{"id":2716,"date":"2021-05-13T11:29:26","date_gmt":"2021-05-13T05:59:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/?p=2716"},"modified":"2021-05-13T11:29:26","modified_gmt":"2021-05-13T05:59:26","slug":"the-era-of-mushrooming-online-news-platforms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/the-era-of-mushrooming-online-news-platforms\/","title":{"rendered":"The Era of Mushrooming Online \u2018News Platforms\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><em><strong><em>How the \u2018Online News\u2019 Platforms have become a tool of Dis-information<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p><strong>A stupid friend&nbsp;can&nbsp;harm&nbsp;you way more than smartest of enemy<\/strong><\/p><cite>Erol Ozan<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n<div style=\"background-color: #7bdcb5;\n                    color: black;\n                    padding: 5px;\n                    text-align: center;\n                    font-family: 'Roboto', sans-serif;\n                    text-decoration: underline;\n                    font-size: 2rem;\n                    font-weight: 400;\">\n            <h3><strong>Preface<\/strong> <\/h3>\n            <!-- <p>We have moved from Information Age to Disinformation Age!!<\/p> -->\n    <\/div>\n<br \/>\n<div style=\"padding: 10px;\n            opacity: 0.8;\n            font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Tahoma, sans-serif;\n            border:5px solid black;\n            text-align: center;\n            width:800px; margin:0 auto;\n            background-color: #EEEEEE;\">\n    <ul>\n        <li>\n            The pandemic has taken a toll on the whole country, disrupting the normal life. However, the fake news industry doesn\u2019t\n            seem to get affected at all even during these challenging times. Indeed, on the contrary, there seems to be a surge in\n            the info-war as we know it.\n        <\/li>\n        <br \/>\n        <li>\n            One such network has presented itself to us, which seemed too coordinated that it was surprising they have not been\n            exposed so far. On the face of it, a set of handles (till last count at least 20 Twitter handles) were trying to push an\n            anti-Pak\/ anti-China narrative by promoting news articles that suited their kind of narrative.\n        <\/li>\n        <br \/>\n        <li>\n            However, what these handles were trying to do was essentially promoting a particular \u2018news site\u2019. To this end, while\n            posting various articles from mainstream news platforms, they would also start pushing news from an obscure news site,\n            and in the melee of posts and news, no one might pay too close an attention on what content is being pushed deliberately\n            and by who.\n        <\/li>\n        <br \/>\n        <li>\n            This report tries to find the pattern how propaganda platforms are being pushed into mainstream in form of news-sites in\n            absence of any community standard or regulatory framework. The mushrooming of such bogus news sites has given an\n            altogether new dimension to info-war.\n        <\/li>\n    <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<br \/>\n\n\n<div style=\"background-color: #7bdcb5;\n                        color: black;\n                        padding: 5px;\n                        text-align: center;\n                        font-family: 'Roboto', sans-serif;\n                        text-decoration: underline;\n                        font-size: 2rem;\n                        font-weight: 400;\">\n        <h3><strong>Introduction<\/strong> <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The information warfare has reached such high levels of sophistication that it is increasingly difficult to establish and expose such networks, despite seeing their modus operandi. However, that does not mean low-IQ\/ low-level fake news\/ propaganda has stopped coming.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a nutshell.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A set of handles (20 odd at time of reporting, increasingly getting suspended) are running a well-coordinated propaganda to push a particular kind of narrative that are anti-Pakistan and anti-China. To this end, while most of the news items they have been using are from main-stream media, they have also, on the side, been trying to mainstream a bogus news-site, which is peddling a RW agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"840\" src=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture1-1024x840.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2724\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture1-1024x840.png 1024w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture1-300x246.png 300w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture1-768x630.png 768w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture1.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<br \/>\n\n\n<div style=\"background-color:#8ed1fc ;color: black;\n                padding: 5px;\n                text-align: center;\n                font-family: 'Roboto', sans-serif;\n                text-decoration: underline;\n                font-size: 2rem;\n                font-weight: 400;\n                margin-top: 5px;\n                margin-bottom: 5px;\n    \">\n        <h3><strong>Chapter I<\/strong> <\/h3>\n        <h3><strong>The Website<\/strong><\/h3>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We observed that these set of handles are promoting news articles from a the <strong><em><strong><em>NewsComWorld<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;(<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/www.newscomworld.com\" target=\"_blank\"><u>www.newscomworld.com<\/u><\/a>), rather peculiar sounding name for a news-site. This <em>\u2018news platform\u2019 <\/em>follows the pattern of several such online news sites that have surfaced in recent past. It uses a network of fake handles\/ bots who amplify the articles posted on this site, and in the process make it popular.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The website has been mostly used for distorting news\/ or pushing misinformation. To save time and resources, instead of creating original content, it copies content from several major news platforms, and then recycles them as its own content, with a minor tweaking.