Many have heralded this shift as a democratisation of media—a breaking down of the gatekeeping walls that allowed only a select few to shape the public narrative. Politicians now tweet their policy updates, address voters directly on YouTube, and make carefully curated appearances on influencer podcasts rather than press conferences. There’s even a growing belief that this new media, raw and seemingly more “authentic,” will shoulder the journalistic responsibility left vacant by legacy media.

But this belief deserves a pause, or at least a much cautious thought.

The truth is a large section of India’s new media creators are not journalists—nor do they claim to be. They are “content creators,” and that distinction matters. Of course, there are journalists on social media who are not solely content creators. Journalists like Ravish Kumar have been pushed out of the traditional media system and have found a way to do their journalistic content on social media. Channels like The Wire etc. produce news content with journalistic intent. This article is not about them. However, this article is about those creators on social media who engage with advertisers/sponsors and generate content including news content but do not call themselves journalists.

Take Samdish Bhatia, a widely popular YouTube figure known for intriguing and witty political interviews and videos of his travels across the country. He is articulate, progressive, and clearly influential. But even he does not identify as a journalist. He calls himself as a content creator. That is not a knock against him or his work. It is a recognition of the difference in mandate. Journalism, at its core, is about accountability—of those in power, of systems, of narratives. Content creation, however, is about engagement, reach, and often—neutrality that does not ruffle feathers. Truth be told, if people who call themselves journalists are not being held accountable as they should be, it is a rather hard task to hold social media content creators accountable.

And it is not just neutrality. Many of the most visible faces in the new Indian social media ecosystem are unabashedly capitalist and pro-market. Their discussions are less about the structural problems that plague India—such as homelessness, unemployment, agrarian distress—and more about how to “capitalize” on these contexts. So, while homelessness continues to plague millions, the conversations in popular podcasts revolve around real estate  as an investment opportunity. Instead of interrogating inequality, there are video essays on personal finance, sponsored by a company or two.

This tone fits comfortably within the vision of a country aspiring to produce unicorn start-ups and billion-dollar tech moguls. Indeed, some of these billionaires have now become social media personalities themselves. Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of Zerodha, is a case in point. With little precedent, he was granted a rare, exclusive interview-podcast with the Prime Minister of India ahead of the Delhi Assembly Elections—a privilege rarely extended to even the editors of major TV news channels. Given Mr. Kamath’s power as a billionaire himself, he also did interviews with personalities such as Microsoft founder Bill Gates, New Zealand Prime Minster Christopher Luxon and Industrialist Kumar Birla.

One must ask: when billionaires with government proximity become the popular voices of public discourse on social media, are we truly breaking away from “Godi Media,” or are we just replacing it with a new, glossier version that’s algorithmically friendlier and better branded? More importantly, will this new media ask the questions that the traditional media was supposed to ask or even attempt at creating ‘content’ around the issues?

Take Mr. Modi’s interview with Mr. Kamath for example. While discussing ideologies and idealism, Mr. Modi mentions Mahatma Gandhi and Savarkar in the same breath to remark that both had the same ideal of freedom with different paths. In an ideal world, this would have been met with another question about Savarkar’s credentials as a freedom fighter par Gandhi, or at least with a remark. What we get is Mr. Kamath continuing with next question as to what to do when someone trolls and how to develop a thick skin?

Or take another question about politics and money. The data on electoral bonds came out in 2024 but Mr. Kamath could not ask the question, at least on what Mr. Modi thinks of electoral bonds. Instead, he asks about how to facilitate youth entering politics given the huge amounts of money it takes to be in politics!

There’s also another curious and worrying trend: prominent intellectuals and creators within these spaces who align with the ruling ideology often criticize the opposition or even level attacks against dissenters with unchecked impunity. An advocate, who is one of the most popular voices on social media, aligned with the views of ruling establishment  was asked on ‘The Ranveer Show’— “3 Indians that should leave India and never return are?” and the advocate said the names of news presenter Barkha Dutt, Professors Irfan Habib and Romila Thapar. The show’s host was the news cycle’s recent villain Ranveer Allahbadia. To keep up with the illusion of a critical and engaging podcast, the host asks “Why?” only to have the advocate say that these three have harmed Indian interests in their own ways and that they have done grave injustice to facts, truths and integrity. In the interest of critical engagement, one would expect the host to ask “How?” but he comfortably moves on to the next question.

This tells us two things. One, it was a bizarre question tailored to get a certain provocative answer. Two, it was not asked to critically engage with it. It was merely done to be performative

The bar for evidence is low. The responsibility to inform is often secondary to the need to perform.

Ranveer Allahbadia and another content creator Raj Shamani were some of the selected content creators who were given the opportunities to do interviews with union ministers like S. Jai Shankar and Nitin Gadkari. They were also attendees—Raj Shamani being the creator to introduce Mr. Modi, Ranveer Allahbadia being the recipient of the Disruptor of the Year Award—at the National Creators Awards organised in March 2024, just before the 2024 General Elections. Raj Shamani also hosted Arvind Kejriwal for an interview before the Delhi Elections.

This is not an allegation of social media creators selling space on their platforms to the government. There is no indication as of now. However, it is an observation of how close they are willing to be with power and how that hampers their capacity to be neutral, and courageous enough to ask questions, engagingly sharp ones if not tough ones.

This is also not a personal attack on these individuals. Many of them are intelligent, talented, and operate in good faith. But collectively, they form a media ecosystem that is, for the most part, timid when it comes to holding power accountable. And that makes them complicit—not by intent, but by design.

There is an imminent need to resist the temptation to confuse visibility with credibility. Just because a YouTube video racks up a million views or is made by a Billionaire does not mean it is accountable. Just because an influencer is articulate does not mean they are committed to the truth. Just because the production is slick does not mean the content is rigorous.

Social media is not journalism. It can include journalism, but it is not structurally bound to its principles. And in a country like India, where power is both opaque and muscular, the distinction between the two is not just academic—it’s existential for democracy.
So yes, we should celebrate the diversity of voices that social media enables. But we should also be wary—especially of the ones that get a little too close to power. Especially the ones that never ask hard questions. Especially the ones that call themselves everything—except journalists.

(The author is part of the legal research team of the organisation)

Related:

BJP spreading sea of hatred on social media before Jharkhand elections, ECI mum – shocking facts revealed in research report

Bihar: How festival holidays become target of fake news

NBDSA acts on CJP’s complaint, directs News18 to take down fake news video about bombing in WB school

The post Treading Carefully: Illusion of Accountability in an age of social media content creation appeared first on SabrangIndia.

History of Kumbh Mela

The history of the Kumbh Mela goes back to the Hindu myths of Samudra Manthan, or the churning of ocean, which was done by the Gods and the Demons, to obtain invaluable jewels and amrita, the nectar of immortality. In the churning, the God Dhanvantari appeared with a pot in his hand filled with amrita. The son of Lord Indra, Jayant, saw the pot and snatched it from the hands of God Dhanvantari and ran to prevent the demons from consuming the amrita and becoming immortal. Jayant ran for 12 days, while taking rest at 4 places in a 3 days interval, Haridwar, Prayag, Nashik – Trimbakeshwar and Ujjain. At all these four places when Jayant stopped, he spilled some of the amrita, giving these places mystical powers. All these four places are located at the banks of holy rivers, Haridwar located on the banks of Ganga, Prayagraj has the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical river Saraswati, Ujjain has the Kshipra, and Nashik – Trimbakeshwar has the Godavari, often referred as Ganga of the South. It is believed that by taking a dip in these holy rivers during Kumbh, washes away one’s sins and helps them gain punya (spiritual merit).

As per divine counting, one day for the Gods is considered to be equal to one year for the humans. And therefore, every three years, Kumbh Mela takes place in one of the four cities of Prayag, Haridwar, Nashik – Trimbakeshwar and Ujjain. Normal Kumbh Mela takes place every three years, whereas the Ardh Kumbh Mela is held every six years at Haridwar and Prayagraj, and the Purna Kumbh Mela takes place every four years in one of the four cities based on the locations of planets. The Maha Kumbh Mela takes place once in 144 years at Prayagraj, after 12 Purna Kumbh Melas, as per the official website of the Kumbh Mela.

The location of Kumbh Mela is determined by the location of the Sun, moon and Jupiter in different zodiac signs in that time period.

Maha Kumbh 2025

The festivities and the celebrations in this year’s Kumbh is expected to be more extravagant than all previous iterations. With the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruling both in the Centre and the state of U.P., the event is expected to be more overt. The festival is viewed by many to be a potential symbol of Hindu unity and power. Backed by huge state resources and widespread PR campaigns, this year’s Maha Kumbh is expected to be the most expensive on record. Estimated 40 to 45 crore visitors are expected to visit the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, as reported by the Economic Times.

As per reports, a sum of 7,000 crore Rupees has been spent by the U.P. State Government on the Maha Kumbh Mela of 2025 on infrastructure projects and sanitation facilities, with nationwide posters of Chief Minister of U.P., Hindu monk Adityanath Yogi, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on promotional material for the Maha Kumbh, 2025. 

