Tek Fog

Tek Fog was a hoax news story reported by Indian news and opinion website The Wire. Tek Fog was supposedly an application used by the India's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). After various experts and journalists raised questions about the authenticity of the story, The Wire suspended, and later formally retracted it, citing discrepancies in the material used.[1] The Wire also issued a formal apology to its readers.[2]

Indian news and opinion website The Wire published the 'Tek Fog' story, before retracting it and issuing a formal apology.

The story went viral overnight, with the Indian National Congress calling Tek Fog, "a poisonous weapon of the BJP's propaganda machinery, which is harmful to the country."

However, the revelation of the story as a hoax reportedly caused damage to The Wire's credibility.[3]

The Story

Alerted by a supposed disgruntled employee-turned-whistleblower, the independent Indian news publication The Wire reportedly conducted a two-year investigation and published its findings in January 2022.[4] This report claimed that the Tek Fog application was used "to artificially inflate the popularity of the Bharatiya Janata Party, harass its critics and manipulate public perceptions at scale across major social media platforms" and to "amplify right-wing propaganda".[5][6][7]

The Wire investigation also claimed the BJP, along with the private companies Persistent Systems and Mohalla Tech (which operates a service called ShareChat), were involved in deploying the app. The BJP's youth wing (BJYM) members were said to have supervised the operators, giving them ideological directions.[5] The investigation also claimed that an unnamed internal source within Persistent Systems found 17,000 files connected to Tek Fog developed by Persistent Systems.[5]

In January 2022, Devang Dave, head of BJYM IT Cell, denied that he or anyone from his organisation knew about such an app.[8] Persistent Systems and Mohalla Tech denied any involvement with each other or with Tek Fog.[9] BJP youth wing functionary Devang Dave, who was claimed to have supervised the operation, denied the party's involvement.[4]

On October 23, 2022, The Wire removed its Tek Fog investigation from its website, "pending the outcome of an internal review". The Wire has accused one of the story's authors of "deception" in a separate series of articles on Meta.[10]

Claimed features

The Wire's report described the app as being capable of several actions.[11] These capabilities purportedly included being able to hijack the '"trending"' section of social media sites, Twitter and Facebook, bulk-hacking of inactive WhatsApp accounts,[12] among other functionalities.[13][14]

Other features supposedly included promoting favourable viewpoints through misinformation targeting users perceived to be BJP party opponents.[4][15] Tek Fog was also alleged to have managed a huge database of Indian citizens which included specific data regarding their occupation, religion, age, gender, etc., which was then used to deliver targeted insults and criticism.[15][8]

Alleged victims

The Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ) released a statement condemning the app stating that women journalists were "prime targets of the app" and noting that The Wire investigation listed several women journalists who received up to one million abusive tweets between January and May 2021, including Rana Ayyub, Barkha Dutt, Nidhi Razdan, Rohini Singh, Swati Chaturvedi, Sagarika Ghose, Manisha Pande, Faye D'Souza, Arfa Khanum Sherwani and Smita Prakash.[16]

On 9 January, journalist Arfa Khanum Sherwani released a list of prominent women from several religions including Hinduism who were targeted and harassed by hackers using Tek Fog.[17]

Reactions

The Editors Guild of India, a national non-profit organisation of journalists, said that The Wire investigation "laid bare an extensive and well funded network built around an app, Tek Fog, which steals unused WhatsApp accounts to send out toxic messages to targeted journalists", highlighting the abuse received by women journalists and noting that "the purpose of these deeply hurtful messages was to instil fear in them".[18] The Editors Guild condemned "the continuing online harassment of women journalists, which includes targeted and organised online trolling as well as threats of sexual abuse", and demanded "urgent steps to break and dismantle this misogynistic and abusive digital eco-system".[19][20] The Guild has since retracted its statements, after The Wire took down the original articles.[21] That retraction cited concerns over the report's accuracy and insufficient "journalistic norms and checks".[22]

Opposition parties denounced the app as a national security threat and demanded a probe. Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien (of the Trinamool Congress) called for a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs to discuss the app and said it "has serious ramifications and could jeopardise national security."[23][24]

The primary opposition party, Indian National Congress called Tek Fog, "a poisonous weapon of the BJP's propaganda machinery, which is harmful to the country" and urged the Supreme Court to ask its expert panel to investigate the app.[25][26] Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate held a press conference on the issue in which she "urged the Supreme Court to look into this and to punish, in no uncertain terms, the people who are behind this". Shrinate said that the app "targets Indian citizens and hurts the very foundation of our democracy."[25] Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called the app one of several "factories of hate" set up by the BJP.[27]

