New Delhi: As media attention about the upcoming G20 Summit is striding towards crescendo, the misinformation campaign has also accelerated into overdrive. Social media warriors from both China and Pakistan are spinning a web of lies to discredit India’s hosting of the world’s mega event in its capital.
There has been a massive buzz on social media about the G20 summit, but according to the fact-checking website www.dfrac.org, several users are running anti-India campaigns using the hashtag of G20.
Accounts being operated by Chinese and Pakistanis are linked to propaganda networks that are then connected to Communist Party of China and Pakistan’s military wings.
Chinese Twitter Army’s Propaganda on G20
Many Chinese accounts have posted on Facebook regarding the G 20 summit and Kashmir. One user named Eng Hui James Tan claimed on Facebook: “Both countries are disappointed over India ‘s Presidency of G20 summit this year. China has stated that it will not participate, and Modi’s reaction seems to be threatening”.
Several Chinese accounts on Twitter and Facebook have shared the tweet of Pakistan’s propaganda arm — Pakistan Strategic Forum (@ForumStrategic) — on G20. These tweets stated: “The countries refused to participate in the G20 meeting in India’s illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).”
Later, several Chinese accounts shared the screenshot of @ForumStrategic’s tweet on various platforms including Twitter and Facebook.
A Chinese user named @hexieshehui1 retweeted a tweet from @ForumStrategic and wrote: “China’s non-participation in the G20 meeting in Kashmir is due to the regional dispute with India on one side and support for Pakistan on the other. Other Islamic countries have expressed support for Pakistan on religious grounds.”
Another Chinese account named Ou Mei Zhen (Uncle Shun) posted on Facebook with the caption: “Modi is ashamed, and he is also “threatening” China!”. The account also shared a tweet by Pakistan Strategic Forum (@ForumStrategic) on G20.
Subsequently, several Chinese accounts started posting screenshots of the Pakistan Strategic Forum on G20.
Propaganda by Pakistani users over G20
Apart from the G-20, numerous Pakistani users continue to run anti-India propaganda regarding Kashmir in the Chinese language. Here is the analysis of three Pakistani users.
ImranGhazali (@ImranGhazaliPK):
Imran Ghazali (@ImranGhazaliPK) is a Twitter account with 123k followers. The account claims in its bio that he is the Digital Head of the former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf. He also works for several other organisations, which are mentioned in his bio. Many of these accounts have been withheld in India i.e. restricted in India. Accounts such as @GovtofPakistan and @alifailaanpk.are also included.
Imran Ghazali has a considerable number of followers, more than 123,000. Majority of these followers are from Pakistan. Among the admirers and followers of Imran Ghazali, the highest number of users are supporters of the former Pakistani PM Imran Khan.
A video was posted from this Twitter account with a caption written in Chinese. The video allegedly depicts harassment in Kashmir. This video was captioned: “The suffering of the people of Kashmir began on 27 October 1947 when Indian troops landed at IIOJK after New Delhi suspended the special status of IIOJK on 5 August by revoking Article 370 and Article 35-A of the Indian Constitution and their number increased”.
Imran Ghazali’s tweet on Kashmir in the Chinese language has been liked by the official account of former Minister of State for Climate Change, Zartaj Gul Wazir, Government of Pakistan. Apart from this, several Pakistani accounts have also liked the post.
Moreover, the video posted by Imran Ghazali was shared by other Pakistani users as well with captions in the Chinese language.
MarsPlanet (@MarsPlanet16):
There is a Twitter account named “MarsPlanet” (@MarsPlanet16) with 4148 followers, and it has posted 49,400 tweets so far. The account’s cover photo features an image of the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan. This account usually tweets in Urdu and Chinese languages. Notably majority of the tweets are in Chinese language for running propaganda over Kashmir.
Mars Planet has posted a controversial map. In this map, he has depicted Pakistan as extending up to Agra in Uttar Pradesh. Not only this, Kashmir, Gujarat, some parts of Himachal, some parts of Rajasthan, the capital New Delhi, and Haryana have been displayed as part of Pakistan on this map. In this map, Punjab is portrayed as Khalistan.
Mars planet shared this map and wrote: “InshaAllah Kashmir is about to escape from Indian brutality. China has restored India’s withdrawal from Kashmir and restoration of Article 370 to previous positions. If not, we will occupy the next Kashmir. Now the Indian government is on edge but next is Kashmir freedom”.
In another tweet in Chinese, Mars Planet wrote that the Muslims of Kashmir are looking towards China for freedom and China has become quite significant for the Kashmiri people.
“China must help Kashmiri people while otherwise Indian atrocities are killing, beating, and robbing Kashmiri people every day. Now, Kashmiris are looking to China to free them from India’s brutal rule” mentioned in another tweet.
Donnee China (@donneechina):
“There is a user on Twitter named Donee China (@donneechina). This user consistently tweets in the Chinese language about Kashmir. While sharing a poster, Donnee China wrote: “On August 5th, we commemorate Kashmir Day, a day of great significance. On this day, we express our solidarity with our Kashmiri brothers and sisters facing enormous challenges. The Kashmir issue transcends national borders; it is an issue that touches the heart of humanity and has profound significance in the Islamic world”.
In a tweet, Donne China wrote: “Kashmiris to celebrate Jammu Martyrs’ Day on 6th November Kashmiris will celebrate Jammu Martyrs’ Day on 6th November. The day is held annually to commemorate the massacre of thousands of Jammu Muslims killed by Dogra forces in November 1947”.
Donee China’s entire Timeline is flooded with tweets over Pakistan and Kashmir. He has tweeted specifically more than 7 times about Kashmir in the Chinese language. In these tweets, he has largely run propaganda on Kashmir.
(IANS)