The festival has also become a ground for sowing seeds of communal tensions between Hindus and Muslims thus making it the most polarised Kumbh Mela in history. One of the senior-most priests of the festival, Mahant Durganand Bhramachari, stated that “Kumbh Mela is a great convergence of humans, gods and our sacred rivers”, and expressed concern and dismay over attempts at using the festival to promote sectarianism and religious divide in the country.

He further added stating that “What bothers me this time is how some people are trying to polarise the atmosphere on communal lines. There has to be peaceful coexistence and hate should have no place. We see some people are trying to create Hindu-Muslim tensions,” as reported by the Guardian.

Digital innovations and AI have also been used to help with multiple problems faced by chaotic and large–scale festivities. Thousands of drones have been employed to monitor the security at the celebration. Meanwhile, devotees have each been given radio frequency wristbands to help locate lost family members that might get separated in the crowd.

While the Kumbh Mela is celebrated to promote spirituality, there have been various shortcomings with regards to the organization of the event as well as behaviours of extremist Hindu devotees who have used the festival and attempted to incite communal disparity.

Communal Disparity

The Maha Kumbh which is a spiritual and religious festival for Hindus has sadly become a ground for promoting communal disparity and rising communal tensions due to various instances. Even the Government has diverted its attention from major concerns such as the cleanliness of the rivers Ganga and Yamuna and the efficient management of the Maha Kumbh, towards petty issues creating further rifts between the Hindus and the Muslims. 

• Prohibiting Muslims from participating in the Maha Kumbh

The All India Akhara Parishad (AIAP), which has been formed by the Saints and Sadhus of 13 affiliated Akharas, has been pushing for banning the entry of Muslims and their business participation as well from the Maha Kumbh Mela, 2025. For the first time the AIAP is taking active steps by garnering support of other devotees and saints in banning the participation of Muslims and restricting their business activities in the Mela.

The rationale behind this demand of the AIAP stems out of an incident during the Kanwar Yatra, where allegedly Muslim hotels and restaurants served non-vegetarian food to the devotees taking part in the Yatra, thus hurting their religious sentiment. This, the Akhara Parishad argues, justifies their demands of restricting the participation of Muslims from the Mela.

​​Maulana Mufti Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi, National President of the All India Muslim Jamaat, has requested the U.P. Government to intervene. He stated that “The Akhara Parishad’s decision is fostering division and promoting communalism. Such actions only serve to create rifts in society. I urge the state government to reverse this decision and take strong action against those spreading communal hatred,” as reported by India Tomorrow.

Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, supported the decision of the Akhara Parishad by arguing that just as Hindus are not allowed to visit Mecca and Madina, even Muslims should not be allowed to participate in the Maha Kumbh. He stated that “Mecca and Madina are Muslim sacred sites, and Hindus are restricted from going there. Similarly, the Kumbh is our religious festival; Muslims should have no business being involved.”

While Shankaracharya’s statement provides prima facie support to the claims of the Akhara Parishad, his claims are based on unfounded reasoning. Mecca and Madina are hosted in foreign countries and the Indian Government only exercises jurisdiction over events in India. Furthermore, with India’s history of co–existence between the Hindu and Muslim religions and taking part in each other’s festival, it is only right to allow Muslims to be a part of the biggest Hindu festival of the century.

Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind’s Uttar Pradesh legal advisor, Maulana Kaab Rashidi stated that “Such calls violate the rights enshrined in the Constitution because India is known all over the world as a secular country. So, talking about banning Muslims from Maha Kumbh is like crushing the soul of the Constitution,” as reported by Livemint.

Even the U.P. Chief Minister, Adityanath Yogi has become a part of the controversy as he stated that “Anyone who has respect for India and Sanatan traditions can come to Kumbh….people with bad mentality should not go there….they may face problems,” as reported by the Deccan Herald.

Reference can be made here to Gandhiji’s reflections of the Kumbh Mela of 1915 in his famous book My Experiments with Truth. While traveling from Saharanpur to Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, Gandhiji highlighted the inhumane conditions in which people had to travel. He then went ahead to focus on the prevalent religious prejudices, where orthodox Hindus would not consume water if the person offering them the same was Musalmani. By witnessing the dividing of food and beverages on religious lines, Gandhiji understood the extent of religious polarisation in the country. He expressed his disappointment at such a state of affairs.

These attempts at restricting the entry and business activities of Muslims in the Maha Kumbh furthers the rift between the society and becomes a ground for promoting cultural disparity in a country where different religions and cultures have coexisted for a long time.

• Fake news

Outrage sparked on January 10, 2025, as a man was caught urinating on one of the banners for Maha Kumbh in Raebareli. Media outlets and users of social media soon gave the incident a communal twist, circulating videos of the man being verbally and physically assaulted for his actions.

UttarPradesh.ORG News shared a video of the man being abused on X and said that a man from “another community” was thrashed by locals on accusations of urinating on a poster of Maha Kumbh.

Multiple users shared similar videos of the incident and labelled the man as a Muslim terrorist and expressed their concerns causing outrage over social media handles.

However, on 11 January, 2025, Raebareli police issued a statement clarifying that the name of the accused was Vinod, a Hindu vendor, and the claims that the man belonged to “another community” were entirely false. According to the statement of the Police, the accused was in an intoxicated state and urinated 3-4 feet away from the wall that had the poster and banners of Maha Kumbh, however, people present at the scene soon surrounded him and began accusing him of being from another community and started assaulting him, as reported by ALT News.

Such incidents reflect the deeply entrenched stereotypes and prejudices in the minds of people which get flared up and are exaggerated further by social media posts and false new reporting. A question however arises here, why such accusations are attributed to the Muslim community alone? Why is it that when any miscreant does any action to disturb the peace, the first assumption is made regarding his religion and his labelled as a Muslim terrorist.

There have also been incidents where people have assumed false identities as a Muslim and threatened violence just to worsen the communal rifts in our country. In the first week of January, a post on social media emerged, where a user named Nasar Pathan threatened a bomb blast at the Maha Kumbh taking the lives of at least 1000 devotees. However, after investigation by the Police, it was revealed that a student of class 11th, Ayush Kumar Jaiswal had created this fake account under the name of Nasar Pathan and posted the threat on social media handles, which spread like a wildfire, as reported by The Quint.

This incident is a recent case of a concerning trend where people impersonate themselves as Muslims to spread hateful content, make threats, or commit crimes.

This trend has become a cause of concern as it is being used to spread communal hatred and hamper the societal structure of India.

• Heightened cultural sensitivity amongst Hindus

A man was beaten up by Sadhus at the Maha Kumbh Mela, 2025, for dressing up as a sheikh at the festival. The man, who is a social media influencer, dressed as a sheikh identifying himself as Sheikh Premanand at the festival, to film content. Not much later he caught the attention of Sadhus who found his attire and his behaviour as outrageous towards their religious feelings, and physically assaulted him. His actions were perceived by the Sadhus as offensive towards the holy place and the festival, as reported by Munsif News.

However, this incident raises severe concerns about the declining cultural sensitivities of Hindus, where a man’s attire was enough to be offended upon.

Is our faith in our religion so weak that a man dressed as a sheikh could shake it, and force us to take action against him to protect our religion from his clothes of a different religion?

• Hate Speech

Yati Narsinghanand, a right-wing Hindu priest, has caused an uproar after his recent statements regarding the Maha Kumbh. The priest added another thread to the Islamophobic narrative he has been weaving by making various hate speech comments in the past as well.

The priest said that “This might be the last Maha Kumbh Mela if the population of jihadists increases and they make India an Islamic nation. Even a single temple will not be left.” He further added that “Not just temples, if the number of jihadists increases there will not be a single woman left in your house nor my house.”

The 58–year old priest has faced various criminal cases and complaints for making communally charged statements under the Indian law for hate speech. Despite his Islamophobic and misogynistic comments, Yati Narsinghanand has been allowed to roam scot–free even after having been arrested multiple times, as reported by the Siasat Daily.

On January 21, 2025, two individuals including a journalist were arrested in U.P. for allegedly making offensive comments on Maha Kumbh on social media. The content of the two individuals offended the members of the Hindu community, which led the authorities to issue alerts and increase social media monitoring, as reported by Hindustan Times.

Kamran Alvi, a journalist, was arrested after his remarks were found offensive. SHO Alok Mani Tripathi stated that “The accused was promptly arrested, and a case was registered under section 299 (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the BNS Act for insulting religious symbols. He will be presented in the court.”

In a separate case, SHO Amit Pratap Singh stated that, “Abhishek Kumar, a resident of Boja village near Jaidpur, made objectionable remarks on social media about Hindu deities and the Maha Kumbh. A case has been registered and the accused arrested.”

Critics have pointed out the double–standards adopted by the Police in dealing with cases regarding hate speech. Individuals such as Yati Narsinghanand roam scot–free and remain outside the reach of law after making hateful comments, whereas reporters from minority communities or even the ones who report instances of hate speech are immediately arrested.

Plight of Sanitation Workers

The Maha Kumbh, 2025, which is expected to have more than 40 crore devotees take a dip in the holy Triveni Sangam, the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, is the largest ever religious gathering.

