Mohammed Zubair, the Alt News co-founder who keeps begging for donations on Twitter when he is not engaged in dog-whistling against his ideological opponents, recently took to the microblogging website seeking alms for the Indian media from the new Twitter CEO, Elon Musk.
In response to Mr Musk’s tweet asking what Twitter should do next, Zubair, currently out on bail in connection with his denigratory posts on Hindu Gods and Goddesses, tweeted, “Invest in Indian Media.”
Mr Musk has sent shockwaves across the social media and tech industry, first by acquiring Twitter in a $44 billion deal and then by instituting a slew of changes, including laying off half of Twitter’s 7,500 employees, in what he touted as imperative measures aimed at building Twitter 2.0—an ambitious plan to revitalise the social media behemoth.
Even so, Musk’s policy moves and his vision to transform Twitter have sent the global left into consternation, with many expressing anxiety and dread that the billionaire entrepreneur’s commitment to absolute free speech may dilute the existing content moderation mechanism on Twitter, which has largely been built keeping in mind the sensitivities of the global left.
That angst of losing control over conversations that take place on arguably the world’s most influential social media platform, along with the fear of losing the status of belonging to an elite group as Musk doubles down on his efforts to democratise and commercialise the blue tickmark has further exacerbated the apprehensions harboured by the global left.
How Mohammed Zubair’s penchant for peddling propaganda, and Hinduphobia turned him into a blue-eyed boy of the Indian left
Mohammed Zubair has been a loyal footsoldier of the global left and one of the many blue-eyed boys the Indian left ecosystem has deployed in its larger propaganda war to undermine the Modi government and precipitate its undoing.
Recently, the Indian left-leaning media firmament and the global left went into overdrive, casting Mohammed Zubair as a victim of state-sponsored intimidation after Delhi Police arrested him for derogatory posts mocking Hindu Gods and Goddesses.
Elaborate articles and op-eds were published in local and global publications arguing how the Modi government was stamping out dissent with the arrest of Mohammed Zubair, though his arrest took place on an independent complaint filed by a Twitter user complaining against the Hinduphobic tweets the Alt News co-founder had posted in the past.
Ironically, it was Mohammed Zubair who had shared an incomplete video of Nupur Sharma’s riposte to Taslim Rehmani’s incendiary remarks on Shivling during a Times Now debate that galvanised Islamists across the country into baying for the former BJP leader’s blood and organising ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ protest rallies against her—all in the name of blasphemy against the Islamic prophet. Several Hindus, including Kanhaiya Lal and Umesh Kolhe, lost their lives for simply expressing their solidarity with Sharma in the resultant chaos touched off by Zubair’s dog-whistling against her.
He was even projected as a journalist by his sympathisers, even though he had scoffed at being referred to as a ‘journalist’ and has dissociated himself from the profession. But his treachery is not limited to this alone. Earlier this year, Zubair allowed fake news of his nomination to the Nobel Peace Prize to pervade across Twitter, even though he fashions himself as a ‘fact-checker’ who takes pride in being prompt at debunking ‘fake news’.
October 5 was no less than Eid for the liberal cabal as their two favourite self-proclaimed fact-checkers and founders of propaganda website Alt News, Muhammed Zubair and Pratik Sinha, made the list of Time’s “favourites to win the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize“. The list of “favourites” was published by Time based on nominations that were made public via “Norwegian lawmakers, bookmakers’ odds, and a personal shortlist by the director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO).”
As it turned out, Zubair and Pratik Sinha were not nominated for the prestigious Nobel Prize but the duo allowed the elaborate PR stunt to run unhindered, milking the new-found attention to raise funds for their propaganda outlet Alt News. Normally, the duo which claims nimbleness in “debunking” fake news reflected in the glory of fake news that they were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, without bothering to inform their followers that the reports of their nomination had been misleading.
Zubair asks Musk to invest in Indian media while relentlessly attacking Indian business magnates Ambani and Adani
Even as Zubair seeks an American entrepreneur to invest in Indian media, he has not hesitated in denigrating successful Indian business magnates who have forayed into media organisations, reflecting the colonial hangover of the brown sahebs in reposing faith in foreign entrepreneurs while pouring scorn over the native home-grown businessmen. It personifies a deep sense of contempt and disrespects that pervades among the brown sahebs, who are perpetually on the mission to ingratiate their white masters and run down those who seek to challenge their authority.
The Alt News co-founder has often targeted Ambani and Advani to insinuate cronyism by the Modi government. The attack on the duo also coincides with the Congress party’s relentless campaign alleging that the Modi government has helped only a few businessmen, pejoratively referring to the group as “Ambanis and Adanis”.
But more importantly, Zubair’s salvos against Ambani are directed at his ownership of the News 18 group for running reports that expose Alt News’ meticulously crafted narrative of shielding Islamists and perpetuating Muslim victimhood.
Referring to News 18 as the Ambani channel or journalist working for News 18 as an Ambani employee has been a constant refrain from Zubair, seemingly to discredit the organisation and its employees without proffering any evidence for the same. By using the epithets that link the channel to Ambani, Zubair tries to insinuate that the organisation does not have an independent editorial board and it is Reliance Industries Pvt Ltd’s owner who is calling the shots at the media outlet.
Therefore, it is deeply amusing to see Mohammed Zubair beseech Elon Musk for investing in Indian media, for Musk is known for concentrating powers in his hands and using a heavy-handed approach to manage organisations under his control. Musk also is the poster boy for the Global non-left and holds ‘values’ enshrined by the Global Left in utter contempt, often mocking them on various forums and expressing his disgust for them. In the Indian context, Musk is more ‘Sanghi’ than even Modi, given the general definition of “Sanghi” thrown around by the Indian left. So Good luck to Zubair for asking him to invest in Indian media. If Musk indeed invests, it won’t be surprising that Zubair and his friends at Alt News be the first ones to lose their sleep and ring alarm bells over the state of Indian media.
