Who is Sulaiman Ahmed?

A user named Sulaiman Ahmed has come under the radar of our investigation concerning the crises of the Israel-Hamas war. He sustains more than 5 Lakh followers on X and has done 22.5K posts till now which implies that he has massive potential to influence mass followers in the current social media landscape. As per his Twitter bio, he claims to be a UK-based Journalist, having a main interest in Geopolitics. Additionally, he holds an MA in Philosophy, PGCE in Mathematics, and an LLB in Law. Currently, he is pursuing a PhD in Philosophy at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.

This report will shed light on the following pointers:

• Sulaiman Ahmed on social media platforms
• Activated himself during the Hamas War
• Revealing his anti-India stance and Misinformation about India
• A paradigm of misinformation who asks to donate for Truth?
• His misinformation afflicting the Indian diaspora
• Conclusion

Sulaiman on Social Media Platforms

Apart from having a substantial following on X, Sulaiman Ahmed can be traced out on Instagram, Telegram, Rumble, and other social media platforms. He runs a podcast channel on YouTube where he invites prominent personalities from different domains and discusses the ongoing scenario of prevailing Crises and controversies. According to his YouTube’s Channel bio, one can find many videos pertaining to Investigative Journalism, Andrew Tate’s Political Commentary,  Cultural Commentary. Moreover, he has around 2k followers on Instagram. In addition to that, he operates a website called  Classical Islam for Modern World which addresses the issues of Islamic theology. He is also a blogger, and his published blogs can be found on Substack, where he shares his perspectives on current affairs.

Activated himself during the Israel-Hamas War

 In our investigation, it has come to light that this individual joined X (formerly Twitter) back in March 2013 but has been found actively using X since the beginning of the crises, with an insignificant number of followers (9,322). He has tweeted extensively about the Israel-Hamas issue and has fervently spread misinformation regarding the war.

Misinformation about the Israel-Hamas War

Upon conducting a thorough investigation, it has been discovered that the official X handle of Sulaiman Ahmed has been flooded with misinformation since the Israel-Hamas war began. A brief probe of his account from October 2023 to April 2024 revealed that he has shared numerous old videos misleadingly by associating them with latest Israel-Hamas War. Apart from this, he has left no stone unturned in sharing false claims on X(Twitter).

The collages provided below highlights the rate of misinformation on which he has disseminated plethora of content misleadingly and falsely along with some remarkable fact-checks from every month.

He started designing his web of misinformation in October 2023, when the Israel-Hamas war began. This month, the rate of misinformation was 30%.

Just after one month of the Israel-Hamas War, we found that the rate of misinformation accelerated to 80%.

 However, in December, the rate of misinformation was reduced to 65%.

 In Jan and Feb 2024, the rate of misinformation regarding the Israel-Hamas war was only 60% since he has been found posting content related to India as well.

 In march, the rate of misinformation was recorded only 51%.

Least rate of misinformation was found in the month of April only with 40% of misleading and false content.

Unraveling his anti-India stance and misinformation about India

A further research into his account revealed that he began actively tweeting about India in December 2023. We found that he has shared a slew of old videos depicting individuals from minorities (of any gender or religious background) being assaulted or exploited by Indians. Firstly, we discovered several videos related to foreign women who were assaulted or harassed in India in the past. Through this, he has attempted to shape an opinion about India on X, suggesting that the country is not safe for foreign women. Additionally, numerous videos depicting the assault or abuse of Muslims are also available on his account, indicating that he has launched a severe digital attack on India from a religious perspective.

While sharing videos about the female assault, he has used captions like women should not visit India and Indian Tries To Rape South Korea Woman In India etc.

Here’s a collage showing videos shared by him on the assault of a  foreign women

Videos on the assault of Indian women as well

Not only this, but we also found he has posted other videos showing the assault and abuse of Indian women by Indian men. By doing this, he has created a frail  image of Indian women on the basis of gender.

Videos depicting atrocities on Muslims

A subsequent research of his account revealed that he shared various videos depicting the atrocities on Muslims.

Videos portraying India as unhygienic, filthy and grubby country

Several videos showing dirtiness and uncleanliness have been shared by him specifically to degrade India’s position on the social media platforms.

Here are some significant fact-checks in the form collage showing false information shared by him and what is the reality behind this false information

Misinformation 1

Claim: He shared this video on X and claimed that Lower caste Indian Man humiliated by Huger Sanghi

Fact-Check

On investigation, we found that the incident took place in July 2023 in Sonbhadra, UP. We found an official statement from Sonbhadra police where the police took action against the accused. The CO Ghorawal Amit Kumar said, “An FIR has been registered against this despicable act of the contract lineman and he will be arrested soon”. 

