Revealing String Reveals

Influencers on social media play a huge role in our day to day lives. Most of us probably watch their videos while having a cup of tea, some of us for entertainment, while the others watch it because it suits their agenda. Why did I use the word “agenda”? And this may come as a shock to you, but because every single activist, every single influencer, and every single youtuber, has an inherent bias.

People who know me, know what my bias is, and there is no denying that. That being said, I have, and will continue to expose people on the left, on the right, and those right in the centre. For me, it is not about a narrative, or what sounds more appealing. It is about facts over fiction. And it will always be that way.

In the past, I exposed “educators” and political commentators on the left. I exposed a woke mental health organization that claimed to “destigmatize” issues. And now, I am writing on another organization called ‘String Reveals’. String, an organization that posts videos on YouTube and Patreon on issues pertaining to the political and cultural landscape of India, was founded by one Vinodh Kumar, a 29-year-old alumnus of the National Institute of Technology, Warangal. I am of the opinion that this channel and the founder both have an extremely right-wing, BJP-favoured bias. Their videos, in my opinion, also depict that bias, and hence, I am going to analyse two of their videos. Just like I did to any other individual, or organization out there.

Video 1 – Congress is more dangerous than Pak and China

The video starts with Vinodh stating that the Congress is more dangerous than both Pakistan and China. He states an incident, where Rahul Gandhi, the former director of BACKOPS Limited, where he had a British Citizenship, allegedly removed the name of the company from British government database. Vinodh goes on to reason his claim with the notice on British citizenship that the MHA sent to Rahul Gandhi in 2019. He credits Subramaniam Swamy for the discovery, and then goes on to say how Rahul Gandhi might have underestimated the BJP.

Vinodh goes on to say how, on the 3rd of May, in 2019, Rahul Gandhi created another company with his Keralite friends, named BACKOPS. He claims to check the names of the directors of the company, one Sibi Markose and another resigned, Sony Sebastian, and verifies them on “Open Corporates”, a site to view company details. Here, however, he finds that the company’s director is listed as Rahul Gandhi. When he goes to find more details on the company, it redirects him to a British government database, where allegedly, the company details are hidden, and don’t exist at all.

Vinodh speculates that somebody must’ve helped Rahul Gandhi to remove the data from the database, and since it is not easy to remove data from British government databases, Rahul Gandhi must have had the help of somebody very influential. Now, whether this is true or not, that is for the authorities to decide. All I can say, as the author of this piece, is that Rahul Gandhi ought to be thoroughly investigated.

Moving on, Vinodh then cites another shady incident where Rahul Gandhi signed an MoU with China, when he was not holding any official position. He calls this dangerous, which it is, and hence Rahul Gandhi, like I said, should be investigated. Vinodh then says that India is probably the only country where the opposition is not only against the government, but also against the people of the country. He says this while sharing a video of Kamal Nath, a congress leader, threatening to burn the nation! Now, this is truly wrong on Kamal Nath’s side, and I completely agree with Vinodh on this one. With people threatening to burn the nation, they truly are more dangerous than Pakistan or China.

In the next segment of the episode, Vinodh talks about the toolkits, and how, there have been innumerable toolkits appearing in front of our eyes. He specifies the ones that were released on Tuesday, one the Congress admitted to, regarding the Central Vista Project, and the other, pertaining to discredit the Modi government ono Covid, the Congress claimed “fake”. Vinodh goes on to say how there were uncanny similarities between what was on the toolkit, and what congress leaders portrayed through their actions.

Coming to the beef of the bone, before “exposing” the toolkit on the Central Vista Project, Vinodh wished to clarify some credibility concerns he had. He mentions how Alt News actually fact-checked the toolkit and mentioned a change of font, which does seem plausible, but then goes on to discredit Alt News, asking the organization, who it was to say that. Now, in my opinion, irrespective of any organization’s bias, it has the right to report news and incidents the way it deems fit. Now, if the fact-check is true, then Alt News did a great job at exposing the reality. If not, then they will be shamed. But we must not shame them on our own without any knowledge of whether it is true or fake. Just asking them who they are to comment on this issue, it isn’t right. They are a media agency, and they have the right to do so. He claims that Alt News is based on propaganda and anti-national news articles, without any evidence, and then goes to a twitter account of some “Sam Jawed”, who claimed to be the co-founder of Alt News.

