#FactCheck: Edited Broadcast Misused to Spread False Assam Political Rift Claim
Executive Summary:
A video from an India TV news show related to the Assam elections is going viral on social media. In the clip, anchor Meenakshi Joshi is allegedly seen claiming that there is a rift between the BJP and the RSS in Assam. The video further suggests that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that former Congress members have taken over the BJP, and that RSS volunteers would not work for the party in Assam. However, a research by the CyberPeace found that the viral video is edited and misleading. The original video contains no such claims.
Claim:
A social media user Ajit Singh shared the video on X with the caption:“The core idea of today’s BJP is to capture power by any means. We have been saying this for long, and now even RSS has accepted that BJP in Assam has been taken over by Congress mindset.”
Fact Check:
To verify the claim, we searched relevant keywords about the alleged letter by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, we found no credible media reports supporting this claim. We then checked the YouTube channel of India TV but could not find the viral clip there. During the search, we did find a similar video from Meenakshi Joshi’s show. In the beginning of that video, the portion seen in the viral clip appears.
In the original video, the anchor is discussing the announcement of election dates in five states. There is no mention of any rift between the BJP and RSS in Assam.
Conclusion:
The viral India TV video claiming a rift between the BJP and RSS in Assam is edited and misleading. The original broadcast was about election dates in five states and did not include any such claims.
Related Blogs
Executive Summary
A video circulating on social media has sparked controversy, showing a man allegedly vandalising an idol of Lord Ram. Users sharing the clip claim that the incident recently took place in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. The posts further allege that a Muslim individual climbed the idol and attempted to damage it. However, research by the CyberPeace found the viral claim to be misleading. The research revealed that the video is not recent but nearly three years old. At the time of the incident, the police had already arrested the accused. Social media users are now resharing the old video with false claims that it is a recent event.
Claim:
On February 14, 2026, a Facebook user shared the viral video claiming that the incident occurred in Ayodhya, where a large religious gathering was underway. The post alleged that a man identified as Mohammad Mukhtar Mandal climbed the idol of Lord Ram and attempted to break it. The post was widely circulated with inflammatory remarks. (Link and archived version of the post were provided along with a screenshot.)
Fact Check
To verify the authenticity of the claim, we extracted key frames from the viral video and conducted a reverse image search using Google Lens. During the search, we found a report published on January 30, 2024, on the Hindi website of Patrika, which carried visuals matching the viral footage. According to the report, a video had surfaced showing a man climbing an idol of Lord Ram in Ayodhya and attempting to damage it. The video had gone viral at the time, following which police registered a case against the accused, Mukhtar Ali Mandal, and arrested him.
Further research led us to another Facebook post featuring the same video. In the comment section of that post, Uttar Pradesh Police clarified that the incident dated back to January 2024. The Ayodhya police had registered a case against the accused shown in the video and sent him to jail.
Conclusion:
The research confirms that the viral video is not recent but an old incident from January 2024. The accused was arrested at the time. The video is being reshared with misleading claims falsely presenting it as a recent event.
Introduction
Cyber attacks are becoming increasingly common and most sophisticated around the world. India's Telecom operator BSNL has allegedly suffered a data breach. Reportedly, Hackers managed to steal sensitive information of BSNL customers and the same is now available for sale on the dark web. The leaked information includes names email addresses billing details contact numbers and outgoing call records of BSNL customers victims include both BSNL fibre and landline users. The threat actor using Querel has released a sample data set on a dark web forum and the data set contains 32,000 lines of leaked information the threat actor has claimed that the total number of lines across all databases amounts to approximately 2.9 Million.
The Persistent Threat to Digital Fortresses
As we plunge into the abyssal planes of the internet, where the shadowy tendrils of cyberspace stretch out like the countless arms of some digital leviathan, we find ourselves facing a stark and chilling revelation. At its murky depths lurks the dark web, a term that brings forth images of a clandestine digital netherworld where anonymity reigns supreme and the conventional rules of law struggle to cast their net. It is here, in this murky digital landscape, where the latest trophy of cyber larceny has been flagrantly displayed — the plundered data of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), India's state-owned telecommunications colossus.
This latest breach serves not simply as a singular incident in the tapestry of cyber incursions but as a profound reminder of the enduring fragility of our digital bastions against the onslaught wielded by the ever-belligerent adversaries in cyberspace.
The Breach
Tracing the genesis of this worrisome event, we find a disconcerting story unfold. It began to surface when a threat actor, shrouded in the mystique of the digital shadows and brandishing the enigmatic alias 'Perell,' announced their triumph on the dark web. This self-styled cyber gladiator took to the encrypted recesses of this hidden domain with bravado, professing to have extracted 'critical information' from the inner sanctum of BSNL's voluminous databases. It is from these very vaults that the most sensitive details of the company's fibre network and landline customers originate.
A portion of the looted data, a mere fragment of a more extensive and damning corpus, was brandished like a nefariously obtained banner for all to see on the dark web. It was an ostentatious display, a teaser intended to tantalize and terrify — approximately 32,000 lines of data, a hint of the reportedly vast 2.9 million lines of data that 'Perell' claimed to have sequestered in their digital domain. The significance of this compromised information cannot be overstated; it is not mere bytes and bits strewn about in the cyber-wind. It constitutes the very essence of countless individuals, an amalgamation of email addresses, billing histories, contact numbers, and a myriad of other intimate details that, if weaponized, could set the stage for heinous acts of identity theft, insidious financial fraud, and precisely sculpted phishing schemes.