The expected footfall poses the significant challenge of sanitation and public health. The organisers have installed more than 1,50,000 temporary toilets across the campsite on the river banks, and more than 5,000 workers have been hired to clean those toilets nearly all of whom belong to the lower rung of the archaic and rigid societal hierarchy that divides Hindus based on their roles and functions in the community. As per the official data, 9 out of the 10 sanitation workers are from marginalized communities, majority of them being Dalit, also known as the “untouchables”, as reported by The Wire.

Cleaning a toilet piled with faecal matter, Suresh Valmiki, a sanitation worker said that “I clean and clean, but people make a mess of it in barely ten minutes.” 

Five years ago, when the festival was held, Prime Minister Narendra Modi washed the feet of five sanitation workers. Many say that the move, which came 3 months before the general election, was an attempt to appeal to Hindu unity casting aside age-old caste differences in the Hindu society. However, not much has changed for the marginalised sanitation workers. 

Pyare Lal, a sanitation worker employed at the Maha Kumbh said that “Now, this grand Maha Kumbh is being organised, there are so many ads of ‘luxurious Kumbh’ but did anything change for us sanitation workers.” He further added, “We have been watching ads for Tent City, but nothing has changed in our tents.” Pyare Lal lives in one corner of the Maha Kumbh in a make-shift tent with no proper supply of electricity or water.

As reported by The Print, several sanitation workers also complained that they applied for a house under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), however, they have not heard anything back from the authorities, and find their futures bleak.

The jobs of sanitation workers have been made even more difficult as there are no water connections in the toilets, which has been done purposefully by the organisers to avoid the frequent suctioning of the septic tanks. As a result, the users must fill a bucket of water from a tap outside, and to avoid the same, the users carry bottles with them which they dump inside the toilet, increasing the work and difficulty for the cleaners.

A cleaner named Geeta Valmiki said, “People say it’s our job to clean the toilets, so why should they bother?” 

The plight of the sanitation workers highlights the lackadaisical attitude of the Government regarding protecting the basic human rights and the right to dignity of the cleaners. Further, not proper awareness campaigns have been conducted by the Government for the devotees who are visiting the Maha Kumbh, regarding maintaining cleanliness and the usage of toilets to avoid the over–exploitation of cleaners.

Furthermore, the abysmally inadequate and insufficient pay provided to the sanitation workers is a matter of concern. The workers who are spending all their time cleaning up after others use the toilet facilities, are being paid a daily wage of less than Rs500.

All these concerns raise questions about the management of the Maha Kumbh Mela, 2025 and the unabashed disregard towards the violation of human rights of the sanitation workers.

Influencing Media Coverage

In December 2024, the publicity wing of the Uttar Pradesh government, published a letter directing how the reporters and journalists should cover the Maha Kumbh Mela, 2025 while praising the exemplary work done by the ruling government for the organisation of the event.

The festival presents itself as a great opportunity for the journalists to report on the celebrations, however, the U.P. government has made sure to spoon–feed the journalists as to how the festival should be reported and covered in news.

The letter contains 70 detailed themes that the reporters could potentially cover, along with directions to approach the stories and whom to interview for every particular story.

Shishir, the director of the information and public relations department of the Uttar Pradesh government, sent the document to editors in Lucknow, emphasizing the need to focus on the “pre–determined” themes as mentioned in the document.

As reported by The Wire, Shishir stated “As the Mahakumbh draws closer, various related topics of immediate relevance are likely to emerge. Alongside addressing such immediate concerns, our aim is to focus on the predetermined themes as well.” 

This attempt by the government to thwart the journalists and reporters to report the festival based on their own perspectives and perception, and hampering the most fundamental element of the media, its freedom, is alarming.

Impact on Environment and Public Health

Kumbh Mela, which was recognized as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity by the United Nations, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2017, poses significant environmental and health risks that need to be mitigated.

While the World Health Organisation (WHO) has noted that due to increase in seasonal epidemics in respiratory influenza, the acute respiratory infections increase at this time of the year, along with the alert in India over the spread of the Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV), mass gatherings such as Maha Kumbh, may pose serious health risks.

An article published in Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease in 2024, available on the Researchgate website, stated that “The upcoming Kumbh Mela [2025], one of the largest religious gatherings globally, is expected to draw millions of pilgrims across India and beyond. While this event is deeply rooted in tradition and spirituality, it also presents significant public health challenges.”

Further, as per a study published by the Journal of Travel Medicine, it has been indicated that “acute respiratory infections, fever, skin disorders, diarrhoea and other infectious diseases like influenza, gastroenteritis, chickenpox, hepatitis etc can spread more easily during the Kumbh Mela because of the numerous religious events, cramped living quarters, and solid and liquid waste produced throughout the event.”

There have been various outbreaks of diseases and sporadic epidemics at the Kumbh Mela previously as well, such as in 1892, 1948, and in the 1960s, as per a report published by the International Journal of Infectious Diseases. The earliest documented record of such epidemics is the outbreak of Cholera in the year 1817.

It is also to be noted that the Kumbh Mela in 2021 had a huge impact of large gatherings which played a significant factor in the rise of COVID–19 cases.

As reported by LiveMint, Upper Mela Officer Vivek Chaturvedi has mentioned that continuous workshops are being conducted for the doctors and consultants so that they are fully equipped to handle any situation.

Further, the influx of millions of devotees has the potential to severely damage the ecological balance and harm the biodiversity. Fouling of rivers to a large number of bathers harms the aquatic ecosystem. Due to close proximity of a large number of people, the risk of water–borne diseases also drastically increases.

With millions of devotees expected to visit this year’s Maha Kumbh, the health and environmental risks are higher than ever, and would require constant monitoring and extensive efforts by the Government to mitigate the same.

Other issues with the management of Maha Kumbh

While the major challenges posed by the Maha Kumbh have been discussed, there are multiple other instances which reflect inefficient planning and management at the end of the Government.

• Stampede

In Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi, as the devotees rushed to board a train at the Veerangana Laxmibai Railway Station, panic ensued due to a stampede. Officials reported that as the train was being repositioned, the devotees mistook the train’s movement for repositioning as departure and rushed to board the train, whereby two individuals narrowly escaped being run over by the train as reported by ETV Bharat. This incident that stemmed from a misunderstanding, led to chaos which could have claimed lives of multiple people present there.

This incident reflects the lack of vigilance and proper management of large crowds by the authorities which could have resulted in a tragic accident.

• Fire at the Kumbh Mela

In another incident, the tent city that has been set up by the Government to accommodate the visitors at the Maha Kumbh, became a centre of attention as a tragic fire consumed approximately 180 cottages, 70 to 80 huts, more than 10 tents, and goods worth crores. The fire began as a result of a gas cylinder leak in the Geeta Press Gorakhpur camp’s kitchen. Although there have been no casualties due to the fire, one individual suffered injuries while attempting to escape from the fire as reported by Financial Express. After the incident, the U.P. Government issued a fire safety advisory to all the camps at the Maha Kumbh Mela. The advisory consists of detailed important guidelines to be followed by individuals to avoid any such incidents in the future and for smooth functioning of the Maha Kumbh Mela.

However, it is pertinent to note here that potential of such incidents was not taken into account and the Government is attempting to address every challenge as it props up. Had such advisory and mandatory guidelines been issued beforehand, huge damages could have been prevented and the fire at the Maha Kumbh Mela could have been avoided.

• Use of Technology 

The Government has efficiently employed technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the better management of the Maha Kumbh. The Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) which was originally built for Kumbh Mela – 2019, has been upgraded with latest technology to better manage and monitor the large volume of crowd expected at the festival. “Around 1,650 new CCTV cameras, 24 ANPR cameras, 40 VMCDs, 100 smart parking systems, and AI components for crown management and vehicle counting have been installed for Maha Kumbh, 2025,” as reported by the Times of India.

Crowd management and surveillance systems have been ramped up with AI controlled CCTV cameras. Pilgrims have been given Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) wristbands to ensure their safety and security. Predictive models have been used for better resource management. Internet of Things (IoT) has increased energy efficiency by optimizing electricity usage, enabling sensors in trash cans to notify when they need to be emptied, monitoring water quality of the river, etc. as reported by Boston Institute of Analytics.

With the use of technology and AI for management of Maha Kumbh, it becomes imperative to ask why such revolutionary technologies and methods are not used for crowd management and control in cases of any riots or public unrest? Why is such technology not used for better resource management in cases of natural disasters? The potential benefits of technology are vast and the same must be used by the Government in times of crisis for better management of situations.

Conclusion

The Maha Kumbh, 2025 holds special religious value for the devotees as it is celebrated once every 144 years. The festival promotes spirituality and the religious sentiments in devotees, as millions of people from the World gather to celebrate Maha Kumbh. While this is a remarkable cultural event, it poses various challenges that need to be addressed. The festival is being used by certain individuals to create communal disparity, and harm the social fabric of our society. While the sanitation workers are in a plight as their right to dignity is being violated and they are forced to work in inhumane conditions at less than subpar pay, the journalists and reporters face challenges as the most basic element of media, its freedom is being taken away. Various other instances also reflect the need for better management by the Government of the celebration. For Maha Kumbh to be truly successful, the government must ensure inclusivity, uphold human rights, address environmental and public health concerns, and prioritize effective planning and transparency to make it a celebration that truly honours its spiritual and cultural significance.

