India on Friday responded to EU DisinfoLab’s discovery of an anti-Pakistan disinformation campaign, saying that it is not India but a country “next door” which shelters terrorists and uses such campaigns.
The comment from the Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs takes on the report of the EU DisinfoLab which uncovered a 15-year operation focusing on EU and UN with fake local media and NGOs but stopped short of blaming the Indian government directly for it.
“Disinformation is practised particularly by those who have records to hide such as sheltering international wanted terrorists including Osama bin Laden. And seek unsuccessfully to cover up their own tracks such as on the 26/11 Mumbai attack,” said Anurag Srivastava, Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs.
“As a responsible democracy, India does not practice disinformation campaigns. In fact, if you are looking at disinformation, the best example is the country next door which is circulating fictional and fabricated dossiers and purveys a regular stream of fake news,” said Mr. Srivastava.
The EU DisinfoLab’s report revealed a large scale 15-year- long operation which targeted EU and United Nations with approximately 750 local media and 10 shadowy NGOs.
The report did not blame any official agency of India but pointed out that the vast network was used for disseminating information antithetical to Pakistan. The operation covered 65 countries and was traced to Delhi-based Indian entity, the Srivastava Group (SG).