There were also multiple calls for the Supreme Court to intervene in this matter. Congress wanted the Supreme Court to get the issue examined by the expert panel that was looking into the alleged use of the Pegasus spyware on Indian citizens.[28] The Editors Guild of India and Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ), in their statements, also called for a Supreme Court inquiry.[16][20]

The Minister of State for Home in the Maharashtra government, Satej Patil, questioned the silence of the Government of India and Information and Technology ministry over the Tek Fog expose. Patil demanded that the Union government should take cognisance of the issue.[29] He made a public appeal to the victims from Mumbai targeted by Tek Fog app to register a police complaint, after which Maharashtra Police and Cyber Crime Investigation Cell will investigate the case.[30]

Journalist Zarrar Khuhro wrote in Pakistani newspaper Dawn that Tek Fog "was used in many underhanded ways to promote the hateful Hindutva ideology".[31] French newspaper Le Monde commented that it is perhaps the most elaborate online political manipulation operation ever discovered.[32]

Anand Venkatnarayanan, an Indian internet security researcher, called the app a military-grade psychological operations weapon. He claimed that the capabilities that are part of Tek Fog had only been accessible to state actors, and that putting it in the hands of non-state actors affiliated to a political party "had never been done before".[4]

Investigation by Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs

On 12 January 2022, The Hindu reported that Anand Sharma, the head of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, wrote to the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India seeking a response on questions surrounding Tek Fog. They directed the Ministry to co-ordinate with other ministries, and provide information on the app and its use by 20 January 2022.[33]

The investigation was initiated after several calls for the Standing Committee to investigate Tek Fog. Chairman Sharma was reported to have taken note of the matter, stating that it may be discussed in the next meeting of the Parliamentary Panel on Home Affairs.[34] On 10 January, O'Brien wrote a second letter to convene a meeting to discuss Tek Fog. He wrote that the app provided an ability to hijack the WhatsApp accounts of citizens using spyware and use their inactive contacts of the hijacked number, which were uploaded to a database, to send mass messages. The letter also pointed out that this hacking technique was formerly used by the Pegasus spyware before the NSO Group developed an even more sophisticated zero-click hijacking method. The application, per O'Brien, could send automated messages, spread misinformation, fake news and mislead citizens.[24]

On 12 January, Congress leader and leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also wrote to the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, Anand Sharma, asking the committee discuss the "violative software application Tek Fog" in their next meeting.[35]

The Parliamentary Standing Committee asked the Union Home Ministry to provide information about the Tek Fog app. On 12 February, responding to the request, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar stated, "The ministry has searched for the app on all prominent app stores and APK stores and could not find so called app in any of these online stores."[36]

Retraction and apology

Soon after the publishing of the story, a few independent observers familiar with Meta’s operations, including Facebook whistleblower Sophie Zhang, journalist Shoshana Wodinsky and former Chief Security Officer at Facebook Alex Stamos, raised doubts about the authenticity of the documents accessed by The Wire – both the Instagram internal document and the Andy Stone email.

On 23 October 2022, The Wire took down its Tek Fog story as it was found that the app never existed and the journalist who carried out this investigation presented forged documents and emails to defame Amit Malviya (BJP IT Cell Head). On further investigation on the background of the journalist it was found that he had fabricated many more stories like the "Tek Fog" one to spread disinformation and mislead public.[37][38] The Wire also issued a formal apology to its readers.[2]

