On Wednesday (17th April), dubious ‘fact checker’ Mohammed Zubair promoted a propaganda-laden documentary, produced by a Pakistani ‘journalist’ named Shehzad Hameed Ahmad.
The documentary was aired on Channel NewsAsia (CNA), which is owned by Mediacorp (State-owned media conglomerate of Singapore), on 12th April this year. The 46-minute-long film claimed to expose the ‘fake news industry’ in India.
Titled ‘India’s War On Fake News: How Disinformation Became India’s #1 Threat’, the documentary produced by Ahmad found several takers in India including Islamists and the Congress ecosystem.
A must watch documentary by Singapore based @ChannelNewsAsia on Indian Fake News Industry. The person (Internet Trolls / Cyber Cipahis) in the video claims, The BJP IT Cell employs freelancers with a monthly salary ranging from 40,000 to 50,000 rupees to spread Pro Govt… pic.twitter.com/EmXCVi4qiG
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) April 17, 2024
Mohammed Zubair, who runs the fake news outlet Alt News, tweeted a clip of the documentary and alleged, “A must-watch documentary by Singapore based @ChannelNewsAsia on Indian Fake News Industry.”
“The person (Internet Trolls / Cyber Cipahis) in the video claims,The BJP IT Cell employs freelancers with a monthly salary ranging from 40,000 to 50,000 rupees to spread Pro-government propaganda and to defame Opposition Leaders etc,” he claimed.
Congress spokesperson Lavanya Ballal Jain, also popular for spreading fake news, retweeted the post of Zubair to amplify the claim that BJP IT Cell is somehow involved in peddling fake news against its rivals.
According to the LinkedIn profile of Shehzad Hameed Ahmad, the man behind the controversial documentary, he has worked for Star Asia Private Limited, Dawn News, Allainet Corporation, Capital TV and Utrade Private Limited in Islamabad.
The Pakistani ‘journalist’ had been championing the cause of ‘secularism’ in India for the past several years. He produced a three-part documentary series titled ‘In Bad Faith’ in 2021. One of the episodes (50 minutes long) was on the supposed rise in saffronisation in India.
The documentary insinuated that India has deviated from the ethos of ‘secularism’ to Hindu-first majoritarianism under the influence of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Ahmed has also produced ‘award-winning’ documentaries on India’s secular image. Not surprisingly, the Pak-origin filmmaker has never produced anything on religious freedom in #Pakistan. He though, has been issuing ‘secularism’ certificates to India.
— OSINTवा (@OSINTWa_com) April 18, 2024
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As per reports published in Pakistani media, the anti-India propaganda of Shehzad Hameed Ahmad bore fruits as the episode targeting India won the 2022 Association of International Broadcasting Award at the London Film Festival.
Interestingly, he had also been the recipient of Pakistan’s Agahi Journalist of the Year award in 2016.
According to the popular Open Source Intelligence handle ‘OSINTwa_com’, Ahmad is yet to speak on the plight of religious minorities (Hindus, Christians and Sikhs) suffering facing persecution in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
His love for India is quite visible – from giving anti-India remarks at an event post the #Leicesterriots to abusing the Indian Cricket Team (ICT) to seeking separation of #Kashmir from India. A few of his vocab gems include addressing the ICT as “pussy cat” & his expression… pic.twitter.com/mNzu7cJno9
— OSINTवा (@OSINTWa_com) April 18, 2024
He was also seen referring to the Indian cricket team as ‘pussy cat’ on Facebook and peddling pro-Islamist narrative on the anti-Hindu Leicester riots, which took place in 2022.
In 2022 Ahmad made a ‘documentary’ on India supporting the blacklist of India for sliding religious freedom by Pak Jamaat-infiltrated #USCIRF. And now he has decided to pontificate on #fakenews in India?!
— OSINTवा (@OSINTWa_com) April 18, 2024
Talking about religious freedom, did we tell that he hails from Pakistan?… pic.twitter.com/9dovXFqlN9
Shehzad Hameed Ahmad was also seen advocating for India’s blacklisting by the controversial United States Commission on Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
In his documentary, the Pakistani ‘journalist’ also featured the likes of Raqib Hameed Naik, an Islamist endorsed by Mohammed Zubair in his recent X (formerly Twitter) post.
Here's an interview by @raqib_naik who along with his team of volunteers runs @HindutvaWatchIn known for documenting Hate speeches across India. Their @X ID was withheld in India in Govt's request. Yes Documenting hate speeches come with a price to pay. pic.twitter.com/MJeIBDQvGH
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) April 17, 2024
A vicious fake news peddler, Raqib Hameed Naik is the founder of anti-Hindu disinformation outlet ‘Hindutva Watch.’
He is also infamous for denying the Hindu genocide, perpetrated by radical Islamists in the Kashmir Valley, in the early 1990s. Naik had also mocked the Hindu ‘Shivling’ found inside the Gyanvapi mosque in Kashi.
