Tek Fog

Tek Fog is a non-existent application that was the center of a 2022 social media misinformation controversy wherein the news outlet The Wire accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using the application "to manipulate social media," based on evidence that was later proven to be fabricated. It also claimed that BJP's Amit Malviya had powers to remove social media posts on command.[1]

The story went viral in India and drew reactions from opposition politicians, as well as international media houses.

One of the two authors of the report published in the news outlet The Wire for the non-existant app Tek Fog was Devesh Kumar. After allegations emerged that Kumar had fabricated evidence in later news stories about Meta Platforms, Inc., The Wire fired Kumar, alleged that he had intended to discredit the outlet, and filed a police report.The Delhi Police registered a case against the news website following a complaint filed by Malviya.[2] The Wire issued a formal apology to its readers and took down the Meta and Tek Fog reports.[2][3]

Initial story

Alerted by a supposed disgruntled employee-turned-whistleblower, the Indian news publication The Wire reportedly conducted a two-year investigation and published its findings in January 2022. This report claimed that the Tek Fog application was used "to artificially inflate the popularity of the Bharatiya Janata Party, harass its critics and manipulate public perceptions at scale across major social media platforms" and to "amplify right-wing propaganda".[4][5][6]

The Wire investigation also claimed that the BJP, along with the private companies Persistent Systems and Mohalla Tech (which operates a service called ShareChat), were involved in deploying the app. The members of BJP's youth wing, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), were said to have supervised the operators, giving them ideological directions.[4] The investigation also claimed that an unnamed internal source within Persistent Systems found 17,000 files connected to Tek Fog which were developed by Persistent Systems.[4]

Reactions

The Editors Guild of India initially said The Wire investigation "laid bare an extensive and well funded network built around [the] app".[17] It condemned "the continuing online harassment of women journalists" and called for "urgent steps to break and dismantle this misogynistic and abusive digital eco-system".[18][19] The Guild later retracted its statements after The Wire removed the original articles,[20] citing concerns about accuracy and insufficient "journalistic norms and checks".[21]

Opposition parties denounced the app as a national security threat and demanded a probe. Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien of the Trinamool Congress called for a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs to discuss the app and said it "has serious ramifications and could jeopardise national security."

Retraction and apology

On 23 October 2022, The Wire took down its Tek Fog story "for review" due to claims of misconduct in another investigation done by the same journalist.[34][35] On 27 October 2022, The Wire issued a formal apology to its readers for the publication of these stories.[3]

See also

• The Wire (India)