Key points
- Foreign accounts manipulate public opinion: State Minister
- Investigations reveal paid accounts pushing artificial trends
- Minister warns legal action against responsible parties
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s interior ministry said it has uncovered what it described as coordinated, paid social media campaigns operated largely from abroad through fake accounts, warning that individuals who knowingly participate could face legal consequences.
State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry said the government had shared background briefings with foreign media outlining how militant groups and organized networks allegedly exploit social media platforms to influence public opinion inside Pakistan. He said international coverage had reflected Pakistan’s position responsibly, according to the state-run APP news agency.
Chaudhry said investigations revealed that artificial online trends are created through temporary WhatsApp groups and other platforms, where participants are paid small sums to repeatedly post or forward specific messages. Many of the accounts involved, he said, are anonymous or use misleading identities, often posing as women, news organizations, or geographic locations.
“These trends are not organic,” Chaudhry said. “They are commercially run operations managed by entities sitting outside Pakistan.”
According to the minister, the same networks have also promoted content linked to banned militant organizations, including the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), alongside unrelated international political causes — suggesting financial motivation rather than ideological alignment.
Chaudhry said the evidence presented was drawn from the platforms being misused and showed patterns such as the creation and deletion of WhatsApp groups to evade detection. He added that such activity violates social media companies’ own policies and has already resulted in account closures.
While stressing that the government supports freedom of expression, Chaudhry said it must operate within constitutional limits. “Freedom of expression is not without responsibility,” he said, adding that speech inciting hatred, targeting friendly states, or promoting banned groups would not be tolerated.
He said Pakistan does not intend to pursue ordinary users but warned that those who knowingly take part in paid campaigns that undermine the state could face legal action. Privacy laws, he added, limit access to IP addresses and ownership details, but Pakistan is engaging with social media companies and foreign governments to address the issue.
“This is not popularity,” he said. “It is a money-driven mechanism operating through fake accounts across the world,” the minister said.
