Twitter Files: Twitter Files reveal Hindu nationalists were targeted by US think tank's 'disinformation lab'

When journ*list Matt Taibbi released the 17th version of the Twitter Files, some 40,000 American Twitter users, including many US citizens, discovered a US government-funded group was tracking them for alleged “disinformation” and “online harassment.” One such Twitter user was Savitri (Twitter handle: @MumukshuSavitri). Savitri is an entrepreneur and designer. She often curates Twitter threads on Hindu history, art, traditions, and cuisines of India. When she checked the list of handles released in Taibbi’s file, she was “shocked” to find herself on the list.

Another aspect of Taibbi’s latest Twitter Files release was the involvement of an ultra-Left Indian news portal. Reacting to the Twitter Files revelations, the DFRLab released a statement that the dataset sent to Twitter’s Trust & Safety Team for verification was “part of an investigation into alleged coordinated disinformation and online harassment in India, conducted in parallel with the Indian outlet…” One of the reporters from the Indian news portal had collected the dataset and shared it with the DFRLab alleging those tweets were from the “Hindu nationalists” and BJP supporters.

While the Indian news portal approached DFRLab seeking help in punitive measures against “Hindu nationalists” and BJP supporters on Twitter in the US, it was also engaged in a bizarre dispute with Facebook’s parent company Meta. The dispute involved an “explosive” story the Indian news portal had published in October of 2022. The story claimed that Amit Malviya, a top BJP functionary in India, could effectively scrub Instagram posts unilaterally. The Indian news portal went to extreme lengths to prove its allegations. Meta claimed that the Indian outlet’s stories on this issue were based on fabricated documents. The outlet later pulled its stories off its website “pending the outcome of an internal review process on… Meta coverage.” It was distressing for many Hindu American observers to note that a well-reputed and well-established think-tank like Atlantic Council (AC) did not do its due diligence in entertaining requests from the Indian news portal. The portal is known for its anti-BJP and anti-Hindu coverages. Even a minimum amount of vetting by Atlantic Council’s outstanding team of experts would have revealed the portal’s agenda. According to Washington, DC-based political analyst Anang Mittal, the latest version of the Twitter Files shows “that the people running organizations designed to combat ‘misinformation’ are singularly focused on the government of Narendra Modi as their only target.”

Journos keep janny lists like bardfinn oh god this is too good.

In Atlantic Council’s defence, a quick review of its “experts” list revealed that while it has a few “South Asia” experts, it has no experts from India. None seem to have expertise in Hinduism, Hindu texts, and traditions, nor have they developed a widely accepted framework for defining “Hindu nationalism.” Also noteworthy is that a former Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan occupies a prominent position on its International Advisory Board.

These r-slurs still think their elites give one frick about the pakis sponsoring the guy who killed thousands of them.

This revelation comes on the heels of Teaneck (N.J.) Democrats’ resolution last year that erroneously categorized several Hindu organizations operating in the US as terrorist groups. The resolution also tried to intimidate and bully Hindus by calling on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other US investigative and law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute organizations such as the Hindu American Foundation, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA), Sewa International, Infinity Foundation, etc.

Also disturbing has been the silence of the Indian/Hindu American political class, notably the recently enlarged and empowered Samosa Caucus.

>Samosa Caucus

@himachalite you are duty bound to shoot up what I imagine must be a gathering of the most repugnant soys in the disapora Do us proud