Misinformation Matrix: Navigating the web of deception in AP, Telangana elections

Hyderabad: Elections have drawn to a close in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and people are eagerly waiting for results. The clash between the ruling YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and the N Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP-BJP-Jana Sena Party (JSP) coalition has been fierce, manifesting not only in political rallies and debates but also in the rampant dissemination of misinformation across social media platforms. This election cycle witnessed a surge in false narratives: from manipulated visuals to fabricated statements, contributing to uncertainty and controversy.

However, even with the conclusion of the elections, the onslaught of misinformation persisted.

Following the May 13 polling, aged and irrelevant videos began circulating, alleging poll rigging in Telangana. Similarly, in Andhra Pradesh, where elections for the State Legislative Assembly and Parliament seats took place on the same day, the TDP and YSRCP supporters resorted to sharing fake exit poll results favouring their respective parties.

Digital manipulation of rally photos

To project a higher attendance at AP chief minister Jagan’s rallies, YSRCP’s official social media accounts posted a digitally altered photo, boosting crowd numbers at a March 10 election meeting. The party faced strong criticism for posting the manipulated photo from the chief minister’s official accounts.

In April, YSRCP’s official Facebook page posted a photo of Naidu’s roadshow, falsely claiming he was campaigning on empty roads. However, the photo was years old and unrelated to the 2024 election campaigns.

Misleading claims on education accessibility

In January, Andhra Pradesh’s education minister Botcha Satyanarayana shared a post on X, claiming the State had surpassed Kerala in providing education accessibility.

He cited the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy report by the Economic Advisory Council of the Prime Minister (EAC-PM). However, the 2021 and 2023 EAC-PM reports show that Meghalaya, not Andhra Pradesh, was the best performer in this category. While Andhra Pradesh did score better than Kerala in the 2021 report, it slipped behind in 2023.

Misinformation surrounding debates on reservations

This election cycle saw heated discussions on reservations, with Congress and the BJP engaged in a fierce debate.

On April 23, during a rally in Telangana, Union home minister Amit Shah said if the BJP came to power, it would increase reservations for SC, ST, and OBC communities and end Muslim reservations. Similarly, prime minister Narendra Modi, speaking at a rally in Zaheerabad, Telangana, affirmed that he would not allow quotas meant for Dalits, Adivasis, and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) to be allocated to Muslims.

Meanwhile, the TDP, an ally of the BJP in Andhra Pradesh, maintained its support for a four per cent reservation for the Muslim community in the State. Notably, PM Modi refrained from discussing the removal of Muslim reservations during his rallies in Andhra Pradesh.

Despite these official stances, a news report falsely attributed to Way2News and ABN Telugu claimed that Andhra Pradesh BJP state president Daggubati Purandeswari stated the BJP would cancel Muslim reservations if they came to power. Both media organisations later clarified that they had not published such a report. Additionally, Purandeswari and the official X account of the Andhra Pradesh BJP denied making any such statement.

Fabricated quotes and misleading news cards

Misquoting or fabricating quotes in the name of political leaders is a common trend during elections. This election season in the Telugu states witnessed similar tactics. Misinformation, often spread with the logos of reputable media organisations, gained undue credibility among the masses.

During the Telangana Legislative elections in November 2023, a news card falsely attributed to Way2News and NTV was circulated online. It claimed that the Congress party’s then-chief ministerial candidate, Revanth Reddy, said that if his party came to power, temple lands would be auctioned to Muslims. This statement was never made by CM Revanth nor was it published by Way2News or NTV. The news card was digitally manipulated to mislead voters

Fast forward to the 2024 General Elections and the same fake news card, now attributed to NTV, recirculated on social media just hours before the May 13 polls in Telangana.

Unravelling the mystery of viral audio/video clips

During the election period, an audio clip purportedly featuring BJP MP Bandi Sanjay discussing the cancellation of reservations for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) was circulated widely. It was falsely claimed to be a leaked recording from a BJP internal meeting. However, the reality was quite different.

The audio clip was edited and taken out of context from a media interview with the BJP MP.