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, by changing some facts here and there, it tends to change the entire narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><u><strong>Here is a sample:<\/strong><\/u><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The handles shared a news that <a href=\"https:\/\/newscomworld.com\/2021\/05\/09\/large-shipment-of-chinese-arms-seized-by-us-navy-in-arabian-sea-headed-for-houthi-terrorists-in-yemen\/\"><u>US Navy seized Chinese Arms in the Arabian Sea<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;that was headed towards Yemen. The news \u2018called out China\u2019 for promoting terrorism. However, the news was contrary to what the mainstream media had reported. Media houses like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/us-navy-seizes-weapons-arabian-sea-yemen\/\"><u>CBS news<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/the-us-navy-seized-an-arms-shipment-headed-to-yemen-2021-5?IR=T\"><u>Business Insider<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;stated that the package comprised of <em>\u201cChinese &amp; Russian built\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;weapons, but nowhere mentioned that it was shipped from China.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery aligncenter columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"893\" height=\"572\" src=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture2.png\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"2725\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture2.png\" data-link=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/?attachment_id=2725\" class=\"wp-image-2725\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture2.png 893w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture2-300x192.png 300w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture2-768x492.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 893px) 100vw, 893px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"445\" height=\"553\" src=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/fake.png\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"2765\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/fake.png\" data-link=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/?attachment_id=2765\" class=\"wp-image-2765\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/fake.png 445w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/fake-241x300.png 241w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 445px) 100vw, 445px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n<br \/>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><u><strong>Chinese Cyber-attack<\/strong><\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the international media merely mentioned the cyber-attack on the US Pipeline, the <em>NewsComWorld<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0mentions Chinese cyber-attack leading to closure of the US pipeline, which is not mentioned by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/cyberattack-forces-closure-of-largest-u-s-refined-fuel-pipeline-11620479737\"><u>Wall street journal<\/u><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/technology-51564905\"><u>BBC<\/u><\/a>\u00a0or any other major news channels.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery aligncenter columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"681\" height=\"795\" src=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture4.png\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"2727\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture4.png\" data-link=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/?attachment_id=2727\" class=\"wp-image-2727\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture4.png 681w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture4-257x300.png 257w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 681px) 100vw, 681px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"616\" height=\"774\" src=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/propaganda-2.png\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"2766\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/propaganda-2.png\" data-link=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/?attachment_id=2766\" class=\"wp-image-2766\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/propaganda-2.png 616w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/propaganda-2-239x300.png 239w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 616px) 100vw, 616px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n<br \/>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><u><strong>NewscomWorld.com<\/strong><\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As expected, the website is registered anonymously, taking GoDaddy\u2019s hosting services. The site however is not an old one, registered barely a year ago on 2020-05-09.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"538\" src=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture6-1024x538.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2729\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture6-1024x538.png 1024w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture6-300x158.png 300w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture6-768x403.png 768w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture6.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, Twitter handle of the news-site seems to be in existence long before the actual platform &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NewsComWorld\"><u>@NewsComWorld<\/u><\/a>\u00a0\u2013 which was created in June, 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It turns out that prior to May 2019, the Twitter handle belonged to another website called <a href=\"http:\/\/news-communique.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><u><strong>news-communique.com<\/strong><\/u><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(Domain Registered on 2019-06-17). The Twitter handle of this particular site @communique_news\u00a0was created in June 2019, the same month NewsWorldCom Twitter.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A bit confusing? Here is what happened:<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A \u2018new\u2019 news-site is created in May 2019 \u2013 called <a href=\"http:\/\/news-communique.com\/\"><u>News-Communique<\/u><\/a>, and its Twitter handle is created in June 2019 as @Communique_news. However, by next year another news-site is created &#8211; NewsComWorld. The change could have happened as if the admin lost the login credentials.