misinformation | SabrangIndia News Related to Human Rights Tue, 06 Aug 2024 11:28:19 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2 https://sabrangindia.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Favicon_0.png misinformation | SabrangIndia 32 32 Chaos in Bangladesh provides opportunity to right-wing social media to spread misinformation regarding Hindus, temples being attacked in the country https://sabrangindia.in/chaos-in-bangladesh-provides-opportunity-to-right-wing-social-media-to-spread-misinformation-regarding-hindus-temples-being-attacked-in-the-country/ Tue, 06 Aug 2024 11:28:19 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=37107 False news regarding rape of Hindu women, arson of Hindu temples being spread, fact-checkers take to busting these false narratives, sharing videos of students protecting temples in Bangladesh

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]]> Yesterday, on August 5, in a significant turn of events, Bangladesh saw a turn in their government with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigning and leaving the country on Monday in the afternoon and Army chief Waker uz Zaman stating that an interim government will take over the power. The ex-prime minister had left the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on a helicopter with her sister, and landed at Hindon Air Base in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad in a C-130 transport aircraft. On the morning for August 6, at 9 am, she has now left for her next destination.

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.

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.

 

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.

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.

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

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.”

 

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.

 

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

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]]> India tops list of countries at risk due to misinformation: what does this mean for India’s democracy? https://sabrangindia.in/india-tops-list-of-countries-at-risk-due-to-misinformation-what-does-this-mean-for-indias-democracy/ Thu, 01 Feb 2024 06:38:38 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=32777 As India grows as a developing power, misinformation and its tendency to lead to violence is an ongoing concern

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]]> On September 12, 2022 large scale unrest broke out in England’s Leicester between the residing Hindu and Muslim communities. It was fuelled by a racket of fake news that was created, according to the Scroll, “continents away.” The incident witnessed heavy violence with people armed with sticks and bats, ready for confrontation, after 300 young masked Hindu men marched two miles in the city to a Muslim majority area, according to The Guardian. Experts believe the fake news that spurred the violence was sought to have originated in India after a rumour was spread that one girl was kidnapped by Hindu men. The fake news was busted by the police shortly, but the damage was already done. How pervasive is fake news that it is able to capture the sentiments of Indians across the globe?

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.

 

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

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]]> Muslims in India bear the brunt of dis/misinformation: report https://sabrangindia.in/muslims-in-india-bear-the-brunt-of-dis-misinformation-report/ Fri, 19 Jan 2024 10:25:17 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=32520 An in-depth analysis by Boom Live, an independent fact-checker, reveals alarming trends of targeted dis/misinformation aimed against the religious minority

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]]> Muslims in India are the largest targets of communally charged dis/misinformation campaigns, according to a survey of fact checks by BOOM Live. In an examination of fact-checks that was reportedly compiled from data collected over the last three years, BOOM Live’s has brought to light an alarming pattern which shows that the Muslim community in India is the primary target of fake news and dis/misinformation. According to the piece by BOOM Live, from 2021 to 2023, the Muslim community consistently found itself in the middle of multiple dis/misinformation campaigns.

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

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]]> After EU, US senator raises concerns about misinformation to Google, X, Meta https://sabrangindia.in/after-eu-us-senator-raises-concerns-about-misinformation-to-google-x-meta/ Thu, 19 Oct 2023 04:17:28 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=30422 Senator Michael Bennet demands answers from Meta, TikTok, and Google regarding disinformation spreading on their platforms

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]]> There has been a reported catastrophic surge in the spread of disinformation about the Israel-Hamas conflict, global institutions have urged and launched enquiries with global tech giants to curb the spread of fake news in an already volatile atmosphere. The EU has already written to Meta, TikTok, and X highlighting these complaints. According to Reuters, in this vein, U.S. Senator Michael Bennet has launched an inquiry into tech giants Meta, TikTok, and Google. In his letter, Senator Bennet, who is a Democrat, enquired about concerns over the dissemination of incendiary false content on social media platforms and the potential impact it could have on the prevailing conflict. On October 17, the senator from the state of Colorado posted the following on X.

According to the Reuters report, there have been reports about how these tech companies have faced growing criticism for their handling of such content in the wake of the ongoing conflict, with older, dated visuals, video game footage, and even altered documents being shared widely since the violence has broken out in the conflicted land on October 7. An analysis by Newslaundry has highlighted that fact-checkers have been confronted with a humongous rise in unverified information in the wake of the conflict. The analysis also points out to several observers saying that the social media site X has enabled this surge.

