An alarming disinformation campaign on X began by targeting Muslim students at IIT Gandhinagar, then escalated into hate and vilification of the Ambedkarite reading circle, faculty members, the HSS department, and the institute as a whole.
In late April 2025, a coordinated wave of disinformation hit social media platforms, targeting postgraduate students and faculty members, particularly Muslim students, from the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) Department of the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN).
It began as a satirical online post by a pseudonymous right-wing user. At the heart of the X post was a project called “DeepFaith,” allegedly an AI-powered Islamic research initiative funded by institutional sources and involving Muslim students with “Islamist” leanings.
According to details provided by an MA student (they) from the HSS department of the institute who spoke on condition of anonymity, it is a coordinated social media attack that falsely accused postgraduate students, particularly Muslim students, in the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) Department.
They have confirmed that no such project called ‘DeepFaith’ is funded by the institute.
According to a report by India Hate Lab (IHL), post-Pahalgam attack, between April 23 and 29, numerous incidents of hate speech against Muslims (including students) were recorded across several states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
Prominent far-right voices, among them BJP MLA Nandkishor Gurjar and members of Hindu nationalist organisations, have used inflammatory and dehumanising language against Muslims.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.
