By Bharat Nayak and Saurabh Sharma
Lucknow/Ranchi: Remember the airstrike in Pakistan’s Balakot by the Indian armed forces in response to the Pulwama attack in 2019 and the WhatsApp narratives that permeated nearly every Indian household through group chats? A similar phenomenon is occurring in the country again.
However, two significant shifts are evident this time around. Firstly, the conflict doesn’t directly involve India, and second, the narratives are not exclusively shaped by the active members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to bolster its support base.
During the Balakot strike, Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including Union home minister Amit Shah, had said that only Prime Minister Narendra Modi could safeguard the country’s borders. Meanwhile, tailored WhatsApp forwards also conveyed that only Modi could safeguard the country from our rogue and maniacal next-door neighbours.
This time, the WhatsApp forwards revolve around the Israel-Hamas conflict, which is unfolding thousands of kilometres away from our homeland.
The war is being exploited by hardliners to cast the Muslim community in a negative light and sow communal discord. Surprisingly, many of these WhatsApp forwards, which have gone viral in the small towns and villages, have been formulated by individuals who have no direct association with the ruling party at the Union government.
This reporter analysed more than 60 viral narratives spreading misinformation about the intentions of minorities, particularly aiming to stoke fear of Muslims among the Hindu community. This is glaringly evident in these messages, which have mostly gone viral in the Hindi belt, where the saffron party has a vocal support base.
Fake news
False narratives using old speeches, images, and videos are being propagated to say that such acts would occur if the Muslim population in India were to increase. This is happening on platforms such as X and WhatsApp. The latter is purportedly encrypted, and therefore, it is nearly impossible to trace the content in terms of its origin.The viral content on WhatsApp also emphasises perceived similarities between the Hindu and Jewish communities, advocating for Indian support for Israel.
Research indicates that such WhatsApp messages have been forwarded multiple times within groups of hundreds of members.
For instance, a video is circulating with a Hindi caption, translated into English, saying, “This is called barbarity, what the terrorists of Hamas are doing. Cruel terrorists of Hamas are killing Israeli soldiers by tying them in chains and burning them alive. It is very important to eliminate Hamas terrorists. Let us all come together and support Israel.”
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here .