Furthermore, Senator Bennet has asserted that, “Deceptive content has ricocheted across social media sites since the conflict began, sometimes receiving millions of views,” Bennet expressed in a letter addressed to the company top brass. He has further noted that the algorithms used by these platforms have, in many instances, further worsened the spread of misleading content, contributing to a concerning cycle of outrage, engagement, and further sharing.

In his letter, Senator Bennet has posed these series of questions to Meta, TikTok, and Google, seeking detailed information about their content moderation practices and he has requested responses from the tech giants by October 31.

According to reports, the social media giants have taken some steps in response to the conflict. TikTok has reportedly announced that it has hired more Arabic and Hebrew-speaking content moderators. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, stated that it removed or marked as disturbing over 795,000 pieces of content in Hebrew or Arabic within the first three days following the Hamas attack. X and YouTube have also reported the removal of harmful content.

However, Senator Bennet has argued that, in light of the growing human catastrophe, these actions are insufficient. He pointed out, “The mountain of false content clearly demonstrates that your current policies and protocols are inadequate.”

“These decisions contribute to a cascade of violence, paranoia, and distrust around the world,” Senator Bennet asserted. “Your platforms are helping produce an information ecosystem in which basic facts are increasingly in dispute, while untrustworthy sources are repeatedly designated as authoritative.”

Back in February, the Indian Express reported that the IT Ministry had engaged in talks with top social media companies, like Meta and Google, to recognise network fact checkers in India. These fact-checkers would be responsible for flagging and debunking misinformation on social media platforms. However, this fact-checking, according to the report, would not pertain to information according to the Union government. The opposition alliance, INDIA, has also reportedly written to Meta and Google earlier this year about ‘communal hatred’ after an investigative piece by Washington Post highlighted alleged that social media sites took a biased approach to the content favouring the BJP.

 

Similarly, according to a report by SabrangIndia, earlier this month, after the release of Meta’s second human rights report, Indian activists broadly criticised it on the basis that it lacks a concrete plan to address the issues in India. It has pointed out the report’s failure to demonstrate significant, measurable progress in addressing human rights concerns in India or presenting clear strategies to prepare for the 2024 general elections.

Furthermore, what is alarming is news of social media sites aiding this misinformation campaign inadvertently through their policies. The European Union has for instance publicly called on X, Meta, and Facebook to address the issue of false information on their platforms. EU’s Thierry Breton earlier last week made a scathing criticism of social media companies in a strongly worded letter, and has demanded more stringent measures to combat disinformation during the escalating conflict.

However, industry researchers and experts, according to this report, are sceptical and unhopeful of this being sufficient to address the task at hand. Their concern is especially related to X because while, X has been in the news for removing hundreds of accounts linked to Hamas with its CEO, Linda Yaccarino detailing the company’s efforts to combat illegal content, mentioning that they have taken action to “remove or label tens of thousands of pieces of content.” Nonetheless, a former employee who had worked with X’s team expressed doubts about the platform’s ability to effectively address this problem. Furthermore, the CBC report also pointed out that X had intentionally reduced its capacity to handle such issues, particularly after it decided to downsize its Content Moderation team. The entire content management team which looked after misinformation on the social media site was reportedly laid off in October 2022 after Elon Musk took over Twitter. “There aren’t as many people involved in the ecosystem whose day-to-day job was connected to tackling disinformation,” she said.

Senator Bennet has also criticised the four companies for downsizing their teams over the past year which have been responsible for monitoring false and misleading content. X, in particular, cut 15% of its trust and safety staff in November 2022, and further reductions were made last month. Meta reduced 100 similar positions in January, while Google scaled back a team working on countering online hate speech and disinformation by a third.

Related:

Fear mongering and misinformation galore at the Digital Hindu Conclave

Why is it that Meta tolerates hate speech on its platform?

Hindus for Human Rights (HHR) protests suspension of ‘X’ account

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

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]]> Fear mongering and misinformation galore at the Digital Hindu Conclave https://sabrangindia.in/fear-mongering-and-misinformation-galore-digital-hindu-conclave/ Mon, 05 Jun 2023 12:14:23 +0000 https://sabrangindia.com/?p=26702 A supposed journalist claimed without any basis that certain political parties were purposefully changing demography in some areas by citing population figures.

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]]> At the Digital Hindu Conclave held in indore on May 27, speakers like Pardeep Bhandari, journalist and founder of Jan ki Baat and former Delhi MLA Kapil Mishra peddled fear and false information through their speeches.

