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Scroll.in
4 days ago
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Scroll Adda: How fact checkers fight IT cell disinformation
Play 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.
The Hindu
29-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Delhi HC orders takedown of parts of Mohak Mangal's video targeting ANI
The Delhi High Court on Thursday (May 29, 2025) directed YouTuber Mohak Mangal to remove specific portions of his video targeting news agency ANI, in which he used terms such as 'hafta wasooli' (extortion), 'gunda raj', and 'kidnap'. The direction came during the hearing of a defamation suit filed by ANI over Mr. Mangal's video titled 'Dear ANI', published on May 25, 2025, on his YouTube channel. In the video, Mr. Mangal criticised ANI's practice of issuing copyright strikes against content creators. Justice Amit Bansal, presiding over the matter, observed, 'These videos on the face of it are disparaging. You should have put it in a more civilized manner.' The judge asked the YouTuber, 'Let's say their [ANI's] demand is wrongful—how could you call it extortion?' The judge further questioned, 'How do you justify such language?' 'You [Mr. Mangal] don't want to take a licence but want to use their videos, which you believe is legally justified. Then why would you come out with these kinds of statements?' the judge added. Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair, who was also sued by ANI for amplifying Mr. Mangal's views, agreed to take down one of his posts on X related to the issue. However, stand-up comic Kunal Kamra, also named in the suit, agreed to take down only one of his multiple posts on X. Mr. Kamra's counsel said his client is a well known satirist, comedian and an advocate for free speech. 'He stands up for free speech in his own unique way, putting thing in the public domain,' the counsel said. 'Satire is great. But the phrases you used are 'mafia', 'thugs'... I am all for free speech, but if you are calling someone thugs, this is not Ok. I even went to the extent of condoning the use of word 'gatiya', but 'thugs' and 'mafia' are serious,' Justice Bansal remarked. The ANI, in its petition, argued that Mr. Mogal's video has had a 'demonstrable adverse impact' on its goodwill, public credibility, and business operations. The agency said the video triggered widespread online harassment and adverse reactions from the public towards it. The agency pointed out that Mr. Mangal has admitted to using ANI's copyrighted video content in his own monetized videos. It said the video reflects a 'calculated and malicious attack on the reputation, credibility, and goodwill of the Plaintiff, but also its registered trademarks'.
Mint
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Mint
YouTuber Mohak Mangal's video about ANI appears disparaging, says Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court observed on Thursday that a video published by YouTuber Mohak Mangal which accused news agency ANI of extortion appeared prima facie to be disparaging. Justice Amit Bansal, hearing a defamation suit filed by ANI, said the content appeared to merit the agency's concerns and asked Mangal's counsel to take instructions on removing certain portions of the video. These include expressions such as 'hafta vasooli', 'kidnapping,' and 'goondaraj', which ANI claims are defamatory. "This video on the face of it is disparaging " said Justice Bansal after the video was played in court. The matter is expected to resume after the lunch recess, when Mangal's legal team will update the court on whether they are willing to remove the contested language. The case stems from a video Mangal published on 25 May in which he accused ANI of blackmail and extortion. He alleged that a representative of the agency demanded more than ₹ 40 lakh to lift copyright strikes issued against his channel for using ANI's footage without permission. Senior advocate Amit Sibal, appearing for ANI, told the court that Mangal had repeatedly used ANI's video clips without permission on his YouTube channel. He explained that ANI had issued copyright strikes through YouTube's automated system, two of which were upheld. The controversy, he said, erupted ahead of a third strike, with Mangal going public instead of engaging with ANI through formal channels. According to YouTube's support website, if a channel gets three copyright strikes it is subject to termination along with any associated channels. 'If your channel is terminated, all the videos uploaded to your account will be made inaccessible,' it says. Sibal said ANI had offered a subscription licence to Mangal, which he declined. He suggested Mangal was now attempting to portray a legitimate enforcement of copyright as an act of intimidation or coercion. He also argued that the video went beyond criticism and was part of a broader, targeted campaign to harm ANI's public standing. He pointed its amplification on social media by public figures such as comedian Kunal Kamra and fact checker Mohammed Zubair of Alt News, which added to the agency's reputational damage. Sibal noted that the video used inflammatory language such as 'extortion' and 'goondaraj', which triggered a wave of online abuse against ANI and its employees. He sought a John Doe order to prevent its further dissemination by unidentified parties and indicated that ANI would file a separate copyright infringement suit. In response, senior advocate Chander M. Lall from Mohak's team argued that the agency's demand for ₹ 40 lakh in exchange for lifting the copyright strikes amounted to extortion. Lall also claimed that ANI could not assert exclusive ownership over news footage that concerned matters of public interest, and that the agency was targeting the YouTuber. He argued that a series of news reports have suggested that ANI is running an extortion racket targeting content creators. However, ANI has not countered those those reports, he added. Lall maintained that ANI could not ask him to purchase a license, and that this was a form of extortion by the news agency. If the issue was about copyright infringement, why had ANI not filed a copyright lawsuit, he asked.
