Telangana Assembly polls: Fake Intelligence Bureau prediction goes viral

The Intelligence Bureau, India's internal intelligence agency operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs, has been misrepresented in the circulating report

Hyderabad: With the upcoming Assembly elections in Telangana on the horizon, misleading surveys purportedly predicting the election outcome have flooded social media platforms. One of these fictitious ‘reports’ is falsely attributed to the Intelligence Bureau (IB).

The Intelligence Bureau, India’s internal intelligence agency operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), has been misrepresented in the circulating report. The spurious document deviates significantly from the standard format followed by the legitimate IB reports.

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Distinguishing features between the counterfeit reports and genuine IB documents have emerged. Notably, the counterfeit reports bear the labels “confidential” and “only for internal use,” contrary to the typical ‘secret’ classification used by the IB.

 

Furthermore, the fake report displays the logo of “Research and Analysis Wing” at the top instead of the IB logo. Authentic IB reports include intelligence report numbers and specific details regarding the issuing officer and unit, which are conspicuously absent in the fraudulent version.

Meanwhile, a separate survey purportedly linked to NDTV has also circulated widely, erroneously suggesting election predictions. However, NDTV promptly disavowed any association with this falsified survey, labeling it as “fake” through an official statement on Twitter.