Toronto: From propagating conspiracy theories to targeting India’s senior-most diplomats in Canada and its missions in the country, pro-Khalistan bot activity has escalated in recent times on social media.
That bot activity first came to the fore in summer last year as the series of desecrations of Hindu temples and busts and statues of Mahatma Gandhi occurred in the country. Many of the handles involved appeared to be linked to Pakistan and were generated days before swamping Twitter with propaganda. Those events usually featured pro-Khalistan slogans and videos of the vandalism were tweeted out simultaneously.
That activity has become even more pronounced this year: First during the manhunt for Waris Punjab De leader Amritpal Singh in India, following the murder of Sikhs for Justice’s principal figure in British Columbia Hardeep Singh Nijjar in the parking lot of a gurdwara in Surrey on June 18.
This activity may be part of a larger pattern as suggested by a report released by the Princeton, New Jersey-based Network Contagion Research Institute or NCRI.
Responding to queries about the recent spurt of activity, NCRI’s chief operating officer Jack Donohue said their report “confirms that a subset of these accounts, roughly 20%, were self-identified Pakistani accounts based on user descriptions and user reported locations.”
“The involvement of these self-identified Pakistani that are “bot-like” (accounts exhibiting coordinated inauthentic activity) suggests not just bot-like activity but raises the possibility of a broader effort for covert influence. The operation of these accounts align with Pakistani strategic interests, suggesting the possibility of state-involved influence,” he added.
The bots amplified the infamous ‘Kill India’ posters targeting senior diplomats not just in Canada, but also the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. They propagated the SFJ allegation that India was behind the “assassination” of Nijjar, while the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team or IHIT has yet to complete its investigation. In fact, on July 4, a report from the agency Canadian Press stated that “police say they have found no link to India in their investigation.”