International News
India Awaits Election Results After Deluge Of Disinformation
India’s six-week election was staggering in its size and logistical complexity, but also in the “unprecedented” scale of online disinformation.
The biggest democratic exercise in history brought a surge of false social media posts and instant messaging, ranging from doctored videos to unrelated images with false captions.
Raqib Hameed Naik, from the US-based India Hate Lab, said they had “witnessed an unprecedented scale of disinformation” in the elections.
“Conspiracy theories… were vigorously promoted to deepen the communal divide,” said Naik, whose organisation researches hate speech and disinformation.
With seven voting stages stretched over six weeks, AFP fact-checkers carried out 40 election-related debunks across India’s political divide.
There were fake videos of Bollywood stars endorsing the opposition and those purporting to show one person casting multiple votes.Some were crude or poked fun.
Others were far more sinister and sophisticated productions aimed to mislead deliberately.
All were widely shared.
– ‘Fear and animosity’ –
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came under fire for posts stoking sectarian tensions with India’s minority Muslim community of more than 200 million.
These included numerous videos, matching incendiary campaign speeches by Modi, falsely claiming his opponents were planning to redistribute India’s wealth in favour of Muslims.
Naik said such posts “aimed at stoking fear and animosity towards Muslims to polarise voters along religious lines”.
“The ruling party’s strategy of exploiting religious sentiments for electoral gain has not only undermined the integrity of the democratic process but also sowed dangerous seeds of division and hatred in society,” he said.
False information was detected across the political spectrum but the leader of the opposition Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, was one of the leading targets.
His statements, videos and photographs were shared on social media, but often incompletely or out of context.
One digitally altered video analysed by AFP used Gandhi’s real boast that the opposition alliance would triumph, but flipped it to say Modi would win a third term when the result is declared on Tuesday.
Others purported to show Gandhi falsely appealing to people to vote for Modi.
Among the more egregious examples were those falsely linking him to India’s rival neighbours, Pakistan and China.
Those included a photograph that claimed Gandhi was waving the “Chinese constitution” during an election rally. It was in fact that of India.
Other posts portrayed Gandhi, a Hindu, as being against India’s majority religion, capitalising on Modi’s efforts to cast himself as the country’s most staunch defender of the faith.
One video of a ruined Hindu temple, a real image from Pakistan, was widely shared.
However, the post falsely claimed it was from Gandhi’s constituency and that he was responsible for its destruction.
Another manipulated video falsely showed him refusing to accept a statue of a Hindu god.
One more claimed he was paying young people to support him on social media, when in reality he was talking about youth unemployment.
They were all widely shared by BJP supporters.
– Falling trust –
While political parties across the board have well-oiled digital outreach and social media teams, critics said the BJP’s sophisticated online campaign was driving posts.
Gandhi has alleged vast sums were “spent to distort my image” and blamed Modi’s party.
However, opposition parties also spread disinformation targeting the BJP and glorifying Congress.
Several digitally manipulated videos of two Bollywood actors criticising the BJP and appealing to the public to vote for the Congress party were published.
Social media users also shared an old video to falsely accuse the ruling party of tampering with an electronic voting machine to rig the election in its favour.
“Overall, trust in content itself is falling,” said Joyojeet Pal, an expert in the role of technology in democracy from the University of Michigan.
Pal told AFP that Indian social media users widely understood the prevalence of disinformation and doctored content during the election.
“So there is a very good chance that they do not believe the doctored content to be real,” he said.
“However, there is a good chance they will forward these anyway because they align with their beliefs.”
AFP
International News
Nottingham Forest Sacks 5th Manager In 10 Months, To Wrap Up Oliver Glasner’s Deal
Oliver Glasner is in advanced talks to replace Vitor Pereira as Nottingham Forest head coach, a move which would see the Austrian become the club’s fifth manager in less than a year.
Pereira announced his departure from the club in a statement on Wednesday, saying that it came as a “complete surprise to me and without any warning”.
