On Monday (July 12), a high-speed solar storm will approach our planet at a speed of 1.6 million km/hour and affect electricity supply and communication infrastructure. As per the latest prediction, mobile phone signals, Satellite TV, power grids and GPS navigation will be affected. According to the Space Weather Prediction Centre of the United States, the solar flare is expected to be at X1 level. Solar flares are categorised under A-class, B-class, followed by C, M and X. As such, X-class flares are the biggest in magnitude. The numerical suffix of 1 denotes the strength of the solar flare.
Earlier on July 3 at 10:29 am, the Sun emitted an intense solar flare which was categorised as X1.5-class flare. It caused temporary blackout over the Atlantic.
This weekend, the Sun released a significant solar flare. This was an X-class flare, which denotes the most intense flares. Here on Earth, we’re protected from flares’ radiation by our atmosphere, though they can impact communications signals. More: https://t.co/tArnFhqTN8pic.twitter.com/yxKRqQZymb
On Saturday (July 10), the Planetary Society had tweeted, “The Sun’s power should never be underestimated. In March 1989, the entire Canadian province of Quebec suffered a 12-hour electrical power blackout caused by a solar storm.” Today’s solar fare is unlikely to cause a geomagnetic solar flare or create blackouts of 12-hours in length.
The Sun’s power should never be underestimated. In March 1989, the entire Canadian province of Quebec suffered a 12-hour electrical power blackout caused by a solar storm.
Solar flares are intense explosions that take place on the surface of the sun. They are caused when energy stored in magnetic fields is suddenly released. As such, they send radiation across the length and breadth of the solar system. These radiations, which are in the form of radio waves, x-rays and gamma rays, then move towards the planets in the solar system. They transfer their energy into the Earth’s magnetic field and ionize the top of the planet’s atmosphere.
When fast-moving solar flares hit the Earth’s magnetosphere, they might trigger a geomagnetic storm. Such a storm affects satellites, disturbs GPS navigation, cell phone signals and Satellite TV. They can also affect power grids in some parts of the world. The largest solar storms are associated with Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), during which tonnes of plasma move in the direction of planets including Earth. CMEs might take days to reach Earth, however, some arrive within a span of 15-18 hours.
Reportedly, the biggest solar storm till date had occurred in 1859 during the Carrington Event. At that time, the Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) fried telegraph poles across the world. In 2014, NASA had warned that such a flare would tremendously impact the modern power grids and telecommunication channels in the world. National Academy of Sciences estimated a loss of more than £1.45trillion ($2trillion) in damages. Interestingly, the Earth narrowly avoided a Carrington-level CME in July 2012.
The Supreme Court on Monday accepted the Bihar government’s plea challenging the acquittal of 13 Maoists by Patna High Court, accused of the killing of 34 upper-caste people in the 1999 Senari massacre.
Out of the 13, 10 were sentenced to death by the trial court. The Supreme Court has asked the state to serve notice to all the acquitted accused persons.
Patna High Court in its judgment had acquitted the 13 accused citing a lack of adequate evidence. All 13 were released from jail after the two-member bench of Justice Ashwani Kumar Singh and Justice Arvind Srivastava also cast doubts over the identification process of the accused despite the witnesses identifying them in the court.
Bihar’s advocate General Lalit Kishor immediately after Patna High Court’s verdict had given an indication of filing an appeal in the Supreme Court. In a media statement, he said, “I have suggested to the state government through the department of law that an appeal should be filed before the Supreme Court. And an appeal will be filed at the earliest.”
The night of the massacre
On the night of 18 March 1999, 500-600 militants of the banned Maoist Communist Center (MCC) entered the village of Senari, dragged the Bhumihar men out of their homes, divided them into three groups and slit their throats and stomach. The Senari village now falls in Arwal district, which was created later.
Dainik Bhaskar in an interview with the survivors and eyewitnesses had reported the account when one Rakesh Sharma narrated that he was hit hard by the Maoists who were intoxicated and that they went around slashing throats. Another survivor shared that he too was beaten up by the attackers but was thrown in a pile of dead bodies in a rush.
The period of massacres
The Senari massacre is said to be a fallout of the Laxamanpur-Bathe massacre in which 57 Dalits were killed in 1997. The Dalit victims of the Laxamanpure Bathe massacre too have been raising voices for justice, not being fully satisfied by the trial.