Immediately after this, he visits the website of Alt News’ parent company, Pravda Media Foundation and checks the list of directors for Alt News, out of which the infamous Sam Jawed isn’t one. However, he claims that Jawed writes for all “Soros funded media” like the Quint, Wire, etc. Again, he has no proof for this statement. He says, that when the company itself maintains a fake profile, it has no right to question the BJP. However, being a BJP supporter, I deem that statement wrong. Anybody has the right to question the government. If Alt News if maintain a fake profile, they should be punished on that. But that cannot stop them from their right to report. That is absurd! He then passes off a very communal statement, calling them “puncture-shop workers”, something that is extremely prejudiced.

Coming to the expose now, Vinodh takes up the Central Vista Project toolkit and decides to go through the toolkit, point by point. Section 1, “Choosing Vanity over People’s lives”, states how much money the centre is spending on the project. It states how much could have been saved, and with that money, the number of vaccines and ventilators that could have been purchased. The claims all make sense, but whether to construct the Central Vista Project or not is a completely different debate. The point here, is to debunk Vinodh’s claims.

He reads off the toolkit, calling it “nonsense” and accuses Dhruv Rathee, another YouTuber, of advising and misleading the public not to get vaccinated. Now, while the titles of Dhruv Rathee’s videos could have been better framed, he never explicitly mentioned anywhere, that people ought not to get vaccinated. He directly links Dhruv’s videos to the Black Fungus epidemic, which is quite far-fetched, and indeed there is no causation between the two. He also links Rathee to millions of deaths across the country, all without a single piece of evidence.

He says that congress has been misleading the public, and hence all their points ought to be struck off. Now, let me expose Vinodh through pure logic.

1. Even if the Congress has misled people, Vinodh attacked none of the points on the toolkit, meaning, they all are valid.

2. Secondly, he generalized, saying all Congress members misled the people, however, he showed only Dhruv Rathee’s videos. And mind you, Dhruv Rathee isn’t even connected to the Congress Party.

3. Thirdly, he has made it seem as if he has debunked every claim there, but has not even touched a single part of the toolkit, since most of them are indeed true, and are a reflection of the centre’s gross mismanagement of the COVID pandemic.

Vinodh says, he strikes out parts 1, 3 and 7 from the toolkit because the Congress doesn’t qualify, or even deserve to question the BJP on this. A few more points here –

1. When did we start taking such a moral high ground that Congress isn’t supposed to question the BJP? Isn’t the BJP to be accountable as it is the ruling party at the centre?

2. Without even showing the audience what the points are, how can you just strike them off?

3. With what evidence or through what factual, logical way are you striking the points off? Surely you can’t strike them off because the Congress Party seems hypocritical.

4. Even if the Congress doesn’t deserve to question the BJP, which it does as the primary opposition, why can’t we stand by facts and figures? Why are we just erasing this whole thing under the garb of “they don’t deserve to question us”? If the BJP handled the pandemic so well, answering the questions shouldn’t be an issue.

Vinodh then goes on to analyse the second point of the toolkit, “Environmental Damage”. He laughs, and then, along with the plethora of baseless and evidence-less allegations he has made, goes on to state that the Congress is responsible for the desertification of the entire country. Another claim without facts! He just states that the Congress is not qualified enough to question this, and strikes it off. Here –

1. Who decides the qualifications to question the BJP?

2. If the Congress isn’t qualified enough, surely its claims mustn’t be as well. So why don’t you answer them?

3. How can we rule out a whole paragraph and set of questions by just saying, “they aren’t qualified enough”?

4. And even if they aren’t, does that justify the environmental damage it the project may cause? Just because they don’t seem to be qualified, does that justify anything and everything the BJP does without question?

