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Pakistan: Syed Mustafa Shah chops off his daughter’s legs with an axe after she tried to end her abusive marriage

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: Syed Mustafa Shah chops off his daughter’s legs with an axe after she tried to end her abusive marriage

In yet another instance of patriarchal honour, a Pakistani woman’s legs were chopped by her father and uncles for filing divorce to end an abusive marriage, reported Geo News.

In patriarchal societies, violence has been used as a social mechanism to perpetuate the subjugation of women. The woman, named Sobia Batool Shah, told police that her legs were chopped for seeking a divorce from her abusive and deadbeat husband, who never took responsibility for his family.

The deeply disturbing act of violence occurred in Gul Town, leaving the victim with severe physical as well as mental trauma, which may result in a lifelong disability–with the possibility that she may never be able to walk again.

Reportedly, Syed Mustafa Shah, Sobia’s father, and her uncles Syed Qurban Shah, Ehsan Shah, Shah Nawaz, and Mushtaq Shah, who were armed with axes, injured Sobia and fled the spot, leaving her screaming for help in a pool of blood, according to Geo News. Sobia was rushed to a Nawab Shah hospital as soon as police reached the crime scene.

The woman further told police that her husband would regularly abuse her and fail to provide for her and their two children, leaving her to suffer on her own in Karachi.

According to Sobia, she repeatedly alerted her parents about the plight she was in, but her family turned a deaf ear to her grievances and dismissed her, calling her a disgrace, as reported by Geo News.

After deciding to escape her abusive marriage, Sobia filed for divorce, which incited her father and uncles to confront her.

According to the police, Sobia’s enraged parents accused her of bringing dishonour to the family by taking legal action against her husband. When she refused to withdraw her case, they attacked her with axes, they added, reported Geo News.

The Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Nausharoferoz took immediate notice of the incident and ordered the local station house officer (SHO) to bring all the accused to justice and ensure the victim’s security.

Responding to the directions, the police have so far managed to arrest one suspect, Mushtaq Shah, and are still investigating through raids, in search of the remaining culprits.

Patriarchal values are embedded in Pakistani society, which determines the subordinated position of women. Patriarchal control over women is exercised through institutionalized restrictive codes of behavior, gender segregation and the ideology which associates family honor to female virtue.

The abnormal, amoral, and harmful customary practices which aim at preserving subjugation of women, defended and sanctified as cultural traditions and given religious overtones. Abnormal and amoral traditional practices in Pakistan include honor killing, rape and sexual assault, sexual harassment, acid attacks, being burned, kidnapping, domestic violence, dowry murder, and forces marriages, custodial abuse and torture.

‘Satanic symbolism’: Radical Christians abuse pagans after accusing Olympics of committing blasphemy, mocking ‘The Last Supper’ of Jesus Christ

OpIndia Staff
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‘Satanic symbolism’: Radical Christians abuse pagans after accusing Olympics of committing blasphemy, mocking ‘The Last Supper’ of Jesus Christ

On Friday (26th July), radical Christians abused pagans and their religious practices after accusing the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of hosting a blasphemous rendition of ‘The Last Supper’ during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

For the unversed, ‘The Last Supper’ is an important event in Christianity. It signifies Jesus Christ’s final meal with his 12 apostles before his crucifixion.

Radical Christians claimed IOC hurt religious sentiments by creating a caricature of ‘The Last Supper’ using drag queens, trans and queer characters and resorting to hyper-sexualisation.

“This is crazy. Opening your event by replacing Jesus and the disciples at the The Last Supper with men in drag. There are 2.4 billion Christians on earth and apparently the Olympics wanted to declare loudly to all of them, right out of the gate. Not Welcome,” wrote one Clint Russel.

One radical Christian used the opportunity to abuse pagans and their ‘satanic practices.’

“The Paris Olympics have gone FULL BLOWN. SATANIC. Going so far as to mock the Last Supper of Christ & have a celebration of worship to Baal/Moloch. If this isn’t a sign of the times we are living in… Spiritual warfare FULLY manifesting in the flesh. This isn’t “satanic panic”. This is the REAL DEAL,” tweeted ‘The Patriot Voice.’

“The veil is thinning more and more everyday. Those with eyes to see and ears to hear know exactly what is happening. Jesus is coming back VERY SOON,” he brazened out.

