Last month, Islamophobic claims targeting the Muslim community in India and false information about the unrest in Bangladesh were prominent topics of disinformation. These two categories accounted for 13.4% and 6% of the 119 fact-checks published in English, Hindi, and Bangla.
Of all the fact-checks published, 23.5% were related to “Indian politics”, making it the most common topic. This was followed by “International politics” (21%), which mainly focused on the United States' elections, and “Communal claims” (21%) that primarily targeted the Muslim community in India.
For the third consecutive month, the Muslim community was the main target of mis/disinformation, making up 20.2% of the false claims. This is an increase from June, where the community was targeted in 16% of such claims.
We published 12 fact-checks that involved a range of fabricated content, including 3 deepfake videos, 8 AI-generated images, and 1 voice clone. These fact-checks covered a variety of topics, from an AI-generated image showing Secret Service agents smiling during a shooting incident at a rally for former President Donald Trump, to a viral image falsely depicting cricketer Sachin Tendulkar’s arrest.
Mis/disinformation in 40.3% of the total fact-checks were peddled using old and unrelated videos.
Additionally, 43.6% of the total fact-checks involved claims that were shared by verified accounts on X. Among those who spread false claims on their X accounts were politicians like Bharatiya Janata Party’s Manoj Tiwari, and Indian National Congress’ Supriya Shrinate.
We also fact-checked news channels such as Sudarshan News and Times Now for instances of media misreporting.
Communal and Islamophobic claims
Misinformation in 21% of the total fact-checks were communal in nature directed at the Muslim community.
A video showing supporters of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in Arangadi, Kasaragod district, Kerala, celebrating the opening of a new party office was shared on social media with a false claim.
The supporters were seen wearing green jerseys with the name "Arangadi" on them. However, the video was falsely circulated on X with the caption, "Not in Islamabad, Not in Peshawar! In Kasargod, Kerala, Peaceful people are celebrating the opening of the Muslim League office by wearing Pakistan's cricket team jerseys.!!"
BOOM fact-checked this claim by speaking to IUML Kasaragod MLA N.A. Nellikkunnu, who confirmed that the green jerseys were not Pakistani cricket jerseys, but rather IUML Arangadi jerseys.
Similarly, viral social media posts had shared an advertisement from a Malayalam newspaper showing students and their National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) scores. The post falsely claimed that Muslim NEET aspirants were the main beneficiaries of a question paper leak scandal.
Several right-wing social media users also spread this claim, despite having no evidence to support it. One user on X shared the newspaper clipping with a caption suggesting that all the candidates in the ad were Muslim and were benefiting from the alleged leak, also accusing a Muslim school principal of being behind the conspiracy.
BOOM found the claim to be false. The ad was traced back to a coaching institute in Kerala, which confirmed that the ad had nothing to do with the question paper leak. The institute also clarified that the batch featured in the ad included students from various faiths, not just Muslims.
Over the past year, several posts with communal undertones about the increasing Muslim population have been circulating widely on social media. A recent viral claim stated that the “World Demographic Research Institute” predicted that Muslims will make up 84% of India's total population by 2041. It cites the "World Demographic Research Institute" and includes a series of data points with percentages for Hindu and Muslim populations over different years.
BOOM found that there was no institute by that name. A report by the Pew Research Center predicted that by 2050, Muslims will account for over 18% of India's total population.
Besides, available data indicated a declining trend in growth and fertility rates among all religious groups in recent decades.
Bangladesh protests and violence
Of the total fact-checks, 5.9% were related to the protests and violence in Bangladesh that erupted in July. These protests were against job reservations for families of 1971 war veterans and led to the deaths of at least 440 people, including minors.
A viral post on social media claimed that UNESCO had warned the Bangladesh government that it could be expelled from the United Nations if it failed to restore order within 72 hours. However, this was false. There was no such warning from UNESCO about expelling the country from the UN.
In another instance, a picture created with the help of artificial intelligence was viral showing some children sitting in front of a derailed train, with one child reading an Urdu book. Social media users shared the picture, claiming that it depicted Bangladeshi Muslims. However, we found that the image was artificially generated.
An old video showing rows of human bodies covered in white cloth was viral on social media with false claims suggesting that those were bodies of students who were martyred during the protests in Bangladesh.
However, BOOM found that the image was originally a screenshot from an old video depicting an ancient ritual in Bali, Indonesia, and was unrelated to the events in Bangladesh.
US Election campaigns
The assassination attempt on the former U.S. President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, triggered a wave of misinformation online. For example, viral photos claimed to show Secret Service agents smiling while protecting Trump from gunshots.
However, BOOM found that the original photo did not show any agents smiling. The image was altered using Face App, an AI editing tool, to add fake smiles.
Further, an old viral image falsely claimed that the US Vice President Kamala Harris is ineligible to become President because she was born to non-American parents in the US.
The caption of the claim, along with an image of Harris’ birth certificate stated, “At the time of Kamala’s birth, her parents were not U.S. citizens, but foreign students. As the daughter of non- citizens; she is an anchor baby. She is not eligible to hold the office of President of the United States.”
BOOM found that Harris met the constitutional requirements to run for president of the US. These requirements are being a natural-born U.S. citizen, being at least 35 years old, and having lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years. Her parents' immigrant status did not affect her eligibility.
Medium, Intent & Type of Deception
63% of the 119 fact-checks were shared via videos, followed by images (21%) and texts (16%).
Regarding the intent behind spreading mis/disinformation, 86.6% of the total fact-checks were found to be sensationalist. This was followed by smear campaigns against political leaders (7.6%). Following this, the intent of spreading demographic anxiety (5%) was observed.
64.7% of the total fact-checks consisted of false claims, followed by misleading content (16.8 %) and fabricated content (10.1%).
