- Concerns raised about India’s use of troll farms for political and ideological manipulation; accusations of fostering Islamophobia through orchestrated online campaigns.
- Despite calls for action, India’s troll farm activities persist, affecting digital discourse and sowing disinformation
In 2022, a chorus of voices, comprising European parliamentarians, IT experts, and officials, raised a resounding alarm regarding India’s persistent employment of troll farms across the digital landscape. Despite the clarion call for action, these concerns have yet to be addressed, leaving the repeated attempt of pervasive influence on the public psyche palpably intact.
Critics who have dared to voice their disquiet over the choreographed digital warfare assert that the troll farms in India remain unwitting conduits of political and ideological manipulation. For the uninitiated, the term “troll farm” denotes a collective assembly of online provocateurs, whether commissioned by certain factions or autonomous in their pursuits, aimed at the subversion of political opinions and decision-making through cunningly crafted narratives.
Might I offer a proposition that there exists the possibility of an alternative motive behind the orchestration of these troll farms, that entails fostering a pervasive environment of online Islamophobia? However, we shall re-examine this matter in the latter segment of this article.
While India stands under the spotlight for its utilization of these disinformation dynamos, it’s noteworthy that a spectrum of nations including China, Brazil, Russia, and the USA have been ensnared in similar accusations of cultivating troll farms. Operating predominantly on the Meta triad of platforms: Facebook, Instagram, and X, these automated agents inundate the digital discourse with an onslaught of hashtags and propaganda.
Last year witnessed the European Union (EU) delivering a thought-provoking symposium titled ‘Taking Stock of India’s Information Manipulation Ecosystem’. Convened by the esteemed think-tank Stichting The London Story, this session saw luminaries such as European Parliament Members, delegates from the European Commission, and experts from the UK’s Home Office in attendance, all vested in fostering deeper collaboration with India.
Amidst the exchange, one of the panellists, Saikat Chatterjee—Chief Data Analyst of The London Story, enlightened the virtual gathering with insights into the ongoing scrutiny of India’s information manipulation ecosystem. This nefarious network, fanning the flames of disinformation and animosity, is viewed through the lens of its potential ripple effect on democratic bastions around the globe.
The discourse also proffered an astute observation: digitization in India often exacts a toll on unsuspecting neophyte internet users. “The implications of this conundrum are profound,” mused Gregorová, casting a discerning eye upon the ramifications of digitization within the precincts of the world’s populous democracy.
The venerated Meta whistleblower Sophie Zhang illuminated the gathering with her vantage point. She said:
“India is embroiled in an escalating troll farm arms race.”
Zhang’s sentiment was underscored by a lament over the lack of substantive action by either governmental bodies or the social media behemoths themselves, including her former employer Meta and Elon Musk’s X (formally known as Twitter.
Why Hasn’t Any Action Been Taken to Address This Issue?
Allegations have swirled that the government may possess its own form of digital cavalry, colloquially referred to as “IT cells.” This juxtaposition making the task of sifting truth from artful deception an ever more intricate endeavour.
The inertia surrounding the issue of troll farms can be attributed to an interplay of factors that have converged to stall effective action. India’s political interests, the BJP’s aspiration to maintain its hold on power and agenda to propagate Islamophobia has fostered an environment where concrete measures remain intentionally elusive in order to serve the ruling BJP party’s interest.
These multifaceted challenges underscore the imperative for innovative and collaborative efforts at the global level, as nations grapple with the task of navigating a rapidly evolving digital ecosystem.
The Troubling Impact of India’s Troll Farms
The pernicious influence of troll farms continues to cast a long shadow over the digital landscape in India, perpetuating a range of deleterious consequences.
Social media platforms have supplanted conventional news sources, emerging as the primary information reservoir for the Gen Z and Millennial demographics. However, a significant portion of both established mainstream and burgeoning social media news outlets in India are purportedly under the ownership of the BJP. Moreover, a notable proliferation of troll accounts has surfaced, engaging in virtual discourse to counter those critical of the BJP’s agenda across the digital realm.
As these entities persist in seeding disinformation and discord, India grapples with fractured information being marred and Muslims in India being maligned and left more vulnerable. This erodes the fabric of informed discourse. Moreover, attempting to indoctrinate Indian and global audience.
India’s Troll Farms and Islamophobia
In addition to the aforementioned effects, it wouldn’t be an unfounded inference to suggest that India’s Hindutva and RSS movements persist in enlisting personnel for troll farms- ‘keyboard warriors’ assigned in the comments sections of Instagram and Twitter, fostering Islamophobia and anti-Muslim sentiments.
India’s troll farms function as pivotal constituents within an intricate framework that fosters widespread Islamophobia, propelled by an ardent aspiration to establish a profound global influence. This assertion could be substantiated by a collection of insightful statistics. The following study illustrates how from 2019-2022, the largest number of anti-Muslim tweets was in India, 871,379 in total. Interestingly, the second largest being USA, with 289248.
This supposition further gains credence from numerous occurrences wherein Muslim social media accounts, striving to illuminate the hardships experienced by Indian Muslims, have encountered endeavours towards closure. These attempts often involve reporting initiated by Hindutva extremists, and as previously mentioned, well-thought out barrages and trolling efforts in the comments sections:
‘Smile 2 Jannah’ YouTube Community Page
Similarly, our revert brother form Bulgaria, Bobby Risto, whose intellectual discourse can be accessed on YouTube under the banner ‘Bobby’s Perspective,’ appears to have unsettled certain quarters of the Hindutva extremists through his contemplative exploration of Hinduism. Brother Bobby’s platform faced a wave of concerted reporting, seemingly aimed at silencing his voice. Nonetheless, his channel has experienced a resurgence, emerging from the brink of obscurity.
YouTube Shorts: Bobby’s perspective
It is evident that Muslims steadfastly stand resilient in the face of these challenges and remain undeterred by such circumstances, as Islam continues to assert its position as the most rapidly expanding faith, Alhumdulillah. This resilience is impervious to the efforts of any extremist factions, be it the Hindutva or a certain group stealing land in the Middle East, seeking to misrepresent the teachings of Islam and cast aspersions on Muslims. Allahuma Barik!
For Allah says in the Qur’an:
“They plan and Allah plans. Surely Allah is the best of planners”
(8:30)