Analysis: Misleading as the incident is from July 2023

Misinformation 2

Claim: He shared a video showing a man severely thrashed by two men while a burqa-clad woman trying to save him on X and claimed; “MUSLIM FAMILY BEATEN IN INDIA”

Fact-Check

The DFRAC team investigated this video and found a press brief note on the X handle of Siddhartnagar Police from 2020 stating that both, the victims & culprits seen in the viral video belong to the same community who were fighting over a dispute related to their children.

Analysis: Misleading as the video is from 2020

Misinformation 3

Claim: He posted a video on X showing a young lady harassed by some men and wrote: “FOREIGN FEMALE TOURIST SEXUALLY HARASSED IN INDIA”

Fact-Check

A reverse-image search of the key-frames generated from the video led us to a report by Sportskeeda from the year 2021 revealing that the woman seen in the viral video is a Japanese IRL Twitch streamer named Sushipotato who has had a history of being harassed in public during her livestreams. The streamer can often be seen walking in the streets of Japan while livestreaming and interacting with strangers.

Analysis: Misleading. The video is from 2021

Misinformation 4

Claim: He shared an image showing thousands of protesters on streets along with the flag of Palestine and claimed: ” Huge Pro Palestine Protests in Istanbul”

Fact-Check

According to the reports from The Times of India and The Times of Israel, Tens of thousands of protesters marched in Istanbul to rally against Israel’s war in Gaza and the killing of Turkish soldiers by Kurdish militants. The rally, organized by a foundation with ties to President Erdogan’s son, began after morning prayers at iconic mosques in Istanbul

Analysis: Misleading, the protest took two months ago, on the first day of the New Year 2024.

Misinformation 5

Claim: He shared a video on X showing a journalist groped by a mob during live reporting and claimed: “Attempted Rape On CNN Journalist Live On Air In India”

Fact-Check

On investigation, we found a video on CNN’s YouTube channel. As per the video’s description, Journalist and author Sunny Hundal talks to CNN’s Sara Sidner about the rise in reported gang rapes in India. Journalist Sara Sidner narrated an incident that happened in 2008 when she was reporting live during the Mumbai terror attacks of 26/11.

Analysis: Misleading, video clip shows the incident that took place in 2008.

Misinformation 6

He posted another video on X showing some police officials maltreating a woman inside a car and wrote: “Indian Police Abuse and take Hostage Indian woman for having a relationship with a Muslim”

Fact-Check

In the probe, we found reports by The Print, and Zee news, published in the Year 2018 revealing that the Uttar Pradesh police suspended three police personnel after a video emerged on social media, showing a woman constable slapping and harassing a nursing student for “liking a Muslim”. The nursing student was being escorted in a police vehicle after she had been “rescued” from being attacked by alleged Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activists.

Analysis: Misleading as the video is from 2018

The rapid rise in the Followers while disseminating Misinformation

Before the incident of the Israel-Hamas conflict on October 7, we discovered that Sulaiman Ahmed had fewer followers on X. The trend of misinformation he spread on X has led to a surge in followers, bombarding his X account with thousands of new followers.

On a related note, we have discovered that he has served as a co-host and guest in the X(Twitter) spaces organized by notable fake news peddlers such as @MarioNawfal and @Kahilsee. These spaces usually raise the issue of genocide upon Palestinians.

A paradigm of misinformation who asks to donate for Truth?

 “Despite having multiple subscriptions, he has been discovered spreading misinformation and false news frequently on X. He holds a total of eight subscriptions. This raises the question of how he can solicit donations based on truth when he has been found spreading substantial misinformation on X.”

His misinformation afflicting the Indian diaspora

A tangled web of misinformation devised by him over the months is tarnishing India’s Image in the current social media landscape and impacting the perception of India within the Indian diaspora  and worldwide. In our investigation, it has been discovered that videos from a biased perspective to distort India’s reputation on the internet. Consequently, this misinformation has not only affected India’s reputation but also had repercussions on the Indian diaspora.

Conclusion

 In this exclusive report, we have provided a brief analysis of the web of misinformation designed by him to tarnish India’s reputation in the current social media landscape. Furthermore, misinformation related to numerous issues can also be found on his official handle. The misuse of social media platforms by users like Sulaiman Ahmed, who exploit them to spread falsehoods and misinformation, needs to be taken seriously, especially now when thousands of people rely on social media for authentic and accurate information.”