Inside the BJP’s WhatsApp machine
This story is published in partnership with the Pulitzer Center’s AI Accountability Network and Princeton University’s Digital Witness Lab.
O n January 22, India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, inaugurated the Ram Mandir, a Hindu temple in the northern city of Ayodhya. Dressed head to toe in cream and gold, Modi led prayers and rituals at an event that dominated national news and effectively kicked off his 2024 reelection campaign.
The inauguration held great significance for many Hindus, but it also invited controversy. The temple is built on the ruins of a razed Mughal-era mosque and has become a flashpoint of tension between Hindus and Muslims, exacerbated by the Hindu nationalist views promoted by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Three days after the event, Kanav Sharma, an electrician who lives in the Himalayan town of Mandi, saw a video on Facebook that showed police in riot gear violently detaining several young men, dragging them away as sirens blared in the background. Hindi captions claimed the men had attacked a religious procession in Mumbai following the inauguration.