Of the 91 massacres between 1977 and 2000, 76 took place between 1990 and 2000, in which over 350 people were killed. Districts of central Bihar such as Gaya, Jehanabad, Aurangabad and the Shahabad region of Bhojpur were the worst affected.
Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn on Monday unveiled the trailer of his much-anticipated movie Bhuj: The Pride of India. The movie, which takes a slice out of the Indo-Pak war of 1971, is packed with patriotism and action. The film is directed by Abhishek Dudhaiya and Ajay Devgn plays the role of Squadron Leader Vijay Kumar Karnik, who was in charge of the Bhuj airbase during the war.
Besides Devgn, the film also stars Sanjay Dutt as Army Scout Ranchordas Pagi, Sonakshi Sinha as social worker Sunderben Jetha Madharparya, Ammy Virk as Flight Officer Vikram Singh Baj Jethaaz and Nora Fatehi as Indian spy Heena Rehman. The film is all set to release on OTT platform Disney+ Hotstar on August 13, ahead of India’s 75th Independence Day.
Source: YouTube
In line with the expectations, the trailer of Bhuj: The Pride of India is high on patriotic sentiments and packs powerful dialogues that are bound to raise goosebumps and stir up a feeling of patriotism. The 3-minute-20-seconds long trailer gives a glimpse into how Squadron Leader Vijay Kumar Karnik and his team fought the Pakistani military when they raided the Bhuj airfield 35 times in 14 days and staved off an impending capture by re-constructing an entire IAF airbase with the help of 300 women from a local village in Madhapar.
While Ajay Devgn plays the role of the Air Force officer in charge of the Bhuj airport, Sanjay Dutt and Sonakshi Sinha play the characters of villagers who join hands with the Indian Armed Forces to ward off the Pakistani threat. Sharad Kelkar and Ammy Virk enact the roles of characters who are a part of the Indian Army.
Sharing the trailer on Twitter, Ajay Devgn called it “the greatest battle ever fought”. “When bravery becomes your armour, every step leads you to victory! Experience the untold story of the greatest battle ever fought, #BhujThePrideOfIndia,” Devgn tweeted.
When bravery becomes your armour, every step leads you to victory! ? Experience the untold story of the greatest battle ever fought, #BhujThePrideOfIndia.
Bhuj: The Pride of India is based on real-life incidents that took place against the backdrop of the Indo-Pak war of 1971, also dubbed as the Bangladesh liberation war. The hostilities between the two countries formally began on December 3, 1971, when the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), launched pre-emptive airstrikes on 11 Indian airfields, with the aim to cause irreparable damage to India’s superior air power and create a deterrence for India to officially help East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, in its independence movement.
However, the preemptive airstrikes did little to unnerve India from helping Bangladesh liberate itself from the clutches of the Pakistani Army, which committed grave atrocities against those who sought freedom and independence from West Pakistan. As India threw its weight behind the liberation of Bangladesh, the Pakistani air force continued targeting airbases located in the western states of the country.
On the night of December 8, a squadron of Sabre jets dropped more than 14 Napalm bombs on the Indian Air Force airstrip in Bhuj. As a result, the airstrip was severely damaged and the Indian combat aircraft could not take off. The Indian Air Force asked the Border Security Force to restore the airstrip but time was ticking, and resources were scarce.
At this point in time, 300 villagers, mostly women from Madhapur in Bhuj, decided to help the IAF repair the damaged airstrip. Armed with nothing but the determination to help the country, they took up the seemingly impossible job of restoring the airstrip and fixing it enough so that it can be used by India’s combat aircraft.
Besides the District Collector who encouraged women to step out of their homes and join the noble cause of helping the IAF repair the airstrip, Squadron Leader Vijay Kumar Karnik played an instrumental role in motivating the women to come to the aid of the army.
Karnik was in charge of the erstwhile Bhuj airport during the war. He, along with two senior officers, 50 IAF and 60 Defense Security Corps personnel ensured the airstrip was operational despite the damage the bomb blast had caused.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi had in the last week visited the Dargah Sharif at Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh to pay obeisance to the 11th-century Islamic invader, Ghazi Salar Masud. Owaisi was in Uttar Pradesh to inaugurate his first party office in the state in the Bahraich district ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections when he visited the Dargah.