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Likewise, the same pattern was seen on its Facebook page which started on September 6, 2019 as News-Communique.com and changes to NewscomWorld in July 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"736\" height=\"689\" src=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture7.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2730\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture7.png 736w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture7-300x281.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 736px) 100vw, 736px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<br \/>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">News-Communique<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A minor glitch (or one could say an overlooked mistake) gave more clarity that News-Communique website, which is still active but has not published any news piece after mid-2020, now shows NewscomWorld logo on its website.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"668\" src=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture8-1024x668.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2731\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture8-1024x668.png 1024w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture8-300x196.png 300w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture8-768x501.png 768w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture8.png 1076w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The website of the News-Communique still exists in today\u2019s date but in a dormant state. But its news articles are still shared on Twitter even in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"373\" src=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture9-1024x373.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2732\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture9-1024x373.png 1024w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture9-300x109.png 300w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture9-768x280.png 768w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture9.png 1379w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Fun Fact:<\/strong>\u00a0Imagine the kind of guys who are trying to carry out info-war, but lacks even basic imaginary power \u2013 to give such weird names to a \u2018news-site\u2019, not once but twice!<\/p>\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">First Tweet of the \u2018News-site\u2019<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"598\" height=\"120\" src=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture10.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2733\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture10.png 598w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture10-300x60.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 598px) 100vw, 598px\" \/><figcaption><strong>(The handle is showing in its new avatar)<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<br \/>\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Who are the News-Makers?<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the earliest tweets launching the NewsComWorld is found from June 2019. However, at this time the Website was not even in existence (which was registered in May 2020).<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is seen because of Twitter\u2019s name change policy, which shows only the latest name of the handle. <em>(for details on the policy and its abuse, pls refer to <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/help.twitter.com\/en\/managing-your-account\/change-twitter-handle\"><em><u><em>Twitter\u2019s name change policy<\/em><\/u><\/em><\/a><em>)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Which means the previous avatar of this news site (Communique-News) was launched in June 2019, and later renamed the Twitter as new website.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"598\" height=\"499\" src=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture11.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2734\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture11.png 598w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture11-300x250.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 598px) 100vw, 598px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This also brings us to the person who could possibly be behind this website. The handle launching this news-site is shown as <em>@Sanjeev40330782<\/em>. However, this handle has also changed its <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IndiaKaPrahari\"><em><u><em>@IndiaKaPrahari<\/em><\/u><\/em><\/a>, which is likely to be the key person behind this propaganda site.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"714\" src=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture12-1024x714.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2735\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture12-1024x714.png 1024w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture12-300x209.png 300w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture12-768x535.png 768w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture12.png 1053w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<br \/>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">In a Nutshell<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both handles have changed their name: the news site \u2013 from <em>@communiqe_news<\/em>\u00a0to <em>@NewsComWorld<\/em>; and the handler &#8211; from <em>@SanjeevM<\/em>\u00a0to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IndiaKaPrahari\"><em><u><em>@IndiaKaPrahari<\/em><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0\u2013 now the Tweet below might make sense!<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"598\" height=\"262\" src=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture13.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2736\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture13.png 598w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture13-300x131.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 598px) 100vw, 598px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<br \/>\n\n\n<div style=\"background-color:#8ed1fc ;color: black;\n                padding: 5px;\n                text-align: center;\n                font-family: 'Roboto', sans-serif;\n                text-decoration: underline;\n                font-size: 2rem;\n                font-weight: 400;\n                margin-top: 5px;\n                margin-bottom: 5px;\n    \">\n        <h3><strong>Chapter II<\/strong> <\/h3>\n        <h3><strong>The Network<\/strong><\/h3>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As has been noted in the beginning, such obscure sites have learned a new method to gain popularity as well as credibility by using Twitter. These sites create a set of fake handles, who in turn start posting their content.