Latest news with #JoyojeetPal
Mint
01-08-2025
- Mint
South Korean tourist googles India, finds ugly, hazy pics; social media reacts, ‘Western companies make money by…'
A South Korean tourist googled India and found 'ugly, hazy pics' of the country. So, assuming a high level of pollution, he brought many face masks with him. He searched with the keyword 'Indo' since that's what people in South Korea call it. The Google search results must be geo-specific as, when we searched Google with the same keyword, we did not find any such photos. 'There is too much disinformation about India on Internet,' wrote a social media user while sharing a video of the revelation. 'Same with YouTube, search for Indian food, and all you get is slum street food clips. These CEOs don't give a damn about India,' remarked one user. 'Western companies make money by degrading India everywhere,' came from another. Another wrote, 'Indian PR needs an upgrade.' 'What's our tourism minister and information minister doing?' asked one user. 'Doesn't the Indian Embassy in South Korea notice this? Do these IFS officers not do anything in other countries? Then, what's the point of having an embassy?' reacted one social media user. Another replied, 'What's IFS got to do with Google images?' One user wrote, 'Judging India based on hazy images on Google is like judging a book by its cover. If you really want to understand India, don't just look with your eyes, feel it with your heart.' According to another user, such misinformation exists 'because many Indians themselves trash and thrash their country'. A couple of users from overseas, however, claim the information is correct. 'Misinformation? Goddamns, you guys literally swim in your f**ing pi**,' commented a user apparently from Uzbekistan. 'If you google India, you'll see garbage, barbaric people and pollution. If you go to India, 9 out of 10 of your experience will be garbage, barbaric people and pollution,' came another reply from a foreigner. One Indian user, however, raises a different issue: 'If India were so great, why does every Indian want to leave the country?' 'He'll find out that it's not just haze in the air, but also sh*t on the ground,' commented another. Another user referred to Delhi pollution: 'I think he googled India's capital as most of the tourists do when visiting foreign countries.' Misinformation about India, however, is not only an external issue but an internal threat as well. According to the World Economic Forum's 2024 Global Risk Report, India was ranked the highest-risk country for misinformation and fake news. Joyojeet Pal, a professor who studies how technology affects democracy in India, says fake news spreads because it is smartly made, easy to believe and goes viral quickly. In India, people are deeply divided, and many are ready to believe negative news about groups they dislike. Political parties use social media strongly and have trained teams to make content viral.
Kuwait Times
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
No truce in India-Pakistan disinformation war: Analysts
Indian, Pakistani media amplified misinformation, contributing to flood of hate speech, Experts say NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan have announced a ceasefire after coming close to all-out conflict, but on social media citizens on both sides are vying to control public perceptions by peddling disinformation. Platforms such as Facebook and X are still awash with misrepresented footage of the attacks that killed at least 60 people and sent thousands fleeing. AFP fact-checkers have debunked many of the clips, which actually show the Zionist entity-Palestine war or the war in Ukraine. Indian and Pakistani media outlets have also amplified misinformation, including false or unverifiable claims of military victories that experts say have exacerbated tensions and contributed to a flood of hate speech. "It's complicated to establish the military facts because, in addition to the reality of strikes that are difficult to ascertain, there's a communication war going on," said General Dominique Trinquand, an international relations analyst and former head of the French military mission to the United Nations. Disinformation peaked when India launched deadly air strikes on Wednesday targeting "terrorist camps" in Pakistan, two weeks after a deadly attack on the Indian-run side of disputed Kashmir. New Delhi blames Islamabad for backing the April 22 attack near the tourist town of Pahalgam, which killed 26 people — almost all of them Hindu men. Pakistan denies the claim. After the first round of Indian air strikes, the Pakistani military shared footage that had previously circulated in reports about a 2023 Zionist entity air strike on Gaza. The clip quickly appeared on television and social media but was later retracted by numerous media outlets, including AFP. AI-generated imagery has also muddied the waters, including a video that purportedly shows a Pakistan Army general saying the country lost two of its aircraft. AFP fact-checkers found the clip was altered from a 2024 press conference. "We have seen a new wave of AI-based content in both video and still images due to increased access to deepfake tools," said Joyojeet Pal, an associate professor in the School of Information at the University of Michigan. JAMMU: A woman temporarily displaced from her home at a border area, sits inside a room in an inn at a Gurudwara (Sikh temple), in Jammu on May 13, 2025. Social media crackdown Both India and Pakistan have taken advantage of the information vacuum to raise alarm bells and promote their own claims and counter-claims. Pakistan appears to have lifted a more than one-year-old ban on X the same day of the Indian strikes, according to an AFP analysis of data from the nonprofit Open Observatory of Network Interference. "In a time of crisis, the government needed its people's voice to be heard all around the world and not to be silenced anymore like it was before for domestic political purposes," said Usama Khilji, a digital rights expert and activist in Pakistan. The country's National Cyber Emergency Response Team (NCERT) on May 8 issued an alert about "increased cyberattacks and misinformation via emails, social media, QR codes, and messaging apps". Both Pakistan's Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Karachi Port Trust later said their X accounts had been hacked. A post from the latter account said the port — one of South Asia's busiest — was attacked by the Indian military. The page was later restored and the port authority said no attack had taken place. India, meanwhile, has executed a sweeping crackdown targeting the social media accounts of Pakistani politicians, celebrities and media organizations. The government ordered X to block more than 8,000 accounts and banned more than a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly spreading "provocative" content, including news outlets. Press Information Bureau (PIB) Fact Check, a government-run website, has also refuted more than 60 claims about the ongoing crisis, many having to do with supposed Pakistani military victories. 'Cyclical relationship' The avalanche of disinformation online has been accompanied by a spike in hate speech offline. A report from the US-based India Hate Lab documented 64 in-person hate speech events between April 22 and May 2. Most were filmed and later shared on social media. "There is a cyclical relationship between offline hate speech and the rise of harmful online content," said Raqib Hameed Naik, executive director of the Center for the Study of Organized Hate. He said the Pahalgam attack sparked in India a "significant surge in rallies where far-right leaders weaponized the tragedy to incite hate and violence against Muslim Indians and Kashmiris." Several clips online show people dressed in Hindu garb calling for economic boycotts of minority Muslims. Rallies in the northern Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have seen similar incendiary speeches. Now that a ceasefire has been declared, Naik warned that hate speech "will once again refocus on religious minorities." "The war machine may have paused, but the hate machinery never stops. I worry it might return with a greater force." — AFP
AFP
13-05-2025
- Politics
- AFP
No truce in India-Pakistan disinformation war
Platforms such as Facebook and X are still awash with misrepresented footage of the attacks that killed at least 60 people and sent thousands fleeing. AFP fact-checkers have debunked many of the clips, which actually show the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the war in Ukraine. Indian and Pakistani media outlets have also amplified misinformation, including false or unverifiable claims of military victories that experts say have exacerbated tensions and contributed to a flood of hate speech (archived link). "It's complicated to establish the military facts because, in addition to the reality of strikes that are difficult to ascertain, there's a communication war going on," said General Dominique Trinquand, an international relations analyst and former head of the French military mission to the United Nations (archived link). Disinformation peaked when India launched deadly air strikes on Wednesday targeting "terrorist camps" in Pakistan, two weeks after a deadly attack on the Indian-run side of disputed Kashmir (archived link). New Delhi blames Islamabad for backing the April 22 attack near the tourist town of Pahalgam, which killed 26 people -- almost all of them Hindu men. Pakistan denies the claim. After the first round of Indian air strikes, the Pakistani military shared footage that had previously circulated in reports about a 2023 Israeli air strike in Gaza. The clip quickly appeared on television and social media but was later retracted by numerous media outlets, including AFP. Image Screenshot of a false Facebook post taken May 8, 2025 AI-generated imagery has also muddied the waters, including a video that purportedly shows a Pakistan Army general saying the country lost two of its aircraft. AFP fact-checkers found the clip was altered from a 2024 press conference. "We have seen a new wave of AI-based content in both video and still images due to increased access to deepfake tools," said Joyojeet Pal, an associate professor in the School of Information at the University of Michigan (archived link). Cyber alert, social media crackdown Both India and Pakistan have taken advantage of the information vacuum to raise alarm bells and promote their own claims and counter-claims. Pakistan appears to have lifted a more than one-year-old ban on X the same day of the Indian strikes, according to an AFP analysis of data from the nonprofit Open Observatory of Network Interference (archived link). "In a time of crisis, the government needed its people's voice to be heard all around the world and not to be silenced anymore like it was before for domestic political purposes," said Usama Khilji, a digital rights expert and activist in Pakistan (archived link). The country's National Cyber Emergency Response Team (NCERT) on May 8 issued an alert about "increased cyberattacks and misinformation via emails, social media, QR codes, and messaging apps" (archived link). Both Pakistan's Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Karachi Port Trust later said their X accounts had been hacked A post from the latter account said the port -- one of South Asia's busiest -- was attacked by the Indian military. The page was later restored and the port authority said no attack had taken place. India, meanwhile, has executed a sweeping crackdown targeting the social media accounts of Pakistani politicians, celebrities and media organisations. The government ordered X to block more than 8,000 accounts and banned more than a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly spreading "provocative" content, including news outlets. Press Information Bureau (PIB) Fact Check, a government-run website, has also refuted more than 60 claims about the ongoing crisis, many having to do with supposed Pakistani military victories (archived link). 