The post Unveiling the hidden challenges behind the greatest religious celebration ever: Maha Kumbh, 2025 appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Election misinformation and AI

Artificial Intelligence is reshaping the world as we know it. From helping in translation in lower courts in India, to analysing and predicting biological pathways for development of vaccines- there is hardly a field that AI has not found its use case in.

The ability of AI to generate real life like images, voice notes, and deep fake videos has been causing problems and especially in a country like India where internet penetration is high, these problems are exacerbated. While fake news and misinformation have been rampant before the advent of AI, they have become bigger problems to deal with, after AI use has become a common phenomenon. Recently, an audio clip of NCP (Sharad Pawar) leader and Baramati MP Supriya Sule and Congress Leader Nana Patole— was released by the Bharatiya Janata Party alleging that they were involved in a financial fraud relating to Bitcoin. These audio clips were termed as ‘likely to be AI’ by experts.

In India, the acceptance of AI and Deepfakes is rather unsurprising. For example, during the 2024 General Elections, the Prime Minister himself tweeted an AI generated meme video of him dancing in a rock concert like set up-and remarked that “Like all of you, I also enjoyed seeing myself dance;” “Such creativity in peak poll season is truly a delight. #PollHumour.” This also served as a counter to the West Bengal Police warning users to not share a similar video featuring the WB Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.  Fake videos of Hindi cinema actors Ranveer Singh and Amir Khan campaigning for the Indian National Congress were circulated during the General Elections 2024. Few members of the Congress IT Cell were arrested for circulating a doctored video of Home Minister Amit Shah in Telangana. These people were arrested under the normal criminal laws like CrPC and IPC.

Recently, President of Global Affairs at the technology company Meta was reported as saying that the artificial intelligence only had a modest impact on global elections this year vis-à-vis its platforms including Facebook, Instagram etc. However, Meta and its platforms—as big as they are—form only a part of the AI Ecosystem.

Elon Musk—the billionaire who has openly supported Donald Trump for President in the United States—posted a fake voice note(generate by another user) having 2024 Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris’ voice saying things that she actually did not in real life. This video has more than 135 Million views on Elon Musk owned social site-X.

The use of AI during elections, therefore, has brought forward the issue of regulating the deep fakes and other AI generated misinformation.

What are the policies in India on AI?

There is no one comprehensive policy on Artificial Intelligence in India. India only recently got its Data Protection Act in 2023 highlighting the slow pace with which a technology related law to come into place. This was also because the government had to modify its bill according to the report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, the pandemic etc. The policy documents on AI in India are all guiding documents or strategies by departments. For example, NITI Aayog had released a National Strategy for Artificial intelligence in 2018. Key highlights of the NSAI include India’s vision to position itself as a global “AI Garage” for developing economies by creating scalable AI solutions for common global challenges. It also advocates for a three-pronged approach: piloting AI projects in high-priority sectors, building a robust ecosystem for AI innovation, and engaging stakeholders across public and private sectors. Furthermore, the strategy emphasizes the late-mover advantage, encouraging India to adapt and innovate existing technologies to leapfrog in the global AI landscape.

Other than this, laws like the Information Technology Act of 2000 and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act of 2023 address certain aspects of data protection and misuse, they fall short of comprehensively addressing the challenges posed by rapidly evolving AI technologies.

Does India need a comprehensive law?

Experts have differing views on this. A recent paper in Carnegie India has noted that there is no consensus on the need for a comprehensive legislation on Artificial Intelligence.  Arguments against it include concerns about stifling innovation, the premature nature of such a law, the evolving pace of AI, and the effectiveness of existing laws like the IT Act. However, some advocate for a dedicated AI law to address novel risks, protect fundamental rights, ensure accountability, and align with global standards. Alternative approaches, such as self-regulation, co-regulation, and sector-specific regulations, are what the experts suggest.

While this has been the case for any technology related law, AI has been one key sector in which even the industry leaders are open to regulation provided it does not stifle the innovation. Therefore, the larger interests of people and the need to serve them should prevail over the superficial ‘need to preserve innovation’ which often gets thrown around as an argument against any measure to have the science benefit the masses.

What can be done about Fake News?

Addressing AI-generated fake news is essential for preserving democracy and societal harmony. Key strategies focus on transparency, public awareness, technological interventions, regulation, and collaboration.

Transparency and Accountability

Campaigns and officials must disclose AI use, including algorithms, data, and objectives, to ensure public scrutiny. Independent oversight bodies should monitor AI in elections, enforce ethical practices, and handle violations efficiently.

Public Awareness and Media Literacy

Comprehensive digital literacy campaigns can empower voters to identify AI-generated content. Supporting fact-checking organizations and collaborating with media outlets can counter misinformation and encourage responsible reporting.

Technological Interventions

Developing AI tools to detect and label synthetic content is critical. Widespread use of watermarks and labels for AI-generated media can help distinguish real from fake content, fostering trust in information sources.

Regulatory Frameworks

New or updated laws must address gaps in managing AI-generated fake news. A balanced, innovation-friendly approach is crucial. Ethical AI development guidelines should promote accountability among developers and researchers.

AI Governance Body

A dedicated AI governance body can establish comprehensive guidelines, monitor AI use across sectors, and address emerging challenges. This reduces reliance on entities like MeitY and ensures specialized oversight and proactive regulation. This body should also be independent enough to regulate the government’s usage of AI since government using AI for in data analysis makes it a formidable force when it wants to march against civil rights movements and activists.

Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration

AI companies must adopt self-regulation and ethical practices. Governments, tech firms, researchers, and civil society should collaborate on shared initiatives, leveraging expertise to develop effective, scalable solutions.

Conclusion

AI is here to stay, and its impact on our lives will only grow with time. While its potential for innovation and progress is undeniable, so too are the risks it brings, especially when it comes to misinformation and deep fakes. It is no longer a question of whether we should address these challenges but how quickly and effectively we can do so. Governments need to step up and establish independent, rule-of-law-based mechanisms to regulate AI while fostering innovation. Striking this balance is crucial—not just for technological advancement, but for safeguarding democracy, societal trust, and individual rights in an AI-driven world.

(The author is a legal researcher with the organisation)

Related:

A swarm of fake news hits social media from India, hatred for all that is Muslim given a fillip: Hamas-Israel conflict

Social media platforms finally compel extremist groups to shun hate speech, fake news

Fake News Regarding Situation of Migrant Workers in Tamil Nadu Being Made Viral

The post Make and fake information, artificial intelligence (AI) and its misuse: is there need for a comprehensive law? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

This propaganda is an attempt to derail the current discussion on misguided Waqf Bill. This campaign falsely claims that the DMC has suggested and DWB has demanded lands of Hindu temples. The fact is that neither DMC nor DWB ever suggested or demanded that temples built on Waqf land be demolished or their land be returned to the DWB. This is an unmitigated lie.

The DMC report of 2019 on some West Delhi mosques (https://archive.org/details/dmc-report-on-illegal-mosques-delhi) was prepared to examine the claim of the then BJP MP Mr Parvesh Verma that “illegal” mosques have been built in his parliamentary constituency and that such mosques should be demolished.

Mr Parvesh Verma had sent his complaint to the Delhi Lt. Governor in June 2019 claiming that 54 “illegal” mosques have cropped up in his constituency (West Delhi) during the last 20 years. He demanded that action should be taken against these mosques. In other words, he wanted these mosques be demolished. When no action was taken on his complaint, Mr Verma re-sent his complaint to the L.G. the next month.

On the publication of reports in the media about this communication to the L.G. by Mr Verma, as the then Chairman of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC), I formed a 5-member committee consisting of two Muslims, two Christians and a Sikh. All of them were reputed members of society and were active in legal and human rights fields. The committee inspected all the mosques on the list provided by Mr Verma, inspected their papers and finally presented a detailed report to the Commission saying that none of these mosques is illegal while some of them were centuries-old and thus protected as ancient monuments. At the same time, the Committee came across a number of illegal temples found in the vicinity of the so-called “illegal” mosques and at times built on the same plot of land as the mosques.

In its report, the Committee mentioned these temples along with their locations and photographs, although Mr Verma had missed them.

Copies of the said DMC report were sent to the L.G., Delhi Chief Minister and even to Mr Parvesh Verma himself. The report was also released to the media during a press conference. Thereafter, Mr Verma never raised that issue. Now, after five years, Zee News suddenly remembered that report but (deliberately) potrayed this in a skewed, totally wrong context. Zee News presented it claiming that DWB wants to grab temple lands, while the report only passingly mentioned that some temples in the vicinity of the so-called illegal mosques stood on Waqf lands.

Our committee had inspected each and every mosque on Mr Verma’s list and found that no mosque in the list was “illegal”. All were legal while some were centuries-old. During its visits, the Committee came across illegal temples found in the area and discovered that some of them were built on Waqf lands. The Committee registered this fact in its report but did not make any demand on the said lands of the illegal temples. The DWB too did not stake any claim on such lands.

The propaganda aired by an entranced, ‘godi media’ now is totally concocted, brazenly motivated. This campaign obscures the real purpose and findings of the said report. It is an attempt to misdirect the current discussion on the Waqf issue and pave the way to drastic changes in the Waqf law as planned by the Modi government.