While Owaisi did not forget to pay homage to the Islamic invader, he did not visit the Maharaja Suheldev Memorial that has been laid in Bahraich itself.
BJP attacks Owaisi for insulting Maharaja Suheldev and hurting sentiments of Hindus
Owaisi’s actions miffed the members of the ruling BJP in the state, who accused the AIMIM chief of insulting Maharaja Suheldev, the 11th Century ruler from the Pasi community of Shrasvati, a kingdom which was located in present-day Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh. BJP also accused Owaisi of hurting the sentiments of the Hindus, especially those of the Dalit community who revere Maharaja Suheldev.
Hitting out at Owaisi, Uttar Pradesh’s backward class welfare minister Anil Rajbhar opined that the AIMIM chief has hurt the sentiments of people by paying obeisance to the Islamic invader who looted and destructed many Hindu temples and Muths and mercilessly killed thousands of Hindus in his fanaticism.
BJP leader slams Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party for allying with AIMIM
The Uttar Pradesh minister also slammed the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP), an estranged BJP ally, for stitching an ‘unholy alliance’ with AIMIM in Uttar Pradesh to take on BJP in the upcoming Assembly elections. Anil Rajbhar said that SBSP chief, Om Prakash Rajbhar, whose party worships Maharaja Suheldev, has ditched its ideology for power. He said that SBSP’s decision to ally with AIMIM has hurt the sentiments of the Hindu community. Anil Rajbhar furthered that the AIMIM and SBSP alliance is an insult to the backward Rajbhar community.
#UP Minister, Anil Rajbhar, said that the #AIMIM & SBSP alliance was an insult to the backward Rajbhar community.
“The visit of Owaisi to the dargah is an insult to Maharaja Suheldev, who is said to have defeated & killed Masud in a battle at Bahraich in 1034 AD,” he said. pic.twitter.com/JZJS5qpH7C
As the political debate over the visit of Owaisi to the Dargah Sharif at Bahraich continues, let us know more about the fanatic Islamic invader Ghazi Salar Masud alias Ghazi Miyan, who has been glorified as a ‘hero’ by Islamists.
The Islamic invader Ghazi Salar Masud
Ghazi Salar Masud, as per some mentions, was the nephew of barbaric invader Mahmud of Ghaznavi. Though Islamists eulogize Ghazi Salar Masud as a “martyr” who died fighting the “kafirs”, the fact is that Salar Masud was a fanatic who, under the tutelage of his uncle, Mahmud of Ghaznavi, drew pleasure in the rampant killing of Hindus. Masud during the 11th century carried out mass conversions and execution of Hindus. He plundered and destructed Hindu temples and Maths including the sacred Suraj Kund at Bahraich, as he went ahead to conquer various parts of India until Raja Suheldev finally halted his advent.
Ghazi Salar Masud was ultimately killed by Maharaja Suheldev when the two engaged in the fierce Battle of Bahraich in 1034 CE. The battle was fought near Chittaura Lake near the present-day Bahraich city in Uttar Pradesh.
In 1026 CE, during the destruction of the famous Somnath Temple, Mahmud of Ghaznavi was accompanied by his 11-year-old nephew Saiyyad Salar Masud. After the death of Mahmud Ghaznavi, Masud invaded India in May 1031 CE with a 100,000 strong army. He had imbibed the fanatism and barbarism of his uncle.
His first military conflict was with Raja Mahipal Tomar of Delhi, which he conquered. From here he marched into the upper Doab towards Meerut whose ruler Raja Hari Dutt surrendered and accepted Islam. Continuing the series of invasions, killings, loot and destructions, Ghazi Salar Masud eventually conquered Multan, Delhi, Meerut and marched forward.
After several kings were defeated by him, some other kings from Meerut, Badayun, Kannauj etc decided to ally with him instead of fighting against his mighty army. After conquering these places, Masud had planned to invade Ayodhya, a sacred city for Hindus. But to reach Ayodhya, his army had to first cross Bahraich, which fell under Shravasti. During this period the Kingdom of Shravasti was ruled by Raja Suheldev.
When Raja Suhaldev became aware of Masud’s plans, he prepared a counter-attack. He talked to kings of the neighbouring states, and they together formed a large defence force against the invader.
