The recent action taken by the Information & Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry against the social media accounts on the charge of indulging in activities detrimental to India’s national and global interests is a step in the right direction, but – given the enormity of the threat – capacity building is necessary to counter such organised online campaigns, according to security agencies and experts.
The I&B Ministry has so far blocked 78 YouTube-based channels and multiple Twitter and Facebook accounts for allegedly spreading fake news and coordinated disinformation on issues sensitive from the perspective of national security, foreign relations and public order. A few days ago, 22 YouTube-based news channels – which had a cumulative viewership of about 262 crore – were blocked.
All the previously blocked channels were from Pakistan, while 18 of the 22 new ones were from India. “In most cases, we have found that entities operating from Pakistan and their conduits in other countries are involved,” an agency official said.
Stating that hostile social media accounts exploited each and every opportunity to promote fake narratives and foment disharmony, the official said the latest campaign was executed through multiple Twitter accounts in the aftermath of communal flare-ups in some States last week. A storm of about three lakh tweets and retweets under two hashtags hit the Twitter space within 24 hours.
“India is a victim and a bruised target of Pakistan-propelled information warfare, not because of the invincibility of its adversary, but because of her own follies and inertia. Using social media, Pakistan Army’s information warfare wing ISPR [Inter-Services Public Relations] has been creating political divides in India to further Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s ‘bleed India with a thousand cuts’ policy,” said Jiten Jain, a cyber security expert and director of Digital Lab at Voyager Infosec.
He said ISPR had been running targeted information warfare campaigns to malign and destroy India’s secular image and global foreign policy successes for strategic gains.
According to security agencies, at any given time, ISPR has about 4,000 qualified individuals, largely inducted through a bi-annual internship programme, to do the job. “It operates on ‘hub and spoke’ model wherein certain platforms create contents and narratives, while fake handles propagate them vigorously,” another official said.
The agencies have zeroed in on multiple Pakistani platforms and personalities who have been part of these campaigns. Among the suspects are also some retired Pakistani Army officers and one the Pakistan Strategic Forum that focuses on Indian armed forces.
Another official said massive anti-India campaigns using fake accounts were launched following Balakot air-strikes; post-abrogation of some Article 370 provisions and 35A; and during the Delhi riots in 2020. After the Galwan incident, many fake Chinese profiles were created on Twitter and Facebook. They were later suspended following constant representations by the Indian authorities. A similar trend was noticed during the recent Hijab row when usernames of old twitter handles were changed to suit their objective.