A few days back a reporter of Zee News phoned me saying that next day they are holding a panel discussion on the issue on their channel. He wanted me to participate in the said discussion. I apologized saying that for the last four and a half years I do not talk to Godi media due to bitter past experiences about its bias and lies. The said reporter quickly apologised and ended the call.

Next day a reporter of Zee Salam, the Urdu section of Zee News, phoned me for an interview. I repeated what I told earlier to his colleague. He assured me that Zee Salam is different and that my interview will be carried in full with no cuts. After this, I accepted to meet him. He came in the evening and recorded a long interview with me in which I explained the gist and the circumstances and the result of the DMC report and how it is being twisted now. I also gave him a printed copy of the said DMC report. That interview was not carried that night. Upon my enquiry, the reporter told me that the interview will be carried next day. On the following day, Zee News assembled six persons including three saffron-clad Hindutvites. The panel included an advocate who was a member of the said DMC committee. He tried to explain the issue but was not allowed by the anchor to complete his explanation while time was amply given to others including a saffron-clad sadhu who bluntly announced that if you take the land of one temple, we will take ten mosques!

Later, a reporter of a Hindi newspaper talked to me on the same issue but I ended the call when, instead of listening to me, he kept blurting out his understanding of the issue on the Godi media lines.

This propaganda continues on various Godi media and Hindutva platforms. The fact is that these people are not after truth. They can utter any lie in order to serve their agenda. The agenda is dangerous and divisive, to generate lies, half-truths about India’s minorities, the Muslims. 

(The author is a former Chairman, Delhi Minorities Commission)

The post Delhi Minorities Commission (DMC) did not demand land of Hindu temples; former Chairperson DMC appeared first on SabrangIndia.

It is to be noted that Hasina’s decision was prompted by the weeks-long protest against 30% reservations to select groups in government jobs and educational institutions. After this decision for reservation was made public, protestors took to the streets to question the quota of reservation being granted to the third generation of freedom fighters, and demanding a total merit-based recruitment. While the protests had begun peacefully in June against the quota system, the student-led movement later turned into a people’s movement. This escalated to a protest to oust Sheikh Hasina, who won for the fourth time in the January elections. The protests against the dictatorial government saw violence as brute force was used by the police against protestors, leading to the deaths of dozens of people. Over 100 people died over the weekend prior to the resignation of ex-PM Hasina. The weekend also saw the Bangladesh government ordering a complete internet shutdown as protestors asked the general public to join a “Long March to Dhaka”. A nationwide curfew had also been imposed indefinitely. However, around 1:15 pm on Monday, a government agency gave a verbal order to start broadband internet.

Soon after Hasina left the country, jubilant crowds waved flags and danced in front of cameras. Videos showing tens of thousands of people surrounding government offices and residences in the capital Dhaka started coming up on social media. People could be seen entering the official residence of ex-PM Hasina and stealing things from her house, which included fishes, utensils, clothes, etc. However, the celebratory protests also took a turn for the worst as videos of people vandalising an imposing statue of Hasina’s father, independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in Dhaka, attacking the head with an axe also emerged.

Chaos in the neighbouring Bangladesh had a ripple effect in India as well. As more and more social media images and videos of the protest started coming out, certain social media accounts, known for making inflammatory comments and spreading false claims, started spreading misinformation regarding the Bangladeshi Hindus being attacked by the Muslims in Bangladesh. Claims of the minority population of Hindus being physically attacked and facing sexual violence went viral, along with allegation of temples and Hindu structures being burnt by mobs. However, most of these claims were false and were being spread by fake-news peddlers to create disharmony in India and showcase that the Bangladeshi Hindus were being targeted by the Muslims. Twisting the events into Hindu-Muslim communal agenda has the potential of creating a false narrative, leading to a law-and-order situation between the Hindu and Muslim population in India.

While it is understandable that the unpredictable situation prevailing in Bangladesh as well as the history of violence against minorities in the country would lead to people being apprehensive regarding the safety of Hindus and Christians, the false sense of panic that is being created through propaganda is only contributing to the chaos. However, to counter the misinformation being aired by these certain right-wing social media accounts with the aim of creating panic, a different section also took up the task of correcting ad clarifying these narratives. Mohammed Zubair, a fact-checker with Alt News, has been continuously analysing these false posts and fact-checking these posts.

False narratives and myth busting:

It is essential to note that since yesterday evening, the hashtag of #AllEyesOnBangladeshiHindus had been trending on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter). Even political leaders fanned these misleading narratives and delivered inciteful and violent hate speeches. Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Nitesh Rane, who is a habitual hate offender and spreads his divisive ideology, took up this chance to encourage violence. Taking to X, Rane wrote “If Hindus are targeted and killed in Bangladesh, why should we allow even one Bangladeshi to breathe here. Hum bhi chun chun ke marenge.” (We will also kill each of them selectively)”

https://x.com/NiteshNRane/status/1820527693206892574?t=Pq8anhxMzlofvYKKgsyoCQ&s=08

A series of misleading posts were also put out by the social media account of “Mr. Sinha” through which he had posted unverified videos to directly inflame the situation through fake news, exaggerations, and claims of an imminent genocide on the back of the Hindus in Bangladesh.

IsIamists are on rampage in #Bangladesh, they’re attacking Hindu houses and abducting Hindu girls…pic.twitter.com/5TfTFFuhus

— Mr Sinha (@MrSinha_) August 5, 2024

Don’t let ISIS toilet cleaners whitewash the Hindu genocide in #Bangladesh.
Be careful (like no fake thing goes by mistake) while sharing news related to Bangladesh, but share all the real events as much as you can…

The world needs to see it…!!

— Mr Sinha (@MrSinha_) August 6, 2024

Multiple such posts were then fact-checked by Zubair. In one such post, Zubair provided how an old video of a sexual assault case in Bengaluru city involving Bangladeshis was now being shared with a communal claim that Hindu girls are being raped in Bangladesh.

Beware of the Fake News factory run by Right Wing accounts in India. An Old video of sexual assault case in Bengaluru, India involving Bangladeshis is now shared with a communal claim that Hindu girls are being raped in Bangladesh. Such claims are amplified by like @jsaideepak… https://t.co/vizkpRjlKd pic.twitter.com/yCYHGaqE3n

— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) August 6, 2024

Right wing propaganda account @SonOfBharat7 is sharing an old and unrelated Rape video claiming it to be recent incident from Bangladesh. This is 2021 Bengaluru incident, in which a Bangladeshi woman was gang-raped. Please reported this tweet for sharing a rape video.
C’C… pic.twitter.com/byMhM5udXZ

— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) August 6, 2024

Zubair also fact-checked the claims made by other right-wing groups that had provided that a temple had been set of fire by a mob in Bangladesh. Correcting the same, Zubair stated that only a shop in front of the temple in Moulvibazar Kali Bari was set on fire and the temple had remained safe.

Fake News by RW Propaganda accounts like @SaffronSunanda.
The Temple wasn’t burnt. A fire was set to a shop in front of the Temple.

2. Fire in a shop near the Temple.
3 & 4. The person Sonjoy Deb present there claims, Temple is safe.
Location : Moulvibazar Kali Bari.

C’C… https://t.co/TZXZ3DrqBM pic.twitter.com/sQhxcV2PQl

— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) August 5, 2024

Another lie was making rounds on social media, wherein it had been stated that the house of a Bangladeshi Hindu cricketer Liton Das had been set on fire. However, Zubair had clairifed that the house of Mashrafe Mortaza was the one that was set on fire and the news about Das’s house was being wrongly shared to give a communal colour to the incidents.

Mashrafe Mortaza’s house on fire. The image of his house burning is shared as Liton Das’s house by right wing accounts in India. #BangladeshBleeding pic.twitter.com/wb7UOel4ud

— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) August 5, 2024

Other ‘X’ users also fact-checked posts that were spreading misinformation.

FAKE!
Bangladesh Unrest: 2021 Bengaluru Gangrape Video Shared With Communal Claim | BOOM (https://t.co/BvO0jkGAqE) https://t.co/wnpgZ1qsv7

— Swasti (@SwastiChatterje) August 6, 2024

Fake Alert: There were no incidents of rape in Rangpur, and no women were burnt alive. https://t.co/OHv6s9Uvms

— Shohanur Rahman (@Sohan_RSB) August 6, 2024

That’s a fake propaganda Telegram group, Haradhon was not killed for his religion. Yesterday, more than 10 AL men were killed. Haradhon is one of the 2 Hindus, & for that, you are spreading propaganda. What about the Muslims who were killed at the same place?

Stop communalizing pic.twitter.com/FAHgC8c4og

— Shohanur Rahman (@Sohan_RSB) August 5, 2024

Calls for maintaining harmony and protecting minority Hindus reverberate Bangladesh:

Videos showing Muslims in Bangladesh raising calls for protecting the minorities in the country also emerged on social media. In a video shared by Zubair, a Muslim man can be seen and heard making announcement to maintain communal harmony on a loudspeaker from inside the Mosque in Bangladesh. The man can be heard saying “Dear Citizens, we ‘Students Against Discrimination’ are requesting you, during this period of unrest in the country, we all must maintain communal harmony. We should protect Hindu minorities. Protect their lives and their wealth from miscreants/evil forces. It is your responsibility, our responsibility, and everyone’s responsibility. Let’s all be vigilant.”

