Report Warns of AI-Driven Disinformation Targeting Muslims, Opposition in Assam Elections

Report Warns of AI-Driven Disinformation Targeting Muslims, Opposition in Assam Elections
——————————–
A new report has raised alarm over the use of AI-powered disinformation and electoral manipulation targeting the Muslim ‘Miya’ community and opposition leaders ahead of the 2026 Assam Assembly elections, Maktoob Media reported.

The study, published on April 7 by Diaspora in Action for Human Rights and Democracy, highlights a coordinated campaign combining AI-generated content, voter roll exclusions, and state-backed narratives. It found that 432 AI-generated posts across Facebook and Instagram reached 45.4 million views, facilitated by a six-tier content network with a combined reach of 407.4 million followers.

The report identified 31 deepfake posts targeting Congress Chief Minister candidate Gaurav Gogoi, falsely portraying him as a Pakistani agent and Muslim sympathizer. Some of this content was circulated through official Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accounts, including a verified Cabinet Minister’s handle, while six AI-generated videos targeted his wife, a private citizen.

One particularly inflammatory AI video depicted the CM shooting Muslims; although later removed, the report claims that content was reportedly altered to avoid legal scrutiny.

In addition, the report documented four exclusionary operations against Assam’s Muslim communities: dehumanization, electoral exclusion, physical removal, and cultural erasure.

The Election Commission of India reportedly took no enforcement action against 119 documented violations of the Model Code of Conduct, including 84 classified as high severity and 15 committed by the sitting Chief Minister. Social media platforms also failed to act on AI-generated posts; Meta’s AI-labeling system reportedly flagged none of 172 flagged posts during the election period.