BBC Research: Nationalism is behind disinformation in India

A rising tide of nationalism in India is driving ordinary citizens to spread fake news, according to BBC research. The results of the research, published on 12 November 2018, are based on the BBC’s extensive access to the phones of the participants over a seven-day period, allowing the researchers to examine the kinds of material they shared, whom they shared it with and how often.

The research showed that facts were less important to some than the emotional desire to bolster national identity. Social media analysis suggested that right-wing networks are much more organised than on the left, pushing nationalistic fake stories further.