New Delhi: A propaganda machine working under the guise of a Pakistan-based think tank has been busted by digital forensics where the research revealed this account is spreading hateful content and sowing seeds of religious divisions in India, media reports said.

Digital Forensics and Research and Analytics Centre (DFRAC) busted the lies of this Pakistan-based think tank for its fake and misleading content and for carrying hateful narratives against India and its agenda of posing Pakistan as a "friend" to China.

The name of this account working under the hood of a think tank is "Pakistan Strategic Forum (PSF)." Its presence on its Twitter account goes by "@ForumStrategic". In its Twitter bio, the channel states that it is an independent think tank run by an international team of researchers, delivering the intelligence that needs to make informed decisions on geopolitics. It has a following of 58.8 thousand on Twitter.

The guiding motto of this account's operation is to work towards portraying Pakistan as a benevolent country with no faults. In sheer contrast, this account carries content with anti-India content carrying hateful and farcical stories with no connection to actual reality.

Created on December 2019, the account first tweeted on December 13, 2019 when Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff paid a visit to Pakistan Aeronautical Complex. However, the account has been quite active since then.

However, later this account was running a hate campaign by putting out pictures from India with misleading captions. Among the many instances were farmer's protests in India, Bangladeshi PM Hasina's visit and articles peddling lies on the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir, reported DFRAC.

When the farmer's protest was ongoing in India, the account posted some pictures on Twitter with caption saying -- "Sikhs of India have hoisted Khalistan flag on the Red Fort in New Delhi."

However, here this account distorted the truth in a blatant manner. It was not a Khalistani flag but instead Nishan Sahib -- which symbolises the presence of the Khalsa. It is hoisted at every Gurdwara premises.

The digital forensics team found out that the propaganda of the Pakistan Strategic Forum tries to deteriorate the image of India internationally. The account religious follow the developments in India and spits lies by manipulating the truth.

The Pak-based portal also tries to instigate the people of India's Jammu and Kashmir and other minorities of India. The fake account says that Kashmir belongs to Pakistan, Punjab to Khalistan and Ladakh to China.

As if this was not enough, the account also tries to manipulate people with their content. The account is clearly made to target India and to initiate an info war towards it.

In the report the forensics discovered that many such accounts are withheld by the Indian government for posting lies about India and its secularism. The research shows that all these accounts are a part of the network of Pakistan Strategic Forum.

The account also tries to push its agenda that women in India are not treated well and their rights are encroached upon. However, the fact is in comparison to Pakistan according to the data, provided by World Bank India has a 75 pc rate as of 2019 whereas Pakistan has a 42 pc Female School Enrolment Rate.

This is not the first time any such propaganda of Pakistan has been debunked by DFRAC. The team has time and again exposed the agendas and strategies of such accounts and how they work on the model of info war to demean India on international forums, reported DFRAC.