See also

References
  1. "The Wire Retracts Its Meta Stories". The Wire. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  2. "The Wire Editorial: To Our Readers, an Apology and a Promise". The Wire. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  3. "A prominent Indian independent news site destroys its own credibility". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  4. Culpan, Tim; Mukherjee, Andy (12 January 2022). "India's Tek Fog Shrouds an Escalating Political War". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022.
  5. Kaul, Ayushman; Kumar, Devesh (6 January 2022). "Tek Fog: An App With BJP Footprints for Cyber Troops to Automate Hate, Manipulate Trends". The Wire. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022.
  6. "An App Called Tek Fog Helps Cyber Troops With Links to BJP Automate Hate Online, an Investigation Reveals". NewsClick. 6 January 2022. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022.
  7. Subramanian, Samanth (6 January 2022). "Right-wing Indians have their own app to manipulate Whatsapp and Twitter". Quartz. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022.
  8. "A cyber commission was Congress' secret weapon". The Washington Post. 7 January 2022. ProQuest 2617607410. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022.
  9. "Persistent confirms no involvement with Tek Fog, Mohalla Tech Pvt. Ltd and Sharechat". persistent.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  10. Roth, Emma (26 October 2022). "The Wire blames retracted Meta story on 'deception' by staff member". The Verge. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  11. Kaul, Ayushman; Kumar, Devesh (7 January 2022). "Explainer: Here's What the Tek Fog App Can Do, and Why You Should Care". The Wire. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022.
  12. "Tek Fog: Morphing URLs to Make Real News Fake, 'Hijacking' WhatsApp to Drive BJP Propaganda". The Wire. 10 January 2022. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022.
  13. Kaul, Ayushman; Kumar, Devesh (14 January 2022). "Tek Fog in Action: Targeting Women Journalists, Pushing Communal Narrative on COVID, Delhi Violence". The Wire. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022.
  14. Sanghera, Tish (15 January 2022). "Tek Fog: Indian government weaponises social media". FairPlanet. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022.
  15. Leloup, Damien (6 January 2022). "Tek Fog, un vaste système pour manipuler l'opinion sur les réseaux sociaux en Inde" [Tek Fog, a vast system to guide opinion on social networks in India]. Le Monde (in French). Archived from the original on 6 January 2022.
  16. "Delhi Union of Journalists Denounces Tek Fog, Demands SC Intervention". NewsClick. 11 January 2022. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022.
  17. "India: 'Auction' of Muslim women on apps reveals widespread online abuse". Deutsche Welle. 10 January 2022. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Journalist Arfa Khanum Sherwani then released on Sunday a list of prominent female voices from various faiths, including Hindus, who have been targeted and threatened by Tek Fog.
  18. "'Abusive Digital Ecosystem': EGI Demands SC To Take Cognisance of Tek Fog App". The Quint. 11 January 2022. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022.
  19. "From Tek Fog to 'Bulli Bai', Editors Guild condemns 'online harassment of women journalists'". Newslaundry. 11 January 2022. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022.
  20. "'Misogynistic, abusive': Editors' Guild demands SC probe into Tek Fog app". The News Minute. 11 January 2022. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022.
  21. "Editors Guild retracts Tek Fog remarks after 'The Wire' takes down its articles". Scroll.in. 28 October 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  22. "Post Wire apology, Editors Guild retracts statement on Tek Fog, urges due diligence in reporting". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  23. "'Could Jeopardise National Security': Derek O'Brien Wants Standing Committee To Discuss 'Tek Fog'". The Wire. 6 January 2022. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022.
  24. "MP Derek O'Brien seeks parliamentary panel meet on 'Tek Fog' app". The Telegraph. India. 10 January 2022. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022.
  25. "Congress accuses BJP of using 'Tek Fog' app to propagate its agenda on social media, seeks SC's intervention". Tribuneindia News Service. 7 January 2022. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022.
  26. "BJP conspiring to spread hatred in India: Rahul Gandhi". Kashmir Media Service. 10 January 2022. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022.
  27. "BJP has set up several factories of hate, Tek Fog app one of them: Rahul Gandhi". Deccan Herald. Press Trust of India. 8 January 2022. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022.
  28. "Initiate parliamentary probe into Tek Fog app: Trinamool". The Hindu. 7 January 2022. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022.
  29. "Satej Patil questions govt's silence on Tek Fog expose". Deccan Herald. 10 January 2022. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022.
  30. "Maharashtra: MoS Patil asks Tek Fog victims to lodge police complaint". The Indian Express. 12 January 2022. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022.
  31. Khuhro, Zarrar (17 January 2022). "Fog and shadow". Dawn. Archived from the original on 17 January 2022.
  32. Leloup, Damien (6 January 2022). "Tek Fog, un vaste système pour manipuler l'opinion sur les réseaux sociaux en Inde" [Tek Fog, a vast system to guide opinion on social networks in India]. Le Monde (in French). Archived from the original on 6 January 2022. C'est peut-être la plus élaborée des opérations de manipulation politique en ligne jamais découverte : le site d'information indien The Wire révèle, jeudi 6 janvier, l'existence d'un vaste système de manipulation des messages sur les réseaux sociaux en Inde. Mise en place, selon les investigations du média, au profit du parti hindouiste ultraconservateur Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), parti du premier ministre, Narendra Modi, cette opération, toujours en cours, est gérée par le biais d'une simple application pour téléphones : Tek Fog.
  33. "Parliamentary panel seeks response on Tek Fog app". The Hindu. 12 January 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022.
  34. "Parliamentary Panel on Home Affairs Likely to Discuss 'Tek Fog' Issue at Next Meeting". The Wire. 9 January 2022. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022.
  35. "After Derek O'Brien, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Asks Standing Committee to Discuss 'Tek Fog'". The Wire. 12 January 2022. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
  36. "Supreme Court global leader with 1.81L virtual hearings". Tribuneindia News Service. 12 February 2022. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022.
  37. "The Wire: India website removes Meta investigation after row". BBC News. 19 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  38. "The Wire retracts Meta stories, Tek Fog investigation to be reviewed too". The News Minute. 23 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
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