Although the Suhaldev’s army had to face defeat initially, the king motivated the soldiers to fight back with full force, saying that not a single foe should not return alive. After days of intense battle in 1034, Raja Suhaldev was able to trap Salar Masud, and the Muslim invader was killed in the battle. According to legends, none of the 1.5 lakh soldiers in Masud’s army survived the battle and this halted the Islamic conquest of India for almost a century.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has taken suo-moto cognizance of the brutal rape and murder of a six-year-old minor by a youth wing worker of the CPM in Kerala.
In a letter to the District police chief of Idukki, the NCPCR has demanded a detailed report to be furnished within 10 days, detailing the outcome of the inquiry. The commission has additionally demanded a copy of the FIR, a copy of the post-mortem report of the minor victim and updates on action taken against the accused along with the inquiry report.
NCPCR’s letter to District Police Chief
In the letter, the NCPCR has also highlighted its mandate to monitor the implementation of the POCSO Act against the accused.
CPM youth wing member had been sexually abusing the child for 3 years
The Kerala Police earlier this month had arrested a DYFI (youth wing of the ruling CPM) worker, for reportedly murdering a six-year-old girl after raping her.
As per the police, Arjun (22) a resident of the Idukki district, confessed to having repeatedly sexually abused the girl for three years before killing her. He used to lure her with sweets.
A police officer informed, “The girl fell unconscious during the assault and the assailant feared she may have died. Subsequently, he hanged her in the room using her shawl.” The incident took place on June 30 when the accused sneaked into the house of the minor. The 6-year-old girl was found hanging in her room by her brother.
The leftist bastion of Kerala is once again in the news following the brutal rape and murder of a 6-year-old girl, allegedly committed by a CPI(M) leader. Netizens on social media websites, in particular on Twitter, are trending #JusticeForKeralaGirls as the cases of molestation, rapes, sexual assault and crime against women, girls and minors see a veritable uptick in the communist-governed state.
As per a Times of India report, between January 1 to May 31, 627 cases of rapes of children were reported in Kerala. Further, as many as 1,639 cognisable cases of crimes against children were registered in same period. This included 15 murders, 89 kidnapping and abduction and six cases of exposure and abandonment. Five cases were registered for child marriage.
Recently, a 6-year-old innocent was murdered after being raped in Vendiperiyar. When the matter came to light, the local MLA resolutely opposed the child’s postmortem. Despite all the obstruction, when the investigation progressed, it was found that the perpetrator of the heinous act was none other than the CPI(M) worker who exploited the girl and later killed her with hellish torture. Today, the simmering anger of the cruelty meted out on the girl was reflected on the streets of Kerala when villagers clashed with the police and thrashed the accused in the case.
The latest rape and murder of the minor is not the only case that has precipitated the outrage that has swept the south Indian state and left people cursing and reproving the Kerala model of the Left. As per documents available in the public domain, women in Kerala are suffering from a host of dangers. According to the official website of Kerala Police, till May 2021, 886 rape cases, 1437 molestation cases, 75 kidnapping cases, 149 molestation cases, 1159 domestic violence cases, and 1502 other offences were registered in the state. Overall, the number of crimes registered in the first 5 months of 2021 alone is 5208. Last year, 12,659 cases of crimes against women came to light in Kerala.
Cruelty against women/girls in Kerala
Following the brutal incident of the 6-year-old being raped and murdered, BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya took to Twitter and slammed the Kerala model of CPI(M) that is routinely hailed by their supporters and admirers.
CPIM’s #KeralaModel has made the State unsafe for women and young girls. The numbers will shock you.
– 23,002 Molestation – 10,433 Rapes – 6,220 Child rapes – 75,180 Cognizable crimes against women and 20,497 against children
“CPIM’s #KeralaModel has made the State unsafe for women and young girls. The numbers will shock you. – 23,002 Molestation – 10,433 Rapes – 6,220 Child rapes – 75,180 Cognizable crimes against women and 20,497 against children Dalit women are easy target. #JusticeForKeralaGirls,” Malviya tweeted.
Netizens trend #JusticeForKeralaGirls amidst increasing number of cases of assault against women is reported in Kerala
Soon thereafter, netizens on Twitter started posting tweets with the hashtag #JusticeForKeralaGirls, to demand justice for the 6-year-old girl as well as to express their solidarity with the female victims of savagery in Kerala.