A Special Announcement on a loudspeaker from inside the Mosque in Bangladesh.

“Dear Citizens,
We ‘Students Against Discrimination’ are requesting you, during this period of unrest in the country, We all must maintain communal harmony. We should protect Hindu minorities.… https://t.co/lPYvfwRI7p pic.twitter.com/lcXTGzZETS

— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) August 5, 2024

Zubair also shared pictures of the Muslim community members standing vigil outside Hindu temples to ensure that no miscreant takes advantage of the situation and creates communal disharmony.

Students safeguarding the Dhakeshwari Temple late at night #ProtectMinorities pic.twitter.com/QWlsMoZaqR

— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) August 5, 2024

A Special Announcement on a loudspeaker from inside the Mosque in Bangladesh.

“Dear Citizens,
We ‘Students Against Discrimination’ are requesting you, during this period of unrest in the country, We all must maintain communal harmony. We should protect Hindu minorities.… pic.twitter.com/AszMMk2gyN

— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) August 5, 2024

Some people are spreading rumors that we Bangladeshi are against minorities. Here is ” A Thread” that how the students and common people are saving the temple and started their duty from tonight. pic.twitter.com/jnSsZuBGdp

— 𝑯𝒊𝒎𝒊 (@feelslikehimi) August 5, 2024

#HindusAreSafeInBangladesh

1. Students protecting the Dhakeshwari Hindu Temple

2. Students of Islami Chhatra Shibir guarding a Hindu temple in Chakaria Upazila

3 & 4: Students guarding other Hindu temples#Bangladesh #SheikhHasina #Bangladeshstudentprotest #HindusUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/FNDMvdTiox

— Muslim Spaces (@MuslimSpaces) August 6, 2024

The hashtag #HindusAreSafeInBangladesh has also been trending on ‘X’.

Related:

FIRs for hate speech registered against BJP MLAs Nitesh Rane and Geeta Jain: Maharashtra Police to Bombay High Court

Violence Unleashed: Kanwariya Yatra 2024, police vehicle and shops vandalised

Will Bangladesh’s Politics Of Revenge End?

‘Counterproductive’: Attacking symbols of Bangladesh liberation, degrading its founding leaders

The post Chaos in Bangladesh provides opportunity to right-wing social media to spread misinformation regarding Hindus, temples being attacked in the country appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Sravan Vurapalli, who represents Malkajgiri as a BJP GHMC corporator, was taken into custody from his office on Thursday evening, according to police officials. The arrests came after a complaint was filed by officials from the Election Commission of India (ECI), who reported the spread of the misleading video.

The video shared was said to convey poll rigging at Bahadurpura in Hyderabad. It shows the inside of a polling station, where an officer can be seen wearing a surgical mask. The footage also captures a person in a striped dark blue round-collar T-shirt standing beside a voting compartment, directing people as they enter. Each time someone exits the compartment, a beep can be heard. Social media users had been claiming that AIMIM had rigged the polling in the city.

However, according to the election commission of Telangana’s chief electoral officer (CEO) Vikas Raj the video shared by the BJP corporator and others is not from Telangana at all and is fake. The Hyderabad police had also earlier debunked the video and designated it as fake. The video is reportedly from a Bangla language channel.

An OLD video purportedly depicting rigging during Parliament elections in Telangana is being circulated on WhatsApp. The video is NOT from Telangana. For more facts, please go through the press note – CEO Telangana pic.twitter.com/hw1Afuiakm

— Chief Electoral Officer Telangana (@CEO_Telangana) May 15, 2024

The CEO Vikas Raj had also stated on May 1st that there were several complaints circulating about fake and doctored videos that were going to be addressed.

Interestingly, on the day of polls in Hyderabad, on May 13th, BJP’s candidate Madhavi Latha for the Hyderabad seat had also claimed there was rigging. On the day of polling, she had also gone around reportedly asking burqa clad Muslim women to show their faces and identity cards at the polling booths, which led to uproar on social media and an FIR registered against her. The candidate also had a fresh case filed against her recently for using ‘dummy’ EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines) to manipulate polling’s, as per a report in The Hindu. The Hyderabad Police also took two other BJP workers for reportedly manipulating polls. Latha was further booked with a case for even going to the police station and taking the EVMs that the police had seized from the Mangalghat Locality.

Related:

Elections 2024: Threats, intimidation coercion of voters by BJP reps, even government officials all India

Accused of not voting for “free ration”, Dalit man beaten brutally in UP

#GrowASpineOrResign: Citizens’ mass city-wide protest against inaction by ECI over PM Modi’s hate speech & suppression of voters rights during ongoing election

Disclose authenticated record of voter turnout, citizens tell ECI

LAPRI files 37 complaints to authorities as on 12 May for violations of MCC and RPA

The post BJP Corporator arrested for circulating fake video showing rigged polls appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Claim: Indian yogis built the Baalbek Temple in Lebanon.

Busted! Sadhguru’s website claims, without citing any sources, that Indian yogis built the Baalbek temple in Lebanon. While trade and culture exchanges between India and countries across the globe have taken place for millennia, there seems to be no available record to point towards Indian builders of the Baalbek temple in Lebanon.

CJP is dedicated to finding and bringing to light instances of Hate Speech, so that the bigots propagating these venomous ideas can be unmasked and brought to justice. To learn more about our campaign against hate speech, please become a member. To support our initiatives, please donate now!

Figures like Sadhguru have also reportedly contributed to the spread of misinformation. Jagadish “Jaggi” Vasudev, better known as Sadhguru, is a self-styled spiritual leader and founder of the organisation Isha Foundation. In 2019, he was in the news for having called a Muslim student ‘Talibani’ when he was delivering a talk at the London School of Economics. While he later clarified that it was a joke, and that it was a term used in India to call someone being ‘overly-enthusiastic.’ Following this, he was also seen supporting the Citizenship Amendment Act brought forth by the BJP government in 2019 which has been termed by many as anti-constitutional and anti-Muslim. He has also often praised PM Modi, most recently being regarding the inauguration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Uttar Pradesh in January 2024. He also termed the Ram Temple’s inception as ‘a resurrection of a damaged national spirit’. News reports allege that he has over 300 spiritual centres located around the world. Interestingly, the headquarters of his foundation, which is a 50-acre property in Coimbatore has been accused of being built illegally according to a report by NewsLaundry.

His influence seems to be vast with over 12 million followers on Instagram presently, he has boasted of devotees such as Hollywood actors Will Smith and even Mathew McConaughey, according to a report by Vox News from 2022.

On Sadghuru’s website, an article on his website ‘Isha’ named Baalbek Temple – Lebanon’s Ancient Yogic Connection has claimed that the Baalbek monument in Lebanon and suggested that the temple was constructed by Indian yogis and labourers. The writer, who is described as a female ‘meditator’, describes her ‘realisation’ that the temple was built by Indian yogis during her visit.

Later, Sadhguru’s official Facebook page has also posted this claim, in 2017. The post reads, “In Lebanon, there is a temple in Baalbek which is over 4,000 years old. Children in Lebanon schools study that Indian labour, elephants, sculptors and yogis constructed this. It is a massive temple. Some of the foundation stones weigh three hundred tons. Sculptures of lotus flowers are hanging from the ceiling. Obviously, there are no lotuses in Lebanon; it was sculptured by Indians. Every Lebanese child knows this. Has any #Indian child heard about it?”

The author claims that the temple had lotus engravings, which he suggests are not found in the area, “Some curious facts about the Baalbek temple are that you will see stone lotuses carved on the temple’s ceilings. That is intriguing, because there are no lotuses in Lebanon. But when I later came to India, I saw that the lotus is the most common symbolism of spirituality here.”

The essay on the website then goes on to point towards the idea that Indian yogis may have built the temple.  Furthermore, she claims that the stones at the temple were very large (“eight hundred tonnes each”) and thus must have required elephants, which she suggests do not exist in West Asia, to transport such massive slabs of stone.

However, while the author does not seem to provide any details or dates of these events she suggests or “realises” and merely notes from her own observations during the visit and fails to cite any historian or scientist. Furthermore,  her observation that there were no elephants in West Asia seems to be misplaced, as it has been recorded by scientists that the region around Syria was noted to have elephants that went extinct around 8 century BCE.

Furthermore, according to the factual historical record outlined by UNESCO on its website, the Baalbek complex which is located at the foot of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range was a huge cultural institution during Roman times and served as a prominent sanctuary within the Roman world. UNESCO’s description of the site stated that it had Roman origins.

Temple of Jupiter (Baalbek) – Source: Britannica.com

 While, not much is known about the temple from before its Greek conquest in 323 BCE, it was reportedly a significant model of Imperial Roman architecture and has its own history as it was dedicated to the Roman Triad of Heliopolis which consisted of Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Furthermore, UNESCO’s documentation reveals that the Roman constructions were superimposed upon earlier ruins, which included remains of the Phoenician tradition. Sadhguru’s attempt to reshape history that is surrounding Baalbek contradicts established historical facts and risks distorting the significance of cultures and traditions from different parts of the world. The Temple was dedicated to three gods of Roman mythology – Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury, which were, as per UNESCO, a part of a Phoenesian cult. The Phoenicians were a Semitic group that were found in the region of Levant, near east of the Mediterranean Sea.