Kapil Mishra said, “These people are distributing pamphlets of saffron love Trap in Indore. They are creating a fuss over who the burqa clad woman should go with.  This will not be tolerated in India. Whether she wants to go with a Hindu, Sikh, Christian and she is a major and is in love with that man then no Qazi/Mulla can stop her. This message should go out. They are doing this to hide the truth which is shown in ‘The Kerala Story’.”

Basically, he was promoting freedom of choice among Muslim women to go and marry men from other religions but the same could not be said about Hindu girls marrying into other religions.

He said that the movie shows the reality, it shows how girls are duped, blackmailed and subjected to substance abuse and then converted then they are sent for terror activities. He said they want to peddle lies about saffron love trap.

Pardeep Bhandari said, “In 2014 majority of the population wanted change and development but there was a significant minority that did not vote for change. Why? Why is it that for a Hindu voter development is very important but for the minority development is not the parameter. For that significant minority why is it that religion is such a big factor for them while voting. I will prove it. Looking at the demography one can tell that it is changing. In West Bengal, Muslim share of total demography is the same as it was in 1941. In 1941 Bengal’s Muslim population was 29.48% in 1951 it dropped down to 19.46% and after it kept increasing in 2011 it went to 27.01% and today it is more than 30%. Now I have an issue that places where  the demography of India is changing, or being changed purposely by secular politicians for their vote bank, their chances of Hindus winning a seat are decreasing. The fact is that in Hindu majority areas if a Muslim candidate is fielded, one who has done good work, he can get votes. We have seen in Karnataka that Muslims consolidated and voted for one party. Where Muslims are 30% why is the person who talks about good for Hindus is not voted to power. This is blatantly communal in nature.”

He questioned that in Muslim majority areas do Hindus have freedom of speech, can Hindu girls roam about safely? Why do they live in fear?

“In Bengal, Constables were recruited a while ago, 90% belonged to Muslim community. Why is it that the demography of some areas is being changed? Until the 2000s Jharkhand tribal population was 35% now it has gone down to 24%. Why?  Because Muslim population has increased which was 15% in 1990 in Santhal area and today it is 27%. Speaking of Bihar, in Seemanchal in 2001, Hindus were more than 50% in 2011 the same dropped to 31% and Muslim population was 68%. The problem is, chances of Hindu candidates getting elected in such areas is negligible. Their chances of availing minority rights are negligible. Will you be able to freely walk around wearing a teeka in these areas? Chances are very low. My issue is not that demography is changing, it is that disproportionately the demography is changing, and this will have long term implications on the destiny of India and we are not realising this just yet.”

 

Related:

Kajal Hindusthani, Kapil Mishra, amongst others, target Muslim religious minorities, calls for their “erasure” and “Ghar Wapasi” unchallenged

CJP complains to NCM against Kalicharan’s series of hate speeches across Maharashtra

Why is it that Meta tolerates hate speech on its platform?

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]]> “If misinformation continues to get political patronage, the fake news ecosystem will continue to flourish” https://sabrangindia.in/if-misinformation-continues-get-political-patronage-fake-news-ecosystem-will-continue/ Wed, 08 May 2019 04:05:12 +0000 http://localhost/sabrangv4/2019/05/08/if-misinformation-continues-get-political-patronage-fake-news-ecosystem-will-continue/ The propaganda of misinformation and hoaxes disseminated through print, graphics, and the internet has altered the social landscape of India. It has led to multiple cases of lynching, mob violence, defamation and riots, and continues to pose a serious threat to Indian democracy. India Misinformed: The True Story identifies the purveyors of fabricated news, exposes the […]

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]]> The propaganda of misinformation and hoaxes disseminated through print, graphics, and the internet has altered the social landscape of India. It has led to multiple cases of lynching, mob violence, defamation and riots, and continues to pose a serious threat to Indian democracy.

India Misinformed: The True Story identifies the purveyors of fabricated news, exposes the propaganda machinery and familiarises readers with techniques to detect these menacing stories. The book is written by the team of Alt News, a fact-checking website that debunks fake information, and edited by Pratik Sinha, Dr Sumaiya Shaikh and Arjun Sidharth. The following are excerpts from the Foreword written by Ravish Kumar and the Introduction to the book.
 
