Introduction
Since October 1, 2026, several Pakistan-based social media accounts have turned their attention to the protest led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. By taking on an Indian identity, these accounts are actively amplifying digital content arising from the protest, criticising the Indian government and Delhi Police, and portraying their image such that Indians are suffering at their hands. Our team found that their posts reveal a pattern of old and unrelated visuals, misleading claims and unverified reports being shared in connection with the ongoing demonstrations.
This report examines how these accounts appear to exploit a domestic Indian political protest to push anti-government narratives while presenting themselves as Indian users familiar with the country’s political affairs. Some have circulated misleading material that could create a false impression of events on the ground, while others have selectively amplified the protest and criticised the authorities without verifying the content they shared. Such activity raises questions about whether these accounts are genuinely engaging in political discussion or attempting to manipulate public perception by exploiting an ongoing controversy.
Accounts impersonating Indian identity:
The Indian-impersonating accounts spreading misleading content about the situation of the anti-CEC CJP protest are:
As noted above, some Pakistan-based accounts adopt Indian usernames and post misleading content to appear credible to Indian users. Other Pakistan-based propaganda accounts do not currently attempt to post unverified content; however, they follow a similar strategy by disguising themselves as Indian and amplifying on-the-ground images, videos, and reports related to the CJP protests, including accounts of government action against the protesters. One similarity we noticed in these accounts is that they are newly created. Our analysis of the above-mentioned accounts reveals that once these newly created accounts reach a certain number of followers, they will also start posting misleading content. These accounts are:
Some accounts with high reach have also been suspended by the X platform for repeatedly sharing misleading content about India, and they were also impersonating Indian users:
Fact-check on the Misleading content:
- A trend followed by these accounts was largely aligned with accounts that are originally Pakistan-based and do not disguise themselves as Indian. This trend is of constantly targeting the Indian Army and its officials with unverified and baseless allegations. It was claimed by the Pakistan-based accounts that the government is allegedly preparing to remove General Dhiraj Seth, Chief of Army Staff (COAS), for speaking out against the CEC Gyanesh Kumar. We determined that this claim was fake, and nowhere was it found that Gen. Dhiraj Seth had given any statement regarding CEC Gyanesh Kumar or that the government was planning to remove him.
- It was also claimed, along with a video, that Gen. Dhiraj Seth allegedly gave a statement against the ongoing CJP protest. We found that the video of Gen. Dhiraj Seth was digitally altered, and in the original footage, he did not make any of the alleged remarks.
- Another misleading piece of content regarding the Indian Army was posted online. An old video from Kashmir was posted featuring Indian soldiers, with the claim that it was from Delhi and that the Indian Army has been deployed in Delhi to carry out atrocities against protestors.
- Then it was claimed that the Indian National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, was allegedly trying to blackmail the leadership of CJP, including Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka.
- A video was posted showing that Delhi police are allegedly committing atrocities against the protestors. It was also claimed that 13 people have been killed and 33 are injured. Our investigation revealed that the video is again from the 2020 Delhi riots, and the figures of deceased and injured people are wrong and self-created. While there were reports of some injured protesters, no one was killed during the protest.
- To exploit the narrative and demands of the CJP protest, the Pakistan-based accounts sided with the Left bloc against the CEC Gyanesh Kumar. A video related to the 2019 Delhi protest against the CAA was posted with the claim that the Delhi Police allegedly attacked Rahul Gandhi’s residence.
- Again, a video of the 2020 Delhi riots was posted with the claim that Delhi police allegedly started firing on Rahul Gandhi and five Congress workers were killed.
Conclusion:
The findings of this report highlight how Pakistan-based accounts used the CJP protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as an opportunity to amplify anti-government narratives and criticise the Delhi Police. By circulating old and unrelated visuals, misleading claims and unverified reports, these accounts presented a distorted picture of events surrounding the demonstrations. Their selective amplification of the protest, combined with content that appeared designed to project familiarity with Indian politics, raises concerns about attempts to influence public discourse while obscuring the accounts’ actual origins.
The fact-checks in this report demonstrate why the source and context of viral content matter, particularly during politically sensitive events. Although criticism of the government and support for a protest do not, by themselves, establish propaganda or coordination, the repeated circulation of misleading material can blur the line between genuine political engagement and narrative manipulation. Identifying these accounts, tracing the origins of their posts and exposing false claims is therefore essential to understanding how an Indian domestic controversy can be exploited by external actors to shape perceptions of the government, law enforcement and the protest itself.