Ramifications
The ramifications of such a breach extend far beyond individual concerns of privacy invasion. This event signifies an alarming clarion call highlighting the susceptibility of our digital identities. In an era where the strands of our daily lives are ever more entwined with the World Wide Web, such penetrations are not merely an affront to corporate entities; they are a direct assault on the individual's inherent right to security and the implicit trust placed in the institutions that profess to shield their most private information.
Ripples of concern have emanated throughout the cybersecurity community, prompting urgent action from Cert-In, India's cyber security sentinel. Upon notification of this digital transgression, alarms were sounded, and yet, in a disconcerting turn, BSNL has remained enigmatic, adopting a silence that seems to belie the gravity of the situation. This reticence stands in contrast to the urgency for open dialogue and transparency — it is within the anvil of these principles that the foundations of trust are laid and sustained.
Conclusion
The narrative of the BSNL data breach transcends a singular tale of digital larceny or vulnerability; it unfolds as an insistent call to action, demanding a unified and proactive response to the perpetually morphing threat landscape that haunts our technologically dependent world. It is an uncomfortable reminder that in the intricately woven web of our online existence, we each stand as potential targets with our personal data held precariously as the coveted prize for those shadow-walkers and data marauders who dwell in the secretive realms of the internet's darkest corners.
References
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Introduction
India's digital governance system is experiencing a significant transformation. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has extended the deadline for implementing SIM binding requirements for messaging platforms to December 31, 2026, while also stepping back from earlier proposals such as mandatory periodic web logouts.
The government extended the current proposal but decided to cancel its previous requirement, which mandated messaging platforms to implement mandatory logout periods. The authorities implemented this action to control the increasing occurrence of digital impersonation, financial fraud, online scams and identity theft, which occurs through messaging applications.
The authorities are said to have implemented this action to control the increasing occurrence of digital impersonation, financial fraud, online scams and identity theft, which occurs through messaging applications.
What Has Changed
The SIM binding mandate, which the Telecommunication Cyber Security framework introduced in late 2025 requires messaging platforms to maintain user account connections with active SIM cards that match their registered mobile numbers.
Platforms received a brief period for compliance with the original rules. Industry stakeholders, which included messaging services and device manufacturers, reported that they faced major technical and operational problems when trying to constantly verify SIM status on different devices and operating systems.
The government postponed the compliance date to December 2026 to give organisations extra time for the gradual implementation of requirements. The policy now permits platforms to use risk-based or adaptive logout mechanisms, which enable security management without enforcing standard security procedures through their web messaging application platforms.
Why the Extension Was Necessary
The extension operates as a recognition of both technical feasibility constraints and ecosystem's complex nature. Multiple devices at present enable messaging platforms to function which includes smartphones and desktops and web interfaces with real time synchronization. The system needs complete operational system and hardware component integration to maintain active SIM verification throughout all environments because stakeholders estimated that this process would take time to achieve proper results.
The operating system providers and smartphone manufacturers expressed their worries about system limitations, which include testing procedures and compatibility problems.
The government recognised through its deadline extension that security requirements need technical feasibility and scalability to function properly without causing service interruptions or requiring immediate implementation.
Security Rationale Behind SIM Binding
The SIM binding system serves its main purpose to enhance accountability while it protects digital communication systems from unauthorised use. Authorities have identified that messaging accounts can remain active even after the associated SIM card is removed, deactivated, or moved across regions. The situation creates paths for criminals to commit fraud and impersonation while perpetrating cybercrime across international borders because they can use digital identities that are hard to trace.
The SIM binding system exists to solve this problem by
- requiring active, Virtual KYC-verified SIMs to authenticate messaging accounts.
- Users cannot access the system until they connect their active SIM.
- The system maintains the capacity to track and authenticate digital identities.
The measure aims to eliminate a security gap that digital communication systems currently use for fraudulent activities and identity theft.
Shift Toward Risk-Based Regulation
The current development marks a major change because it no longer applies fixed rules that used to determine what organisations must do, but now uses risk assessment methods. The previous plan, which required users to log out every six hours from web sessions, has been replaced by platforms that now log users out based on their risk assessment. The shift demonstrates that cybersecurity needs to implement security measures that require specific context and need to match the existing environment. Organisations face challenges when trying to apply standard rules because users exhibit various behaviours while using different devices on multiple platforms.
The risk-based model enables platforms to detect suspicious activity through dynamic monitoring, which establishes strict security measures for high-risk situations while preserving system access during periods of low risk.
Implications for the Digital Ecosystem
The extension, together with its related policy alterations, creates significant effects for organisations. The extra time allows the industry to create systems that can work together with different ecosystems while testing their implementation process and matching their required operational standards.
The shift shows policymakers that they should adopt a process that combines multiple rounds of assessment with stakeholder input to develop their regulations.
The upcoming changes will create invisible effects for users, which will determine the future methods of digital identity verification and the security functions of communication platforms.
Conclusion
The extension of the SIM binding deadline represents a new approach to regulations instead of being a regulatory rollback. The process requires both dedicated efforts and actual implementation to create secure digital environments.
India needs to establish secure and scalable user-friendly systems while advancing its digital infrastructure development. The current developments show progress toward achieving a solution that protects cybersecurity needs while considering technological facts and user experience. Organisations face two main obstacles in modern interdependent systems: they must protect their systems while maintaining user trust and system protection, and their capability to operate over extended periods.
References
- https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/government-shelves-periodic-web-logout-for-chat-apps-extends-sim-binding-to-december-31/article70811929.ece
- https://www.gadgets360.com/telecom/news/dot-sim-binding-mandate-extension-2026-report-11301917
