Inside the Aravalli PR Machine

January 24, 2026 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Hello,

A Supreme Court order on the Aravallis was met with immediate backlash from experts, leading the Court to stay its own decision on December 29, 2025.

Yet, in the background, a curious pattern emerged. Decode tracked influencers who uploaded similar videos defending the contested Aravalli order, all within the same time frame in late December. They didn't just share the same talking points; they shared something much more revealing. Read on!

LEARN FROM BOOM

A WhatsApp scam has been circulating APK files named like “RTO E-Challan.apk” or “MParivahan.apk.” They look official but carry malware that can steal data, hijack WhatsApp and spread itself by forwarding to your contacts. 

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  • Report and block the sender on WhatsApp, and warn contacts if your account begins sending the file. 

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DECODE

Inside The Influencer Campaign That Defended A Contested Aravalli Order

In the last week of December 2025, Instagram was flooded with strikingly similar posts carrying the hashtag #AravalliIsSafe. Using near-identical scripts, influencers argued that a controversial Supreme Court order on the Aravalli Hills was being misrepresented, environmental concerns were exaggerated, and critics were spreading misinformation. 

The court’s order, these videos claimed, would protect the Aravallis, curb illegal mining, and bring long-awaited regular clarity. 

The confidence of these videos stood out. So did their timing. They appeared in the middle of an intense legal and public debate over how India’s oldest mountain range should be defined and protected – just days before the Supreme Court itself put the order on hold.

An investigation by Decode’s Hera Rizwan found that several of these creators were managed by the same influencer marketing agency and were working from a shared briefing document. Many of the videos also misrepresented key aspects of the court’s ruling.

'FAKE NEWS’ YOU ALMOST FELL FOR

🔍  A set of two photos claiming to show Indian cricketer Mohammed Siraj offering namaz on the field in Rajkot ahead of the India vs New Zealand match, while his teammates are seen clicking pictures in the background, are AI-generated, 🔗 Anmol Alphonso ↗️ found.

🔍  Visuals of women burning Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s photo and displaying anti-Khamenei slogans on T-shirts were circulating with false claims that they were shot in Iran during the ongoing anti-regime protests. Read 🔗 Anmol Alphonso and Rohit Kumar’s ↗️ fact-check.

🔍  A digitally altered video was shared on social media falsely claiming to show General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of Army Staff (COAS), having a heated exchange with a Zee News journalist who questioned the “outcome of Operation Sindoor”. 🔗 Anmol Alphonso ↗️ debunked the claim.

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