ANI |
Updated: Nov 01, 2021 22:33 IST

Male [Maldives], November 1 (ANI): A new report by Colombo based agency has revealed that a big information war is being waged by certain parties in the Maldives against India, whereby the perpetrators are spreading misinformation under the garb of nationalist identity.
Colombo Information Agency last week revealed that information war is aimed to generate anti-India sentiment in the country. This information was unearthed following extensive analysis on how the hashtag #IndiaOut become a big sensation in the Maldives since 2019, Trueceylon News reported.
The anti-India hashtag which took Twitter by storm in the Maldives was in fact, an orchestrated info-war flourished by the Maldivian journalist, Ahmed Azaan and his proponents.
Ahmed has been serving as an editor of Dhiyares and The Maldives Journal since 2019 and has advocated for ex-President of Maldives Abdulla Yameen, according to Trueceylon.
The agency, which analysed the birth of hashtag #IndiaOut, said that only a handful of handles were running this staged cyber-warfare in the name of Maldivian sentiments.
According to the report, the anti-India hashtag has been in trend since 2017 but gained momentum in 2019 when the political upheavals between Maldives and India upsurged.
“The hashtag has been put to use by Twitteratis for a tremendous sixty thousand times which was only a work of mere two thousand handles out of which approximate thirteen hundred handles were found to be Azaan’s followers.”

The further revealed that several publications like Dhiyares and The Maldives Journal have been constantly serving as the mouthpiece to disseminate content highlighting the India-Maldives clash.
Interestingly, Trueceylon News pointed out that over 200 handles had contributed a gigantic amount of 80% per cent in the hashtag and attempted to create a mirage that a large amount of Maldivians are rooting for #IndiaOut.
Reportedly, this strategically planned info-war was started to extend support to the ex-president of the country, Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom in response to his defeat in the…