Thread:

This is yet another feather in the empire of falsehood that is OpIndia. The claim that @AltNews misled the NGO Vikramshila and that they were unaware of @AltNews's association is completely false.

1/n Since December 2022, altED incubated by @AltNews has been working on a media and information literacy curriculum for kids aged 12-14. As part of this initiative, we started working at a center managed by Vikramshila about two months ago.

2/n

The fact that the hate-filled, lying cult is still seething 72 hours later shows how much the work we do at @AltNews inconveniences them. That's an excellent reason for more people to work on exposing misinformation and hate speech.

1/n One tiny organisation can do only so much. It is when more people join hands, and work either together or independently, would the impact increase manyfold.

2/n

Thread:

Five years ago, @ShivAroor and @gauravcsawant broadcast this false information on @IndiaToday with the most provocative messaging.

1/n BJP Karnataka's press release on the issue was equally provocative. Multiple BJP leaders including Union Minister @ShobhaBJP and BJP leader @ArvindLBJP had pushed the false claim.

2/n

Post the fact-check by my colleague @AbhishekSay about how mainstream media orgs including @IndiaToday wrongly claimed that the St George's Cross in the Indian Navy's flag was re-introduced during UPA, @ShivAroor put out a clarification, first on Twitter, and later on TV. 1/n In this televised clarification, @ShivAroor suggested that the fact that he didn't brazen this out is evidence of his fairness and non-partisanship as a journalist. 2/n

https://twitter.com/ShivAroor/status/1570752272665300993

The claim that @zoo_bear put out an edited video is completely false, and it is a lie propagated by @NupurSharmaBJP. Zubair put an unedited clip of the relevant part of the video where Nupur Sharma uses derogatory/insulting language on live TV. 1/n Times Now has now changed the status of the video on their YouTube channel to private. However, we downloaded the entire 33-minute video before it could be made private and the relevant clip can be seen in the next tweet. 2/n

THREAD: For months now, certain members and sympathisers of Congress have been running propaganda against @AltNews claiming that we're pro-AAP. Till now, we have avoided responding to these allegations because they're so utterly ridiculous. 1/ However, since there's no letting up of this collective targeting, it is necessary to respond. 2/

Alt News is starting a new initiative against hate speech and we are calling it UnHate. UnHate can be followed on Twitter at @unhate_in.

🧵 Thread 🧵
[1/5] For now, we’ll be documenting objectionable speech through a Twitter account. However, we will soon launch a portal that will facilitate documenting all forms of objectionable speech made by public and political personalities as well as social media influencers.

[2/5]

It is unlikely that PM had a teleprompter gaffe. If you look at the WEF version of the recording of his speech, someone in the background says, "Sir aap unse ek baar pooche ki sab jud gaye kya". This portion is not clear in the video live-streamed on PM's YouTube channel.

1/n After this, the PM questions if he and the interpreter can be heard properly, to which Klaus Schwab responds stating that he can. However, Schwab interrupts the PM's speech to give a brief introduction.

2/n

Hello friends, this month @AltNews is behind on donations. We are 6 lakhs short of what we need monthly. Please consider making a contribution to @AltNews.

URL: instamojo.com/@altnews

Thank you for all your support! Now are are 5 lakhs short of what we need, we got 1 lakh in the last 8 minutes.

Please contribute at:

URL: instamojo.com/@altnews

Thank you!

Truth vs Fiction - A thread

1/n What is the definition of backtracking?

To withdraw from an undertaking, position.

2/n

[Thread]

Do listen to this 41 second clip, and I'll try and answer a few questions that were raised by @bhupendrachaube in his conversation with @MichaelKugelman.

1/n Chaube: I searched Twitter, could not find a handle called Amnesty Forensics Department or Amnesty Forensics Lab.

Yes, because the handle is called @AmnestyTech, and has been around since 2016. [I can give a quick tutorial to folks at India Ahead as to how to use Google.]

2/n

[Thread] The new IT Minister is trying to mislead the Parliament by suggesting that the only evidence available right now is that the numbers have appeared in a leaked database, and that the phones have not been analysed.

1/n A peer-reviewed forensic report by @amnesty has shown how phones of certain Indian users who were targeted show clear signs of a Pegasus Malware infection.

2/n

I can't relate to a lot of my fellow country people anymore, and the reason for that is not because we speak a different language, or follow a different culture, or live in a different state. It is because our perceived realities are completely different.

1/n The politics of this country has divided us in a way which cannot be undone. At this point in time, I see no possibility of ever being friends with these individuals even if we crossed paths in life because their perception of reality is completely different than mine.

2/n

Indian Police is sending requests to Twitter to take down content posted by likes of @MANJULtoons, @zoo_bear claiming that it violates Indian law. We don't know which police department is sending these requests, nor do we know what law their tweets violate - no transparency. 1/n But since when did police become the judiciary in India? How does police get to decide what content violates Indian law and what doesn't?

2/n

While many are rejoicing Twitter marking posts of BJP leaders as 'Manipulated Media', and others are accusing Twitter of bias, I think we must all pause and reflect on this policy.

{Thread} Why has Twitter decided to mark those particular posts as 'Manipulated Media'? - That is the question any user will have when they see that tag, but there's no answer to it. How did Twitter determine? Have they provided a reference to their findings for their users?

Toolkit status after 60 hours - Thread

On 18th morning, screenshots of two documents went viral, and was claimed to be a Congress 'toolkit'. Many top leaders of BJP shared these screenshots and accused Congress of trying to make political capital out of a pandemic.

1/n This 'toolkit' came about at a time when the Modi govt had been criticised from all quarters, including some of their own leaders, for their failures, which has led to the deaths of thousands of Indians, deaths that were completely avoidable.

2/n

Rahul Roushan runs a rather popular portal and has a significant following on Twitter, but still continues to depend on these proxy accounts. What was this account @totalwoke called till a while ago? - @MyFakingNews

In the latest toolkit episode, screenshots of two documents were shared initially by the Twitter handle @Teambharat_. One was titled, "Cornering Narendra Modi & BJP on COVID Management". Other was titled, "Central Vista Redevelopment: Vanity Project Amidst the Pandemic". 1/n While the claim by BJP is that both the documents have been created by Congress, certain discrepancies in the 'COVID Management' document show that the document is not genuine. The primary issue is that letterheads used do not match. 2/n

[Thread] Twitter had earlier claimed that it had shut accounts which had asked for a repeat of 1984. I did a quick search and found tens of accounts which had used the phrase 'repeat 1984' that are still active and merrily tweeting away. How easy it is to find these tweets? Check the search query in the screenshot. You enter that query that I have used => 'repeat 1984 until:2021-1-27' into the Twitter search box, and then go to the 'Latest' tab (arrow).

Thread:

After 14 months of the Pulwama attack, we still don't know who's been held accountable for the death of 40 CRPF personnel. We haven't been told how 300 kilos of explosives were sourced and transported. Who leaked the route that CRPF convoy was going to take? No answers. The media doesn't ask these questions despite all the claims of putting 'Nation first'. That's because for them, 'Nation first' = 'Government first'. Those who ask these questions are declared anti-national, and rest will wait for a figure of how many of 'theirs' could we kill.

He's a columnist at @ThePrintIndia. Talks about flashing at mothers and spitting on them. A proud moment for the investors, owners and employees of @ThePrintIndia, who continue their association with this individual without protest. He also appears regularly on channels like @IndiaToday, @republic and @TimesNow. I have very little hope in Indian TV channels making any amends because these channels are beyond shaming.