In the original audio, Bandi Sanjay stated that ‘religion-based reservations would be removed’ and emphasised reallocating them to the economically disadvantaged among SCs, STs, OBCs, and EBCs. The distortion of his words in the circulated clip underscored the prevalence of misinformation tactics during elections.

Since the onset of the Parliamentary elections, political parties and their proxies have increasingly utilised AI-generated content to sway voters and undermine their opponents. Fake videos featuring prominent figures like Congress leader Rahul Gandhi announcing his resignation and Bollywood actors Aamir Khan and Ranveer Singh criticising the BJP government circulated on social media. These videos were created using voice cloning technology.

In this landscape, an audio clip purportedly featuring Nara Bhuvaneswari, the wife of TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, allegedly making derogatory remarks against the Dalit community, went viral on social media.

The TDP swiftly issued a clarification, asserting that the audio was a deepfake. They accused AP CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy of orchestrating the fabrication. Nara Lokesh, TDP’s national general secretary, and Bhuvaneswari’s son, echoed these accusations against CM Jagan.

The Misinformation Combat Alliance (MCA), an Indian cross-industry collaborative effort to combat the spread of misinformation that includes NewsMeter as one of its members, subjected the audio to analysis through its Deepfakes Analysis Unit (DAU).

The DAU forwarded the audio to its expert partners, who confirmed that it was not generated using Artificial Intelligence (AI). They noted that the accent and intonation in the audio did not raise suspicions. However, while they couldn’t verify the authenticity of the video featuring Nara Bhuvaneswari, they suggested it could be a case of digital fabrication, where audio from another source was falsely attributed to her.

False claims of government surveillance and electoral coercion

A viral message on WhatsApp groups in the Telugu states falsely claimed that the Union government had implemented new communication norms for WhatsApp and phone calls in light of the elections.

The message alleged that the Indian government was monitoring all forms of online and telephonic communication and warned against forwarding messages related to politics, religion, or government. It further threatened arrest without a warrant for non-compliance.

However, this entire post was fabricated and circulated on social media in various contexts over the years. The Press Information Bureau debunked this misinformation in 2023.

Another message circulated across the Telugu states, claiming that the Election Commission of India would deduct Rs 350 from the bank accounts of non-voters. This misinformation spread widely, even in different languages throughout the state.

However, the origin of this message was traced back to a satirical article published by Navbharat Times in 2019. Despite its humorous intent, the message gained traction and went viral, prompting the ECI to issue a clarification, debunking the claim as false.

Fake letters in the name of political leaders

Through its coalition with the TDP and Jana Sena Party (JSP), the BJP aims to reclaim its lost ground in Andhra Pradesh and expand its regional presence. However, this alliance has caused discontent among party cadres, particularly within the TDP, with some feeling sidelined in favour of coalition candidates.

Amid these tensions, a letter purportedly written by TDP leader Naidu to party members went viral on social media.

In the letter, Naidu allegedly stated that the alliance with the BJP was only temporary until the elections. However, this letter raised suspicions due to multiple discrepancies, including its date, casting doubt on its authenticity. In response, the TDP issued a clarification denouncing the letter as fake.

Several other forged letters bearing the letterheads and symbols of political parties circulated during the election period.

Additionally, in March, the YSRCP leaders, including CM Jagan Mohan Reddy, accused TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and AP BJP president D Purandeswari, along with their family members, of being linked to a container-load of drugs seized by the CBI in Visakhapatnam.

To add fuel, a fake letter surfaced in Purandeswari’s name, claiming she had resigned from her post as Andhra BJP chief citing her family’s involvement in the drugs case. The official Andhra Pradesh BJP social media account issued a clarification stating that the letter was fake. Purandeswari even served a legal notice on CM Jagan Mohan Reddy over his remarks linking her family to the Visakhapatnam drugs case.

Fake pre-poll and exit-poll surveys

Ahead of the elections, several fake pre-poll surveys in the name of prominent media organisations and even the Intelligence Bureau were circulated widely.

