ISLAMABAD
\nA report by a European organisation investigating fake narratives of Indian media went viral on Chinese social media platforms recently, drawing wide attention to India\u2019s supposedly vast smear campaign against China and Pakistan.
\nFollowing reports in 2019 and 2020, the latest investigation report by independent non-profit organisation EU DisinfoLab, published in February 2023, exposes more details and evidence to prove that Asian News International (ANI), an Indian news agency, has been quoting a number of non-existent organisations, journalists and bloggers to spread disinformation that attacks and smears China and Pakistan.
\nThe report further uncovered that India has long been building a huge anti-China and anti-Pakistan disinformation network and that Indian media outlets have built a sophisticated assembly line of fake anti-China and anti-Pakistan news.
\nOn the one hand, the Indian media produces and spreads false narratives about China, whereas, the Indian government restricts Chinese journalists\u2019 access to India and denies their rights of reporting a real India, by treating Chinese journalists in an unfair and discriminatory manner during their posting in India and visa application process.
\nChinese experts said the investigation report exposes a deliberate effort by India or Indian media to shape negative narratives against China and Pakistan.
\nThe presence of such disinformation campaign aligns with India\u2019s strained relations with both countries. They pointed out that the production of fake news by Indian media can incite nationalist sentiment within the country and distract people from the real problems of the country and the poor performance of its government.
\nWithin the complex geopolitical context of South Asia, such disinformation campaigns can have far-reaching consequences, which can exacerbate tensions, strain diplomatic relations, and hinder regional cooperation efforts, observers warned.
\nThe investigation report titled \u201cBad Sources \u2013 How Indian news agency ANI quoted sources that do not exist,\u201d published by EU DisinfoLab, unveils \u201cits latest investigation into anti-Pakistan\/China influence operations,\u201d according to the organisation.
\nThe report said ANI was an Indian news agency that played a relevant role in the country\u2019s information ecosystem, providing content for many well-established media across India, such as The Print and Business Standard.
\nWith this network, ANI acts as a purveyor of news to millions of Indians. In the report, researchers write that ANI has been repeatedly quoting articles and reports issued by a think tank named the International Forum for Rights and Security (IFFRAS).
\nThe think tank was previously chaired by Mario Silva, a former Canadian Member of Parliament (MP), and dissolved in 2014, according to public information provided on a Canadian government website.
\nHowever, when they checked IFFRAS\u2019 official website, the researchers found that it has kept updating information, including articles, news, books and even conferences, and that ANI has kept quoting information from the think tank\u2019s website.
\nFor example, on December 27, 2022, IFFRAS published an article titled \u201cPakistan\u2019s persecution of minorities under scanner again,\u201d and on the same day, the article was quoted by ANI in a piece of news headlined \u201cPakistan\u2019s ill-treatment of minorities under scanner after UK sanctions Sindhi cleric,\u201d with most of the contents coming from the IFFRAS article.
\nANI has quoted IFFRAS more than 200 times from May 2021 to January 2023, and \u201cin most instances, it was not only quoting but using the IFFRAS \u2018reports\u2019 as the backbone of the articles,\u201d said the report.
\nNews reports produced by ANI quoting IFFRAS can possibly get republished or reported on by other media outlets. For example, in April 14, 2022, an ANI report quoting IFFRAS was reproduced by The Statesman, an Indian daily newspaper, allowing the ANI report to reach a wider audience.
\nIn addition, researchers of EU DisinfoLab further investigated whether the conference attendees at the think tank quoted in the articles actually exist.
\nTo find out who was attending conferences held by IFFRAS, researchers contacted attendees of a session discussing the \u201cIncreasing presence of Muslim Brotherhood.\u201d But two of the attendees mentioned by IFFRAS responded that they had never attended such a conference and that the Muslim Brotherhood \u201chad nothing (to do) with their field of expertise.\u201d
\nThe investigation report also pointed out that more than 70 speakers mentioned in the fake conferences of IFFRAS did not exist at all. Another interesting finding is that, in contrast to the frequent updates on its website, IFFRAS\u2019 Twitter account has not posted any content since 2021.