Hence, apart from this piece written by the author for the organisation’s website ‘Isha’  there is little mention of the Indian presence at the temple that was found while conducting this research. While cross cultural exchanges have taken place between India and the globe, from Greeks to the Chinese, it is difficult to ascertain and certify these by layperson observations by religious figures.

Claim: Australia’s original name was Astralaya.

Busted! Sri Sri Ravi Shankar  has been claiming that during the time of the Mahabharata, there was a Sanskrit origin for the name Australia, Astralaya – which means armoury. However, Australia’s name means southern land in Latin, due to its position vis a vis the rest of the world. There is no evidence that points towards Astralaya ever being the name according to official records.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is the founder of the Art of Living Foundation. He is from Papanasam, Tamil Nadu. In 2023-2024, his foundation, Art of Living, has signed several MOU’s with the government in relation to environmental concerns, farmers’ concerns, substance addiction. As per Financial Times, in 2024, Shankar was part of a team of leaders who led an anti-corruption campaign against the then prime minister Manmohan Singh of Congress. According to a 2016 article about him, The Quint reported that his AOL foundation is mired in several controversies, namely that the foundations buildings are built on encroached land in Karnataka. In 2010, he was also accused by an NRI of taking his 15 acres of land. Shankar is endorses by leaders globally, so much so that his foundation has even been praised by the US president Joe Biden. Shankar’s X page, where he regularly posts about his global engagements, has about 4.1 million followers at present.

 He has reportedly done so by linking it to the term “Astralaya” (Astra-Alaya) which supposedly translates to armoury. In an undated video posted on YouTube uploaded in 2021 by a page called NRI Affairs, the spiritual leader responds to a person’s question and tries to concoct the idea that Australia had ties to India Hindu heritage, saying, “Do you know the country, Australia? Where did its name come from? Australia (armoury) in Mahabharata became Australia.”

History provides a different narrative. The national library of Australia which holds historical records pertaining to the land and nation, informs us that the name “Australia” was actually coined by English explorer Matthew Flinders to describe the continent on a map. Prior to Flinders, the landmass was referred to as ‘Terra Australis Incognita,’ a term which means unknown Southern land in Latin. Here, the word Australis which means Southern.

Prior to the name Australia, the land was named ‘New Holland’ by the incoming Dutch immigrants to the land in the 17th century. However, both these names are admittedly named by white Anglo-Saxon colonialism that dominated and plundered the habitats of indigenous people in Australia. The advent of European colonialism did not just result in cultural changes and domination of the whites but also led to a decline in the population of the indigenous inhabitants of the land. When the Europeans arrived Australia was declared as ‘terra nuilis’, a land that belonged to no one or wasteland. This shows how little value the Europeans gave to the indigenous as they sought to colonise and inhabit the land.

However, before the Europeans arrived, the territory now called Australia was known by several different names among its Indigenous peoples, reflecting the multitude of languages and cultures across different regions, according to the National Library of Australia. Each of these names had spiritual significance to the land. The act of Indian spiritual leaders to make such claims seems to be another, deliberate or otherwise, means of erasure of aboriginal history, culture, presence.

While there is an undoubtedly western, Anglo-Saxon domination behind this interpretation, and indigenous aboriginal insights need to be factored in, Indian market gurus take on the term is certainly fallacious.

Related:

hate buster: muslims and the myth of polygamy in india

hate buster: conspiracy theories about taj mahal collapse, yet again

hate buster: was every muslim previously a hindu?

hate buster: a glimpse into how missionary faiths arrived in india

The post Busted: Exploring the origins of Australia as ‘Astralaya’ and the potential Indian Yogi influence on Baalbek Temple in Lebanon appeared first on SabrangIndia.

According to a recently released report by the World Economic Forum titled Global Risks Report 2024 reveals that India has topped the list for when it comes to the countries that are having wide networks of misinformation and disinformation. According to experts, out of all potential risks India is the country which is most at risk for its citizens to encounter fake news and misinformation. This ranking comes before concerns about infectious diseases, illicit economic activities, wealth and income inequality, and labour shortages. Other nations at high risk for the impacts of misinformation and disinformation include El Salvador, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Romania, Ireland, Czechia, the United States, Sierra Leone, France, and Finland. In these countries, the threat is considered to be among the 4th-6th most hazardous risks out of a total of 34 anticipated over the next two years, contrary to India where it is the number one risk. India seems to have carved a unique niche for itself as a landscape where misinformation persists. The Global Risk report links the spread of fake news to societal violence.

Al Jazeera also reported that on a global scale the misinformation circulating on social media since October 7 attack by Hamas in southern Israel revealed that that a considerable portion of it originates from or is propagated by accounts aligned with right-wing inclinations and are based in India.

What are the factors that are involved?

In India, according to Statista, about 687 million internet users are plugged into their mobiles, getting the lowdown. Furthermore, according to a 2023 survey by Reuters and the University of Oxford, a solid 72 percent of people in India are scrolling through for their news online on their phones, with social media playing a significant role in providing the news.

Thereby, in comparison, only 40 percent of respondents resort to print media during the same period. India, being the second-largest internet market globally. According to Statista, a big factor behind this is when back in 2007, Reliance Jio. Reliance Jio services in 2007 played a pivotal role, introducing enticing schemes and subsidies that transcended income levels and socio-economic classes. The repercussions were fast and quick as Jio services took control over 60 percent of mobile data traffic within a decade of their launch.

How is India’s press fairing at this turn? Continuing a downward trajectory observed since 2017, India witnessed a further decline in its press freedom ranking, landing at 161 out of 180 countries in the 2023 World Press Freedom Index unveiled by Reporters without Borders. Scoring 36.6, India has found itself as one of the countries where the liberty of the press faced significant threats. The assessment of the Press Freedom Index for 2023 takes into account various factors and is based on a survey of the country’s political, economic, and sociocultural contexts, as well as the legal framework and safety levels within the country.

The government in 2023 also publicised attempts to tackle fake news. In January 2023, the Editor’s Guild of India had called upon the government to stop the amendments to the IT Rules - 2021 that were being made by the Ministry of Electronics and Technology.

EGI is deeply concerned by amendment to IT Rules 2021 made by MEITY, giving authority to PIB to determine veracity of news reports, and directing online intermediaries and social media platforms to take down content deemed as ‘fake’. Guild feels this is akin to censorship. pic.twitter.com/uy49cOwTcT

— Editors Guild of India (@IndEditorsGuild) January 18, 2023

They were asserting that this new step would include changes to the country's information-technology regulations and thus would amount to censorship. The proposal would give the government power to prevent social media platforms from sharing any information that could be flagged by authorities as false. The move was seen by journalists as a means to gather power and control over the internet and journalism. The changes proposed by the government included that if there were any information categorised by the government as “fake” by the government’s Press Information Bureau then the government would deliberate actions to prevent that information being shared or disseminated in any way on the internet.

India marked as country most prone to ‘social polarisation’

Health, religion, and politics are the most common topics that fake news revolves around, according to a survey by the Asian Journal for Public Opinion Research. Similarly, the Global Risk Report has found strong links between misinformation and social polarisation. It has ranked polarisation among the top three risks across both the present and the next two years across the globe.

Just like the incident of riots in England cited above where rumours from social media abounded and led to heightened communal sentiments, rumours have been historically linked to propagating riots. With the coming of social media and the surge in fake news, the ground becomes even more worrisome for fakes news to lead to violence. Thus, the report by WEF further highlights that polarisation is made worse with technological threats as they are often not kept in mind by the government. Furthermore, the report identifies India as the country most susceptible to experiencing heightened social polarisation in the upcoming year due to the surge in misinformation and the proliferation of false narratives.

A recent report from BOOM Live's survey of fact checks revealed an alarming conclusion where it was noted that Muslims in India are the primary targets of misinformation and disinformation campaigns which are fuelled by communal sentiments. The examination was based on data accumulated over the past three years and highlights a consistent pattern of fake news disproportionately affecting the Muslim community. According to BOOM Live's findings spanning from 2021 to 2023, the Muslim community remained the main focus and arguing point in numerous disinformation campaigns.

The Global Risks Report 2024 by the WEF had highlighted how vulnerable the global scene and landscape has become due to the effects of the pandemic. It states that pandemic has created “fertile ground” for the rampant spread of misinformation and disinformation.

During the pandemic, a report by Vice detailed that there was an alarming surge in misinformation. Some of this, according to the report, would often come from government sources. The report details that the spread of fake news has generally been associated with issues ranging from Islamophobia and conspiracy theories to unverified herbal remedies and the congregation of migrant workers. Presently, unverified assertions, like the questionable ‘COVID-19 cure’ promoted by herbal company Patanjali and flagged by official bodies as misleading, continue to circulate.

BJP and its multiple links to fake news campaigns

According to a report by The Print from 2020, a recent study was conducted by a software analyst who looked at the prevalence of propaganda and fake news on Twitter which revealed an alarming pattern. He noted that for every account that promoted the Congress and shared misleading information, there were reportedly about 120 accounts who did the similar task but favouring the BJP. The study further showed that there were 17,779 such accounts that were supporting the BJP compared to 147 linked to the Congress.

