00:08What if the people deciding what millions of voters see are not even in the country where
00:12the election is being fought? What if a political campaign is being run not just through rallies,
00:18speeches and advertisements, but through anonymous accounts, fake identities and misleading videos?
00:23And what if the people behind these operations are sitting thousands of kilometers away,
00:28operating from various countries, including India? As America votes in its crucial 2026 midterm
00:36elections, Indian political consultants have suddenly found themselves under an international
00:41spotlight. Their alleged business selling political influence across borders, from Kenya to the United
00:49States of America, from anonymous social media accounts to covert payments. Welcome to the
00:54Global Business of Shadow Elections. An investigation by Al Jazeera has exposed how Indian political
01:01operators are allegedly helping campaigns influence voters in countries far beyond India's borders.
01:08The methods are not always visible. There are no public rallies, no official campaign announcements.
01:14Instead, there are anonymous social media accounts, manipulated videos, misleading posters,
01:19and coordinated online messaging. The objective? Shape what voters see, what they believe and potentially
01:27how they vote. And this is not just about America. The trail goes back to Africa. One of the most
01:33striking accounts comes from Kenya. A 22-year-old digital content creator told Al Jazeera that he was paid
01:41just $7 a day to produce around 50 social media posts supporting William Ruto's 2022 presidential campaign.
01:49But look at what that work allegedly involved. Editing opposition leaders' speeches to distort their meaning,
01:56creating posters carrying misleading claims about Ruto's popularity, and circulating the material through
02:03anonymous accounts instead of official campaign platforms. William Ruto eventually won and became Kenya's
02:10fifth president. People told Al Jazeera that controversial content was routinely pushed through shadow
02:16accounts. They also described how personal allegations against women politicians were used to damage their
02:23reputations. And the people creating this content were often far removed from the actual political
02:29campaign. Many said they communicated through telegram groups and sometimes had to produce as many as
02:35100 creatives in a single day. Now fast forward to America. The world's most powerful democracy,
02:43the country preparing to vote in crucial midterm elections, and Indian-linked accounts are once again
02:49under scrutiny. This time, the focus is Michigan. Researchers identified coordinated social media activity
02:56promoting democratic politician Haley Stevens ahead of the August 4th Senate primary. At least 28 accounts
03:03were reportedly sharing pro-Stevens videos, and these posts accumulated more than 7 million views. The
03:11investigation found that at least 15 of these accounts were operating from India. Researchers at Clemson
03:17University's media forensic hub independently identified similar activity involving Indian accounts and pages.
03:25But there is an important detail. Stevens lost the Democratic primary to Abdul al-Sayed, who became the party's
03:32candidate for the midterm election. The allegations have brought renewed attention to the role of foreign-linked digital
03:38operators in American political campaigns. But the biggest story is not confined to one American election or one Kenyan
03:46campaign. It is about an industry that appears to be expanding across continents. Al Jazeera's investigation points to
03:53operations in Africa, South America, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Indian consultancies have also reportedly worked in
04:01Australia and Germany. In other words, what was once a domestic political consultancy business is now being accused of
04:08exporting its methods internationally. And India's enormous election machinery is part of the attraction.
04:15Managing elections in a country with hundreds of millions of voters requires sophisticated campaign
04:21strategies, digital outreach, and large-scale content operations. That experience has become a selling point
04:28for overseas clients. But there is a crucial distinction between legitimate political consulting and covert influence
04:35operations. The problem begins when campaigns use hidden networks, false identities, and misleading content while
04:42concealing who is actually behind the messaging. And social media platforms have rules against precisely these practices.
04:50Meta prohibits the buying and selling of accounts and the use of false or stolen identities. Google and Meta also
04:57require political advertisers to meet identity verification and disclosure requirements in various markets.
05:04But according to the investigation, consultants have described ways of getting around these safeguards.
05:10Virtual private networks or VPNs can help conceal an operator's location. Accounts can also be
05:16manipulated to make advertisements appear to originate from another country. Then comes the money. Because these
05:23operations do not just require people to create content, they require ways to pay them without revealing who is funding
05:29the work.
05:30Al Jazeera's investigation describes the alleged use of overseas companies as fronts, with workers officially
05:37employed for unrelated activities. Consultants also spoke about Hawala Networks, an informal system of transferring
05:45money across borders. Some even identified businesses in Delhi's Chandni Chowk as potential cash collection points.
05:53But perhaps the most disturbing part of this story is what happened to two Indian consultants in Kenya.
06:00Al Jazeera says two Indians were working for Ruto's campaign when they disappeared in Nairobi in July 2022.
06:07Their bodies were discovered in October. According to Al Jazeera, they were allegedly abducted by an elite
06:13Kenyan police unit. 15 officers were accused of murder. But in August 2026, Kenya's High Court terminated
06:22the charges after prosecutors sought to discontinue the investigation. Their deaths expose the risks that
06:29can accompany these shadow operations. The people at the bottom of the chain may be producing posts,
06:35videos and posters without knowing who is directing the campaign or who is financing it. Conversations are
06:41deleted, SIM cards are destroyed, identities are concealed and the people doing the work can become
06:48almost impossible to trace. And that brings us back to America. As voters head to the polls,
06:54the question is no longer simply who is campaigning for whom. It is also about who is shaping the
07:00information voters consume, who is paying for it and whether the people behind it are being identified.
07:07Political consulting is not illegal simply because it crosses international borders.
07:11But covert operations, deceptive identities and coordinated misinformation raise serious
07:17questions about transparency and electoral integrity. The Indian election consultancy industry
07:23has built expertise in one of the world's most complex democratic environments. But when that
07:30expertise is allegedly exported through anonymous accounts, distorted videos and concealed payments,
07:36the consequences can extend far beyond a campaign. Because elections are supposed to be decided by voters,
07:43not by invisible networks operating behind their screens. And when the campaign goes global,
07:48so does the threat to transparency.
07:51So does the threat to transparency.