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, to make it more legitimate, they also tend to publish other content, particularly news from major credible media platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Here are the set of handles:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"508\" src=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture14-1024x508.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2737\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture14-1024x508.png 1024w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture14-300x149.png 300w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture14-768x381.png 768w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture14.png 1380w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is likely that the list of handles was much longer, and some of the handles would have got suspended, as while working on the report we witnessed one of the handles getting suspended.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The only thing that makes them different from bots is that they have made some effort to rename their handle and user id, which means some manual intervention was required. (<em>Twitter assigned user ids generally are alpha-numeric, and one of the signs that tells that the end-user does not give much attention to handle\u2019s identity, whereas a genuine user likes to own the handle in a personalized manner, even if they are anonymous<\/em>.)<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It seems that these handles have been selected to represent a wide spectrum of Indian society so that the credibility of the news platform could be enhanced.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"417\" src=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture15-1024x417.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2738\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture15-1024x417.png 1024w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture15-300x122.png 300w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture15-768x312.png 768w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture15.png 1379w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These accounts seem to have been created for this purpose alone as most of these handles seem to have been created between December 2020-January 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"466\" src=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture16-1024x466.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2739\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture16-1024x466.png 1024w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture16-300x136.png 300w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture16-768x349.png 768w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture16.png 1302w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<br \/>\n\n\n<div style=\"background-color:#8ed1fc ;color: black;\n                padding: 5px;\n                text-align: center;\n                font-family: 'Roboto', sans-serif;\n                text-decoration: underline;\n                font-size: 2rem;\n                font-weight: 400;\n                margin-top: 5px;\n                margin-bottom: 5px;\n    \">\n        <h3><strong>Chapter III<\/strong> <\/h3>\n        <h3><strong>The Pattern<\/strong><\/h3>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the network was quite elaborate, it was no-brainer to \u2018decode\u2019 the pattern of this network, which could be done by most basic search of content for similarities. At one level the handles do seem like a bot \u2013 their pattern being so identical! All of them followed the same blueprint devised for them for posting the same tweets.<\/p>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The Following\/ Followers Pattern<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As noted, most of the handles were recently created, and do not have any significant number of followers, many not even in double digits. Following list of these accounts is also very similar, we found a list of accounts common in the following list of the troll group.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"452\" src=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture17-1024x452.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2740\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture17-1024x452.png 1024w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture17-300x132.png 300w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture17-768x339.png 768w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture17-1536x678.png 1536w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture17-1568x692.png 1568w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture17.png 1726w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<br \/>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Tweet Timeline:<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The timeline of these tweets matches perfectly, as it can be seen from the tweet timeline plot. The pattern of tweets is exactly same for each account.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"514\" src=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture18-1024x514.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2741\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture18-1024x514.png 1024w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture18-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture18-768x385.png 768w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture18.png 1302w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The time-difference between the tweets of these accounts is merely between half an hour-to an hour, which means either handles are run by one person, or they get their instructions and start posting simultaneously. The peak in the posts is also around same time, (peak comes around mid-day IST), with only difference that certain accounts are more active than the others on some days.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Below are two graphs of two different days \u2013 May 4, 2021 (Tuesday) and May 6, 2021 (Thursday).