One Collin Rugg claimed, “An apparent child could be seen joining the drag queens during the performance. Instead of bringing people together, the planners of the event apparently wanted to mock the religion of 2.4 billion people.”

Jenna Ellis, who identifies as servant of Jesus Christ, alleged,”In this scene from the Olympic opening ceremony, the famous painting of The Last Supper is recreated, but Jesus is replaced with an obese woman, while queer and trans figures (including a child!) depict her apostles. Overt pagan and satanic symbolism.”

One radical Christian claimed that the event, which supposedly wanted to mock Jesus Christ, was enacted by a 42-year-old Jewish gay man named Thomas Jolly. OpIndia, however, could not independently verify this claim.

A pastor named Michael Clary tweeted, “The opening ceremony of the Olympics making fun of Christ and the Last Supper. Is anyone out there still denying that LGBTQ is a demonic cult?”

Event not based on ‘The Last Supper’

Contrary to the social media claims about the deliberate mockery of ‘The Last Supper’, the official X (formerly Twitter)’ handle of ‘The Olympic Games’ made it clear that the said event was an interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus.

“The interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus makes us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings,” it informed.

It must be mentioned that Dionysus is known as the ‘God of Wine’ and ecstasy in Greek pagan culture. He was also referred to as ‘Bacchus’ by the Romans. He is also considered the patron of theatre, given that his festivals often involve dramatic performances.

As a god associated with vegetation and growth, he is linked to the cycles of nature. Dionysus remains a powerful symbol in art, literature, and culture and hence it comes as no wonder that He was featured during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Shooting, Bopanna, ‘Sat-Chi’ and men’s hockey in focus: India’s Paris Olympics schedule for Saturday

ANI
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Shooting, Bopanna, ‘Sat-Chi’ and men’s hockey in focus: India’s Paris Olympics schedule for Saturday

After a glittering opening ceremony, the Indian contingent will be in action in seven different sports on Saturday, with shooting, hockey, badminton and tennis being standout sports.

A Saturday full of action will start for India with Balraj Panwar competing in rowing, in the single sculls heats at 12:30 PM. Then, the focus will shift to shooting, with 10 m air rifle mixed team qualification scheduled for 12:30 PM, which will see teams of Sandeep Singh/Elavenil Valarivan and Arjun Babuta/Ramita Jindal in action. The shooting action will continue with the 10 m air pistol men’s and women’s qualifiers scheduled for 2 PM and 4 PM respectively.

The air pistol qualifiers will feature stars like Sarabjot Singh, Arjun Cheema, Manu Bhaker and Rhythm Sangwan in action. After some consistent shows in national and international events leading up to the Olympics, Team India would no doubt, be strong contenders for a medal in every category.

A standout event for India today will be the first round of men’s doubles tennis, which will feature India’s doubles star Rohan Bopanna teaming up with world No. 65 N Sriram Balaji in pursuit of maiden Olympic medal from 3:30 PM onwards. Having won a Grand Slam event, the Australian Open men’s doubles event with Matthew Ebden of Australia, Bopanna will be aiming to utilise his winning momentum, consistency and experience in his medal chase, which he narrowly missed out on in the 2016 Rio Olympics when he teamed up with Sania Mirza for mixed doubles but could just finish fourth.

From 11:00 PM onwards, some badminton action will kick off, with men’s singles and doubles and women’s doubles matches set to take place till 5:30 PM. The men’s singles medal prospect and Commonwealth Games champion, Lakshya Sen, India’s red-hot men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and women’s doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa will have the spotlight on them.

At 7:15 PM, Indian paddler Harmeet Desai will be in action during the preliminary round in men’s table tennis singles competition.

From 9:00 PM, the Indian men’s hockey team, a major source of pride for the country in its Olympic history, would start its pursuit for a medal in their men’s Pool B match against a strong New Zealand team. After securing a bronze in Tokyo 2020 after over 40 years, the Men in Blue will be raring to go out there and play fearlessly to change the colour of their medal to gold.

At 12:02 AM in night, the boxing contingent of India will kickstart its campaign as well, with Preeti set to compete in round of 32 of women’s 54 kg category.

