17][18]
On January 26th during the Republic Day celebrations there were clashes between protestors and the police and some protestors stormed the Red Fort and hoisted up farmers union flags as well as a flag associated with sikhism.[19] In the clash 1 protestor was killed and 300 police officers were injured. During the January 26th clash between armed protestors and the police the hashtags “Delhi Police Beat Them” and #khalistaniterrorists were trending after being shared by right-wing influencers, BJP politicians, state affiliated media outlets as well as anonymous and inauthentic accounts. The right wing media eco-system was coordinated, with similar messaging appearing across many different accounts.[20]
There were other posts that falsely asserted that the protesters were Khalistani terrorists and promoted the "power to shoot". The Khalistan Movement, a Sihk separatist movement, is not related to the farmers protests. Hashtags calling for violence were amplified through inauthentic accounts with suspiciously high activity and no identifying information.[21][22]
- ↑ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12557390
- ↑ https://rsf.org/en/ranking
- ↑ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12557390
- ↑ https://www.businesswireindia.com/rural-india-propels-indias-digital-revolution-registers-internet-growth-at-45-percent-while-urban-india-is-maturing-at-11-percent-growth-reveals-kantars-icube-report-67939.html
- ↑ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12557390
- ↑ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12557390
- ↑ Reporters Without Borders. (2018). Online Harassment of Journalists
- ↑ https://cpj.org/2020/12/journalists-in-india-face-attacks-legal-action-and-threats/
- ↑ http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/muzaffarnagar-rioters-used-whatsapp-to-fan-flames-find-police/1168072/
- ↑ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-24172537
- ↑ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-44709103
- ↑ https://jia.sipa.columbia.edu/online-articles/communal-violence-social-media-and-elections-india
- ↑ https://mediamanipulation.org/case-studies/misinfographic-spread-jihad-chart-india
- ↑ https://mediamanipulation.org/case-studies/targeted-harassment-spread-coronajihad
- ↑ https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/04/india-misinformation-election-fake-news/586123/
- ↑ https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/03/02/971293844/indias-farmer-protests-why-are-they-so-angry
- ↑ https://medium.com/dfrlab/pro-govt-actors-amplify-hashtags-calling-for-violence-against-protesting-farmers-in-india-9bd681cf6605
- ↑ Kaul, A. (2021). Pro-Government accounts amplifying posts calling for violence during the Farmer's protest in India. Adtac Black Boxing.
- ↑ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-55817628
- ↑ Kaul, A. (2021). Pro-Government accounts amplifying posts calling for violence during the Farmer's protest in India. Adtac Black Boxing.
- ↑ https://medium.com/dfrlab/pro-govt-actors-amplify-hashtags-calling-for-violence-against-protesting-farmers-in-india-9bd681cf6605
- ↑ Kaul, A. (2021). Pro-Government accounts amplifying posts calling for violence during the Farmer's protest in India. Adtac Black Boxing.