The EU DisinfoLab has uncovered a network of NGOs and fake media organizations linked to India, that for more than a decade have been engaged in anti-Pakistan propaganda.
The investigative research showed that over 750 Indian backed websites spread across 119 countries have been operating to undermine Pakistan since the last 15 years within the European Union and the United Nations.
Also Read: Indian Media Reported A #CivilWarInKarachi & Pakistani Meme Factories Provided Them Live Coverage
Titled “Indian Chronicles,” the Disinfo Lab’s report details that the anti-Pakistan media operation was launched by Srivastava Group in 2005, amplified by ANI in the recent years. The groups ostensibly lobby around issues that are sure to cause discontent within Pakistan.
How Did They Work?
One of the most important findings of the open-source investigation of these India leaks showed direct links between the Srivastava Group (SG) and at least 10 UN-accredited NGOs, along with several others, which were used to promote Indian interests and criticize Pakistan internationally and used to lobby diplomats at international forums, especially the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC)
In honour of #HumanRightsDay, we want to share a chapter of our recent investigation with implications for @UN_HRC.
— EU DisinfoLab (@DisinfoEU) December 10, 2020
While NGOs should definitely not be silenced, ‘dead’ NGOs should not be given a voice. https://t.co/M65W2YZNjc
The deeper dive by DisinfoLab revealed a US-based NGO – accredited to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) – had become inactive in the late 1970s was resurrected in 2005.
Deceased person attends UN sessions
Not only that, the organization’s former Chairman Louis B. Sohn, attended a UN Human Rights Council meeting in 2007 and participated in an event organized by “Friends of Gilgit-Baltistan” in Washington D.C. in 2011 – that too after several years of his passing.
The Media Connections
Fake news websites such as EU Chronicles, Japan Times Today, and Arizona Herald, regularly published Pakistan-centric stories. The DisinfoLab found that the Indian News Wire Agency, ANI, a partner organization of Reuters, often helped magnify the stories published by these outlets.
A glaring example of how the propaganda works can be seen in the 2017 interview of the Pakistani diplomat Hussain Haqqani published in another fake outlet, Times of Geneva.
The story titled ‘Baloch posters in Switzerland to isolate Pakistan’ was picked up by ANI and forwarded to its subscribers. It ended up on the webpages of Outlook India magazine and the Business Standard. The groups are also responsible for putting up “Free Balochistan” posters across Geneva in 2017.
What do you think about these India leaks? Share in the comments below.