<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"514\" src=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture19-1024x514.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2742\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture19-1024x514.png 1024w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture19-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture19-768x385.png 768w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture19.png 1302w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"514\" src=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture20-1024x514.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2743\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture20-1024x514.png 1024w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture20-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture20-768x385.png 768w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture20.png 1302w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The peak in the number of tweets can be seen from Monday and rises by the mid-week. And it suddenly falls down on the weekend especially on Sunday. The pattern implies that these accounts rigorously work on week days as a part of their routine office work with weekends as offs. It has been illustrated through the below attached graph of their tweet timeline of the past two weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"514\" src=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture21-1024x514.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2744\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture21-1024x514.png 1024w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture21-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture21-768x385.png 768w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture21.png 1302w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<br \/>\n\n\n<div style=\"background-color:#8ed1fc ;color: black;\n                padding: 5px;\n                text-align: center;\n                font-family: 'Roboto', sans-serif;\n                text-decoration: underline;\n                font-size: 2rem;\n                font-weight: 400;\n                margin-top: 5px;\n                margin-bottom: 5px;\n    \">\n        <h3><strong>Chapter IV<\/strong> <\/h3>\n        <h3><strong>Narratives<\/strong><\/h3>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The word cloud of their content is also confirming what is most obvious from the first look \u2013 that these handles have been promoting similar kind of stories. \u00a0But for minor differences, it would have been impossible to tell whether these are bots or human. Words like China, Balochistan, Pakistan, Naya Pakistan, Uyghur and Kashmir are prominent occurrences in this story.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture22-1024x683.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2746\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture22-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture22-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture22-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture22.png 1379w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the face of it, the narrative falls into three different categories: Pro-India\/Kashmir; Anti-Pakistan (Pro-Baloch); and Anti-China.<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong><u><strong>Anti-Pakistan <\/strong><\/u><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A set of handles have posted en-mass news about depleting water level at Mangla Dam. Again, this is not a fake news, as it has been sourced from a major Pakistani news portal itself, but the pattern makes it abundantly clear that the purpose of this exercise is to push a negative news about Pakistan. Most of the accounts shared the same news using the same link only. <em>(incidentally, the news has only been covered by Samaa TV Pakistan, so its veracity we are no way able to verify either way).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"642\" src=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture23-1024x642.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2747\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture23-1024x642.png 1024w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture23-300x188.png 300w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture23-768x481.png 768w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture23.png 1321w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Link: https:\/\/www.samaa.tv\/news\/2021\/05\/pakistan-is-running-out-of-water-irsa\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong><u><strong>Anti-China<\/strong><\/u><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is a cold war situation going in between Australia and China, or at-least this is what the handles want us to believe. (The relations between China and Australia are no way anywhere normal, but to call it Cold War is stretching it way too far!) The link of a news by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smh.com.au\/world\/asia\/china-suspends-china-australia-strategic-economic-dialogue-indefinitely-20210506-p57phc.html\"><u>The Sydney Morning Herald <\/u><\/a>is being shared by these handles using exactly the same narrative, and at the same time as if they were actual bots.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c\u2018<strong><em><strong><em>Cold war mindset\u2019:<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Beijing suspends key government dialogue with Australia\u201d followed by link of The Sydney Morning Herald.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"690\" src=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture24-1024x690.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2748\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture24-1024x690.png 1024w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture24-300x202.png 300w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture24-768x517.png 768w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture24.png 1192w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The pattern is that wherever this troll-farm finds anti-China news, they pounce upon it and amplify it. The sophistication of operation is seen only at one place \u2013 that they have been using mostly mainstream news media to push the narrative, except promoting the particular news site.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"689\" src=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture25-1024x689.