In a 2-year investigation into the operation of an app called Tek Fog, The Wire obtained information about how the app was used by political parties in India to hijack online styles, as well as create hate and automated social media and messaging forums such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp
According to an investigation by Ayushman Kaul and Devesh Kumar, here are three shocking features of the Tek Fog app verified by The Wire:
- The app allows its users to strike a “trending” part of Twitter and a “trend” on Facebook, “by automatically retweeting” or “automatically sharing” certain tweets and posts.
- The app allows its users to hack “inactive” WhatsApp accounts of private citizens and use their phone numbers to send text messages.
- The app can use the cloud database of independent citizens, categorised under various factors such as occupation, age, gender and political orientation, to “automatically respond” to individuals or groups. This can be done through the process of linking to the Google Sheet or by creating keywords and phrases, many of which are offensive.
The investigation details the links between a specific political organisation and Tek Fog
The investigation reveals evidence and draws links that highlight the role of Persistent Systems, a publicly-traded technology services company, in operating the app. According to The Wire, Persistent Systems declined to comment on the piece before it was published.