The Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) of the US State Department has set aside a whopping $2,00,000 (~₹1.67 crores) to recruit fact-checkers in India as part of its ‘Empowering Media Savvy Youth.’
Through this project, the Executive Department of the US federal government claims to confront ‘online manipulation’, combat ‘external influences’, secure digital landscape and reinforce regional security.
The US State Department is implementing the project starting 1st September this year in 5 cities of India – Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi.
This scheme of hiring ‘fact-checkers’ to promote its narrative in India has been shrewdly called a ‘targeted digital literacy and resilience program.’
“In India, where social media usage is widespread among the youth population, recent research by Indian, European, and American think tanks has highlighted how manipulative content is amplifying societal polarization and erodes institutional trust. This consequently strains U.S.-India bilateral relations, threatening collaborative efforts and diplomatic ties,” the US State Department made its agenda crystal clear.
It must be mentioned that US Embassies and Consulates in the country are already running projects and training programs such as ‘Learning to Discern (L2D)’ in the name of combating ‘misinformation.’
Influence peddling in the garb of fact-checking
OpIndia found that through its ‘Empowering Media Savvy Youth’ project, the US State Department is eyeing to train 160 L2D graduates as Youth Master Trainers (YMTs), making them conduct 320 sessions and impacting 32000 individuals.
To add to it, about 60 of the 32K individuals would be further trained to become ‘social media influencers’ to impact another 36000 people.
Another crystal clear objective of the project is to brainwash young and impressionable minds. “By targeting these segments, the project endeavours to actively combat misinformation and shape narratives effectively to address the root causes of disinformation,” the US State Department emphasised.
Interesting details of the ‘Empowering Media Savvy Youth’ project
The grant of $1,50,000- $2,00,000 will be given to one eligible organisation in India for the duration of 12-18 months. The organisations could be any of the following:
- Not-for-profit organizations
- Civil society/non-governmental organizations
- Think tanks
- Public and private educational institutions
- Public International Organizations and Governmental institutions
The organisation selected by the US State Department would create a ‘Youth Trainer Handbook’ for its target audience and translate them into 5 different languages namely, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, and Bengali.
A total of 32 ‘Learning to Discern (L2D)’ graduates would be trained from each city to become ‘Young Master Trainers’. They will later undergo the Training of Trainers (ToT) program.
They will conduct 320 youth-led training activities and impact at least 32000 people through collaboration with schools, NGOs, colleges and local universities. About 10 ‘media literacy’ events would be arranged in multiple cities.
12 participants will be chosen from each of the 5 cities – Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi. They will work in collaboration with social media influencers with at least 1 lakh followers for skill enhancement.
“The trained individuals will collaborate to develop synchronized social media campaigns aimed at promoting media literacy and critical thinking across Indian society,” the US State Department stated.
The plans also include the establishment of an online community and impacting an additional 36000 youths through targeted campaigns.
“The Youth Trainer Handbook will feature a dedicated segment on U.S. education and American Spaces in India. Translated materials will include educational resources about studying in the U.S. and American Spaces in India, ensuring accessibility for diverse individuals,” it further added.
Interestingly, the US State Department has claimed to not support projects relating to partisan political activity, specific religious activities or lobbying for specific legislation
Propaganda strategies in the name of debunking ‘misinformation’
The fact-checking organisation, selected for the project, would have to create a digital or offline engagement strategy to promote the ‘Empowering Media Savvy Youth’ project to influencers and audiences on social media and in schools and colleges.
It will also have to reach out to local government agencies, private sectors, and NGOs. The eligible organisation will have to craft a social media plan and submit a detailed monitoring and evaluation plan for the project.
It will have to periodically report to the Grants Officer, Grants Officer Representative and the American Spaces Directors through email, phone, video conference calls and in-person meetings.
US Embassy and its invitation to Akash Banerjee
On Thursday (17th July), the US Embassy in India informed about its event for Indian social media influences and content creators to learn about boosting social media engagement on social issues and learn about “active citizenship”.
However, for this “Influence to Impact” event, the US Embassy chose the YouTuber “DeshBhakt” Akash Banerjee who has earned notoriety for peddling leftist and anti-BJP propaganda.
While on the face of it, the US Embassy’s promotional content reeked of political interference in India’s internal political discourse.
Are you a social media influencer or a content creator curious about impactful content that drives real change? Here's your chance to learn from the best! Join us at American Center New Delhi for "Influence to Impact" with @TheDeshBhakt Akash Banerjee.
— U.S. Embassy India (@USAndIndia) July 17, 2024
Registration Link:… pic.twitter.com/1tS5gXyviv
Earlier in March, OpIndia reported how the US Embassy’s choice of ‘personality’ for Women’s History Month sparked outrage on social media with people pointing to Sayema’s anti-Hindu, regressive and Islamist views. Despite this, the US Embassy was undeterred from promoting Sayema on their social media handles.
US State Dept works with ‘fact-checkers’ to peddle its narrative
In May 2023, ‘America First Legal’ (AFL) exposed how the Global Engagement Centre (GEC) of the US State Department was working with private media outlets to peddle deep state propaganda.
A centre-right non-profit organisation, AFL, secured documents against the GEC under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). It noted that millions of conservative Americans were targeted for their social media posts on vaccine mandates, election integrity, and Covid-19 vaccines.
The organisation revealed that the Global Engagement Centre (GEC) of the US State Department continues to work closely with George Soros-funded ‘fact checkers’, associated with the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) to control the global media narrative.
/2 The GEC routinely coordinates with a global cartel of “independent” “fact-checkers” led by the Poynter Institute for Media Studies (which operates Politifact) and members of its International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN).
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) May 24, 2023
America First Legal pointed out that the fact-checkers, currently coordinating with GEC, are also funded by the likes of Omidyar Network, Google, Facebook, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The GEC had been working with IFCN affiliates in countries such as Tunisia and propagating their ‘fact-checking methods’ to censor politically incorrect narratives. According to America First Legal, email exchanges show IFCN pestering the US State Department to ‘fund’ more of their programmes in Egypt.
Email transcripts, accessed by America First Legal, show the GEC threatening journalists to compile its talking points in the form of a report and publish it imminently.