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2749\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture25-1024x689.png 1024w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture25-300x202.png 300w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture25-768x517.png 768w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture25.png 1205w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<br \/>\n\n\n<div style=\"background-color:#8ed1fc ;color: black;\n                padding: 5px;\n                text-align: center;\n                font-family: 'Roboto', sans-serif;\n                text-decoration: underline;\n                font-size: 2rem;\n                font-weight: 400;\n                margin-top: 5px;\n                margin-bottom: 5px;\n    \">\n        <h3><strong>Chapter V<\/strong> <\/h3>\n        <h3><strong>Fake News: Rare, but it&#8217;s there<\/strong><\/h3>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other than amplifying the \u2018tweaked\u2019 articles from <em>NewsComWorld<\/em>, as a rule, these handles have been only pushing their narrative via tweeting\/ promoting articles published in mainstream media, and hence at this level they are not wrong or spreading fake news as such, but it is the behavior pattern that makes them an obvious propaganda network.<\/p>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">However, there are some exceptions<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While most of the handles\u2019 post in identical manner and identical pots, at times few of the handles in between also push some fake news individually, may be just to draw home the point that they are not Bots. For example, one of the handles <em>(@Sumira_Bashir<\/em>) used a 2016 Deccan Herald picture to push a <em>\u2018New-Age Kashmir\u2019<\/em>\u00a0narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"814\" height=\"444\" src=\"http:\/\/199.188.206.157\/~disinfohgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/propaganda-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2767\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/propaganda-3.png 814w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/propaganda-3-300x164.png 300w, https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/propaganda-3-768x419.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 814px) 100vw, 814px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Fig 1<\/strong>:<em> <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sumira_bashir\/status\/1367497702909575171\" target=\"_blank\"><u>https:\/\/twitter.com\/sumira_bashir\/status\/1367497702909575171<\/u><\/a><\/em><br \/><strong>Fig 2<\/strong>:\u00a0<em>(<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.deccanherald.com\/content\/569277\/not-all-youths-kashmir-want.html\" target=\"_blank\"><u>https:\/\/www.deccanherald.com\/content\/569277\/not-all-youths-kashmir-want.html<\/u><\/a>)<\/em><br \/><em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/OmerSha57677150\/status\/1389278608078917633\" target=\"_blank\"><u>https:\/\/twitter.com\/OmerSha57677150\/status\/1389278608078917633<\/u><\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another similar Tweet was by another handle (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SeharMajid5\/status\/1369704911806468099\"><em><u><em>@Seharmajid5<\/em><\/u><\/em><\/a><em>)<\/em>\u00a0on the death of Mutahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM)\u00a0worker Aftab Ahmed under the custody of Pakistani Army in 2016. Aftab was kept under custody for 90 days and was brutally tortured by the Pakistani rangers. While in itself the information was not in-correct, it nonetheless \u2018recycled\u2019 an old news to create a negative<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">sentiment by&nbsp;bringing up the incident to the fore after almost six years. The tweet might not be available as the account may have been suspended.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>(Note*-The graphic of the tweet has not been used here as it contained some pictures that are disturbing or sensitive in nature)<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<br \/>\n\n\n<div style=\"background-color: #7bdcb5;\n                        color: black;\n                        padding: 5px;\n                        text-align: center;\n                        font-family: 'Roboto', sans-serif;\n                        text-decoration: underline;\n                        font-size: 2rem;\n                        font-weight: 400;\">\n        <h3><strong>Conclusion<\/strong> <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is an age-old saying, that the smartest of your enemies can\u2019t harm you as much as a stupid friend. With such \u2018Praharis\u2019, ostensibly working to safeguard India\u2019s interest, we may not need enemies anyways.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If one were to examine the actual impact the network of these fake handles, it would be obvious that they had almost negligible impact in terms of their reach. Almost none of their posts got any traction whatsoever, and hence they were virtually barking in vacuum. Nonetheless, it doesn\u2019t reduce the fact that these are part of a well-planned propaganda network. And by no means these are the only propaganda network.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the info-war against India is at all-time high, and is way more sophisticated, these fake news industries are not an answer to that. A meaningful and morally right approach is to fight against such propaganda by exposing them, not be part of it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How the \u2018Online News\u2019 Platforms have become a tool of Dis-information A stupid friend&nbsp;can&nbsp;harm&nbsp;you way more than smartest of enemy Erol Ozan Preface The pandemic has taken a toll on the whole country, disrupting the normal life. However, the fake news industry doesn\u2019t seem to get affected at all even during these challenging times. Indeed, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2762,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"twitterCardType":"","cardImageID":0,"cardImage":"","cardTitle":"","cardDesc":"","cardImageAlt":"","cardPlayer":"","cardPlayerWidth":0,"cardPlayerHeight":0,"cardPlayerStream":"","cardPlayerCodec":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-info-war"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2716\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedisinfolab.org\/wps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}