Supporters of the YSRCP shared ‘surveys’ favouring their party, while the TDP responded with others predicting a win for the NDA alliance in Andhra Pradesh. However, the majority of these survey results were found to be fake or manipulated.

The Intelligence Bureau (IB), India’s domestic intelligence agency under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), was also misrepresented. During the 2021 West Bengal and Tamil Nadu state elections, fake survey reports in the name of the IB were circulated online, prompting the Press Information Bureau (PIB) to debunk them on Twitter.

Similarly, ahead of the Andhra Pradesh polls, a fake IB survey was circulated predicting seat numbers for the YSRCP and the NDA alliance. Accompanying this, a video from ETV Andhra Pradesh reported the same survey results as the purported IB report. However, several discrepancies in the letter, including the date and format, confirmed its falsity. ETV also confirmed to NewsMeter that the report attributed to their organisation was fake.

Similar fake pre-poll surveys were also circulated in the names of media outlets such as Republic TV, South First-Peoples Pulse and others, further clouding the electoral landscape with misinformation.

The misinformation saga continues

The notion that misinformation would subside post-elections was quickly dispelled as fake exit poll surveys and allegations of vote rigging emerged soon after polling concluded in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

On social media, two graphics started floating around, supposedly showing exit poll results for Andhra Pradesh from seven different agencies, both bearing The News Minute’s logo.

One set of results, shared by the YSRCP supporters, painted a favourable picture for their party. In contrast, another set, circulated by the TDP fans, predicted a stronger showing for Naidu. However, it turned out that both graphics were altered versions of a News Minute report on exit polls conducted after the 2019 General Elections.

Additionally, the ECI has enforced a ban on conducting, publishing, or publicising exit polls between 7 am on April 19 and 6.30 pm on June 1, coinciding with the voting period for the Lok Sabha and four State Assembly polls.

Shortly after polling, a video purportedly depicting poll rigging at a booth in Hyderabad’s Bahadurpura circulated online, with claims implicating the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). However, investigations revealed that the video was from a 2022 municipal election in West Bengal. The chief election officer of Telangana issued a clarification confirming the video’s outdated nature.

‘Misinformation mostly sways middle classes’

According to academic and political analyst Ramesh Patnaik, the impact of misinformation tends to hit the middle-class population the hardest.

While acknowledging the prevalence of social media propaganda, he emphasised that voters ultimately rely on their real-life experiences to guide their voting decisions.

Patnaik remarked, “Andhra Pradesh witnessed a regressive election this time and there was certainly a flow of misinformation. However, for voters, it’s their everyday realities that will sway their voting choices. Social media campaigns and misinformation primarily affect the middle class.”

He also criticised local media for not subjecting statements by national leaders to the same level of critical analysis as they do for local politicians.

Echoing a similar sentiment, Dileep Reddy, senior journalist and director of the survey agency People’s Pulse noted that voters are more influenced by ground realities than social media propaganda. In Telangana, he observed, both the Congress and BJP employed fake news and misinformation to discredit each other, highlighting how political parties often resort to such tactics when feeling threatened.

“In Telangana, both Congress and the BJP resorted to using fake news and misinformation to discredit each other,” stated Reddy. “When the Congress alleged that the BJP intended to alter the Constitution, the BJP retaliated by claiming that the Congress planned to prioritise reservations for Muslims, potentially at the expense of SC, ST, and OBC communities. It’s a common strategy for political parties to craft narratives aimed at tarnishing their opponents, especially when they sense their control slipping away.”

‘TDP-JSP alliance impacted the quantity of misinformation’

In Andhra Pradesh, there’s a belief that the alliance between the TDP and JSP has mitigated the potential for tension and misinformation campaigns.

“Andhra politics, driven by caste dynamics, has traditionally seen Kammas supporting the TDP and Kapus seeking better representation with the JSP,” explained Reddy. “This alliance marked a significant departure for that narrative with the social media battle primarily waged between the YSRCP and the TDP. Had the TDP and JSP contested separately, we might have witnessed a more intense flow of social media campaigns and misinformation from both sides.”