Mohammad Zubair, the co-founder of propaganda website Alt News is nominated for an award, not the Nobel Peace Prize, but the Index on Censorship’s Freedom of Expression Awards 2023. The propagandist is nominated in the category of journalism alongside two others. The website of Index on Censorship (IoC) states that this award is given to “the people carrying out courageous, high-impact and determined journalism that exposes censorship and threats to free expression.”
Notably, Index on Censorship is a nonprofit that claims to defend “people’s freedom to express themselves without fear of harm or persecution.”
In a three-paragraph description of Mohammad Zubair, IoC mentioned that Zubair and others founded Alt News to “bust fake news to address flaws in the Indian media ecosystem” including “overt political pressure” and “opaque methods” employed by the government to fund certain media outlets. Furthermore, the Index of Censorship noted that since Zubair and Alt News have been amplifying ‘dissenting’ voices and creating barriers to prevent the spread of mis/disinformation, the outlet has “faced considerable social, litigious and political pressure to halt their work.”
In the description, the IoC has blatantly whitewashed the act of sharing a cropped video without context as ‘exposing’. It is notable here that in the TV debate, Nupur Sharma was responding to derogatory and extremely Hinduphobic remarks given by an Islamist with details about Prophet Mohammad’s life as mentioned in Islamic scriptures. However, Zubair had intentionally cropped the part where Hinduphobic comments were made, and shared Sharma’s video without context, branding her statement as ‘Islamophobia’. The subsequent allegations of ‘blasphemy’, and the outrage it generated among radical Islamists caused multiple murders and several acts of violence and vandalism in India by Islamist elements.
In the description, the IoC has blatantly whitewashed the act of sharing a cropped video without context as ‘exposing’. It has hailed the act of branding some factual statements found in Islamic scriptures as ‘blasphemy’ and equated it with some kind of journalistic bravery, completely ignoring the fact that Islamists committed murder over it, and Nupur Sharma faces a threat of life due to Zubair’s actions.
AltNews and Zubair, the habitual fake news peddlers
Interestingly, while the IoC claims that Mohammad Zubair and his propaganda outlet are preventing the spread of mis/disinformation, the so-called fact-checking website often spreads fake news, obfuscates the truth, and invents details to shield Islamists and those opposed to the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party. In fact, Alt News’s Zubair himself has been called out for spreading lies and peddling fake news.
In July this year, Zubair shared a cropped video of Kanwariyas pelting stones in Bareilly to hide the fact that it was carried out in retaliation for an unproved attack by Islamists. By shrewdly avoiding the context of the video, he thus insinuated that it was somehow a ‘free-for-all’ case of stone pelting.
Prior to this, Zubair in June this year falsely suggested that YouTuber Akshat Shrivastava took money from the Union government to criticise the Congress party. Shrivastava later took to Twitter to lambast Zubair for his ‘half-baked research’ and ‘baseless allegations.’
A month earlier, Alt News co-founder and his lackey shared a cropped video to falsely claim that BJP Tamil Nadu chief, Annamalai, claimed credit for CSK’s win in the Indian Premier League.
Zubair had also used misinformation to target the BJP over the inauguration of the new Parliament building. The ‘ignorant’ fact-checker made it clear that he did not know the difference between the ‘foundation’ and ‘inauguration’ of a structure.
Alt News also attempted to shield Congress workers, who were allegedly heard raising ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans. Initially, he had claimed that there was no contentious sloganeering but later claimed that the proof was inconclusive. These are just a few instances where Zubair and Alt News have peddled fake news.
The Index for Censorship then mentions that in June last year, Mohammed Zubair ‘exposed’ a national spokesperson of the BJP who made ‘hateful’ and ‘Islamophobic’ remarks on national television. The organisation added that following his tweet exposing the BJP spokesperson, whose IoC decided not to mention, was arrested by Delhi Police and Uttar Pradesh Police. It goes on to lament over Zubair’s arrest and FIRs. The IoC downplayed the fact Mohammed Zubair dog whistled against Nupur Sharma. He is the man responsible for unleashing Islamists and jeopardising the safety of former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, who, due to the threats, continues to live a restricted life and makes rare public appearances.
Md Zubair had shared a cropped video to brand Nupur Sharma’s statement as ‘blasphemy’, subjecting her to death threats by Islamists
It is worth recalling that in May 2022, ex-BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma was part of a debate panel on Times Now, discussing the finding of Shivling in the Gyanvapi complex and the subsequent mockery of the Hindu Gods and Goddesses that followed in the wake of the discovery. Nupur Sharma in response to the repeated derogatory remarks being made by an Islamist on the debate panel made some comments about Prophet Muhammed’s life that is given in Islamic scriptures. The Alt News fact checker, however, shared an incomplete video of the debate, triggering Sar Tan Se Juda protests all over the country, the horrific killing of some supporters of Nupur Sharma and outrage in Islamic countries.
The question is why any organisation would nominate a fake news peddler and propagandist like Mohammed Zubair for an award despite being aware of these facts. The background of the Index for Censorship, including its funding sources, is the answer to the question.
IoC and its links to Soros and CIA
Taking to X, The Hawk Eye pointed out that the Index for Censorship is an organisation funded by controversial financier George Soros’s Open Society Foundations (OSF) which has been backing anti-India elements operating inside India. OpIndia has in detail covered OSF’s history and its anti-India activities.
“OSF (Soros), NED (alleged CIA’s leg), VICE funded org ‘Index on Censorship’ has nominated propaganda portal Alt News co-fo Md Zubair for an award. This is usual perks for ‘useful idiots’ for such orgs,” The Hawk Eye posted on X.
OSF (Soros), NED (alleged CIA's leg), VICE funded org 'Index on Censorship' has nominated propaganda portal Alt News co-fo Md Zubair for an award. This is usual perks for 'useful idiots' for such orgs.
— The Hawk Eye (@thehawkeyex) October 4, 2023
I've demonstrated it before how to check funding & affiliation in 60secs.
🎥 pic.twitter.com/CWFC1Mg4Ti
In February this year, George Soros openly expressed his disdain for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accused him of crony capitalism saying that he has good relationships with businessman Gautam Adani. In January 2020, the American billionaire committed $1 billion to start a global university to “fight nationalists” and climate change, calling them twin challenges that threaten the survival of our civilization. Soros had also accused PM Modi of creating a “Hindu nationalist state” adding that he is somehow threatening the Muslims to deprive them of their citizenship.
IoC’s website had mentioned NED and George Soros’ OSF among its list of donors.
Another prominent body funding the Index for Censorship is National Endowment for Democracy which has often been labelled as the “second CIA”. Although the NED’s website states that it is a “nonprofit foundation dedicated to the growth and strengthening of democratic institutions around the world”, a 1985 NYT article mentioned that NED provided French right-wing student groups with $575000 to campaign against former president François Mitterrand. The NED has been accused of involvement in regime change operations in many countries including Bolivia, Venezuela and Ecuador.
It is interesting to note that NED’s founder Allen Weinstein had in 1991 said that what NED does today was done by the CIA secretly over 25 years back. “A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA,” Weinstein said.
In February this year, OpIndia published a report detailing the connection between the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and The Poynter Institute for Media Studies, which runs the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), both funded by George Soros’s Open Society Foundations and the propaganda portal Alt News.
