A report by a top European disinformation research group has found that Indian media regularly uses fake news to smear Pakistan and China while at the same time restricting foreign reporters in India as a means to control narratives and stop ‘negative’ coverage. EU DisinfoLab previously published reports in 2019 and 2020 detailing a wide network of fake news sites targeting foreigners with stories that promoted the incumbent Indian regime while putting down Pakistan, China and other perceived rivals.
The new report focuses on the Asian News International (ANI) news agency, which continues to have its stories reproduced by well-reputed news sources, including Yahoo News and several Indian news outlets. Even before the DisinfoLab reporting, Caravan, one of India’s top news magazines, had done a deep dive into ANI, accusing it of reporting the Indian government’s “version of truth”. DisinfoLab says ANI’s reporting has gotten even worse since then, with stories regularly quoting long-defunct think tanks and non-existent ‘named’ sources, while also attributing fake quotes to real experts. While some fake news outlets go to great lengths to mask themselves, ANI seems to be mocking its own readers, as many stories could be fact-checked through simple Google searches — many named parties had no online presence.
While it is clear that ANI is a bad actor, it is deeply concerning that a few ‘independent’ Indian news outlets continue to reproduce ANI content, including fake news. Western capitals have also been much less concerned with Indian fake news operations, even though they can often prove problematic for these countries as well. Indian fake news outlets have been known to amplify real fringe politicians who are known to hold dangerously anti-Muslim views. But because New Delhi is seen as a counterbalance to Beijing, Western countries are more willing to let India get away with disinformation that is far more obvious than anything Russia’s infamous internet trolls ever put out.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 26th, 2023.
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