On Friday (8th December, US local time), American political commentator Jack Posobiec took to X (formerly Twitter) to inform that a reporter from the leftist media outlet The Washington Post was soliciting information about Indian OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) handle ‘Disinfo Lab.’
The ‘reporter’ was identified as Pranshu Verma, a tech ‘journalist’ who started working with The Washington Post in February 2022. He had reached out to Jack Posobiec in the hopes of deterring the American political commentator from sharing informative posts of ‘Disinfo Lab.’
“We are doing a story on a group called Disinformation Lab,” Pranshu Verma revealed his plans to carry out a hit job on the Indian OSINT handle.
“Our reporting shows this group combines fact-based research with unsubstantiated claims to paint U.S. government figures, researchers, Indian American human-rights activists and international humanitarian groups as part of a conspiracy, purportedly led by global Islamic groups and the billionaire George Soros, to undermine India. Our analysis found you have retweeted this organisation’s content,” he told Jack Posobiec.
Without furnishing any evidence, The Washington Post ‘journalist’ claimed, “Do you know about the organization’s background? Our research has found Disinfo Lab is actually run by an Indian Intelligence Officer. Did you know that?”
Pranshu Verma then sought a response from the American political commentator based on his unsubstantiated assertions. “Due to the sensitive nature of this story, the time for response is tight. Please provide a response by the end of day today, Friday, December 8th,” he emphasised.
However, he did not anticipate a befitting reply from Jack Posobiec that would put ‘The Washington Post’ in the dock. ” So if it’s a intel agency run-media outlet that basically makes it the same as the Washington Post then?” the American political commentator wrote.
Jack Posobiec told Verma that The Washington Post is a media outlet run by the United States Intelligence and by his ‘assertion’ would make it similar to ‘Disinfo Lab.’ As expected, the tech ‘journalist’ did not respond to the message.
Brown sepoy romanticises Islamists and their make-believe stories
Although Pranshu Verma writes mundane articles on technology, he was roped in by The Washington Post to disseminate anti-India propaganda.
In January this year, he romanticised an Islamist named Raqib Hameed Naik in an article titled ‘Tracking rising religious hatred in India, from half a world away.’ A vicious fake news peddler, Raqib Hameed Naik is the founder of anti-Hindu disinformation outlet ‘Hindutva Watch.’
He is also infamous for denying the Hindu genocide, perpetrated by radical Islamists in the Kashmir Valley, in the early 1990s. Naik had also mocked the Hindu ‘Shivling’ found inside the Gyanvapi mosque in Kashi
In his article in January 2023, Pranshu Verma relied on a database provided by ‘DOTO’ to allege that ‘religious hatred’ is on the rise in India.
‘Disinfo Lab’ had earlier exposed the fabrications of DOTO, following which the latter first revised and then deleted the database.
Coincidentally, The Washington Post ‘journalist’ is now hounding the same Indian OSINT handle that uncovered the dubious nature of his news report.
Pranshu Verma turns ‘rebel’ over fair pay
Around the same time he was soliciting information about ‘Disinfo Lab’ from Jack Posobiec, ‘rebel’ Pranshu Verma staged a one-day strike against his employer The Washington Post over lack of ‘fair wages.’
“Today I walked off the job with more than 700 of my Washington Post colleagues because the company is breaking the law and bargaining in bad faith,” he had tweeted on Thursday (7th December).
“Respect our @PostGuild picket line: Avoid Washington Post journalism on Dec. 7. Thrilled to see so many colleagues on the picket line today,” he said in another tweet.
As the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in India inch closer, Western media cartels and other vested interests are increasingly targeting those exposing anti-India narratives on social media.