Maharashtra police flags ‘cross-border disinformation’ campaign on NEET protests
The Maharashtra State Cyber Department has identified a cross-border disinformation campaign involving AI-generated content during recent protests. Authorities have taken legal action against hundreds of social media accounts linked to foreign actors attempting to incite unrest.
Why it matters
This highlights the growing threat of foreign-sponsored AI-driven disinformation campaigns in destabilizing domestic public order.
The Maharashtra State Cyber Department on Tuesday (July 28, 2026) said it had found links to nearly 500 social media profiles allegedly involved in a “cross-border disinformation campaign” during the Cockroach Janata Party protests.
“Technical analysis indicated the involvement of anti-social elements operating from outside India, particularly from Pakistan and certain Middle Eastern countries, who were actively amplifying misleading narratives targeting Indian audiences,” a press statement issued by the office of the Additional Director General of Police of the Maharashtra State Cyber Department stated.
The police said the AI-generated content included digitally inflated crowd visuals, synthetic voice generation, cloned audio and manipulated videos falsely attributed to public figures.
Maharashtra Police has initiated legal action against the identified accounts and has taken down the said content through social media intermediaries.
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