'Cyclical relationship' The avalanche of disinformation online has been accompanied by a spike in hate speech offline. A report from the US-based India Hate Lab documented 64 in-person hate speech events between April 22 and May 2. Most were filmed and later shared on social media (archived link). "There is a cyclical relationship between offline hate speech and the rise of harmful online content," said Raqib Hameed Naik, executive director of the Center for the Study of Organized Hate (archived link). Image Updated map showing incidents of of violence on May 7th and 8th in the Kashmir region and in Pakistan and India, according to officials (AFP / John SAEKI, Nicholas SHEARMAN) He said the Pahalgam attack sparked in India a "significant surge in rallies where far-right leaders weaponised the tragedy to incite hate and violence against Muslim Indians and Kashmiris." Several clips online show people dressed in Hindu garb calling for economic boycotts of minority Muslims. Rallies in the northern Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have seen similar incendiary speeches. Now that a ceasefire has been declared, Naik warned that hate speech "will once again refocus on religious minorities." "The war machine may have paused, but the hate machinery never stops. I worry it might return with a greater force."
New Straits Times
13-05-2025
- Politics
- New Straits Times
No truce in India-Pakistan disinformation war
INDIA and Pakistan have announced a ceasefire after coming close to all-out conflict, but on social media citizens on both sides are vying to control public perceptions by peddling disinformation. Platforms such as Facebook and X are still awash with misrepresented footage of the attacks that killed at least 60 people and sent thousands fleeing. AFP fact-checkers have debunked many of the clips, which actually show the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the war in Ukraine. Indian and Pakistani media outlets have also amplified misinformation, including false or unverifiable claims of military victories that experts say have exacerbated tensions and contributed to a flood of hate speech. "It's complicated to establish the military facts because, in addition to the reality of strikes that are difficult to ascertain, there's a communication war going on," said General Dominique Trinquand, an international relations analyst and former head of the French military mission to the United Nations. Disinformation peaked when India launched deadly air strikes on Wednesday targeting "terrorist camps" in Pakistan, two weeks after a deadly attack on the Indian-run side of disputed Kashmir. New Delhi blames Islamabad for backing the April 22 attack near the tourist town of Pahalgam, which killed 26 people – almost all of them Hindu men. Pakistan denies the claim. After the first round of Indian air strikes, the Pakistani military shared footage that had previously circulated in reports about a 2023 Israeli air strike in Gaza. The clip quickly appeared on television and social media but was later retracted by numerous media outlets, including AFP. AI-generated imagery has also muddied the waters, including a video that purportedly shows a Pakistan Army general saying the country lost two of its aircraft. AFP fact-checkers found the clip was altered from a 2024 press conference. "We have seen a new wave of AI-based content in both video and still images due to increased access to deepfake tools," said Joyojeet Pal, an associate professor in the School of Information at the University of Michigan. Both India and Pakistan have taken advantage of the information vacuum to raise alarm bells and promote their own claims and counter-claims. Pakistan appears to have lifted a more than one-year-old ban on X the same day of the Indian strikes, according to an AFP analysis of data from the nonprofit Open Observatory of Network Interference. "In a time of crisis, the government needed its people's voice to be heard all around the world and not to be silenced anymore like it was before for domestic political purposes," said Usama Khilji, a digital rights expert and activist in Pakistan. The country's National Cyber Emergency Response Team (NCERT) on May 8 issued an alert about "increased cyberattacks and misinformation via emails, social media, QR codes, and messaging apps." Both Pakistan's Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Karachi Port Trust later said their X accounts had been hacked. A post from the latter account said the port – one of South Asia's busiest – was attacked by the Indian military. The page was later restored and the port authority said no attack had taken place. India, meanwhile, has executed a sweeping crackdown targeting the social media accounts of Pakistani politicians, celebrities and media organisations. The government ordered X to block more than 8,000 accounts and banned more than a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly spreading "provocative" content, including news outlets. Press Information Bureau (PIB) Fact Check, a government-run website, has also refuted more than 60 claims about the ongoing crisis, many having to do with supposed Pakistani military victories. The avalanche of disinformation online has been accompanied by a spike in hate speech offline. A report from the US-based India Hate Lab documented 64 in-person hate speech events between April 22 and May 2. Most were filmed and later shared on social media. "There is a cyclical relationship between offline hate speech and the rise of harmful online content," said Raqib Hameed Naik, executive director of the Centre for the Study of Organised Hate. He said the Pahalgam attack sparked in India a "significant surge in rallies where far-right leaders weaponised the tragedy to incite hate and violence against Muslim Indians and Kashmiris." Several clips online show people dressed in Hindu garb calling for economic boycotts of minority Muslims. Rallies in the northern Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have seen similar incendiary speeches. Now that a ceasefire has been declared, Naik warned that hate speech "will once again refocus on religious minorities." "The war machine may have paused, but the hate machinery never stops. I worry it might return with a greater force."
