Chinese mobile app ‘REDNOTE' luring Northeast residents with anti-India content, centre mulls ban
NEW DELHI: Giving a new dimension to information warfare, intelligence agencies have found that China is resorting to plot against India's northeast by using a mobile app - REDNOTE - which lures users with money and other benefits to share and spread anti-national contents, sources said on Sunday.
The residents of several north-eastern states, including those from Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Assam, are on the app's radar. Following a report from the intelligence agencies, the government is considering a ban on the online application.
The intelligence sources said that REDNOTE looked like an ordinary app, but in a closer analysis, it was found that the same was filled with fake RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) documents, disputed maps of India, doctored videos and a few pro-Pakistan contents.
They said, the agencies have also found that REDNOTE has deliberately put in the mobile application market intending to create mistrust among youth towards India with messages like 'Delhi is far away', as it also posts messages with remarks like China is closer, which is beneficial for people living the northeast.
The intelligence sources suspect that psychological operations experts from China and Pakistan have put out the app to infiltrate the minds of people living in the northeastern states.
A senior security officer said, 'Given the geopolitical importance of India's northeast in terms of the country's security, China is applying the same strategy it used earlier in Africa, Taiwan and Hong Kong to create instability.'
Now since ill-intent of China through this app has come to light, the government has initiated the necessary procedure to put a ban on it, as India had done earlier against popular Chinese apps like TikTok, ShareIt and UC Browser, on the pretext of national security, the sources said.
It is to be noted here that for the past several years China has been questioning India's sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh and depicted the state as part of 'South Tibet' under its control on its maps, which has always drawn sharp reactions from New Delhi.
India has so far banned over 300 Chinese apps since the Galwan clash in June 2020.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Rajnath, Doval likely to visit China to attend SCO meeting
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval are likely to travel to China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meetings. While Singh is likely to travel to Qingdao from June 25-27, Doval is likely to travel to the country from June 24-26, sources said. This will be their first meeting of Singh and Doval with their Chinese counterparts since the military hostilities between India and Pakistan in May this year following India's Operation Sindoor launched in retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack. The Indian Armed Forces intercepted and neutralised a range of high-tech foreign weapons used by Pakistan, including Chinese-origin PL-15 air-to-air missiles and Turkish Byker YIHA III Kamikaze drones. Both the Defence Minister and NSA level meetings will also witness participation from Pakistan as well. Pakistan's Defence Minister Khwaja Asif and the country's NSA and DG ISIS, Lt Gen Asim Malik are also expected to attend. China is the host of the SCO leaders' Summit in Tianjin, and these meetings are preparatory for the leaders' meeting to be hosted by President Xi Jinping. This comes in the context of repairing bilateral ties that nosedived after Chinese incursions in 2020 triggered a military standoff along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh. Doval had travelled to Beijing in December last year when India and China agreed on a set of 'six consensus' including resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, trans-border river cooperation and Nathula border trade. This was announced by the two sides following talks in Beijing between NSA Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi who are also the Special Representatives (SRs). That was the first meeting of the SRs since frictions emerged in the Western Sector of the India-China border areas in 2020. The two sides have monitored the implementation of the disengagement agreement of October 2024, resulting in patrolling and grazing in the border areas. The meeting of the Special Representatives had taken place less than two months after a border patrolling arrangement was announced on October 21 which was followed by a meeting between PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia on October 23. Now, with Rajnath Singh's first visit and NSA Doval's second visit to China since the disengagement process was completed, the focus will be on the de-escalation and de-induction of troops from both sides, sources said. The two sides have taken some steps including the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, which has just started, and are also in talks about resumption of direct flights. India and China are also looking at easing visa curbs for Chinese nationals and sharing data on transnational rivers, like the Brahmaputra. Earlier this month, the Indian side had conveyed its support for China's Shanghai Cooperation Organisation presidency. The two sides have also agreed to jointly make preparations for the 24th Special Representatives' Meeting on China-India Boundary Question. Sources said that the Indian side is working towards engaging with the Chinese side, but with 'eyes wide open' as the border situation is still not normal. About 50,000 to 60,000 troops from the Indian and Chinese side are still deployed along the LAC. Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism '2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury's special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban's capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More
India Today
2 hours ago
- India Today
Rajnath Singh likely to meet Chinese counterpart on sidelines of Shanghai meet
Amid rising tensions between US, Iran and Israel, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval will be visiting China this week to attend several meetings of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). While Rajnath Singh will attend the meeting of defence ministers of member nations in Qingdao from June 25 to 27, Doval will attend a meeting of national security advisers ahead of the SCO summit. advertisementThis visit would mark the first ministerial-level engagement between India and China since relations began improving after the October 2024 agreement to de-escalate tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The visit of both Singh and Doval coincides with the departure of the first batch of Indian pilgrims to Kailash Mansarovar, a significant pilgrimage site in SCO meeting will focus on regional security cooperation, counter-terrorism, and connectivity among member nations. Rajnath Singh may also hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese Defence Minister Admiral Dong Jun on the sidelines of the SCO visit is seen as part of a broader effort by both sides to restore normalcy in bilateral relations after the military standoff in eastern Ladakh began in May 2020. On the other hand, Ajit Doval will engage in Special Representative-level talks with Chinese officials to further de-escalate tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and work towards a boundary visits mark an important step in India-China relations, which have been strained since the 2020 military standoff in eastern Ladakh. Both countries are working towards restoring normalcy and trust through diplomatic Watch
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
BJP MLA slams Cong for ‘pro-terror' stand
Lucknow: BJP MLA from Sarojininagar, Rajeshwar Singh, on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the , accusing it of adopting a "pro-terrorism" stance by siding with Iran and vilifying Israel. Singh condemned Congress for what he termed a "shocking and shameful" defence of Iran, a country he described as a known sponsor of and a rogue nuclear aspirant. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "While the global community — from the United States to Europe and Israel — is uniting against Iran-backed terror networks, Congress has chosen to defend Tehran and criticise Israel, the only democracy in the region," Singh said. Taking strong exception to Congress referring to Iran as a "long-standing friend," Singh reminded the public that Iran had repeatedly insulted India over Kashmir, interfered in domestic matters like the CAA protests and Delhi riots, and echoed Pakistan-like narratives on Muslim persecution. "A nuclear Iran is not Israel's crisis alone — it's a global nightmare," Singh warned. Calling for national unity, he urged all political parties and citizens to reject Congress's alleged soft stance on terror regimes.
