TikTok, WhatsApp Videos Being Used To Mislead People On Coronavirus: Cops

From videos advising people not to follow social distancing rules to those suggesting Muslims are immune to coronavirus, the Delhi Police say they have uncovered a concerted misinformation campaign that poses a serious challenge to the government's efforts to contain the ongoing pandemic.

In an investigation of the content being shared on WhatsApp and apps like TikTok in the first week of the nationwide lockdown, the Delhi Police said they have found many of the videos specifically targeting the Muslim community by quoting religious text and leaders.

An analysis of more than 30,000 videos on the social networking over the last five days found that most of the fake information and posts are created in Hindi and Urdu for a specific audience, the police said.

The videos were analysed by the police with the help of security researchers, fact checkers and data analysts and a report on the digital investigation has been accessed by NDTV. According to early estimates, more than 1 crore people have already seen these videos, suggesting a high degree of circulation and impact.

"Several of these videos appear to be shot in Pakistan and Middle East but audio in Hindi has been superimposed to make it look like its shot in India," the 22-page report, which the Delhi Police has shared with various intelligence agencies, says.

"Our analysis has revealed an alarming number of videos are being shared advising Muslims not to practice social distancing and several suggesting that coronavirus does not kill Muslims," a senior police official said.

According to him, the analysis also revealed a pattern in dissemination of misinformation.

"While analysing the origins and sources of these videos, it was observed that several of the accounts which originally created them are being deleted regularly after the content goes viral to hide its origin," he said.

"Considering the fact that most of these videos have been created with professional video editing software, being viralled (sic) on social media platforms, original uploader accounts being deleted, and certain accounts peddling fake news among Muslims are promoting Pakistani religious leaders with terror links. A further investigation into the likely role of foreign actors needs to be investigated," the report says.

According to the investigation, Chinese-owned video sharing app TikTok is the most preferred medium for creating and spreading videos with religious instigations against health advisories and fake information regarding the coronavirus. These videos are further being shared on WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter.

Videos of Muslims refusing to get themselves tested and beating medical personnel were being spread and others were also being encouraged to do the same, the report says.

Religious texts are being quoted to not stop shaking hands and people are being encouraged to go to their religious shrines even during lockdown, it adds.

Authorities have expressed concern about the impact of these videos amid attacks on medical personnel like in Madhya Pradesh's Indore this week and the emergence of a cluster in Delhi because of a gathering held by a Muslim missionary group last month that has spawned dozens of cases across the country.

In the investigation into the Delhi congregation, the police are looking into a sermon allegedly by the chief cleric of the group Tablighi Jamaat that termed the directions of doctors as "a conspiracy to keep Muslims away from fellow Muslims".

Since then, Maulana Saad Kandhalvi has officially issued an audio message to his followers asking them to cooperate with the government to fight the disease.

"We have to take precautions, follow the guidance of the doctors and give full support to the government such as not crowding into places. This is not against the principles of Islam," he said.

While at around 2,000 cases and 53 deaths, the spread of coronavirus in India is far more limited than in Europe and the US, health experts have warned that the numbers could surge across the country if the contagion takes root.