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Fake News and the Delhi Riots: The Self-Defeating Power of Misinformation

March 9, 2020

Author

Rishap Vats
Fake News and the Delhi Riots: The Self-Defeating Power of Misinformation

In the midst of the anti-CAA protests, India's political discourse took an unsightly turn on 23 February following the outbreak of communal riots between Hindus and Muslims in North-East Delhi. Areas like Jaffrabad and Gokhulpuri were gripped by violence and 'vandalisation', with mobs picketing shops, homes, and schools, resulting in 53 deaths and over 200 injuries.

Much of the discourse centres around the role of institutions of law and order, with critics pointing to the alleged complicity of the Delhi police and the central government, and the delayed support of the Arvind Kejriwal and AAP-led state government to riot-affected families. The Union government's response, particularly that of the Home Ministry–which heads the Delhi Police–was also questionable.

The latest clashes were simply a culmination of weeks of deteriorating circumstances in Delhi. The carnal rage that characterized the riots displayed innumerable acts of inhumanity and merely served to exacerbate already growing divisions in Indian society.

While some see the Delhi riots as part of BJP's grand political design to silence its critics, others view the ensuing protests as a deliberate and calculated attempts by dissenters to embarrass the leadership while the US President was in town, giving rise to the argument that the event was not entirely accidental or spontaneous. During the recently concluded state elections, high-ranking government leaders and ministers played a crucial role in vitiating the current political or social climate, helping extremist elements to further divide–and create tensions between–communities.

Amidst this chaos and these growing divides, one thing both sides of the debate hold in common is their seeming allegiance to fake news, with misinformation both instigating and sustaining violence. In the coming years, these sustained episodes of violence will be seen as Independent India's first digital riot, where hate and the subsequent carnage were broadcasted live to our phones. This is precisely why, out of the 2,000 people arrested by the police, around 50 FIRs have been registered against people that spread fake news and aided in rumour-mongering.

Even as tensions de-escalate, misinformation continues to be rampantly shared across social media platforms. This not only complicates reconciliation but also makes it difficult to gain an accurate understanding of the riots, as false reportage is perpetuated not just by misguided citizens and foot soldiers, but also by political leaders and high-profile journalists.

While street reporting through common citizens and local correspondents are crucial to uncovering truths and providing context to such incidents, they also hold the danger of empowering the arbiters of fake news as their accounts of events cannot be fully corroborated.

Although there are numerous instances of state-backed violence and instances of large-scale and deliberate targeting of Muslim communities and neighborhoods, for example, there has also been a concerted effort to misrepresent events and present an exaggerated account of police brutality and the Modi government's inaction.

Therefore, many wonder whether these instances of false reporting of the communal clashes in New Delhi last month inadvertently lent credence to the government's claims of innocence and its protestations that it did not overstep its boundaries in managing the riots. The government can shirk criticisms that are levelled at it when so much of the reporting is false and uncorroborated, making it harder for critics to hold the government accountable.

For example, NDTV's broadcast of the shootings in Jaffrabad in the days leading to the violence falsely accused a man named Anurag Mishra as the man who shot eight rounds at a police constable. However, subsequent fact-finding exercises and police reports revealed the gunman to be a man named Sharukh, who was an anti-CAA protestor. Although the act of this one man should not lead us into dismissing the entire protesting gentry, which is by and large peaceful, this mis-reportage only helped cement the popular belief that this clash was not one-sided. Also, the fact that credible and reputed journalists did not wait for social media rumours to be verified damaged the credibility of cable news channels, who have rightly been trying to hold the state machinery accountable. 

Even on the social media battlefield, both sides attempted to display the inhumanity of the "other side". Certified users with a huge follower-bases tried to frame an aide of BJP leader Kapil Mishra, who has been under the scanner for inciting violence through his inflammatory speeches. Months-old videos of mob attacks, some even in different cities, were edited to falsely suggest that the Muslims being attacked in the videos were in Delhi. Clips from mob violence in Madhya Pradesh against falsely-accused "child-lifters" and images depicting grieving Muslim mothers comforting their children in the war-torn Idlib province in Syria have been widely circulated to showcase the brutality of the Indian state. Politicians, too, have shared fake images of police brutality and complicity, despite an abundance of verifiable evidence, further blunting the genuine attempt by protestors to hold the government accountable. 

