256 Fake news websites run by Indian influencers to promote anti-Pakistan content

The research was accomplished by NGO EU DisinfoLab in which it was found that over 265 false news websites are being operated in almost 65 countries that are used to reflect a negative image of Pakistan and are run according to the interests of Indians.  

According to the details, more than 265 false news websites are run by a network of Indian influencers in countries including Canada, the US, Brussels, and Geneva. The objective of using such websites is to affect people’s perception of Pakistan. These websites propagate and spread anti-Pakistan coverage. the fake websites also represent the Indian government’s interests. Apart from that, these websites kept uploading content related to the happenings and affirmative events about Indians, whereas they contained anti-Pakistan content as well.

According to the study, it was also found that the names of the local newspapers or outlets that no more exist or are extinct. Such names include thetimesofceylon.com, dublingazette.com, timesofgeneva.com, thehoofgazette.com, theseattlestar.com, miamivalleychannel.com, and themirrorofaustralia.com. The information was leaked to a group of Indian firms, think tanks and Non-Governmental Organizations.

According to the sources, these fake news websites display syndicated news from reputed news agencies such as Voice of America, Russia Today, KCNA, Interfax, etc.

EU DisinfoLab is an EU-based NGO that merely works for studying and researching sophisticated disinformation campaigns.

It should be remembered that according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Twitter has recently blocked tweets related to Kashmir on the behest of Indian authorities. It was revealed in an investigation that several tweets on Kashmir have been blocked since 2017.