Sorry state of affairs, no solution in sight until 2027: SC expresses concern on untreated solid waste in Delhi, directs centre to hold meeting with Delhi govt and MCD

ANI
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Sorry state of affairs, no solution in sight until 2027: SC expresses concern on untreated solid waste in Delhi, directs centre to hold meeting with Delhi govt and MCD

The Supreme Court on Friday expressed grave concern over tonnes of untreated solid waste in Delhi and noted no concrete solution seemed to be in sight until 2027 to treat 11,000 tonnes of solid waste generated in the national capital every day.

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih directed the Centre to hold a meeting with the Delhi government and the MCD, including its commissioner, to discuss steps required to be taken to avoid an emergency situation.

Expressing concern over the untreated solid waste, the bench remarked, “It doesn’t see light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to solid waste management in Delhi.”

The top court said that it is a “sorry state of affairs” in Delhi and that the situation could lead to a public health emergency.

The apex court further said that, going by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) affidavit and timelines, “there are no possibilities of adequate facilities in Delhi till 2027 to treat 11,000 metric tonnes of solid waste in Delhi.”

“No guesswork is needed that by then solid waste generated will multiply. It is a sorry state of affairs in the capital city and can lead to a public health emergency,” said the bench.

The bench posted the matter for further hearing on September 6.

The apex court was hearing a case relating to the deteriorating air quality in and around the national capital.

In May, the top court expressed concern over the generation of tonnes of untreated solid waste every day in Delhi and said it directly affects the fundamental right of the citizens under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution to live in a pollution-free environment.

Terming the situation where 3,800 tonnes of solid waste in Delhi go untreated every day as “horrible,” it had said that immediate measures should be undertaken to ensure that the quantity of untreated solid waste does not increase till proper facilities are put in place to treat them.

The bench had earlier noted it was an admitted position by all concerned that within the limits of the MCD, every day 3,800 metric tonnes of solid waste were generated, which cannot be treated as the existing plants do not have the capacity to treat them.

It had also said that it was “shocking” that over 3,000 tonnes of the 11,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste generated in Delhi every day were not processed.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

‘No state has been denied anything’: FM Nirmala Sitharaman busts opposition propaganda on Union Budget 2024

OpIndia Staff
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‘No state has been denied anything’: FM Nirmala Sitharaman busts opposition propaganda on Union Budget 2024

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed criticisms on NDTV, stating that the 2024 Union Budget did not exclude any state. This was in response to opposition claims that her speech only mentioned Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, both governed by BJP allies.

Ms Sitharaman, presenting her seventh consecutive budget, explained that legal obligations require the centre to support Andhra Pradesh post its 2014 bifurcation. She clarified that all states continue to receive their allocations.

She noted that multiple steps have been taken over the last decade under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, and reiterated the centre’s commitment to projects like the Polavaram irrigation project, despite technical delays.

Several opposition parties, led by the Congress party, had attacked the Union Budget 2024 over allocations made to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, with senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi calling it a ‘Khurshi Bachao’ budget but at the same time asserting that it was a copy and paste of Congress manifesto and previous budgets.

The Congress-led INDIA bloc criticized the Modi government’s lack of mention or schemes for non-BJP governed states. Congress leaders from Karnataka, Telangana, and Himachal Pradesh announced a boycott of a Niti Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Modi.

Subsequently, many opposition chief ministers, including Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, Himachal Pradesh’s Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, Karnataka’s Siddaramaiah, and Telangana’s Revanth Reddy, decided to boycott the Niti Ayog meeting citing ‘unfairness’ in the Union Budget.

Tamil Nadu’s DMK also pointed out a lack of provisions for local infrastructure projects. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin warned that while the budget might support the government, it does not address national needs.

Ms Sitharaman responded, emphasizing that no budget can mention every state, and omission from the speech does not mean a lack of funding. She countered Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge’s critique, highlighting the simplicity and transparency of the budget presentation, aligning with Prime Minister Modi’s vision.

Bengaluru is a brand: Karnataka minister HK Patil defends renaming Rmanagara district after BJP calls it Congress allergy for Lord Ram

ANI
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Bengaluru is a brand: Karnataka minister HK Patil defends renaming Rmanagara district after BJP calls it Congress allergy for Lord Ram

State Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil, speaking on Friday, cited the aspirations and demands of the people and their representatives as the driving force behind the decision to merge Ramanagara district with Bengaluru South.

