The founder of an Indian software firm has over 78,000 followers on the social networking site. The Ukrainian army used Indian students as human shields in its fight against Russia, he said on March 3.
This misinformation was liked and shared hundreds of times.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government quickly responded to the claim that echoed untruths from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Indian government is willing to dismiss pro-Russia misinformation about the issue. The UN Security Council condemned Russia. The language on the war has changed since the invasion, but it is still the only one of the 10 largest economies that has yet to criticize Russia or join economic sanctions.
Pro-Russia, pro- Modi false claims have been used. At a time when Indians are going to the polls, New Delhi has faced criticism for its failure to evacuate the students trapped in Ukraine sooner.
One of the thousands of Indian social-media accounts propagating Kremlin talking points about a conflict taking place more than 2,500 miles away is run by Pudur.
The Modi administration was criticized for failing to evacuate the students sooner. According to fact-checkers, pro-government handles began promoting untruths that supported New Delhi and supported Putin.
The name of the Modi government's mission to rescue citizens from Ukraine was the top-trending topic in India. Five Indian states voted for their legislatures in February and March.
As India has come under international pressure to publicly condemn Russia, pro- Modi handles have increased their efforts to defend that position, often relying on Moscow's untruths.
When you have to shape a new narrative or correct a narrative, misinformation becomes most useful.
The government doesn't mind if it has to deny later. Their narrative has taken hold.
India has an official position on the conflict. Before the invasion, its public statements emphasized a desire for a peaceful resolution and respect for legitimate security concerns of all countries.
The need to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations has been underscored by its statements since February 25. Since the beginning of the war, Modi has spoken with Zelenskyy twice, and India is sending humanitarian aid to Kyiv.
The director of the Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation told Insider that India's position was becoming harsher towards Moscow.
Even if it is embarrassing for pro-government social-media handles, India's willingness to counter Kremlin misinformation seems to reflect this growing distance.
The Indian embassy in eastern Ukraine asked the students trapped in the city to leave within a certain period of time. Modi was claimed to have stopped the war for a few hours to allow the people to leave.
The defense analyst and self-proclaimed "theologian of the Indian right" said that India paused a war to get Indians out.
The founder of an online platform called Postcard News is an emphatic Modi supporter.
The claim was further amplified by the official handles of the party. Hours later, India's foreign ministry called it absolutely inaccurate.
Turkish and Pakistani students waved Indian flags in order to ensure safe passage, according to a fake claim. The claim that an Air India plane saved them was busted in February.
More than 100 accounts shared a fake image purporting to show this, including one called Modi Once More, and another that said it showed the power of new India.
The opposition accused Modi and his colleagues of ignoring the trapped students and focusing on election campaigns.
Srijit Das, a fact-checker with another anti-misinformation platform, told Insider that political leaders were trying to help Modi by encouraging the spread of pro-India misinformation.
When the government was facing a lot of pressure, some political leaders and party workers were working on their gadgets to distract people.
The false claims are not limited to India. As India walks a diplomatic tightrope over the conflict, pro- Modi handles have continued to push pro-Russia misinformation justifying the invasion and underplaying the severity of the crisis. The war is a hoax because of the footage from the climate-crisis protest.
The United States provoked the invasion by funding dangerous biolabs in Ukranian, says Pudur.
Somdeep Sen, an international-affairs analyst at Roskilde University, said that the majority of India's military equipment is from Russia.
The Indian government was on the wrong side of history over its response to the invasion of Ukraine, but Modi's muscular nationalism prevented it from allowing any narrative that indicates the folly of India's position on Russia.
Fact checks and official denials from the foreign ministry rarely reach as many people as the spread of misinformation.
He said that those spreading misinformation are winning.
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