Open Source Investigation: Noteworthy Elements Circulating Fake News about Indian Army's takeover of Keran Village, AJK [Thread]
After a thorough scan of public posts on multiple social media platforms, it is established that the originator of this fake news is Indian Army Major (Retd) Shailendra Kumar. He tweeted the 'news' at 2:18am GMT (7:18am PST and 7:48am IST). Archived copy: archive.vn/Xukfp 
Correction: Shailendra Singh*
The officer's LinkedIn profile (match confirmed with Twitter) suggests he took premature retirement from Indian Army, having served almost 12 years in uniform (1995 till 2007). Copy of profile: gofile.io/?c=ua2Szs
He's the Founder and CEO of WomenCabs[dot]com, an initiative he setup through his entrepreneurial venture "R2R Ventures LLP".
R2R Ventures LLP was incorporated in October 2014 in Bangalore between Major (Retd) Shailendra Kumar Singh and his spouse > LLP Identification Number is (LLPIN) AAC-8260.
An old photo in uniform retrieved from his old tweet: archive.vn/JQqG6
Major (Retd) Singh does voiceovers for freelancing also, found his profile through reverse-image searching of his photos: archive.vn/fYViM
Hundreds of India-based handles have been amplifying different versions of this fake news based on rumours/ hearsay. I'm going to highlight some of those I found most interesting.
At 5:44am GMT, Twitter account "Nardeep Pujji" posted a series of sensational tweets claiming Indian Army takeover in Keran village. Archived thread: archive.vn/PnSKa
Although some of the tweets by "Nardeep Pujji" suggest it is operated by an Indian citizen, a detailed analysis of tweets since emerging in 2009 indicates it is a disinformation account associated with a foreign-origin alt-right supporter who is heavily pro-Assad and pro-fascism.
Likely motives might include stoking disinformation to add fire to disinformation, increase followers count and legitimacy through snap 'reporting'.
Some of the most accounts most retweeted by "Nardeep Pujji" are known to disseminate pro-Syrian regime propaganda (marked in red).
Some of the accounts most mentioned in tweets by "Nardeep Pujji" are those of 'TruNews', a known disinformation outlet operated by Rick Wiles, a facist Islamophobe and anti-Semite known to be pro-Trump. Also, BJP's favourite Republic TV.
Have a look at the most-used hashtags. Diverse, right? Typical of most Russian-origin accounts and Alt-Right US-based accounts created expressly to fan confusion and chaos on social media spaces. The hashtag "crop circle" is clearly conspiracy theory material.
Have a look at some of the curated lists by various Twitter users in which "Nardeep Pujji" is included. Broadly speaking, they categorise it under pro-Trump and pro-Assad propaganda.
At 5:21am GMT, Twitter account "Conflict Intelligence Network", a known influential Indian disinformation handle, distributed this news. It is currently suspended by Twitter. Archived copy of chat thread: archive.vn/5IcUI
At 6:14am GMT, an Indian website "NewsAgencyIndia" published a report claiming takeover of Keran and 'waving the tri-colour' (India's state flag). Archived copy of report: archive.vn/Hf1jG
The 7 administrators of "NewsAgencyIndia" are:-
1. Dinesh Bhatt.
2. Sunil Kumawat.
3. Dheeraj Kumawat.
4. Nikhil Jain.
5. Raghvendra Sharma.
6. Dr Pradeep Singh Shaktawat.
7. Sourabh Porwal Dungarpuria.
Almost all them are based in Udairpur, Rajasthan.
1. Dinesh Bhatt.
2. Sunil Kumawat.
3. Dheeraj Kumawat.
4. Nikhil Jain.
5. Raghvendra Sharma.
6. Dr Pradeep Singh Shaktawat.
7. Sourabh Porwal Dungarpuria.
Almost all them are based in Udairpur, Rajasthan.
The same gentlemen administer Facebook pages of Udaipur-based business such as "Brewz Rck Cafe" and "Rajasthani Safa House", to name a few.
The website is a part of Extend Technosoft Pvt Ltd, an IT services firm in Udairpur, Rajasthan.
My findings suggest that the fake news campaign around Keran sector is Indian-origin but being exploited by a variety of interest groups to promote hysteria and, as we saw in the case of Pak-India standoff earlier this year, conflict escalation.
I request @twitter to develop a mechanism to prevent irresponsible users from amplifying disinformation on their platform or to enable a reporting feature through which observers can share their detailed findings. [End]
@Twitter @threadreaderapp unroll
