Soon after Pakistan accused India for spreading disinformation, India retaliated by saying when looking at disinformation, the best example is the “country next door which is circulating fictional and fabricated dossiers and purveys a regular stream of fake news”.
Indian Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava was speaking in response to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan quoting an EU disinformation lab report to accuse India of subversive activities through fake media organisations.
Srivastava said that as a responsible democracy, India does not practice disinformation campaigns.
“In fact, if you are looking at disinformation, the best example is the country next door which is circulating fictional and fabricated dossiers and purveys a regular stream of fake news,” he said at an online media briefing.
“Disinformation is practised particularly by those who have records to hide such as sheltering international wanted terrorists including Osama bin Laden, and seek unsuccessfully to cover up their own tracks such as on the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, Srivastava said.
EU DisinfoLab which claims to have uncovered a 15-year long massive operation running since 2005 “targeting international institutions and serving Indian interests. ‘Indian Chronicles’ the name we gave to this operation resurrected dead media, dead think-tanks and NGOs. It even resurrected dead people. This network is active in Brussels and Geneva in producing and amplifying content to undermine primarily Pakistan,” says EU Disinfo Lab.
While the report is focused on how fake local media and NGOs were used to create influence and perception, the report stopped short of blaming the Indian government directly for it.
Asked about Pakistani media reports quoting unnamed sources to claim that India was planning false flag operations, Srivastava said the best example of a country practising disinformation is the country next door.
“Our position in this matter and the facts on the ground are well known, I don’t want to dignify such propaganda by responding to it,” he said.