Similarly, a field report by Washington Post uncovered an operation that there's a hidden campaign behind the trolls present online. This is behind the scenes and is separate from the official social media trends. Insights from BJP staff, campaign consultants, and party supporters, shared in the ground-breaking report by Washington Post in September 2023, has exposed the party's covert partnerships with anonymous content creators who oversee what they term as "third-party" or "troll" pages. These content creators excel in producing incendiary posts which are designed to polarise and communalise sentiments on platforms like WhatsApp. This is done to cater to the party's base. Furthermore, the Washington Post report delves deeper into Meta, the parent company overseeing WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram. It revealed that Meta's repeatedly failed to sufficiently act against the dissemination of hate content, including fake news. There are also claims of leniency towards BJP leaders who breached its terms. SabrangIndia's coverage earlier last year had looked at Meta's annual human rights report and noted that activists are unhappy and critical and have pointed out that the platform is uninterested in curating a strategy to quell rampant hate.

Related:

BJP’s “parallel” IT Cell exposed by Washington Post

India’s Struggle for Social Harmony: Challenges Amidst Surge in Hate Speech

Imposters posing as Muslims: A sinister ploy to further stigmatise

The post India tops list of countries at risk due to misinformation: what does this mean for India’s democracy? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

For instance, in the time between January 2 and December 31, 2023, BOOM Live published around 190 fact-checks in English, Hindi, and Bangla. They analysed this data and it revealed that about 15.4% of these fact-checks which amounted to a total of 183 instances were claims that specifically targeted the Muslim community. 

BOOM Live’s analysis of 211 fact-checks targeting religious groups reveals that Muslims bore the brunt of these fact-checks, with nearly 87% of them being directed at the religious minority, while Hindus faced 11% and Christians faced about 0.9%. The nature of the dis/misinformation was taken out differently for Hindus and Muslims for, even though both groups were subjected to misleading and false content, the proportion of these claims showcased a stark contrast. For instance, 67.4% of misleading claims targeted Muslims, while only 5.2% were directed at Hindus, with Christians facing 0.48% of such content.

BOOM’s analysis shows that a significant 72.2% of those posts aimed at Muslims carried a communal undertone, and seemingly sought to ignite animosity between religious groups. In contrast, the fact-checks targeting Hindus reflected a mere 5.26% with similar communal implications. One common trope amongst these campaigns was that of a concentrated effort to raise alarm about a population conspiracy. Citizens for Justice and Peace has previously busted this claim as part of this Hate Buster segment, and various outlets too have revealed that this solely exists as a means of polarising sentiments and creating hate against minorities. 

A staggering percentage, about 84.2%, of these claims were seen to be disseminating these alarming claims of ‘population explosion.’ The internet is replete with these claims that cry about an alleged demographic conspiracy slated by Muslims to ‘take over’ the Hindu population and reduce it to a minority. This claim has not been backed by any facts and, in fact, has been effectively debunked by research institutes as well. For instance, the Pew Research Centre has projected a growth in India’s Muslim community to 311 million by 2050 but this would be in relation to the Hindu population, which also grow by millions. Thus, even if this progression of population continues according to current growth rates, Muslims are expected to remain a minority in a country of 1.7 billion people. 

Yet, these fact-checks have not deterred the proliferation of disinformation on social media platforms, such as Facebook and WhatsApp. False narratives predicting India’s immediate transition to a Muslim-majority country have fast gained traction which in turn are fuelled by conspiracy theories that claim Muslims are plotting to secure numerical supremacy. These narratives thereby have been long propagated by Hindutva adherents serve to not only distort demographic projections but also perpetuate social fissures.

Politics 

Furthermore, BOOM Live’s fact-checks have further unearthed that while the Muslim community emerged as a consistent central point in these campaigns, political figures and political currents do not remain aside. It discovered that political figures, including the Prime Minister Narendra Modi also are subjected to these campaigned, however, it seems in a different manner. For instance, BOOM outlines that of the 1,190 fact-checks conducted, only 63 were directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi but unlike the negative portrayal endured by the Muslim community, Modi was subjected to a number of false claims that portrayed him in a positive light. 

Interestingly, international events were not spared either as one of the most fact-checked topics of the year was the Israel-Palestine conflict. BOOM reported that it had over 100 fact-checks dedicated to unpacking fake news related to the issue. Furthermore, in terms of domestic politics, there was a considerable number of fact-checks devoted to smear campaigns against political parties which saw that the BJP was the primary target, with 44% of smear campaigns directed at them, followed by the Indian National Congress at 30% and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) at 12%.

Media

BOOM Live further fact-checked 77 instances of false or misreported news by mainstream media, news websites, and wire agencies throughout 2023. The results were surprised as it was revealed that mainstream media outlets such as News18, Times Now, and Zee News have been identified as key contributors to media-related dis/misinformation.

Moreover, the analysis revealed that Asian News International (ANI) led the pack among these agencies. BOOM Live’s reports that there were about eight instances of false news reported by them. Interestingly, the analysis also shows the lack of fact-checking exercises by some of these media houses as they have also been reported to be falling for fake news propagated by right-wing accounts on platforms like Twitter. Accounts such as Megh Updates, BALA, Rishi Bagree, The Right Wing Guy, Kreately, Dr. Nimo Yadav, and The Tatva played a role in disseminating dis/misinformation, with media outlets being duped by at least nine tweets from Megh Updates alone, according to the analysis by BOOM. 

Similarly, India’s largest minority, Muslims have also been recorded to be the target of hate speeches in 2023. According to Al-Jazeera, throughout the initial half of 2023, Muslims faced a surge in hate speech gatherings. The article details there were about 255 incidents of hate speech at gatherings which documented. These instances reportedly saw the Muslim community as being the target of hate speech as well as dis/misinformation.

Related

Distorting facts about Muslim population growth at the Digital Hindu Conclave

False claims about ‘Muslim population explosion’ busted

Indian Population Growth Less Dependent On Religion, More On Development

India 131st out of 180 countries on child survival rankings: WHO-UNICEF-Lancet report

The post Muslims in India bear the brunt of dis/misinformation: report appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Gopalganj Superintendent of Police Swarn Prabhat revealed that the victim, Manoj Kumar Sah, previously thought to be the temple priest, was, in fact, the caretaker of the temple in Manjha village’s Danapur area. His life ended in a mutilated condition, with his body discovered on the outskirts of a village after being missing for a week.

The lifeless body of the temple staff was found on the outskirts of the village a week after his disappearance.  The victim had last been seen leaving the temple premises in Manjha village within the Danapur area on a Monday. The discovery of his body occurred on the subsequent Saturday after the week-long search, according to PTI.

BJP leader Shezad was quick to make it a political issue, calling the murder “ISIS style.”

नीतीश राज नहीं जंगल राज

बिहार के गोपालगंज में पुजारी की isis स्टाइल हत्या

Bihar now has Jungle Raj not Nitish Raj

ISIS style killing of Pujari in Gopalganj
Shot dead, eyes gouged out, private parts damaged

Who is safe in Bihar? Neither Sadhus. Neither cops and nor is the… pic.twitter.com/wVSvDvhi3K

— Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) December 17, 2023

However, contrary to initial speculations about the alleged involvement of radical groups, investigators discovered it to be a crime due to personal enmity and relations.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to investigate the crime and it led to the arrest of three individuals – Neha Kumari, Sunita Devi, and Amit Kumar. According to the police statements, Neha Kumari confessed to the crime due to alleged threats from Manoj Shah. The Superintendent Swarn Prabhat disclosed that the police successfully traced the victim’s final call which led them to Neha’s aunt, Sunita Devi. After this, the law enforcement officials visited their home and questioned the family. During the round of questioning, the both of them reportedly broke down and confessed.

According to reports, Manoj Shah departed from the Shiv temple at 12:45 am on December 11 and arrived at Neha’s house, where her family subdued and ultimately killed him. In a gruesome turn of events, they mutilated his lifeless body and disposed of it in a pit near the Sudha dairy outlet.

ANI has quoted the SDPO Sadar Pranjal as saying that, “A young man, named Manoj Kumar Shah, working as a caretaker at the Shiv Temple in Danapur, was missing. The CCTV footage showed that he locked the temple himself and went somewhere… During the investigation, we found his body in the Danapur area… The body was sent for post-mortem. The people blocked roads in protest… An FIR has been registered against some mischievous youth… Various internal issues including land issues within the family have come up… Some people have been detained… There was some stone pelting. Action is being taken…”

Reports suggest that the suspects Neha Kumari, Sunita Devi, and Amit Kumar are in custody.

Related: 

In a sinister forewarning, RSS leader says Muslims should hand over all disputed religious sites to Hindus: Indresh Kumar

Students called “Pakistani” after school debate justifies Israeli violence against Palestinians

Madhya Pradesh: One day after BJP’s victory, Muslim homes and meat shops demolished

Madhya Pradesh: loudspeakers in religious places, plans to ban open sale of meat

The post Bihar: Hindutva leaders cry ISIS style murder, police reveal girlfriend real killer appeared first on SabrangIndia.