Sanjay Singh, a former minister and current AAP MLA, shared a fake picture that suggested that the Delhi police was helping rioters climb the gates of the now-suspended AAP politician Tahir Hussain, who has been blamed for using his building as a fortress from which violent rioters unleash petrol bombs at the police. Similarly, prominent Congress politicians like Nagma and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh shared videos of cops supposedly joining Hindu mobs targeting Muslims in Delhi. However, the original video was shot in Gujarat. 

Thousands have shared a video of the bodies of a Muslim woman and her infant being discovered as evidence that Indian authorities are burying Muslims alive. However, the video in question was shot in West Bengal, and the perpetrator was the woman's husband. Such actions have not only debilitated the credibility of domestic protests but also of international opposition to Modi's administration. For example, a Pakistani-born UK Politician, Ahmed Nazir, who is a member of the House of Lords, described it as a "horrific video of a mother and child being buried alive in India by fascists". While Modi and the BJP are facing an onslaught of international criticism, the demonstrable losses to India's international political capital will be limited if their critics continue to provide a misguided view of events. 

As one of the foremost pillars of democracy, the media holds a unique responsibility to present a truthful, albeit biased, understanding of events. In fact, the perpetuation of false narratives and stories by news outlets on both sides of the political aisle has only led them to try and 'one-up' each other by forcefully engineering content that supports their and their viewers' narrow worldview, even at the expense of the truth. 

Counterfeit news distribution has a knock-on effect of delegitimizing political opponents, such as the Indian National Congress and AAP, who share this fake news. It also risks instigating and augmenting further polarization through sensationalized news content. The circulation of fake news makes it infinitely more challenging for critics of the Indian government to establish credibility, and makes their goal of bringing an end to the discriminatory practices of the Indian government even more difficult to achieve. In undermining their own ability to mount a meaningful and legitimate rebuke of the current leadership, they inadvertently allow the BJP free reign to continue and entrench its communal designs without significant repercussions. Simultaneously, the leadership is able to cement its iron grip on the Indian political discourse.

Reference List 

Firstpost. 2020. Delhi Violence: At Least 690 Cases Registered, 2,200 People Held; AAP Launches Two-Day Compensation Drive For Riot Victims - Firstpost. [online] Available at: https://www.firstpost.com/india/delhi-violence-at-least-690-cases-registered-2200-people-held-aap-launches-two-day-compensation-drive-fro-riot-victims-8129811.html [Accessed 9 March 2020]. 

The Times of India. 2020. FAKE ALERT: 'Anurag Mishra' Not The Gunman Who Fired During Delhi Violence - Times Of India. [online] Available at:  https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/times-fact-check/news/fake-alert-anurag-mishra-not-the-gunman-who-fired-during-delhi-violence/articleshow/74329530.cms  [Accessed 9 March 2020]. 

Mehta, A., 2020. Delhi Police Supporting Stone-Pelters? Congress Members Share Video From UP - Alt News. [online] Alt News. Available at: https://www.altnews.in/delhi-police-supporting-stone-pelters-congress-members-share-video-from-up  [Accessed 9 March 2020]. 

Mehta, A., 2020. Unrelated Video Of Mob Violence In MP Viral As Delhi Riots - Alt News. [online] Alt News. Available at: https://www.altnews.in/unrelated-video-of-mob-violence-in-mp-viral-as-delhi-riots  [Accessed 9 March 2020]. 

Alt News. 2020. Old Images From Syria, Bangladesh Shared As Delhi Riots - Alt News. [online] Available at: https://www.altnews.in/old-images-from-syria-bangladesh-shared-as-delhi-riots   [Accessed 9 March 2020]. 

Patel, J., 2020. Old Photograph Of UP Police Personnel Throwing A Stone Shared As Delhi Police - Alt News. [online] Alt News. Available at: https://www.altnews.in/old-photograph-of-up-police-personnel-throwing-a-stone-shared-as-delhi-police  [Accessed 9 March 2020]. 

Patel, J., 2020. Photo Of Rescue Op Viral As Cops Helping Mob Carry Petrol Bombs To AAP's Tahir Hussain's Residence - Alt News. [online] Alt News. Available at: https://www.altnews.in/photo-of-rescue-op-viral-as-cops-helping-mob-carry-petrol-bombs-to-aaps-tahir-hussains-residence  [Accessed 9 March 2020].

Alt News. 2020. Video Of Infant And Woman's Dead Bodies Dug Out From Ground Is Unrelated To Delhi Riots - Alt News. [online] Available at: https://www.altnews.in/video-of-woman-and-a-baby-infants-bodies-dug-up-shared-with-communal-angle  [Accessed 9 March 2020]. 

Image Source: TIME

Author

Rishap Vats

Former Writer