South Asia is facing an escalating misinformation and disinformation crisis that not only fuels internal tensions but also undermines prospects for regional peace and cooperation. 

After Sheikh Hasina’s ouster in 2024, India-based social media users amplified sporadic communal violence with false claims of a “Hindu genocide,” sparking severe strains between Dhaka and New Delhi. The May 2025 conflict between India and Pakistan saw extensive disinformation campaigns including use of deepfakes, out-of-context visuals, and AI-generated imagery to inflame hostilities and distort public narratives. In the Maldives, the “India Out” campaign, driven by online disinformation, deepened rifts between both the countries. Across the region, disinformation persists not only due to political agendas but also because it is embedded in the profit-driven structures of the media economy.

Join CSOH at RightsCon 2026 for an online event bringing together civil society organizations and experts from across South Asia to examine the structural and political drivers of disinformation, the role of platforms in enabling it, and its cross-border consequences. The discussion will focus on collaborative strategies to mitigate disinformation before it escalates into violence or diplomatic crises, and on promoting regional cooperation in a part of the world too often defined by conflict and mistrust. 

Panelists

Benislos Thushan 

Benislos Thushan is a lawyer and development practitioner working at the intersection of law, technology, and human rights in Sri Lanka. He is the founder and Chief Strategist of Digital Storytelling, an initiative that empowers citizen journalism in Sri Lanka.

Seerat Khan

Seerat Khan is the Research and Grants Lead at the Digital Rights Foundation in Pakistan, working at the intersection of gender and technology. In this role, she supports women human rights defenders and journalists in Pakistan on issues including data protection, online safety, privacy, and misinformation. 

Shoeb Abdullah 

Shoeb Abdullah is a digital rights activist based in Bangladesh, focused on defending digital freedoms and preserving the visual record of human rights violations. He is the co-founder of Activate Rights, a digital rights collective working at the intersection of technology, protest, and accountability.  

Murshid Alam

Murshid Alam is a Rohingya youth leader, educator, and human rights advocate based in Cox’s Bazar. He is the founder of the Rohingya Youth Union, an initiative dedicated to amplifying the voices of displaced youth and promoting education, justice, and dignity for the Rohingya community. 

Moderator

Tavishi 

Tavishi is the South Asia Researcher at the Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH). Her work focuses on nationalism, identity, and discrimination; online harms and extremism in the broader South Asia region; and platform governance and accountability.