While speaking to ANI, HK Patil said, “It is because of the aspirations and representations made by people’s representatives and people at large. It is to get the Brand Bengaluru name. Bengaluru is a brand, you can’t say ‘no’ to that. If it helps everyone, it is fine.”

Criticising the decision, Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) MP Pralhad Joshi stated that the Congress party opposes “Ram,” which is why they have renamed Ramanagara district.

“This shows their allergy towards Ram and Ram Mandir, even to the name of Ram. They are quite allergic. They used to do it while we were constructing the Ram Mandir. But with the decision to rename Ramanagara, Congress party and Congress Government have proven that they are against Ram. Nobody had demanded this. MP Manjunath had also written that the name should not be changed. But this is being done for vote bank politics and greed for real estate. Siddaramaiah says that when it comes to Ram, he has Ram in his name. If that is the case, why are you doing this? I strongly condemn this and I ask, demand and urge them to withdraw this proposal, otherwise BJP will strongly oppose this and the local unit will agitate for this,” Joshi said while speaking to ANI.

The Karnataka cabinet on Friday approved the renaming of Ramanagara district to Bengaluru South, a decision followed by an announcement made by Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.

“The (state) cabinet has approved to rename Ramanagara district to Bengaluru South district,” Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil announced, while addressing a press conference on Friday.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

‘Tum Kota ke ho b***c***, Kota mein rehna hai ke nahi rehna’: Rajasthan Congress MLA Shanti Dhariwal threatens Speaker with abusive language in assembly

OpIndia Staff
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‘Tum Kota ke ho b***c***, Kota mein rehna hai ke nahi rehna’: Rajasthan Congress MLA Shanti Dhariwal threatens Speaker with abusive language in assembly

On 26th July, Congress leader and North Kota MLA Shanti Kumar Dhariwal caused a stir during the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly’s question hour on the budget session when she used foul language to address Speaker Sandeep Sharma. The video of the shocking incident went viral on social media in which the latter can be heard asking the senior Congress leader to conclude as he exceeded the allotted time.

Sharma requested, “Sixty-five people are scheduled to speak today. You have already spoken for 30 minutes,” to which he replied, “That doesn’t matter. Let the session continue till late.” Dhariwal then added, “Tum Kota ke ho b***c***. Kota mein rehna hai ke nahi rehna? (You are from Kota. Do you want to keep living in Kota or not),” as other members of the house laughed. Notably, Sharma is an MLA from South Kota.

Shanti Dhariwal repeatedly used derogatory language in the legislative assembly. He made objectionable remarks in response to charges of wrongdoing during the Congress government and while talking on the issue of fake leases. When Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Nimbahera constituency Srichand Kripalani objected to his offensive utterances, he retorted, “Kripalani ji, You are my friend. Once you became a minister by mistake, you did not get the information. Now, listen to what I am saying and expand your knowledge.”

BJP National Spokesperson Pratyush Kanth took to X (formerly Twitter) to slam the veteran Congressman and wrote, “This is senior Congress leader of Rajasthan, Shanti Dhariwal. He is threatening ‘Whether you want to stay in Kota or not, I will see,’ in the assembly. This is the honour of Congress for the post of Speaker which is a constitutional position. Their leaders in Delhi pretend to protect the Constitution. Will the Congress party take any action against him or will Jairam Ramesh only distance (party) from Dhariwal’s comment?”

Shati Dhariwal has already drawn public ire for making a mockery of rape when he was serving as a cabinet minister in Ashok Gehlot’s administration in 2022. “Rajasthan has always been a region of manly persons. There is no doubt in the fact that we are at number one in rape cases. Why are we ahead in rape cases? Is there some fault within us? What can we do? Rajasthan has always been the state of ‘mards’ (men),” he expressed in the legislative assembly as other members received the vile remarks with laughs.

The National Commission of Women (NCW) Chairperson, Rekha Sharma, had declared that the minister would face severe consequences. She stated, “Rajasthan Government has ministers like these that’s why women of the state are suffering gruesome gender crimes and police just don’t do anything. How will women of the state feel safe if it has ministers like these? NCW is taking strong action against Mr Dhariwal.”