A CPI(M) youth leader raped a girl child for three years and finally murdered her. Now the CM office is shielding the accused. Many more cases of child abuse are being suppressed in Kerala while the intelligentsia looks the other way. #JusticeforKeralagirls
In d past 5 months the crimes against girls in Kerala have soared . 15 girls have been killed and 627 girls have been raped . The shocking numbers have been revealed by State Crimes Records Bureau of #Kerala !!!#JusticeforKeralagirlspic.twitter.com/uj9qKBal6a
— മിസ്സ്. ശകുന്തള ???? (@maithily_menon) July 12, 2021
Past instances when CPI members were involved in rapes and murders of women in Kerala
It is worth noting that the rape and murder of a 6-year-old minor girl is not the first such case where an accused is affiliated with the CPI(M). Just last month, a case of rape was registered against two CPM leaders by the police in Kozhikode district of Kerala. The woman who made the allegation was a member of the party’s branch committee. One of the accused in this case was identified as Pullulla Parambath Baburaj, the secretary of CPI(M) Mulliyari branch, while the second accused was the secretary of the DYFI, the youth wing of the TP Lijish party, in the Pathiarakkara area.
Apart from this, in the year 2019, a case of rape was registered by a Mumbai woman against Binoy Kodiyeri, the elder son of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. Similarly, in the same year, a 20-year-old girl told that she was raped at the regional committee office of the CPI(M) in Palakkad district of Kerala.
The list of such rape, exploitation and atrocities being reported from Kerala is very long. Not only CPM members but there have been frequent cases of exploitation of women in the church from Kerala. The incident of love jihad is also happening indiscriminately. Former Kerala Congress leader PC George claims that 47 girls were victims of love jihad in his constituency alone. Vivek Rai, BJP Vice President of Valsad district says that 1513 rape incidents have taken place in Kerala in 5 months and 15 children have lost their lives.
On July 11, England lost the final of Euro Cup 2020 to Italy. While England fans caused a riot-like situation and riot police had to step in to control them, the misbehaviour and irresponsible racial comments found their way on social media platforms as well.
Three English players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, who are of African descent and missed their penalties in the shootout, faced the wrath of the England fans in racial abuse on platforms like Instagram and Twitter.
The violent behaviour of the English fans got them labelled as the sour losers as netizens took screenshots of comments and tweets against the three players of colour and shamed the “fans” for throwing racial slurs and abuses. UK Prime Minister himself came out in support of the players of colour. He said, “This England team deserve to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media. Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves.”
This England team deserve to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media.
Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves.
Notably, the FA urged the government and social media companies to step up the efforts to stop racial abuses. In a statement, they said, “We will continue to do everything we can to stamp out discrimination out of the game, but we implore government to act quickly and bring in the appropriate legislation so the abuse has real-life consequences.”
I went to bed heartbroken when I saw those racist posts after the match! But to see the pouring off love and support for the boys and coach – where we all stand together and say THERES NO ROOM FOR RACISM! Is beautiful ?????? ok going back to bed! Fyi: im so proud
i didn’t want to post these disgusting screenshots but here we’re. if you have time you can go report these accounts and the last frame was tweet. thank you pic.twitter.com/wuNFKiEAzw
The abuses were not limited to the fans online. The fans of colour also faced wrath online and in the real world as the disgraceful English fans chose violent attacks to vent their frustration.
Notably, there had been reports confirming that ticketless English fans had forced their way into Wembley Stadium to witness the match that led to chaos. In the aftermath of the riot-like situation, the area around the stadium was left with tons of garbage thrown by the angry English fans.
The People Republic of China seems to have taken notice of the growing criticism it receives from across the world over its human rights violations, especially against minorities. In a bid to tackle the criticism from the western press, the Communist Party of China has launched a propaganda overdrive to provide counter-narratives to what it calls ‘anti-China’ propaganda by the west.
In addition to the state-owned media outlets, the CPC and the Chinese government seems to have employed numerous ways to indulge in misinformation warfare across both traditional media and social media platforms. On platforms such as Twitter and YouTube, CGTN and Global Times are flagged as Chinese government funded broadcast channels. Hence, in a bid to make sure the propaganda appears organic and independent, China now seems to have roped in ‘influencers’.