Int'l Business Times
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
No Truce In India-Pakistan Disinformation War
India and Pakistan have announced a ceasefire after coming close to all-out conflict, but on social media citizens on both sides are vying to control public perceptions by peddling disinformation. Platforms such as Facebook and X are still awash with misrepresented footage of the attacks that killed at least 60 people and sent thousands fleeing. AFP fact-checkers have debunked many of the clips, which actually show the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the war in Ukraine. Indian and Pakistani media outlets have also amplified misinformation, including false or unverifiable claims of military victories that experts say have exacerbated tensions and contributed to a flood of hate speech. "It's complicated to establish the military facts because, in addition to the reality of strikes that are difficult to ascertain, there's a communication war going on," said General Dominique Trinquand, an international relations analyst and former head of the French military mission to the United Nations. Disinformation peaked when India launched deadly air strikes on Wednesday targeting "terrorist camps" in Pakistan, two weeks after a deadly attack on the Indian-run side of disputed Kashmir. New Delhi blames Islamabad for backing the April 22 attack near the tourist town of Pahalgam, which killed 26 people -- almost all of them Hindu men. Pakistan denies the claim. After the first round of Indian air strikes, the Pakistani military shared footage that had previously circulated in reports about a 2023 Israeli air strike in Gaza. The clip quickly appeared on television and social media but was later retracted by numerous media outlets, including AFP. AI-generated imagery has also muddied the waters, including a video that purportedly shows a Pakistan Army general saying the country lost two of its aircraft. AFP fact-checkers found the clip was altered from a 2024 press conference. "We have seen a new wave of AI-based content in both video and still images due to increased access to deepfake tools," said Joyojeet Pal, an associate professor in the School of Information at the University of Michigan. Both India and Pakistan have taken advantage of the information vacuum to raise alarm bells and promote their own claims and counter-claims. Pakistan appears to have lifted a more than one-year-old ban on X the same day of the Indian strikes, according to an AFP analysis of data from the nonprofit Open Observatory of Network Interference. "In a time of crisis, the government needed its people's voice to be heard all around the world and not to be silenced anymore like it was before for domestic political purposes," said Usama Khilji, a digital rights expert and activist in Pakistan. The country's National Cyber Emergency Response Team (NCERT) on May 8 issued an alert about "increased cyberattacks and misinformation via emails, social media, QR codes, and messaging apps". Both Pakistan's Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Karachi Port Trust later said their X accounts had been hacked. A post from the latter account said the port -- one of South Asia's busiest -- was attacked by the Indian military. The page was later restored and the port authority said no attack had taken place. India, meanwhile, has executed a sweeping crackdown targeting the social media accounts of Pakistani politicians, celebrities and media organisations. The government ordered X to block more than 8,000 accounts and banned more than a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly spreading "provocative" content, including news outlets. Press Information Bureau (PIB) Fact Check, a government-run website, has also refuted more than 60 claims about the ongoing crisis, many having to do with supposed Pakistani military victories. The avalanche of disinformation online has been accompanied by a spike in hate speech offline. A report from the US-based India Hate Lab documented 64 in-person hate speech events between April 22 and May 2. Most were filmed and later shared on social media. "There is a cyclical relationship between offline hate speech and the rise of harmful online content," said Raqib Hameed Naik, executive director of the Center for the Study of Organized Hate. He said the Pahalgam attack sparked in India a "significant surge in rallies where far-right leaders weaponised the tragedy to incite hate and violence against Muslim Indians and Kashmiris." Several clips online show people dressed in Hindu garb calling for economic boycotts of minority Muslims. Rallies in the northern Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have seen similar incendiary speeches. Now that a ceasefire has been declared, Naik warned that hate speech "will once again refocus on religious minorities." "The war machine may have paused, but the hate machinery never stops. I worry it might return with a greater force."
