The Digital Leviathan: Inside the BJP IT Cell’s Architecture of Consent, Coercion, and Control
The Digital Leviathan: Inside the BJP IT Cell’s Architecture of Consent, Coercion, and Control Posted on 19th December, 2025 (GMT 03:02 hrs) AKHAR BANDYOPADHYAY ⤡ ABSTRACT In December 2025, India’s digital political landscape is dominated by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) highly professionalized IT Cell, currently led by Amit Malviya, which functions as a vast, hierarchical apparatus blending centralized strategy, AI-driven tools, paid operatives, and massive volunteer networks to orchestrate continuous propaganda, narrative control, and disinformation campaigns across platforms like WhatsApp, X, YouTube, and Facebook. Widely criticized for systematically disseminating misinformation, deepfakes, clipped videos, communal hate speech (particularly anti-Muslim), and coordinated trolling that incites offline violence and vigilantism—while rarely retracting debunked claims—the IT Cell is accused of manufacturing consent, suppressing dissent through intimidation and surveillan...