In the Service of the Hindu Nation: Online Disinformation Campaigns by Far-Right Women Political Influencers in India

In the last few years, with the rise of social media, India has witnessed systematic disinformation campaigns attacking Muslim minority communities. Women influencers connected to Hindu nationalism play a crucial role in these campaigns online. This article examines the role of Hindu-Right women as political influencers. I examine the different engagement techniques deployed by these right-wing political influencers to spread disinformation-assisted hate speech online. I argue that the different engagement techniques these influencers deploy are a form of aspirational labour that advances their position within the broader Hindu nationalism project. I develop the concept of virtuous intimacy to explore how women influencers play an important role, especially in drawing women into the fold of Hindutva on the claims of shared experience.