Glasner is a free agent after leaving Crystal Palace — where he won the FA Cup in 2024-25 and then the Community Shield and Conference League the following campaign — and is set to stay in the Premier League.
The 51-year-old confirmed in January that he would leave Palace at the end of the season after two years in charge.
On Thursday, Forest confirmed Pereira’s coaching staff Filipe Almeida, Luis Miguel, Bruno Moura, Marco Knoop and Pedro Lopes had all left the club alongside the head coach.
Pereira, 57, was appointed Forest head coach in February on an 18-month contract which runs until 2027.
The Athletic reported in May Forest had been planning to show their faith in Pereira by handing the head coach a new long-term contract, but those talks were subsequently put on hold.
“Today marks the end of my journey as head coach of Nottingham Forest,” he said in his statement.
“I want to say a sincere thank you to everyone connected with this incredible football club. Although this decision came as a complete surprise to me and without any warning, I fully respect the club’s right to make the decisions it believes are best for its future.
“Naturally, I am disappointed and saddened. I truly believed in what we were building together, and I leave with a sense of pride in everything we achieved over the past months.
“Together, we enjoyed a memorable end to the season. We secured the club’s Premier League status, reached the semi-finals of the Europa League, and created moments that will stay with me forever. Most importantly, I saw a group of players grow in confidence, belief and togetherness.
“I leave Nottingham Forest with no bitterness or resentment—only respect, gratitude and wonderful memories. Football is full of unexpected moments, and while this chapter has ended sooner than I expected, I will always look back on my time here with pride and affection.”
The Portuguese succeeded Sean Dyche and was Forest’s fourth permanent boss of the season following the departures of Nuno Espirito Santo and Ange Postecoglou.
Nuno had led Forest to Europa League qualification the previous season but he departed in September, less than three months after signing a new deal. Postecoglou was appointed his replacement but was dismissed just 39 days later. Dyche took charge of the team in October before his dismissal in February.
Forest were three points above the relegation zone when Pereira was appointed and he subsequently steered his side to Premier League safety with two games of the campaign remaining.
His appointment marked his second managerial spell in the Premier League after guiding Wolverhampton Wanderers to safety during the 2024-25 campaign.
Cristiano Ronaldo has publicly countered suggestions from his sister, Katia Aveiro, that he intends to retire from international football following the World Cup.
The Portuguese legend recently led his team to the round of 16 following a 2-1 victory over Croatia.
Ronaldo continued to be a pivotal player for his country, having scored the equalising goal from the penalty spot after going one goal down in the second half.
Following his goal, he became the oldest player to score in the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup.
Reports from Portuguese media had quoted Aveiro stating that the current tournament would be Ronaldo’s final appearance for the national team.
Before the recent match against Croatia, Aveiro was quoted as saying, “From the information I have, from a reliable source, I believe that this is the last dance, so let’s enjoy it. I strongly believe this is the farewell.”
However, the football icon has made it clear that his focus remains solely on the present, not on his future.
“My future isn’t important right now,” Ronaldo stated. “I’ll have time; after winning or losing, I’ll talk to my family and then make the best decision.”
The legendary forward, who recently secured a trophy in Saudi Arabia, holds the record for both appearances and goals for his national team, with 146 goals in 232 caps.
The UEFA Appeals Body has announced that Czech club Karvina is banned from participating in next season’s Europa League. UEFA made the decision based on competition regulations, ruling that Karvina “directly or indirectly participated in activities aimed at manipulating or influencing the results of domestic matches,” as stated in the official resolution.
As a result of this decision, Karvina’s spot as domestic cup winner will be taken by Viktoria Plzeň, with Viktoria Plzeň’s second qualifying round spot going to Hradec Králové. Jablonec will fill the vacant Conference League spot originally held by Hradec Králové.
In the Europa League, Hradec Králové will face Tromsø. In the Conference League, Jablonec will face Varaždin.
Viktoria Plzeň will learn their opponent in the Europa League playoff draw on Monday, August 3.
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