\nTherefore, the researchers assumed that \u201cthe sole purpose of IFFRAS is to produce content that can be covered by ANI and then republished widely throughout the Indian press.\u201d
\nANI\u2019s editor Smita Prakash responded to the report on Twitter on February 24, dubbing it \u201cdefamatory and false.\u201d
\nThe Global Times has tried to contact ANI through the email address provided on its website, wanting to get a response on whether the news agency was aware that IFFRAS had been disbanded in 2014 and does not exist now.
\nHowever, as of the publication of this report, there was no response from ANI.
\nApart from IFFRAS, the researchers also looked into another think tank frequently quoted by ANI, the Policy Research Group (POREG), in which the researchers found no sign of the existence of three new members who had reportedly joined the group in the last two years.
\nFor example, one of them is James Duglous Crickton, a misspelling of James Douglas Crickton, who wrote an article claiming that former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf held a secret bank account in Switzerland, which was later covered by ANI.
\nThe researchers said that they had tried to get in touch with the three people through POREG, but have received no response. However, the three people had been quoted by ANI numerous times on topics such as Pakistan\u2019s army doctrines and China\u2019s \u201cwolf warrior diplomacy,\u201d according to the investigation report.
\nThe researchers also tried to get in contact with Philippe Jeune, a claimed \u201cParis-based investigative journo with more than 10 years\u2019 experience\u201d and sometimes a claimed \u201cBrussels-based freelance journalist,\u201d who was quoted by ANI in a piece of news titled \u201cEuropean Parliament to withdraw Pakistan\u2019s GSP+ status over abuse of blasphemy laws\u201d \u2013 a withdrawal that did not happen, and efforts to do so again failed.
\nAsif Noor, founder of the Friends of BRI Forum, a Pakistan-based think tank, told the Global Times that in the investigation, ANI has been found to quote non-existent organisations, presenting them as credible sources of information. The expert noted that by attributing statements and opinions to these fictional entities, ANI creates a false impression of legitimacy and credibility for the disinformation being spread.
\nThese fabricated figures are used as experts to provide opinions and analysis to further mislead readers and reinforce false narratives. ANI\u2019s articles, containing the disseminated disinformation, are reproduced and shared across various well-established media outlets in India, Asif noted. \u201cThis amplification of the false narratives through multiple platforms increases their reach and potential impact, potentially influencing a wider audience and shaping public opinion.\u201d
\nThe IFFRAS think tank mentioned in the lab report was also found to be linked to the Srivastava Group, as the researchers found that IFFRAS has been registered by using a well-known email address from the Srivastava Group.
\nThe latter is a notorious Indian shell corporation, and the EU DisinfoLab pointed out in its 2020 report that nominally, the group\u2019s main business is news media, with offices in Brussels and Geneva, and registrations of more than 750 media, think tanks and more than 550 domain names in 116 countries and regions around the world.
\nHowever, the researchers investigated and found that there was no profitable business under the Srivastava Group, and the media and think tanks related to the group basically only had a name but no actual business. For example, the researchers uncovered EU Chronicle, a fake media with fake journalists supposedly covering European affairs, which was actually serving as a platform for Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to sign pro-Indian articles.
\nIn fact, the group is a representative of the disinformation war launched by India against China. Under the lead of the Srivastava Group, which is based overseas in Geneva and Brussels, an information warfare network has been woven, with a number of fake media, think tanks and NGOs all over the world.
\nThe fake news produced by the fake media under the group is also published and reprinted by some Indian media websites such as ANI which increases the reach of the disinformation.
\nFor example, on September 17, 2020, an article was published in the EU Chronicle about a letter sent by several MEPs to the President of the European Council Charles Michel, asking for taking strong action on China\u2019s Human Rights atrocities at the EU-China Summit.