Next, Vinodh talks about the next segment of the toolkit, “Lack of Public Discourse”. Here, he points to a few atrocities of the Congress and asks them whether they told the public when they signed an MoU with China. Or when Rahul Gandhi became a member of BACKOPS. Or when they allegedly looted crores through the PMNRF. Or when they allegedly lynched Sadhus in Palghar. Now, while some of these claims may stick, and some of them are again, without evidence, even if the Congress is guilty to all the claims –

1. Does it justify the lack of public discourse?

2. Just because the Congress has been wrong in the past, does it mean it is not allowed to question the BJP?

3. Does the congress having committed sins in the past make anything the BJP does okay?

4. Without even looking at any of the points, how can you just strike them off?

5. As the Congress did somethings without telling the public, and you are condemning them for it, how can the BJP do the same and why are you quiet?

6. What is the difference between the Congress and the BJP if both parties do things without public discourse? Why don’t you condemn both parties?

Next, Vinodh talks about another point in the toolkit, “Impact on Architectural Heritage”, and reads of the document. To respond to the claims in the toolkit, he says that Congress has obliterated the architectural heritage of many areas in India. However, he gives no examples or case studies as to what these areas are. It is a mere generalization. He then points his viewers to the alleged illegal constructions of churches and mosques held by Congress workers, another statement for which he has no proof. He asks the Congress to settle this matter and hence, strikes out points 5 and 6. Again, a few things –

1. Just because Congress has done this in the past, does it make what the BJP is doing alright?

2. Even if Congress has done such things in the past, does it not have the right to question?

3. What is the difference between the Congress and the BJP if both are ruining architectural heritage? Why don’t you condemn both parties?

4. How come you are striking points off not facts, but just because of your opinion that Congress is no better?

Next, he talks about the point titled, “New House for PM”. To this, Vinodh asks whether he should bring up the list of monuments the Congress built in Italy, or the assets the Congress members hold in foreign companies. Both these points however, are not even related to the point at hand. They are just a diversion. That being said, he does make a good point on productivity and how that necessitates a new house. Striking this point off, is indeed debatable.

Finally, he talks about the last point in the toolkit, “India’s image on the global scale”. Here, rebutting the points on the toolkit, he just says that the Congress in fact, is responsible for damaging India’s reputation. Again, without facts. Next, he points out the sources the Congress has cited – CNN and The Daily Mail UK – and calls them “fake news factories”. What right does he have to label these news organizations as “fake news factories”? What proof or evidence does he have behind this claim? He surely doesn’t show anything in the video.

In response to this, he then refers to a statement made by Delhi CM, Arvind Kejriwal, where he spoke on the Corona Virus. Obviously, his statement, which indeed was quite amusing, gave a laugh to Singaporean authorities and he got a mouthful from them. Referring to this incident, Vinodh says that it is the dynasty family running India’s reputation. However, the example he has given here, is of Arvind Kejriwal, who is the head of AAP, totally different from the Congress.

The first video ends now, and with that, so does my analysis. You can clearly see how biased Vinodh is, and you can see that the points and rebuttals he makes don’t even stand, for they are just questioning what right the Congress has to hold the BJP accountable, as opposed to wrecking the Congress on facts. It is truly melancholic that YouTubers, both on the right and the left, indulge in such malpractices, and they hope their viewers don’t catch their lies, only to get a handful of subscribers.

Coming to the second video now, it is titled, "World’s Highest Recovery Rate of COVID – Bharath”. In the video, he addresses how the government managed the pandemic, how we shouldn’t criticize them, and how the Congress spread a truckload of misinformation.

Vinodh starts off by saying that no government has done anything significant during the pandemic. Now, while this may be true, that doesn’t give the Modi government a clean chit on the mismanagement of the second wave. In fact, governments all over the world, have been doing their best to tackle the pandemic. Countries like Australia and New Zealand have almost mitigated the entire pandemic. Granted, Australia is facing huge vaccination issues, and New Zealand’s population is probably equal to one state in India. But saying no government has done anything, is just a blatant lie, and that is robbing people of their credit.

To explain his bizarre statements, Vinodh takes us on a journey of history. His first stop is the bubonic plague that hit Eurasia and Northern Africa in the 1300s. He specifies how around 200 million people lost their lives, how people had no idea where the disease came from, how doctors had no cure, and goes on to narrate the horror that the plague created. Because of the destruction, he says it is extremely foolish to blame the government. Now, this argument is nothing but a bunch of unrelated strings tied together.

