On 16th October (Monday), Foreign investigative journalist and founder of RAIR Foundation USA, Amy Mek, alerted Indians about the fake news peddling site Alt News and its co-founder Mohammed Zubair. She pointed out that just like in the case of Former BJP Spokesperson Nupur Sharma, Alt News’ co-founder Mohammed Zubair has been painting a target on her back for exposing the crimes of Islamist terror outfits like Hamas.
Taking to X, American Woman journalist Mek asserted that a ‘Jihadi’ named Mohammed Zubair, operating a left-wing disinformation portal Alt News, has been carrying out a smear campaign against her and others who are exposing the propaganda of the terrorist organisation Hamas. (Archived)
ALERT: To my followers in India…
— Amy Mek (@AmyMek) October 16, 2023
There seems to be a Jihadi named Mohammad Zubair who operates a left-wing disinformation site called Alt News. He is attempting to smear me and other conservatives for exposing Hamas' propaganda.
Is this the same antisemitic/hinduphobic…
In her post, she inquired whether Mohammed Zubair was the same guy who endangered the life of Nupur Sharma for quoting references from the Islamic holy scriptures.
She asked, “Is this the same antisemitic/hinduphobic individual who targeted Nupur Sharma and endangered her life?”
Regarding the genesis of the controversy revolving around Sharma, she highlighted, “This was simply because she (Nupur Sharma) reported factual information about Prophet Muhammad and the age of one of his wives, Aisha. She noted that Aisha was 6 years old when married and 9 when the marriage was consummated.”
Notably, on 26th May 2022, former spokesperson of BJP Nupur Sharma participated in a debate on the Gyanvapi disputed structure case on Times Now, where the other panellist from the Muslim community repeatedly abused Bhagwan Shiv. In response, Sharma remarked on Prophet Muhammad by narrating what has been written in Islamic holy scriptures. What she said has often been cited by various Islamic scholars, including hate preacher Zakir Naik.
AltNews’ Mohammed Zubair’s role in the controversy
Fake news peddling portal AltNews’ co-founder Mohammed Zubair exploited the debate by cleverly trimming the video clip of the debate to target Nupur Sharma. Little after the debate, he published a tweet and said, “Prime Time debates in India have become a platform to encourage hate mongers to speak ill about other religions. Times Now’s Anchor Navika Kumar is encouraging a rabid communal hatemonger & a BJP Spokesperson to speak rubbish that can incite riots. Shame on you, Vineet Jain.”
It is notable that Zubair cleverly snapped the part where a Muslim speaker had used derogatory language for Shivling. The clip starts with Nupur warning him to stop abusing the Hindu religion and its Gods. However, Zubair, in his tweet, insinuated to make it look like only Nupur had used derogatory remarks.
Soon several media houses, including international media, picked it up to attack India. British online paper Independent also noted in a report that it was Zubair who initiated the first attack on Nupur.
Zubair posted the tweet at 11:31 AM on May 27. In less than an hour, at 12:08 PM, Sharma confronted him and asked him not to put up fake videos. She asked him to check the complete video to get the context. By that time, Nupur had already started getting rape and death threats. She published some screenshots of the comments she had received.
Zubair is a dangerous individual, Mek notes
Further in her post, Mek highlighted that Zubair has been under the scanner of Indian agencies and was once arrested (for hurting religious sentiments).
She noted that Zubair seems to be a dangerous individual who dog-whistles and encourages his followers to harass people. She said, “I also heard that he was arrested in India and seems to be a dangerous individual who encourages his followers to harass people.”
She further asked if is it true that Zubair has received money from George Soros’s Open Society Foundations (OSF), which supports anti-India elements operating within India.
The so-called ‘fact-checker’ Zubair has been notorious for leaking sensitive private (doxxing) information of persons to paint a target on them and has been endangering their lives. Pointing towards this aspect, Mek asked, “Is it true that he (Zubair) has doxxed people as well?”
Mek concluded by asking Indians to share more information about Zubair.
