How Pakistan orchestrated Mohammed Shami's trolling, conspired over India-Pak T20 WC match

The so-called bigoted 'outrage' against Mohammad Shami after the India-Pakistan T20 World Cup match was an orchestrated attempt by Pakistan to weaponise social media and show India in a poor light, it has emerged. Republic Media Network's investigation has revealed that the vicious attack on Shami, and flap-jaw Pak Home Minister Sheikh Rashid's statement asking Indian Muslims to join in the celebrations, all appear to be a part of a deep-state plan to reignite the 'intolerance' debate in the country and drive a communal wedge between its people. 

India lost its three-decade-long domination in World Cup cricket against Pakistan after it was defeated by 10 wickets in the Super 12 stage on October 24. The loss was unquestionably heart-breaking for Indians. The timing definitely did not make it easier, given the strong chorus that had rejected the idea of playing cricket with Pakistan amidst the spate of targeted killings in Jammu and Kashmir. 

Propaganda around Mohammed Shami originated in Pakistan

What followed was a coordinated agenda to selectively highlight the criticism faced by Mohammed Shami, particularly in a communal context. What was even more surprising was that tweets criticizing Shami were not that visible and were limited to selective pages, just like for others, but tweets selectively attacking such criticism of Shami attained much greater visibility.

Republic Media Network's investigation found that there were a large number of tweets condeming the alleged criticism from within India, but on further scrutiny and analysis, it was found that of the handles trolling Shami, several were of Pakistani origin, and some were run by various agencies; showing that it was actually a weaponization of social media from predictable sources.

The pressure and the hype was created to such an extent that players like Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, VVS Laxman and others started tweeting in support of Shami. Tweets from veterans further resulted in giving a push to the one-sided biased narrative that Pakistan had peddled to stoke the 'intolerance' claim against India. 

Role of Pakistan, ISI handles exposed

A closer look into the handles that left the vicious comments against Shami at the very start exposes the true face of the trolling. The majority of tweets targeting Shami were from Pakistan. An account named Alitaza tweeted 28 abusive comments against Shami. Investigation shows that the account follows 15 people, all of which are Pakistanis.

Some of these were private accounts, created solely for the purpose of spreading the 'India is intolerant' propaganda. They were deactivated right after they had done their work.

Here's the truth behind some of the comments left on Shami's Instagram, and the origin of the handles behind them.

Pakistan Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed's statements further unveil Pakistan's nefarious hate-filled agenda. Minutes after the match, Rashid saluted Babar Azam & Co for defeating the neighbours and used the 'Gentlemen's game' to further his political agenda. The leader asked all Muslims including in India to celebrate Pakistan's victory, attempting to further the rift between Indian cricket fans and cast shadows of doubt on the patriotism of Indian Muslims. "It is a matter of celebration for Indian Muslims, for Muslims world over... it is a victory for Islam," he said.

Backing the artificially-generated criticism of Shami, the Lobby toed the Pakistani line once again. The toxicity was amplified by usual suspects who joined the slam fest. Lutyens journalists even wrote articles in international publications on related developments. The question remains whether the Lobby was influenced by the Pakistani agenda or did it deliberately amplify it?

Kohli & Sharma also trolled, but broadside against Shami began in Pak

After the defeat, netizens unleashed their fury onto the Indian cricket team for losing their first-ever World Cup match against their arch-rivals. Indian skipper Virat Kohli was badgered on social media for leading the team to their defeat, even as he held the fort and surpassed a half-century in the match. Those criticizing him did not take into account his good performance. Other players like Rohit Sharma were also dragged through the mud. The power opener was out for a golden duck, his dismissal the first big shake-up for the Indian team.

From KL Rahul to Jaspirt Bumrah to Suryakumar Yadav, no member of the team was immune to the criticism after the match as angry Indians lashed out at the cricket team and even the management. 

Indian Players were even criticized for their sportsmanship with Pakistan players, in particular Kohli who was seen hugging Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam after the match. Netizens accused him of completely disregarding Indian sentiments back at home. Interestingly, even as our cricketers naively congratulated the Pakistan players, the country was long prepared to set the anti-India agenda rolling, their biggest weapon-- social media.