LONDON – A probe carried out by a UK-based organization has debunked fakesocial media accounts of people impersonating Sikhs to discredit theprotest movement in India, and label Sikh interests as ‘extremists’.
Report of *BBC *quoting the researchlinkthe Centre for Information Resilience (CIR) exposed an Indian based networkof fake accounts involved in promoting Indian nationalism
The network used accounts across all social media platforms includingTwitter, Facebook, and Instagram to promote Hindutva, a predominant form ofHindu nationalism, and Modi-led government narratives.
Hundreds of accounts were found which have now been suspended, according tothe author of the research and CIR’s director of investigation. Theinvestigations team used tracked the campaign using Twitter API, hashtags,and visualised data.
Report quoting the author said the aim of the propaganda was to changeperceptions on key issues around Sikh independence, human rights, andvalues as well as the Khalistan movement.
The accounts claimed to be ‘real Sikhs’ and ‘proud Indians’ and usedprofile pictures stolen from celebrities’ social media accounts. Theaccounts were posting the same content on multiple social media platforms.
Fake accounts on social media platforms promoted narratives arguing that‘real’ Sikhs support the Indian government and Indian nationalism, while italso framed independence as ‘extremism or terrorism’.
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The probe author termed the propaganda as “an effort to distort perceptionsand discredit the push for Sikh independence, label Sikh politicalinterests as extremist, stoke cultural tensions within India andinternational communities, and promote Indian government content.
The network’s also propelled to the rhetoric to counter and expose theKhalistani movement for Sikh independence to “save India”.
Fake social media accounts impersonating Sikh influencers used fakepictures, same hashtags, and even post similar kinds of content, and hadnearly a similar number of followers. #RealSikhAgainstKhalistanis,#Khalistanis, and #SikhRejectKhalistan were the hashtags used by accounts.
The fake Indian network promoted the narrative that the Khalistani movementwas ‘trying to hijack the farmers’ protest’, and that the movement wasabout ‘terrorism’. It was also revealed that the content produced by theseaccounts was endorsed by a number of verified accounts.
The report added that such tactics are applied routinely by the Indianruling party to influence social media users.