Granted that the plague took a lot of lives, granted that it caused destruction, but there weren’t even governments back then! People were ruled by kings and queens and monarchs. Moreover, they didn’t have any kinds of 9scientific or technological advancements like we do today. And yes, as Vinodh says nobody knows where it came from and hence, we shouldn’t blame the government – Nobody is blaming the government for the origin of the virus or the destruction it caused. We are unhappy because of the way it has been managed and the sheer lack of facilities our government failed to give us, despite having a lot of time. Making a comparison to the bubonic plague and COVID-19, when the world itself was so different, is just stupid. Nothing more.

Next, he talks about the Spanish Flu in 1918 and how it killed around 100 million people. He states how nobody knew its origin and goes on to talk about how people thought it existed only in their country, due to the lack of communication. He says that despite lockdowns and masks and other rules being imposed, despite governments trying their best, 100 million died, and therefore it is not fit to blame the government. Now, again, what Vinodh fails to understand is that comparing the Spanish Flu and Corona Virus is like comparing apples and oranges. The world was so different at that time, with World Wars going, with such little technology, that you just couldn’t expect governments to curtail the spread. Here however, we are not talking about a disease that nobody has information on. We are talking about a disease that is well known, a disease that we have vaccines for, a disease that we have information on, and yet, chose not to act on. This argument is yet another fallacy.

Moving on to the current pandemic, he speaks about the plight of the common people – how the economy is down, how commoners are suffering, how hospitals are lacking beds and so on and so forth. Now, doesn’t that just depict the failure of the government? Granted, the government is doing its best but it had the time, the resources and the funds and yet it chose to sponsor religious gatherings, play the blame game from Muslim to Hindu and Hindu to Muslim to Christians and spend almost all its time on Bengal, which, it ended up losing handsomely anyway.

Vinodh goes on to say that to be prepared for a calamity before it has hit is extremely difficult and an impossible task. Now, here is where he is misleading his viewers. Nobody is criticising the government because it couldn’t predict the virus. Nobody can predict a virus. People are criticising it, because after it controlled the first wave, it was lackadaisical in its approach, it was papering over important facts and it did not for one moment think about the second wave and the destruction it would cause. We are not blaming the government because it failed to predict it, like Vinodh is saying, we are blaming the government failed to manage it, even after it knew about the virus, and its impact. These two arguments are nothing but a representative of the strawman fallacy.

After this, he goes on to say how the BJP actually controlled the virus very well, and following an absurd dig at Dhruv Rathee, says that we should be congratulating the government. Here, while I agree with some points Vinodh is making, on how a country with a population like ours, with people living in slums, packed close to each other is passing through COVID with minimum abrasion. However, that being said, the number could have been much lesser if the government had actually taken steps to stop the second wave, which they did not. And yes, when it comes to congratulating the government, the government is just doing its job. I don’t see us congratulating bank officers everyday they issue a loan now do we?

Back to the video though, Vinodh then shares a video clip of renowned cardiologist Dr. Devi Shetty who lauds the government on its timely response against COVID-19. Now, while I completely agree with Dr. Devi’s words on how not even the US would be able to manage the number of patients India has, and how our government has done a good job on getting oxygen to the hospitals, we also have to note that our situation would have been much better if states like Delhi didn’t spend so much money on advertising, if festivals like Eid and Kumbh were not given importance. If the government was very strict with respect to lockdowns and quarantines. If the government stopped the politically backed farmers protest (which actually caused the second wave). If the government didn’t give permission for IPL, political rallies with 1000s of people, religious festivals and others. The situation would have been much different. And much better. That is why people are criticizing the government.

Coming back to Vinodh’s “expose”, he then questions the Congress and its supporters as to what they have done during the pandemic. He shows a video of BJP MP Tejasvi Surya who exposed the bed blocking scam as he reads out the list of names. Tejasvi was abhorred by the way the scam was taking place and rightly so, was furious. Now, Vinodh goes on to say that when an someone as honourable an MP as Tejasvi Surya, exposed that bed scam, taking so many “risks” and “difficulties”, the “puncture shop”, another derogatory slang for Alt News spread misinformation by displaying only the Muslim names of those appointed workers and how Alt News communalized it. I would like to highlight here, that I do completely agree with Vinodh on this part, however, on what he says next, not even the slightest.