Indian Express
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
How disinformation affects the communal fabric of South Asia
As global currents of polarisation — from immigration tensions to communal conflicts — sweep the world, South Asia is no exception. The Pahalgam attack, where terrorists forced the tourists to reveal their religion before pulling the trigger, wasn't just a blow to Kashmir. It was a calculated strike on South Asia's fragile communal harmony and trust. Added to this was hate and disinformation that was spread through social media. In a time scarred by communal division, gestures of unity can be healing. At a press conference held by the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, where Sikh, Muslim, and Hindu officers — Commodore Raghu R Nair, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, and Colonel Sofia Qureshi — stood shoulder to shoulder to brief the press, there was a fleeting glimpse of a pluralist nation that stands against any communal onslaught. Meanwhile, Mohammad Zubair of Alt News, a fact-checker, earned rare acclaim for dismantling disinformation on X, a small victory for truth in a fractured public square. But social media platforms erupted with toxic lies, smearing minorities as disloyal, while TV anchors turned newsrooms into battlegrounds, peddling falsehoods. Unverified claims of Indian strikes on Islamabad and Karachi made headlines. In Pakistan, Hindu minorities faced a raw deal. Just a week before the Pahalgam attack, Pakistan Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir declared, 'We differ from Hindus in every way'. The blunt Hindu-Muslim divide, articulated days before the attack, obliterated Pakistan's claims of restraint and any hope for diplomacy. Disinformation permeated press briefings. Media intensified falsehoods with concocted footage of Pakistani strikes on Delhi's airport, while the Deputy Prime Minister stoked national fervour for the air force, wielding a falsified Daily Telegraph clipping. Bangladesh, with 13 million Hindus, sidestepped the recent conflagration but could not escape its tremors. The interim government stayed neutral, yet public opinion leaned toward Pakistan, as per a few reports of The Diplomat. Also Read | In Trump vs Harvard, America is diminished It is a meticulously crafted crucible, designed to render every minority an alien in their own land. Disinformation surged to alarming extremes. Quite visible are the recycled Gaza explosions passed off as Indian strikes or video game clips and ARMA 3, floated as Pakistani military success, racking up millions of views on X before fact-checkers called them out. Algorithms, indifferent to truth, amplified engagement to turn smartphones into conduits of hate, silencing voices of peace. How to contain such a spread of disinformation? First, governments must cease tolerating a disinformation ecosystem that festers unchecked. Censoring media and imprisoning journalists only deepens public mistrust, while social media accounts spreading lies during conflict must cease their operation. Media literacy initiatives must lead the charge, equipping civil society with the tools to sharpen digital discernment. Second, countries need to protect the vulnerable. It would be beneficial to form task forces that would only track disinformation. The Pahalgam attack exposed how terror, hate, and disinformation can push South Asia's vibrant diversity into tatters. With nearly 220 million Hindu and Muslim minorities across three countries and a history of bad blood, South Asia cannot afford any communal flare-up through disinformation. The writer is a German Chancellor Fellow at the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, based in Berlin
Hindustan Times
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
HC refuses to quash FIR against Alt News co-founder Zubair
The Allahabad high court on Thursday refused to quash an FIR against Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair over his tweets (X posts) on Yati Narsinghanand's 'derogatory' speech. The court, however, extended the interim protection from arrest during the course of the investigation. Disposing of a writ petition filed by Zubair, a division bench comprising justices Siddhartha Varma and Dr Yogendra Kumar Srivastava passed this order, as it observed that a fair probe was required in the matter. The court also restrained Zubair from leaving the country pending investigation. 'India is a country which has a variety of religions, tribes and races and they have all merged together and are very peacefully living together. Whether restraint was being exercised by the petitioner would be something which would have to be looked into by the investigating agencies,' the court added in its 37-page judgment. The Ghaziabad Police had registered an FIR against Zubair in October 2024, accusing him of promoting enmity among religious groups following a complaint by one Udita Goswami, an associate of the controversial priest Yati Narsinghanand. In the present writ petition, Zubair had moved the high court, challenging the FIR, under which Section 152 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India) was added later on. According to Zubair, by posting a thread of videos featuring Yati Narsinghanand on October 3 and later sharing other tweets with his various controversial speeches, he aimed to highlight the priest's 'provocative' statements and urge the police authorities to take strict action against him. The complainant, Udita Tyagi, on the other hand, blamed Zubair for sharing Yati's old video clips with the intent of inciting violence by Muslims. She also alleged that due to Zubair's tweets, violent protests were held at Dasna Devi Mandir in Ghaziabad. During the course of hearing, the Uttar Pradesh government defended the FIR by arguing that Zubair created a narrative through his X posts and attempted to incite the public. The timing of his X posts was also questioned, with the government claiming he added fuel to the fire. It was also argued that his X posts contained half-baked information, damaging and threatening India's sovereignty and integrity. However, Zubair claimed that his posts were part of his professional obligation as a fact-checker and that they did not amount to any offence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita or the Indian Penal Code. He also contended that he was exercising his freedom of speech by highlighting Narsinghanand's conduct, and that not just him, but many news media handles and social media users wrote about the same issue.