\nThe article was titled \u201cMeaningful address and strong action needed against China\u2019s human rights atrocities.\u201d In its coverage of the news, ANI changed the headline as \u201cMembers of the European Parliament urge EU to take strong action on China for Human Rights Violation.\u201d But then the coverage of ANI was distorted by the Srivastava Group\u2019s other fake media, which ran it under the headline: \u201cEU to take strong action on China.\u201d
\nIn the end, a simple request by individual MEPs, who are free to send any letter they want to send, was ultimately presented as an official position of the EU on China.
\nRepresented by the EU Chronicle, fake media of India published a large number of discrediting articles on China and Pakistan in an attempt to damage the reputation of the countries internationally and win more support for India from institutions such as the EU and UN.
\nIn addition, according to the lab\u2019s investigation, under India\u2019s vast network of fake narratives, many organisations created by the group are active in cities which host headquarters of international organisations, such as Geneva, Brussels and New York. These organizations include \u201cSouth Asia Peace Forum,\u201d the \u201cBaloch Forum\u201d and \u201cFriends of Gilgit-Baltistan.\u201d
\nIn order to increase the official element and credibility of their organisations, they even paid some MEPs to make pro-India, anti-Pakistan and anti-China remarks, and organised trips for MEPs to Kashmir, Bangladesh and the Maldives. The researchers noted that \u201csome of these trips led to much institutional controversy, as the delegations of MEPs were often presented as official EU delegations when they were in fact not travelling on behalf of the Parliament.\u201d
\nResponsible dissemination of accurate and verified information is crucial in fostering informed public discourse and upholding journalistic ethics, Asif noted. But India lacks the ability and is using it in favour of its own motivations, the expert said.
\nExperts noted that China and Pakistan have long been targets of India\u2019s disinformation campaign.
\nTopics related to the China-India border region, including the China-India border issue and China\u2019s border negotiation with Bhutan, are a major focus of India\u2019s fabrication and smearing on China.
\nIn addition, discrediting China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative and the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and smearing on China\u2019s policies in Xinjiang and Xizang regions in terms of ethnic, religious, human rights and other issues are also the top agenda items set by some forces in India in the disinformation war against China, Sun Xihui, an associate research fellow with the National Institute of International Strategy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.
\nWith the help of these fake reports, the Indian media not only discredit China, but also try to raise the image of its own government in its community. By building the image of China with social chaos and oppression of people domestically, and deceiving internationally, the Indian media aimed to beautify India\u2019s image of democracy at home and friendship with its neighbours internationally, Sun noted.
\nThe international community\u2019s perception of Pakistan and China may be swayed by the misinformation disseminated by India, affecting how these nations are viewed in terms of their policies, actions, and intentions. This can lead to biased judgments and misconceptions about Pakistan and China\u2019s contributions to regional and global affairs, Asif said.
\nTo counter false narrative campaigns of India, experts noted that there should be a multifaceted approach involving various strategies. \u201cIt is important that China and Pakistan should promote media literacy to educate the public about identifying and evaluating misinformation and disinformation,\u201d Asif said.
\n\u201cCitizens should also utilise social media platforms, official websites, and other digital channels to directly communicate with global audiences,\u201d said the expert.
\nGary Machado, managing director of EU DisinfoLab, said he thought the muted reaction to the revelation of the disinformation network was partly because it was \u201cclearly managed by Indian stakeholders.\u201d
\n\u201cImagine if the same operation was run by China or Russia. How do you think the world would have reacted? Probably with international outrage, leading to public inquiries and probably sanctions,\u201d he told BBC in an interview in December 2022.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD A report by a European organisation investigating fake narratives of Indian media went viral on Chinese social media platforms recently, drawing wide attention to India\u2019s supposedly vast smear campaign against China and Pakistan. Following reports in 2019 and 2020, the latest investigation report by independent non-profit organisation EU DisinfoLab, published in February 2023, exposes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":339616,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-339602","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n