‘Shows their allergy towards Ram and Ram Mandir’: BJP lashes out at Congress govt in Karnataka over renaming Ramnagara as Bengaluru South

OpIndia Staff
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‘Shows their allergy towards Ram and Ram Mandir’: BJP lashes out at Congress govt in Karnataka over renaming Ramnagara as Bengaluru South

The Congress government in Karnataka is facing severe backlash over its decision to rename Ramnagara as Bengaluru South District as the BJP branded the move as yet another manifestation of Congress’ anti-Ram and Ram Mandir stance. Earlier, several senior Congress leaders had turned down the invitation to the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

Speaking on the Karnataka government’s decision to rechristen Ramnagara as Bengaluru South District, BJP MP Pralhad Joshi said, “This shows their allergy towards Ram and Ram Mandir, even to the name of Ram. They are quite allergic. They used to do it while we were constructing the Ram Mandir. But with the decision to rename Ramanagara, the Congress party and Congress Government have proven that they are against Ram.”

“Nobody had demanded this. MP Manjunath had also written that the name should not be changed. But this is being done for vote bank politics and greed for real estate. Siddaramaiah says that when it comes to Ram, he has Ram in his name. If that is the case, why are you doing this? I strongly condemn this and I ask, demand and urge them to withdraw this proposal, otherwise, the BJP will strongly oppose this and the local unit will agitate for this,” Joshi further said.

On Friday, the Karnataka state cabinet approved the renaming of Ramanagara district to Bengaluru South. “We have decided to rename Ramanagara district as Bengaluru South based on the demand of the people there. The Revenue Department will initiate the process,” said state Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil.

After the Cabinet meeting, he told the media, “Only the name of the district will change; everything else will remain the same.”

The decision was made during a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Operation Chakra-III: CBI arrests 43 persons in collaboration with FBI, INTERPOL and others to dismantle cybercrime network

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Operation Chakra-III: CBI arrests 43 persons in collaboration with FBI, INTERPOL and others to dismantle cybercrime network

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in coordination with FBI and law enforcement agencies in multiple countries through INTERPOL, arrested 43 accused as a part of an ongoing Operation CHAKRA-III, said an official release from CBI.

The operation was conducted to dismantle a sophisticated cyber-enabled financial crime network that has been operating across multiple countries since 2022.

The International Operations Division of CBI registered a case on July 22, 2024, for offences of cheating and online fraud.

Searches were conducted at seven locations across Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida. It was revealed that transnational cyber-enabled financial crimes in this network were being coordinated across distributed centres mainly directed from a Call Centre Operating from DLF Cyber City, Gurugram.

During these searches, live cyber-criminal operations were intercepted and substantial incriminating evidence has been gathered.

Investigation teams have so far recovered 130 computer hard disks, 65 mobile phones, 5 laptops, incriminating documents, financial transaction details, call recordings, victim details, and transcripts used for targeting victims.

Victims were contacted by impersonation and induced to click on Pop Ups for download of malicious software onto their systems and subsequently induced to make payments for restoration of their system. It is revealed that proceeds of crime were channelised from multiple countries to Hong Kong.

Further investigation is ongoing.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

Is the US carrying out ‘political censorship’ in India under the garb of combating fake news? Here is what we know so far

OpIndia Staff
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Is the US carrying out ‘political censorship’ in India under the garb of combating fake news? Here is what we know so far

The United States may be engaging in political censorship in India under the pretext of combating disinformation in the country through its embassies and consulates.

The revelation was made by the popular OSINT handle ‘Disinfo Lab’ in a 36-tweet thread on Thursday (25th July).

It exposed how the US government had been conducting workshops on ‘counter disinformation’ in various Indian cities, Kolkata, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Mumbai, since 2019.

One such workshop on identifying ‘fake news’ was conducted in Lucknow by a Berlin-based ‘activist’ named Tina Lee.

According to screenshots shared by ‘Disinfo Lab’, Lee has a history of amplifying misleading stories, peddling anti-Trump narratives and engaging in partisan behaviour.

“Could US taxpayers’ money be used on such partisan individuals? That’s not all,” the OSINT handle pointed out.

In 2022, the US consulate in Kolkata had also roped in Brittani Kollar – the Deputy Director of MediaWise (digital media literacy project of Poynter).

Interestingly, the Poynter Institute received a whopping $3,00,000 (₹25.12 lakhs) in 2017 from far-left billionaire George Soros’ Open Society Foundations (OSF). Soros had been eyeing a colour revolution in India for a long time.

The US consulate in Hyderabad had also invited Alanna Dvorak, the International Training Manager of the Poynter-owned International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN).

