Pakistan actively recruiting Indian social media influencers to 'manipulate public sentiment' reveals Hisar SP
As per the Haryana superintendent of police, YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra had visited Pakistan several times, including once before the horrific Pahalgam terror attack. She had also travelled to China.
Jyoti Malhotra, the Hisar-based YouTuber arrested on charges of espionage, was being groomed by Pakistani intelligence operatives, said Hisar superintendent of police (SP) Shashank Kumar Sawan on Sunday (May 18).
As per the superintendent of police, Malhotra had visited Pakistan several times, including once before the horrific Pahalgam terror attack. She had also travelled to China.
Sawan also revealed that Pakistan was using a new form of warfare — information warfare — where “influencers are used to manipulate public sentiment, question national policies, or promote divisive ideologies.”
Pakistan operatives actively recruiting social media influencers: Hisar SP
Addressing a press conference, Shashank Kumar Sawan, the Hisar superintendent of police, revealed that the Haryana police have been informed by central agencies that PIOs were actively recruiting Indian social media influencers to promote soft narratives.
"She is being interrogated by the Haryana Police, in coordination with central agencies. We are analysing her financial transactions and travel history to determine the sources of her income," said SP Sawan.
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"Her known income sources do not justify her foreign travel. We suspect external funding. On the surface, she was just a travel blogger," he added.
Jyoti Malhotra's contact with Pakistani Information Officers 'alarming'
SP Sawan also confirmed that Jyoti Malhotra, who has been remanded to police custody for five says, was in direct contact with PIOs. These PIOs, he said, included individuals declared persona non grata by India.
"She had visited Pakistan multiple times and China once. She was in contact with the PIOs. We have taken her on a 5-day police remand. We are analysing her financial details. During the conflict (Indo-Pak), she was in touch with the PIOs... Her travel details are defying her total income..."
He said that while Malhotra did not have direct access to sensitive information like that of Indian defence, “, but she was being aligned with other influencers already in contact with foreign operatives.” He also said her communication with PIOs during the periods of heightened tension between India and Pakistan was nothing short of "alarming."
"She had interacted with several high-profile individuals during her visits to Pakistan. Even though her arrest happened recently, intelligence agencies were already monitoring her activities closely," said the SP.
"They were developing her (Jyoti Malhotra) as an asset. She was in touch with other YouTube influencers, and they were also in touch with the PIOs... She used to go to Pakistan, like on sponsored trips... She was in Pakistan before the Pahalgam attack, and the investigation is on to establish linkages, if there are any. We are also investigating, as we have leads that other people were also involved with her," he added.
Malhotra, 33, runs a YouTube travel channel called Travel with JO, which has more than 3.77 lakh subscribers. On May 16, she was taken into custody from her home in New Aggarsain Extension, Hisar, and charged under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923.
