Misinformation, disinformation in India mainly targets Muslims, report indicates

A recent Boom Live’s analysis has revealed that the Muslim Community has been the primary target of misinformation and disinformation. Echoing the results from the previous reports, the analysis has also revealed that Muslims have been a target of fake news since 2021.

Report:

The Boom analysis which has been published in three languages stated that out of 1,190 published fact-checks, 183 fact-checks targeted Muslims.

Among statements aimed at Muslims, 84.2% were shared with the intention of promoting ‘demographic concern,’ which is broadly defined as fostering enmity toward specific demographic groups. This trend reflects the rising prominence of Islamophobic language in Indian politics, as well as greater antagonism toward Muslims in the country.

Among the 70 fact-checks on political party assertions, 33 were directed at the BJP, followed by 21 at the Indian National Congress and 8 at the Aam Aadmi Party. Furthermore, the Israel-Palestine war received over 100 fact-checks, making it the year’s most fact-checked topic.

In 2023, 28.2%, or 305 fact-checks were related to Indian politics, mostly affected by the state Assembly elections held during the year in states such as Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Telangana, Mizoram, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh.

Misinformation about international events ranked second, accounting for more than 17% of all fact-checks. Nearly half of them were related to the Israel-Palestine war, followed by the France riots in June and July, which accounted for 8.4%, and the Russia-Ukraine war, which accounted for 4.2%. Communal false claims followed closely behind, accounting for 17% of all fact-checks. Within this category, 16.3% actively promoted Islamophobia.

BOOM fact-checked 211 stories about religious groups. Nearly 87% targeted Muslims, 11% Hindus, and 0.9% Christians.

According to BOOM’s exclusive investigation of media misreporting in 2023, 62 of the 77 fact-checks were published by mainstream media through their own bylines, with the remaining 15 being misreported by wire agencies and disseminated by newsrooms as part of their syndicated feed.