According to the latest report from BBC, it has been revealed that China may have employed several foreign video bloggers to denounce negative coverage by the western press on highly controversial subjects such as human rights abuses in Xinjiang, Tibet to even COVID. On the behest of CPC, these vloggers put out counter-narratives often riddled with disinformation and are attracting large numbers of subscribers on platforms like YouTube. These vloggers are openly presenting themselves as China-lovers, spreading Communist Party disinformation.
Owing to lack of community guidelines and transparency, many of these vloggers are suspected to having been paid for furthering CCP’s propaganda.
Who are these Pro-China vloggers?
For a few years now, the western media have been extremely critical against China over its persecution of Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjian autonomous area. Several vloggers have published their own investigative reports highlighting the harsh treatment meted out to the Uyghur community by China in its northwest Xinjiang region.
However, some vloggers including British expatriates Barrie Jones, Jason Lightfoot and father-and-son duo Lee and Oli Barrett, have been putting out counter-narratives against the western press and independent investigators by terming well-documented allegations of systematic abuse as anti-China propaganda by the west.
For example, the father-and-son duo – Lee and Oli Barrett, is believed to have travelled extensively in China. Many believe it was on a paid trip at the cost of Chinese government. Their profiles on social media platform appear quite pro-China where they ‘bust’ the ‘lies against China’. On their Instagram profile, the father-son duo has claimed to have more than a million followers across all platforms and 28 million views on YouTube.
Here is a video put out by Barretts accusing western media of being critical towards China and explaining how China has received negative press for a long time now.
Barrets have posted several videos on their Youtube channel. Initially, the duo started putting videos that focused focus on navigating daily life within China. However, more recent videos have become overtly political, staunchly backing China’s propaganda on topics ranging from Covid-19 to Hong Kong and Xinjiang.
These videos have attracted large viewers from China, who are fiercely promoting and commenting on them.
Lee and Oli Barrett in China/ Image Source: iChongqing
The Barretts have attended multiple government-sponsored events. In one of the videos, Lee Barrett had revealed that state-owned organisations such as China Radio International offer to pay for transport, flights and accommodation, in exchange for their videos.
Lee Barrett has been listed as a “global stringer” on CGTN’s website in recently published videos on Xinjiang. A stringer is somebody who reports for the broadcaster but is not a regular staff employee.
Another vlogger who has a considerable influence on Youtube is Jason Lightfoot. Like Barretts, Lightfoot is also listed as a stringer by CGTN. In addition, the Chinese media outlets have categorised him as a vlogger critical of “distorted reports” by Western media outlets.
Recently, Lightfoot appeared in several CGTN videos alongside multiple staff reporters on a visit to Hainan. In one such video, Lightfoot was seen thanking CGTN for giving him the experience to explore Hainan and to work with CGTN staff. In the video, the expat vlogger said he enjoyed working together, producing live streams and videos as a team”.
According to the BBC report, vlogging is strictly controlled in China, and there are strict rules restricting users what they can post. In addition, thousands of internet moderators screen content. The authorities have detained Chinese vloggers and citizen journalists for making videos deemed to be unfavourable by the authorities.
However, foreign vloggers such as Barrett, Jason Lightfoot seems to enjoy a privileged position in China with significant access, and in some cases, facilitated by local officials or state media in China.
Interestingly, YouTube does not flag any of these pro-China vloggers as “funded or supported” by the Chinese government. The videos posted by foreign vloggers on their personal channels are subsequently uploaded to and endorsed by government media accounts. For example, a video featuring vlogger Barrie Jones was not only uploaded to CGTN’s YouTube account, but China’s foreign ministry used it in one of its daily government press briefings.
It is still rather unclear why China’s foreign ministry promoted Barrie Jones as some sort of a credible voice at one of its press conferences.
However, Barrie Jones, who comes across as a conspiracy theorist, denies that his videos are pro-China propaganda material and described claims that he is part of a disinformation campaign as “laughable”.
“Neither China nor the Chinese government pays me to do what I do. The truth is if they offered, I would accept,” Barrie Jones said to BBC.
