Active Surge of 5,000 Foreign Facebook Accounts Detected in Assam: Himanta Sarma
Guwahati's Election Anxieties:
Assam's top dog, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, dropped a bombshell during a press conference at Lok Sewa Bhawan in Dispur.He's seen thousands of fishy Facebook accounts suddenly swimming around, and they're suspected to be linked to a particular community. Most of these accounts, however, aren't based in Bharat, but rather overseas.
Zooming in on the situation, Sarma pointed out that these profiles are juiced up on content related to Assam's elections, promoting a specific political party – allegedly the Assam Congress party. Surprisingly, these commentator curmudgeons keep their mouths shut when it comes to national leaders like PM Narendra Modi or Rahul Gandhi.
So, what's cooking in these secret saucepans? They dish out hardcore Islamic fundamentalist chat, often seasoned with political jibes about Assam. But when they're not dishing about Assam, they're serving up content about Iran, Iraq, Palestine, or religious topics like Umrah.
Many of these accounts are freshly baked and claim to hail from IIT Guwahati, in an attempt to gain credibility. But the tech heads at IIT Guwahati were left scratching their heads, with no record of such individuals. Digging deeper, investigators discovered that two of these accounts were rightfullycooked up in Bangladesh and Pakistan. It seems these cooks love using fake identities and addresses to fool the public!
Sarma's team has flagged these fishy activities and has these culprits under the government's watch. He also hinted at local connections in bustling Guwahati, specifically the GS Road and Kharghuli areas, although the details remain hazy.
This shady dance has been going on for about a month now, and while Sarma didn't name any names, he hinted that they're keeping a sharp eye on the situation. These cooks reportedly gather around in WhatsApp or Telegram groups, becoming more active after any hot potato incidents.
What's Cooking?
A thorough investigation found these accounts primarily based in Islamic countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Close to 2,092 accounts were audited, with about 618 coming from Bangladesh, 236 from Pakistan, and 88 from Kuwait. These accounts share pro-Assam Congress content, avoiding discussions about national leaders like Narendra Modi or Rahul Gandhi.
The content posted includes a mix of Islamic fundamentalist material and Assam's political narratives. Some accounts wrongly proclaim themselves as students of IIT Guwahati to increase their credibility. However, IIT Guwahati has confirmed that there's no record of these individuals attending the institution. Moreover, two of the accounts have been traced back to Bangladesh and Pakistan.
These accounts keep an eye on a specific Assam Congress leader and the party's state unit pages. The Assam government has informed the central government about this surge in foreign-linked Facebook accounts, considering it a matter of national security.
To sum it up, the investigation uncovered a coordinated attempt to manipulate Assam's political discourse through thousands of foreign-linked Facebook accounts. These accounts spew out targeted political and religious content, with suspected links to foreign countries and local connections. The government is actively monitoring and auditing these accounts to ensure a fair election process.
- The investigation into the fishy Facebook accounts has revealed they predominantly originate from Islamic countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan, with a significant number coming from Bangladesh and Pakistan.
- The content shared by these accounts is a mix of Islamic fundamentalist material and political narratives related to Assam, with a focus on promoting the Assam Congress party while avoiding discussions about national leaders like Narendra Modi or Rahul Gandhi.