He goes on to say that Alt News never condemned the Tablighi Jamaat. Now, while I agree that the Jamaat, being held at the time was irresponsible, the members were defiant to their surroundings, and the conduct of all those who attended it was despicable. That being said, making a comparison between this and the bed-blocking scam is completely baseless. It is nothing but comparing apples to oranges.

He then asks Alt News if this is what they discuss during their “madrassa meetings”? This question just makes no sense whatsoever. Posting a picture of the numerous news portals having a left-leaning bias, he requested the Supreme Court of India to even sue them for “spreading misinformation”! The levels he has taken this too are highly deplorable. This is all nothing but a stunt for views, in my opinion.

Now, for the next set of statements, though they may seem obvious, Vinodh gives no kinds of facts, figures or justification whatsoever.

1. You got caught red-handed in lynching Sadhus in Palghar

2. Your media channels both inside and outside are damaging India’s reputation on the global stage

3. Delhi riots, Anti-CAA riots, Farmers Protests, Bengaluru Riots, Bengal Riots, Bhainsa riots, riots are everywhere. You or your people are not even sparing COVID to blame Modi. Congress is more dangerous for India than Pakistan or China.

The first statement has no proof and Vinodh doesn’t even mention who “you” is. The second statement, while it may be perceived as true by a plethora of Indians, has no number to back it up, and hence falls flat on its face while the third statement, while again, seems true, has no impact whatsoever. Nobody is blaming Modi because of COVID. We are blaming the blatant mismanagement that took place at his behest.

The next part, starts with a question. Referring to Amit Shah, Vinodh asks him when he would “finish” these people? What is that supposed to mean? He shares a video clip of Amit Shah saying he has the tolerance level to listen to criticism on people, and the government, but he has no toleration, nor should he have any tolerance level whatsoever on criticism against the country. On this statement, Vinodh then shares an edited movie clip, depicting Shah’s patriotic response.

Finally, Vinodh talks about the preparedness of the government. He says that whether an earthquake or a tsunami, we always blame the government. He gives an absurd example of an asteroid attack and asks us if we would blame Modi for that too.

He says that at least 5-6 viruses that have hit our planet in the last thirty years are unknown to scientists. He states the example of AIDS and how scientists where clueless as to where it originated from. He tells people not to look up to the governments and the scientists all the time, since they too are helpless.

Now, let me analyse the above two paragraphs. Firstly, he talks about preparedness. However, we are not at all criticizing the BJP government for its preparedness. In fact, it was very prepared to handle the pandemic. For the first wave. We are blaming it for how it was not at all prepared about a virus that existed. The second wave. We are blaming the government for its complete mismanagement of the crisis, and not once for its preparedness. Moreover, we are not at all talking about the origin of this virus. We are talking about the mismanagement of the second wave, which has nothing to do with the origin, hence negating his other argument. Both his arguments are nothing but examples of the slippery slope and the strawman fallacy. They should not be taken seriously one bit.

Finally, to end his video, he shares three goals.

1. To make India Congress Free

2. To make India Corona Free

3. To Unite Hindus

Now, the first statement has nothing to do with the pandemic situation or the video. Why would you want to get rid of a political party? The party is doing so bad already, it probably will cease to exist in a few years. But you don’t have to go out of your way to make that happen. The second statement, is one that I completely agree with. Now the third one, just seems really out of context. That doesn’t even make sense. Yes, you probably would want to unite Hindus, but why mention it at the end of this video?

He ends the video with an impactful quote from Veer Savarkar, and a comment of the day. And with that, we have arrived at the end of another video. A video full of wrong comparisons, and fallacies galore. Truth be told, I find myself more conservative in terms of pollical views than I vouch for the left, but exposing fake news has no narrative. I exposed Dhruv Rathee. I exposed Destigmatize with Us. And now, I have exposed the String.

Jai Hind!