Fake news, a cheap and effective tool for global game of influence
Deep State in a few countries have turned to Fake News, as the most effective tool for Global influence.
In India, nearly on daily basis there are one or two fake news against PM Modi, against policies of Govt of India in Jammu & Kashmir, etc etc. Fake news about attacks on Muslims in India, destruction of churches etc are nearly on daily basis.
Such fake news to gain influence in the South Asian region have even travelled to the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Bangladesh has been a special target.
Fake news against Russia in the ongoing Ukraine conflict has been going on for long.
In a tit for tat, the Biden administration woke up one morning in 2022 to a long article in the local press about the U.S. running chemical and biological labs in Ukraine, a claim that Washington calls an outright lie. Americans claim that it was Started by Russia, and vigorously amplified by China’s vast overseas propaganda apparatus.
These are examples of clearly effective disinformation, and they still reverberates online, demonstrating sprawling effort to reshape global perceptions.
The campaign, costing many billions per year, is becoming ever more sophisticated thanks to artificial intelligence. Such operations have caught the attention of intelligence analysts and policymakers in New Delhi, who vow to combat any actions that could influence election or undermine national interests.
The key tactic: networks of websites purporting to be legitimate news outlets, delivering anti Hindu / anti India / anti Modi coverage that often parallels official statements and positions from China and some of the Western countries.
On tracking networks of dozens of sites that posed as news organizations it was seen that these sites mimicked well known entities like The New York Times, Indian newspapers etc using a similar font and design in what she called an attempt at legitimacy. The site carried strongly anti India messages.
On further research on the site’s reporters no information is found. Names don’t belong to any known journalists and photos bore telltale signs of being created with AI.
It is clear that such manipulation of the media is ultimately a manipulation of readers and the audience, and this is damaging to democracy and society.
USA has started accusing China directly on such misinformation against USA. However Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the U.S., said allegations that China uses news websites and social media to spread pro-Beijing information and influence public opinion in the U.S. “are full of malicious speculations against China, which China firmly opposes.”