Another vlogger from Israel – Raz Gal-Or, has posted videos of his recent trips to China. According to Gal-Or, he was invited into people’s homes and farms in Xinjiang. In a video, he was seen interviewing random Xinjiang locals. However, later it was revealed that a film crew from CGTN accompanied Gal-Or on his trip.
China wants to employ foreign vloggers to counter western media propaganda
It also appears that China has aggressively increased its network of foreigners with the help of state-owned media outlets. On its website, CGTN has mentioned that it currently has more than 700 “global stringers” worldwide, whom they offer “international visibility” and huge money.
China intends to expand the network of foreign influencers further by offering cash rewards of up to $10,000 (about Rs 7,50,000) to reporters, podcasters, vloggers, presenters and influencers who wish to join the newly-launched “media challengers” campaign.
CGTN is looking to find English-speaking reporters, podcasters, presenters and influencers from all over the world. Sign up for the chance to win up to $10,000! https://t.co/Ft9axKdIGEhttps://t.co/KtBRPYQ75l
— The Media Challengers (@aMEDIAchallenge) April 23, 2021
Incidentally, Jason Lightfoot and the Barretts have also featured in promotional material for this campaign.
— The Media Challengers (@aMEDIAchallenge) April 20, 2021
As per the BBC report, the Chinese media outlets are now focusing on using “internet celebrities and influencers” to “fight back” against foreign media reporting.
There is a special “internet celebrities” department within CGTN, who contact foreigners to either use their videos or to co-operate to make videos together”, BBC reported. More recently, some departments have been instructed to “find foreigners to send to Xinjiang to represent us”.
Fake bots drive views and revenue for these vloggers, experts say
The above vloggers have successfully monetised their videos by quickly attracting tens of thousands of views on their channels, as well as hundreds of comments from Chinese commenters, even though YouTube is officially banned in China.
Australian cybersecurity researcher Robert Potter has claimed that even though some videos have attracted genuine views and support, there is evidence that fake bot accounts have been used to shoot up viewers’ data.
“There are a few things that YouTube does to stop someone repeatedly opening a video and playing it a thousand times,” he explained. Analysing Barretts’ YouTube page, Potter said, “You can see a lot of nationalist boards reposting [videos] and a mix of fake news sites boosting their content.
“This is ‘bot fraud’, where [users] stick a video on a fake news website and click through that instead of clicking replay on the YouTube video. They try and spoof YouTube into treating it like a legitimate view,” Potter said.
He observed a similar pattern on Barrie Jones’ videos as well. Potter said that there are several fake news pages with links to his videos on Xinjiang. He continued, “As for the comments on his videos, a large number of the users joined YouTube very recently. You can see the same people commenting again and again with obviously fraudulent accounts all created around the same time”.
These bots target videos that show China in a poor light, he said, adding, “The video that blows up is the Xinjiang video. It’s almost always the Xinjiang content.” These well-orchestrated attacks on social media have a long history in China. Previously, a group of social media accounts named “50 cent army” targeted anti-China accounts. They are named so because of reports they are paid small amounts of money to post pro-government messages.
This “keyboard army” has long been active, and with the advent of foreign vloggers, they have returned to inflate these vloggers’ presence and manipulate commentary on their pages. The scale of such campaigns is such that these propaganda videos could, in theory, rack up thousands of views organically.
During the 2019 Hong Kong protests, social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube witnessed a coordinated attempt by the Chinese government to spread disinformation on their channels. Even Google had revealed that attempts were made to disguise the origin of these accounts.
Meanwhile, BBC approached Lee Barrett and Barrie Jones to what exactly drives them to make such videos. In response, the Barretts posted on Twitter describing BBC’s report as a “hit piece” by the “anti-China biased BBC”.
China and the fake factory
Recently, OpIndia had reported how after the images of Xiapu, with perfect landscape and romance went viral, many photography enthusiasts visited the town only to realise the photographs were all staged. The photographers and travellers realised upon reaching Xiapu that the entire town was just a setup and the images captured were not real or live events, but these are faked lifestyle photos taken from staged events. The entire town of Xiapu is nothing but a setup developed by the Chinese to make the country the world’s best photography hot spot.
The internecine conflict within the three parties of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra seems to be intensifying as the state Congress president Nana Patole on Monday alleged that his party leaders were being snooped on by the Intelligence Department in the state.
