On January 22, in what can be described as one of the biggest moments of Hindutva triumphalism in a decade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the Ram idol in Ayodhya. Describing the temple as a symbol of peace, harmony, and integration of all Indians, Modi said that the moment illustrates the maturity of Indians. He went on to suggest that the temple will take the country’s development journey to new heights.
However, the conversations around the event on many groups of his supporters on the messaging app Telegram belies this supposed message of peace and harmony. Shortly before and after the inauguration, these Telegram groups unleashed a flood of hate messages, fake news, and political propaganda targeting Muslims and opposition parties, and representing the event as one that can start off the process of the demolition of more mosques.
One such message in a channel called Samaj, with around 700 subscribers, says, “Tbh ab mullo ka future h nhi india me. kuch tym baad khule nhi dikhenge ye”.
Translated, it means, “To be honest there is no future of Muslims in India. They will not be seen in the open after some time.”
Algorithm
This reporter tracked at least 80 such Telegram channels, which together have more than 100,000 subscribers and found that Telegram’s automated ‘suggestions’ also aided the process.
The Telegram algorithm works in a way that ensures that if you join two or three of these channels, a suggestion pops up with a link to join other channels of the same kind, making it easy for one to find like-minded channels.
To gain insight into how Telegram plays a unique role compared to other platforms in shaping debates and pushing propaganda, the reporter interviewed Professor Mohan J. Dutta. Dutta is Chair Professor of Communication at Massey University, New Zealand, and has studied far-right trends extensively. His work also focuses on the online Hindutva hate ecosystem. He has authored a series of research papers on cultural Hindutva and Islamophobia.
Also read: 80% of Anti-Muslim Hate Speech in 2023 Was Delivered in BJP-Ruled States: Report
So how is Telegram different from other social media platforms when it comes to shaping debates and pushing propaganda?
Dutta says that the answer lies in Telegram’s architecture. “It functions as a broadcasting channel, allowing for the rapid dissemination of messages to a large audience, including calls to violence and the organization of people,” he adds.
Safety
Does Telegram afford more impunity to hate-mongers compared to other platforms?
Dutta believes that the answer is not straight. “Due to a higher degree of anonymity compared to platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram provides greater protection for hate influencers. Additionally, content on Telegram can easily become cross-platform material, further disseminating it on other platforms,” he says.
Why is it that Hindutva groups gravitate towards Telegram? Here, Dutta feels that the sense of community it fosters, along with the assurance of safety, offers impunity to them. “On X, for example, exposure is broader since it is a public platform. Thus, my observation is that the Hindutva ecosystem is very comfortable disseminating hate on Telegram,” he says.
On Samaj, the above-mentioned channel, conversation ranges from casually sexist to deeply offensive.
Someone shares a video showing Trinamool Congress leader Satabdi Roy, where she is heard saying, “They (the BJP) say that they give homes to those who are below the poverty line. Then is Ram below the poverty line?”
The admin of the channel starts the conversation by saying Roy “belongs to the street,” and others follow with deeply misogynistic abuses.
When one person replies to the message and says, “BJP is playing with Hindu’s faith to gain votes and has made the masses rationally dumb and deaf,” he is assailed with abuses and asked to shut up.
Visual vehicles of hatred
A member sends a collection of stickers. One sticker depicts men with beards and skull caps locked inside a concentration camp with ‘New Madarsa’ written on it. A man as the infamous ‘Pepe the frog’ figure is in fatigues, with the symbol ‘om’ on it. He is seen pressing the green button. Locked men are screaming and the Pepe figure is smoking.
The sticker is credited to ‘livingdadream’. A search of this username on Google takes you to an X account that has posted many ‘Pepe the frog’ memes that depict the annihilation of Muslims, Nazi style. In one meme posted on X by this account, a Hindu man with a Swastika printed on his military uniform is holding a Muslim by his neck. Caption says “Desh ke musalmano ko, goli maaro salo ko (kill the muslims of the country)”.
These photos and stickers are frequently posted in these channels by various members.
Some of the anti-Muslim stickers and memes frequently shared in Hindutva Telegram channels.
Professor Dutta feels that Telegram is often the space where hate groups can cross-fertilise and cross-pollinate ideas.
“Telegram is widely used by far-right hate groups globally, such as the Proud Boys group, who stormed the Capitol in the USA.There is a significant intersection between the far-right white supremacist movement and the far-right Hindutva movement. They borrow memes and messaging from each other, including calls for extreme violence. Islamophobia is where they intersect. There are two aspects to it. One is framing Muslims as “others,” as a threat, and constructing them in dehumanizing language, using that as a basis to call for extreme violence and genocide. The other aspect where they intersect is extreme misogyny and toxic masculinity, using demeaning language and calling for sexual violence against Muslim women in the case of Hindutva”’ he said.
A screengrab showing the reporting mechanism on Telegram.
A Telegram user can report a particular post/message in the following categories: spam, violence, child abuse, illegal drugs, personal details, and pornography.
However, there is no mechanism to report a particular content for hate speech or dehumanisation.
Although there is an ‘Other’ option where you have to provide details manually, it does not offer any option to select the relevant problematic post – the report needs to be against the channel in general. The reporter reported at least five posts in five different Hindutva Telegram channels using the ‘Other’ option providing details of why the post is hate speech. The posts are still present.
Professor Dutta says that with X and Meta, there is at least access to a content moderation system “where you can raise a complaint, and you know how to do so.”
“Telegram is primarily a dissemination channel and doesn’t really provide a feedback mechanism in that way. Therefore, content moderation is much weaker on Telegram,” he says.
