To Allegedly Target Critics of Indian Prime Minister

Newsreel Asia Insight #70
Dec. 12, 2023

The Washington Post has alleged that a “covert Indian operation,” established in the United States, has been using social media to sway public opinion and target critics of the Indian prime minister.

The organisation, called Disinfo Lab and apparently managed by an Indian intelligence officer, targets foreign critics using social media, according to the Post, which says the Disinfo Lab denied any government association, claiming its origins in an anti-corruption movement and a commitment to exposing disinformation.

“In reality, however, the Disinfo Lab was set up and is run by an Indian intelligence officer to research and discredit foreign critics of the Modi government, according to three people who worked in the organization or were familiar with its establishment,” says the Post. “While claiming that it aimed to uncover anti-India disinformation, the Disinfo Lab itself is running a covert influence operation, they said.”

The Disinfo Lab’s blends factual information with unverified claims to discredit individuals and organisations critical of the Indian government, according to the Post, which also says that the Lab’s reports have been widely circulated among Right-wing groups in India and have found their way into American political discourse.

“The Post analyzed the 250 most-followed accounts that reposted content from the Disinfo Lab. Of those, The Post identified 35 current or former BJP officials, 14 government or military leaders, 61 journalists, authors or thought leaders, and 140 influencers or content creators, including Indian and American right-wing ideologues. Many had hundreds of thousands or millions of followers, and shared Disinfo Lab content dozens or even hundreds of times.”

Experts tell the Post that they are concerned because an intelligence agency is being used not just for gathering intelligence and safeguarding national security, but also for advancing the political objectives of the ruling party, blurring lines between national strategic interests and party political objectives.

In democracies, intelligence agencies are expected to remain apolitical, focusing on threats to national security rather than engaging in activities that could be construed as partisan, they say, noting that this conflation of national and political interests is a significant departure from traditional norms of statecraft.

The Lab has targeted U.S. government figures, researchers and rights activists, the Post says, adding that the Lab accuses various U.S. entities and individuals of conspiring against India, allegedly driven by Islamic groups and George Soros, a frequent critic of Modi and a prominent Hungarian-American billionaire, investor, philanthropist and political activist. Its reports go viral in India, often amplified by pro-Modi influencers.

The Post says that in response to its reportage, “the Disinfo Lab pointed to its record of forcing ‘activists’ and ‘human rights fronts’ to shut down by exposing them, saying, ‘We take our craft very seriously, and we make sure that our claims stand. In our understanding, fake news/ fabricated data is the core of any info-war.’”

In a media interview earlier in 2023, the Post quoted Disinfo Lab as saying that it was founded in 2020 by people with political and marketing backgrounds.

“The group said it relied mostly on conventional open-source intelligence-gathering methods, lots of Googling and its self-made data visualization tools,” according to the Post. “It warned that India was caught in a ‘narrative war’ against many belligerents: the United States, China, Pakistan and ‘hydra-headed Islamist fronts, all operating under lofty human rights and other banners.’

“Left with no other choice, we are trying to do what we can with limited resources … The world moved from the Information Age to the Disinformation Age long back.”