Congress hits out at BJP over report on Israeli team’s alleged poll interference

A day after an investigative report released by a consortium of international journalists claimed a team of Israeli contractors had interfered with more than 30 elections around the world, including India, by using means such as hacking, sabotage, and automated disinformation online, the Congress on Thursday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government demanding a probe into it.

The consortium including reporters from 30 global media outlets like ‘The Guardian’ in the UK, on Wednesday, claimed that a so-called “Team Jorge” led by Tal Hanan, a 50-year-old former Israeli special forces operative who works privately using the pseudonym “Jorge”, was behind “fake social media campaigns” in countries such as the UK, US, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Mexico, Senegal, India, and the United Arab Emirates”.

In a press conference in New Delhi, the Congress accused the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government of joining hands with the Israeli “Team Jorge” and said it directly impacts the election process in the country.

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said the Israeli team is responsible to have spread fake news and disinformation on widely used platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and Gmail and alleged the BJP’s IT cell has mirrored the modus operandi of “Jorge Team.”

“This impacts India’s electorate process directly and there should be a probe,” Shrinate said.

“This isn’t the first time that allegations of data theft have been made against the Modi government. One of the serious charges this government faces is data theft and manipulation to tamper with the electoral process,” she said.

“This government is known to play with big data to their advantage,” Shrinate added.

She also accused PM Modi of having more than 60% fake followers on social media platforms and claimed over 18,000 fake accounts on Twitter still amplify fabricated information for the BJP.

Linking the issue with the recent controversy over the Adani group, Congress leader Pawan Khera said, “How many companies of Adani gave money to Modi government? Where has he spent it? Pegasus or Jorge?”

He urged political parties to join hands to bust the ecosystem of fake news saying the disinformation is strategically connected to the electoral process.

Khera also hit out at the government over the recent IT survey at the offices of BBC.

There was no immediate reaction from the BJP.

Tal Hanan has told the investigation that he denies “any wrongdoing”.