Scroll Adda: How fact checkers fight IT cell disinformation
India is drowning in fake news. And much of it is produced by its own political parties.
Dedicated so-called IT cells supported by highly paid consultants push disinformation on social media with the aim of converting voters to their point of view.
This isn't limited to elections. Disinformation is warping Indian society itself. The past decade has seen an explosion of hate, a significant part of which has been powered by fake news.
The first line of defence against this tsunami? Fact checkers. To understand how they battle this scourge, Scroll's political editor, Shoaib Daniyal, speaks to Alt News co-founder Pratik Sinha on the first episode of Scroll Adda.
In a wide-ranging conversation, Sinha explains the toll disinformation has taken on India — and on his own mental health.
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Hindustan Times
4 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
PM Narendra Modi says economy strong, seeks self-reliance in tech
India is the world's fastest-growing major economy and is rapidly moving towards becoming a global leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Bengaluru on Saturday, days after US President Donald Trump described the country's economy as 'dead' amid escalating trade tensions between the two nations. PM Narendra Modi with Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, deputy CM DK Shivakumar, and Union minister Manohar Lal during a Metro ride in Bengaluru on Sunday. (ANI) Addressing a public gathering after inaugurating the 19-kilometre Yellow Line of the Bengaluru Metro, Modi said India was on track to become one of the world's top three economies as he credited the country's economic momentum to the central government's 'reform, perform, transform' approach. 'India is currently the fastest-growing major economy in the world. In the past eleven years, India's economy has risen from the 10th position to the top five globally and is rapidly progressing towards becoming one of the top three economies,' he said. The PM's endorsement of the country's economic growth came after Trump, on July 30, announced 25% punitive tariffs on Indian goods entering America for purchasing Russian oil. A day later he again targeted India, saying, 'I don't care what India does with Russia… They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care.' On August 6, he signed an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods. India has called the American actions 'unfair, unjustified and unreasonable' and said it will take all actions necessary to protect its national interests. In his address, Modi also called for the country to accelerate its self-reliance in the technology sector as he pressed for a stronger 'Tech Atmanirbhar Bharat'. 'Indian tech companies have made their mark on the global stage. They have built software and products for the world. The time has come to give greater priority to the needs of India. We must move forward in manufacturing new products,' he said. The statement was in line with his August 2 remarks in which he called on citizens to adopt the spirit of 'swadeshi' and support locally made products, stressing that true service to the nation lies in promoting indigenous goods amid global economic uncertainties. The additional 25% tariffs, due to take effect on August 27, will put Indian exporters at a significant disadvantage compared to their rivals in Bangladesh, Indonesia and Vietnam – which face tariffs of between 19% and 20%. In his speech, Modi said that the country's rapid pace of development was linked to its economic growth as he focused on the rise of the country's exports. 'Before 2014, India's total export was $468 billion, but today it is $824 billion. We used to import mobile phones but now we are among the top five exporters of mobile handsets. Our electronic export before 2014 was $6 billion, which has gone up to $38 billion dollars,' Modi said. He added: 'These achievements give strength to our concept of Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India). We will march together and build a developed India.' Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, Union ministers Manohar Lal Khattar and Ashwini Vaishnaw were also present on the occasion. During his visit, the PM also laid the foundation stone for the Bangalore Metro Phase-3 project and flagged off three Vande Bharat Express trains as he underscored the country's growing infrastructure footprint across sectors by highlighting the increase in the number of metro rail services, railway lines, airports, AIIMS and IITs. This was the first time Modi visited Bengaluru since Operation Sindoor, India's military action against terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) in retaliation to April's Pahalgam attack, in which 26 civilians were killed. Modi credited the success of the operation to indigenous defence technologies. 'A key factor in the operation's success was 'Make in India' in defence, which had immense contribution from the youth of Karnataka and Bengaluru,' he said. I congratulate the youth of this state,' he said, adding that Pakistan, which 'came to defend the terrorists', was forced 'to its knees' within hours. Praising the city's global standing, he called Bengaluru 'a city that has become a symbol of the rise of the new India… A city that has put India's flag on the global IT map. If there is anything behind Bangalore's success story, it is the hard work and talent of its people.' Siddaramaiah, who spoke before Modisaid the state has been spending more than the Centre on Bengaluru's metro network, even though the project is meant to be jointly funded. 'Works for the Bengaluru Metro started in 2005 when Dr Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister, and the agreement was to take up works in a 50:50 fund ratio. However, the state's contribution to building the metro is high,' he said, urging the Centre to match Karnataka's funding model with that of Maharashtra and Gujarat. In response, Modi called for cooperation over political rivalry. 'Whether it is the central government or the state government, all are committed to serving the people,' he said.
