The EU DisinfoLab revealed that the Indian Chronicles, the India-funded fake news network was supported by the famous Indian news agency Asian News International (ANI). EU DisinfoLab found that ANI republished and circulated mostly anti-Pakistan material.
How does it work?
EU DisinfoLab found in its investigation that a fake news site EU Chronicle publishes anti-Pakistan articles which ANI reproduces and circulates among Indian and international media. Indian news media, especially broadcast media, use this material to create anti-Pakistan hype and generate ratings.
“The actors behind the operation hijacked the names of others, tried to impersonate regular media such as the EU Observer… used the letterhead of the European Parliament, registered websites under avatars with fake phone numbers, provided fake addresses to the United Nations, created publishing companies to print books of the think-tanks they owned,” stated EU DisinfoLab in its report. “They used layers of fake media that would quote and republish one another.”
According to BBC, “ANI’s news reports have found space in many mainstream Indian news outlets and publishers. Its content was further reproduced on more than 500 fake media websites across 95 countries, the researchers found. Demonstrations in Europe conducted by organisations linked to the Srivastava Group (SG) have also been covered by ANI, as well as by fake media websites linked to SG.”
