Pro-Khalistanis using Twitter bots to promote violence, anti-India propaganda, says NCRI research

In its latest research, Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) found that pro-Khalistani elements are using Twitter bots to promote violence and anti-India propaganda on social media platforms. As per the Washington Post report, the backers of the separatist ideology are using multiple networks of linked accounts to trend tweets that include videos and calls for action simultaneously.

Interestingly, once the trend gets the required traction, these accounts were found to have deleted those tweets to avoid suspensions. According to NCRI’s research, these accounts used several evasive tactics, such as using the word “device” instead of a bomb and calling for the “political death” of the leaders in India.

NCRI’s research, featured in the @washingtonpost, exposes Khalistani bot networks engaging in coordinated inauthentic activity to promote violence and vandalism, underlining real-world safety concerns.

Read @josephmenn‘s article here:https://t.co/4AeZelRfCS — Network Contagion Research Institute (@ncri_io) April 10, 2023

These activities have increased exponentially since the Punjab Police and Central Agencies started a massive crackdown on pro-Khalistani separatist leader Amritpal Singh, the report says. The activity on social media has been found to revolve around the violent protests outside Indian consulates in San Francisco and other cities worldwide and assaults on Indian officials and journalists during these protests.

Notably, Twitter is working extensively to cut off bots promoting violence, but the platform has remained a remarkable source for separatists and propagandists to spread misinformation and call for action in the real world.

As per WaPo’s report, NCRI captured tweets seeking direct action against train tracks, power plants and other strategic targets across India and in Indian establishments worldwide. One of the videos captured by NCRI was from Khalistani terrorist group Sikhs For Justice, which talked about damaging railway tracks.

NCRI found around 359 accounts actively indulging in such activities since January. Any message or video gets promoted by a group of 20-50 accounts. Most of them have messages from the founder of Sikhs For Justice, Gurpatwant Singh Pannu. Each account would post the tweet multiple times, tagging journalists and other public features to increase visibility.

Chief Operating Officer of NCRI Jack Donohue said, “When you look at the escalation and the intensity of the rhetoric, and how that precedes the events in the real world that result in vandalism or violence, that’s where the concern is.”

Furthermore, 20 per cent of the accounts identified by NCRI were found to be originated from Pakistan. Some of these accounts also praised Pakistan and urged Sikhs to thank the neighbouring country. These accounts also tweeted in favour of the political leaders of Pakistan.

Donohue is the former head of cyber intelligence at the New York Police Department. A copy of the report will be shared with law enforcement agencies with a list of cities that could be possible targets.

NCRI said, “Involvement by a self-identified Pakistani network of putative SFJ supporters thus suggests not just bot-like activity but raises the possibility of a broader effort for covert influence. The fact that this network of self-identified Pakistani accounts amplifies attacks against Hindu houses of worship, agitates for terror and attacks Indian consulates aligns well with Pakistani strategic interests,” in the report.

NCRI noted Twitter swiftly took action against many pro-Khalistani accounts and suspended them, including those that referred to the wise use of hand grenades. However, these accounts keep returning with slightly changed handles.

OpIndia’s investigation

In March 2023, OpIndia reported how pro-Khalistani accounts on Twitter trended #WeStandWithAmritpalSingh on the social media platform. Our research found that over 40,000 tweets were published using the hashtag in a single day. Out of these, over 11,000 tweets originated from the US, and 18,000 originated from India. Propaganda channels on YouTube and other social media platforms have mushroomed over the years, pumping anti-India and pro-Khalistani propaganda.

Though the majority of the tweets get deleted within hours of posting, OpIndia tracked a few accounts and hashtags to give an overview of what has been happening.

Three hashtags, #WeStandWithAmritpalSingh, #CallForSarbatKhalsa and #khalistan_zindabad, have been extensively used. While we covered #WeStandWithAmritpalSingh, the case of #Khalistan_Zindabad and #CallForSarbatKhalsa was no different. One of the active accounts, singh99826891, has been using the #Khalistan_Zindabad hashtag extensively. Several other accounts regularly post using the hashtag.

In the last seven days, the hashtag appeared in over 390 tweets. The number appears to be low because Twitter users or bots regularly delete tweets to avoid suspension.

Another account, dharmkaur_, has been using #CallForSarbatKhalsa extensively. This account was not alone in using the hashtag. The hashtag has appeared in over 9,600 tweets in the last seven days.

Here are the top accounts that pushed the hashtags according to TalkWalker.

Other hashtags we noticed being used include #FreeKhalistan, #Lashker_e_Khalsa, #FreeSikhPoliticalPrisoners #FreeJaggiNow and more. Interestingly, “Free Jaggi Now” campaign was piggybacked on farmer protests as well.