Time of India
22 minutes ago
- Time of India
Operation Sindoor showed world new face of India, says PM
BENGALURU: India forced Pakistan "to its knees within hours" during Operation Sindoor in early May, PM Narendra Modi said Sunday, while calling the military success a show of "the new face" of a nation powered by technology and home-grown defence manufacturing. His remarks reinforced the nation's position that no external party, including the US, played a role in the pause in military action between India and Pakistan after Operation Sindoor was launched following the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam on that killed 26 men. Earlier, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh had detailed how the 88-90-hour campaign crippled Pakistan's systems and pushed it to seek talks through DGMO. "The success of Operation Sindoor - the strength of Indian forces to destroy terrorist hideouts deep across the border, and the ability to bring Pakistan, which came to the rescue of terrorists, to its knees in hours - showed the world the new face of India," Modi said on his first Bengaluru visit since the operation. He credited "technology and the strength of Make-in-India in defence" for the success, saying Bengaluru and Karnataka's youth played a "significant role". by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like New Container Houses Indonesia (Prices May Surprise You) Container House | Search ads Search Now Undo TOI had earlier reported that Bengaluru-built systems - SkyStriker suicide drones from the private sector, Akash missiles from BEL, and other BEL, HAL and private-sector products - were deployed. On the space defence side, armed forces used domestic and international commercial assets. Cartosat satellites, built in Bengaluru with inputs from other Isro centres, were paired with private satellite imagery from global firms like Maxar. "Today, Bengaluru is emerging as a city that has become a symbol of new India's rise," Modi said, describing it as one whose "soul embodies philosophical wisdom" and "actions reflect technological expertise".
Hindustan Times
34 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Pro-Khalistan protest fails to disrupt consular camp in Canada
While pro-Khalistan protesters gathered at a distance, the first consular camp organised by an Indian mission in Canada this year went off without disruption at a gurdwara in British Columbia on Saturday. The camp was held at the Khalsa Diwan Society's gurdwara in the city of Abbotsford. According to an earlier press release from the Indian consulate in Vancouver, applications for passport services, overseas citizen of India (OCI) and attestation were to be accepted during the camp. Pro-Khalistan radicals violently attacked the Hindu Sabha Mandir, in Brampton, in November, as it hosted a consular camp. (File) Pro-Khalistan elements had given a call for a protest at the camp but were kept at a distance of 50 metres from the gurdwara as it had obtained a court order in this regard last week, a spokesperson for the Society told the Hindustan Times. The camp was organised at the request of the gurdwara as the local community sought a convenient venue for processing of documentation required for traveling to India, he added. The gurdwara will also host a life certificate camp for seniors later this year. Just a few protesters gathered and raised anti-India slogans. Last year, the consular camps drew pro-Khalistan protesters and resulted in disruption of the services and even violence. Matters flared up when protesting radicals violently attacked the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton in the Greater Toronto Area or GTA on November 3, leading to multiple arrests connected to that episode and its aftermath. Local police warned against holding similar such camps due to tense situations leading to multiple cancellations, including by three temples last month. However, camps were successfully hosted by the Khalsa Diwan Society-run gurdwaras in Vancouver, which applied for and received a court order restraining protesters, as did the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Toronto. The call for protests targeting the camp on Saturday was circulated online in a poster that also featured India's consul general in Vancouver Masakui Rungsung. The posters and the protesters referred to the killing of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia on June 18, 2023. Relations between India and Canada cratered three months later when the then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated in the House of Commons that there were 'credible allegations' of a potential link between Indian agents and the murder. India described those accusations as 'absurd' and 'motivated.' The situation worsened in October 2024 after the Canadian government accused six Indian diplomats and officials of being linked to violent criminal activity in the country. That led to India withdrawing the six from Canada on October 14 and expelling six Canadian diplomats.