OpIndia had recently reported how the US State Department  has set aside a whopping $2,00,000 (~₹1.67 crores) to recruit fact-checkers in India as part of its ‘Empowering Media Savvy Youth.’

Through this project, the Executive Department of the US federal government claims to confront ‘online manipulation’, combat ‘external influences’, secure digital landscape and reinforce regional security.

As pointed out by ‘Disinfo Lab’, the US is using ‘counter disinformation’ to censor free speech on an “industrial scale.” The US House Committee on Weaponization of Federal Government has published a 98-page report in May this year, documenting political censorship.

According to ‘Disinfo Lab’, there were secret conversations between the CIA and FBI with Facebook officials to censor political posts.

The censorship in the name of combating disinformation extended to Google, Instagram, YouTube and X (formerly Twitter) as well.

The OSINT handle pointed out that the US government also forced the likes of Reddit, Amazon and Wikipedia to take down, promote certain forms of literature and make content changes.

“The censorship goes far beyond social media. The manipulation is at all levels and through all platforms. #Biden #WhiteHouse forced #Amazon to selectively promote (or not) certain kinds of books or literature. Manipulation of #Wikipedia is also well discussed– reports say FBI has been ‘editing’ Wiki pages since 2008. Its co-founder Larry Sanger calls it most bias encyclopaedia. Other co-founder Jimmy Wales has been co-opted by the ‘censorship regime,” it emphasised.

“Therefore, you would forgive us for not being mighty convinced that the US missions in India have suddenly developed passion against disinformation – and liberally throwing US taxpayers’ money for the benefit of Indians?!” Disinfo Lab tweeted.

It is interesting to note that the US Embassy has been working closely with the Ford Foundation-backed organisation called the International Research and Exchange Board (IREX), also funded by George Soros’ OSF.

In 2015, the Government of Gujarat, while investigating Teesta Setalvad’s embezzlement case, came across funding by the Ford Foundation to her entities. It was found that her trust had violated FCRA norms. 

Disinfo Lab stated, “In other words, US govt entities (Embassies and consulates) are engaging the non-govt (IREX – almost entirely peopled with former US govt) – which in turn are funded by other US Govt entities (US Embassies from Israel to Pakistan).”

It is thus possible that the US government is following its homegrown model of political censorship and exporting it to countries such as India by arm-twisting social media companies in the name of fact-checking.

US Embassy invites Akash Banerjee and Sayema

On Thursday (17th July), the US Embassy in India informed about its event for Indian social media influences and content creators to learn about boosting social media engagement on social issues and learn about “active citizenship”.

However, for this “Influence to Impact” event, the US Embassy chose the YouTuber “DeshBhakt” Akash Banerjee who has earned notoriety for peddling leftist and anti-BJP propaganda.

While on the face of it, the US Embassy’s promotional content reeked of political interference in India’s internal political discourse.

Earlier in March, OpIndia reported how the US Embassy’s choice of ‘personality’ for Women’s History Month sparked outrage on social media with people pointing to Sayema’s anti-Hindu, regressive and Islamist views. Despite this, the US Embassy was undeterred from promoting Sayema on their social media handles.

US State Dept works with ‘fact-checkers’ to peddle its narrative

In May 2023, ‘America First Legal’ (AFL) exposed how the Global Engagement Centre (GEC) of the US State Department was working with private media outlets to peddle deep state propaganda.

A centre-right non-profit organisation, AFL, secured documents against the GEC under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). It noted that millions of conservative Americans were targeted for their social media posts on vaccine mandates, election integrity, and Covid-19 vaccines.

The organisation revealed that the Global Engagement Centre (GEC) of the US State Department continues to work closely with George Soros-funded ‘fact checkers’, associated with the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) to control the global media narrative.

America First Legal pointed out that the fact-checkers, currently coordinating with GEC, are also funded by the likes of Omidyar Network, Google, Facebook, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The GEC had been working with IFCN affiliates in countries such as Tunisia and propagating their ‘fact-checking methods’ to censor politically incorrect narratives. According to America First Legal, email exchanges show IFCN pestering the US State Department to ‘fund’ more of their programmes in Egypt.

Email transcripts, accessed by America First Legal, show the GEC threatening journalists to compile its talking points in the form of a report and publish it imminently.

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