Patole said the Intelligence Department of the Maharashtra state government is keeping a tab on Congress leaders and reports of all activities of Congress leaders reaches the Chief Minister and Home Minister every day at 9 am. The Home Ministry in Maharashtra is with Sharad Pawar’s NCP while the chief minister is Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray.
Patole went on to allege that even if he clandestinely organises a meeting between Congress leaders, the news of their gathering reaches the chief minister.
While addressing Congress workers in Lonavala, Patole said, “They have both the CM post as well as Home Ministry. We are in power together but they hold these powerful constitutional positions. They do not want Congress to fight independently in Maharashtra. The Intelligence Department has to share the information about my whereabouts with the CM and the Home Minister every morning at 9 am. What is happening where, where and when meetings are being held, what is the political situation, where the movement is taking place, the IB gives full information about it.”
“I went on a tour and there was a meeting scheduled at 3 o’clock in the night. He (CM) was also aware of this, even though the news did not come on TV, newspapers, but he knew it because they control the systems (state intelligence department). They know the ground beneath them is shifting and they will try all their might to hobble Congress party’s progress,” Patole said. The state chief also accused the NCP and Shiv Sena of ‘backstabbing’ the Congress party.
Pawar snubs Nana Patole, says he is not significant enough to warrant response
NCP supremo reacted to the sharp remarks made by Nana Patole during his meeting with Congress workers in Lonavala. Pawar said Patole was “a small leader whose comments do not warrant a response”.
When asked about Patole’s allegations, Pawar, who was in his hometown of Baramati, said, “I don’t want to get into this duel…They are small people, why should I comment on them? If Congress president Sonia Gandhi had said something, then I would have commented on it.”
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad in a letter dated July 12 has recommended that the Uttar Pradesh law commission omit the one-child policy from the proposed draft of the Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill, 2021.
VHP suggests UP Law commission to delet one child norm from the draft population policy.. pic.twitter.com/YRcd9XsenS
— Vishva Hindu Parishad -VHP (@VHPDigital) July 12, 2021
This comes shortly after the commission called for suggestions and recommendations from the public on the draft by the Law Commission. The letter starts with welcoming the government’s decision to take the right step towards population control but has highlighted several drawbacks of the single child policy.
Details of the letter:
The letter started with a suggestion to reconsider the objective to bring the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) to 1.7 within a certain limit.
It is pertinent that the Total Fertility Rate is also defined as the replacement rate. As per reports, “If, on average, women give birth to 2.1 children and these children survive to the age of 15, any given woman will have replaced herself and her partner upon death.”
VHP’s recommendation letter on population control bill
The VHP notes that the policy which aims at less than two children per woman would disbalance the stability and have negative social and economic consequences.
To further its point, the VHP in the letter cited an example of China where it elaborated on the contracting population and disruption in the ratio between working age and dependent population in case the one-child policy norm is adopted.
VHP’s recommendation letter on population control bill
“It is said that in China, the one-child policy was never applied to more than half of the prospective parents. Within three decades, it had to be completely withdrawn,” the letter reads.
The third probable repercussion to the one-child policy emphasized the community disbalance it might cause. It gave an example of the growing disparity in Kerala and Assam where the TFR of Hindus declined below the replacement rate of 2.1. Whereas, the TFR of Muslims was 2.33 and 3.16 respectively, thus highlighting the contraction of one community and expansion of the other.
VHP’s recommendation letter on population control bill
Ending the letter of recommendation, the VHP pointed out the relevant clause of the proposed bill which needed reconsideration and tailoring.
UP’s population control bill
The proposed draft of the Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill, 2021 was presented to the public last week. The proposed bill, if implemented into law, will provide benefits to those who have only up to two children.
There are certain benefits promised to public servants with only two children and then there are more that are promised for those who have adopted the one-child norm. The proposed benefits for those with two children include “two additional increments during the entire service” and “rebate on charges for utilities such as water, electricity, water, house tax”. The bill also proposed “free health care facility and insurance coverage to spouse”.
However, the bill promised additional benefits to public servants who adopt the one-child policy.
The entire list of benefits for one-child
Such benefits include free education till graduation, preference for the single-child in premier educational institutions such as IIM and AIIMS and government jobs.
