Anti-India propaganda being spread on Twitter to harm country's image, suggests report
New Delhi, January 27: Twitter is the most popular platform for information sharing, but it is now being used as a propaganda tool by anti-Indians to harm the country's image, according to the Indian non-profit fact-checking website Digital Forensics, Research and Analytics Center (DFRAC).
DFRAC investigated the Twitter account @MuslimsinIndia7, which was created with the intent of harming India's international image. In an old tweet dated July 11, 2022, @MuslimsinIndia7 stated that mosques in Kashmir were closed on Eid al-Adha and Muslims were not permitted to celebrate Eid.
To verify the claims, DFRAC searched Google for news about Eid in Kashmir. They discovered reports from the valley's leading newspapers, The Greater Kashmir and Kashmir Observer, claiming that, aside from the historic Jamia Masjid in the old city, Eid al-Adha was celebrated at all Muslim places of worship across the valley. At Hazratbal Dargah, more than 45,000 people offered prayers.
As a result, DFRAC contends that @MuslimsinIndia7's claim that India kept mosques closed on Eid al-Adha in Kashmir is false.
Also on November 6, 2022, @MuslimsinIndia7 shared a video of a rally claiming that protests over the change in Kashmir's identity and demographics are still ongoing in the Valley of India.
To verify the claims, the DFRAC team keyframed the video with the InVID tool. A reverse search of the keyframes led them to TwoCirclesNet reports.
According to DFRAC, members of the Gujjar Bakarwal community in Jammu and Kashmir marched from Kupwara to Jammu in protest of the Indian government's proposal to include hill people in the ST category.
DFRAC thus demonstrated that the claim made by @MuslimsinIndia7 that Gujjars and Bakarwals were protesting the Indian government's attempt to change Kashmir's identity and demography was false.
- ANI
