Geo News exposed India’s disinformation campaign against Pakistan in 2017
December 11, 2020
LONDON: India's massive disinformation campaign against Pakistan through the use of different NGOs, fake protests, and websites was first exposed by Geo News three years ago.
In a 12-minute report aired on September 19, 2017, Geo News — via Shahzeb Khanzada's show — revealed how the Indian government was paying for staged protests against Pakistan using hired students and how a full-fledged operation was being carried out against Pakistan.
The report stated how an anti-Pakistan blitz was being run on billboards, buses, rickshaws, websites, and how an army of paid volunteers was assigned to run this campaign to malign the country at a time when the 36th session of the UNHRC was underway.
Read more: Islamabad asks UN to investigate fake NGOs created by India to malign Pakistan
The investigation had established that the Indian mission in Geneva was controlling anti-Pakistan activities and the local Swiss administration had been paid heavy amounts in commercial deals for these campaigns across its public transport, road networks, and private business venues.
A similar investigative report has recently been launched by a European Union (EU) non-profit group (EU DisinfoLab) which found that India's Srivastava group had been involved in a 15-year-old operation targeting international institutions and serving Indian interests. Its main objective, however, was to target and defame Pakistan through fake news and fake campaigns.
"It is the largest network we have exposed," said Alexandre Alaphilippe, executive director of EU DisinfoLab, which undertook the investigation.
The network was designed primarily to "discredit Pakistan internationally" and influence decision-making at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and European Parliament, the EU DisinfoLab said.
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