यहां फ़ेक न्यूज़ के कारण लोगों की हत्याएं हुई हैं। फ़ेक न्यूज़ के ज़रिये मज़हब के आधार पर दुश्मन तय किया गया। उस दुश्मन से असुरक्षा बढ़ती जाए इसके लिए फ़ेक न्यूज़ फैलाया गया। विचारधारा से प्रभावित होकर किसी राजनीतिक दल के करीब आने वाले समर्थकों को फ़ेक न्यूज़ के ज़रिये उसी रंग की एक दूसरी विचारधारा दी गई, जिससे उनकी राजनीतिक निष्ठा बदलने के जगह और गहरी हो जाती और उनका इस्तमाल हथियार के रूप में बदल दिया जिन तक दिन-रात तरह-तरह के ऐसे न्यूज़ पहुंचाए गए। नतीजा: सड़क पर लोग मारे जाने लगे। एक बार जब भीड़ बन जाती है तो उसे दुश्मन का रंग नज़र नहीं आता है। पहलु ख़ान भी मारा जाता है और सुबोध कुमार सिंह भी। कई बार हत्या के बाद जायज़ ठहराने के लिए फ़ेक न्यूज़ गढ़े गए या न्यूज़ को इस तरह कवर किया गया कि सब कुछ फ़ेक लगने लगे। यहां तक कि दर्शक और पाठक को पहलु ख़ान और सुबोध कुमार सिंह कि हत्या भी फ़ेक लगने लगा।

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In the past two years, certain clear patterns of misinformation have emerged. A prominent portion of this right-wing (RW) propaganda seems to be anchored around misinformation targeting minorities. From fake videos claiming that Muslims celebrated Pakistan’s win over India in Champion’s Trophy to falsely suggesting that the name of the driver of the ill-fated train that ran over several devotees on Dussehra in Amritsar was Imtiaz Ali, a concerted and organized attempt was being made to polarize by projecting minorities in a negative light and blaming them for real and imaginary crimes across the country.

The themes of nationalism also frequently surface in fake news stories in the form of rumours of Pakistan’s flag being sighted or ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans being heard in the rallies of political opponents of nationalist parties.

Distortion of history has also been a prominent theme. From pictures of Jawaharlal Nehru showing affection to his sister and niece shared as evidence of his ‘character’ to allegations that Indian football team had to play barefoot because of him, India’s first prime minister remains one of the favourite targets of fake news.

Misinformation was also weaponized to target individuals such as journalists, activists, liberals and anyone who was critical of the right-wing ecosystem. Misinformation was also enthusiastically used to make misleading claims about the achievements of the union government. We saw fake endorsements of PM Modi by international leaders and a piece of misleading news about a Nobel laureate applauding demonetization.
In the first year, a large majority of misinformation came from the right-wing camp in India, but in the last twelve months, the non-RW political ecosystem has started to increasingly contribute to the spread of misinformation.

Misinformation peaks during certain times. Elections see a surge in false claims and accusations by rival political parties while any form of communal disturbance leads to fake news that seeks to further polarize communities. During the West Bengal riots, a still from a movie was widely circulated as a picture of a Hindu woman being molested by Muslims.

With multiple fact-checking websites working in tandem, prominent accounts on social media which had previously put out multiple instances of misinformation became vigilant. However, anonymous accounts started becoming the seeds of misinformation, especially on Twitter. At that same time, multiple Facebook pages came up and started churning out propaganda in a very professional manner which included quality infographics and videos. Alt News also discovered Facebook groups that were a dedicated marketplace for buying and selling of political Facebook pages. Themes such as the Indian Army, cricket players such as Virendra Sehwag, politicians such as Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath were seemingly common for these Facebook political pages. Quite a few of these pages had over a million followers and were apparently sold at hefty prices.

While misinformation was on the rise, instead of becoming allies, mainstream media became a part of the problem. While the misinformation on social media often comes from a position of malice, misreports in mainstream media was as if a function of the business model adopted by several Indian media outlets. Thanks to tight deadlines with pressures of producing unending content for web portals and 24×7 TV channels, fact-checking was done away with.

The most disturbing trend in this rise of fake news is the patronage it receives from political parties. Fake news doesn’t exist in a vacuum. To thrive, it needs support not just from those who fall for it but also from those who benefit the most from it. Several Twitter users who routinely spread misinformation are followed by union ministers and in many cases, even the prime minister of the country seems to be doing so. Many of them proudly display their pictures with the leaders on their profiles. If misinformation continues to get political patronage, the fake news ecosystem will continue to flourish.

Courtesy: Indian Cultural Forum

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