Shadowy Indian election ‘consultants’ add US midterms to global footprint

New Delhi, India — In an unfurnished flat in a nondescript Ahmedabad neighbourhood in western India, a 22-year-old digital content creator worked through the nights, designing posters and editing videos for a presidential campaign thousands of kilometres away — William Ruto’s 2022 bid for the presidency in Kenya.Rajan Kumar’s content was not shared by Ruto’s official campaign. Instead, the 50 social media posts he created for $7 a day were shared on shadow social media accounts that conceal their identity to make coordinated messaging appear independent while backing Ruto’s campaign.For content, Kumar said he would trim opposing leaders’ speeches or interviews to twist their statements, or create posters with false claims amplifying Ruto’s prospects and popularity ahead of the election.“If there’s a woman politician, we simply link her to someone to damage her reputation. It’s one of the easiest ways to discredit,” Kumar told Al Jazeera, adding that “all controversial content” is diverted to shadow pages for “extensive distribution”.Ruto won the 2022 election and became Kenya’s fifth president.Four years later, as the United States heads into its midterm elections on Tuesday, resea...