Inside the Disinformation War Surrounding the Cockroach Janata Party

As the Cockroach Janata Party’s protests captured national attention, an equally fierce battle unfolded online. Misleading videos, fabricated AI-generated documents, and false claims portraying protesters as violent or foreign-backed spread rapidly across social media, amplified by influential accounts and political figures. This report unpacks the major false claims targeting the Cockroach Janata Party, tracing how they spread, what the evidence reveals, and how misinformation became intertwined with one of India’s most closely watched protest movements of 2026.

On 20 July, thousands of supporters of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) marched towards Parliament in New Delhi, demanding accountability over alleged examination irregularities, reforms to India’s recruitment and education systems, and the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Police used baton charges and tear gas to disperse the demonstrators, allegedly injuring women and teenagers. As opposition leaders joined the demonstrations and the protests gathered national attention, the movement rapidly became the centre of India’s political discourse.

This report documents the major false claims targeting the Cockroach Janata Party since July 20, examining how they spread, what the evidence shows, and how online misinformation became an inseparable part of one of the most closely watched protest movements of 2026.

Did CJP Protesters Target a Hydrogen Train?

On July 20, an X (formerly Twitter) account @janardanmis, which features Prime Minister Narendra Modi in its profile photo, shared a video showing individuals pelting stones at a train parked at a station. The Hindi caption claimed that those seen pelting stones at the train were Cockroach Janata Party supporters on their way to Jantar Mantar to participate in the ongoing protest.

As of July 22, the post garnered over 3,90,600 views, 9,300 likes and 5,500 reposts.

Responding to the post, a user replied, “Their terror will only increase if the government continues to give them an easy pass,” while another remarked, “Shoot them! There is no other alternative left. They know how to hack the system like the anti-NRC/CAA protest in Shaheen Bagh, farmers’ protest and now the NEET protest.”

On the same day, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament (MP) and former chairperson of the National Commission for Women in India, Rekha Sharma, quote-posted the video, stating, “They are not students; they are paid goons of anti indian forces in the garb of CJP, and it’s supporting political parties. The country needs to know who is funding them and from which country the money is coming?”, thereby implying that the ongoing CJP protest was part of a foreign-funded conspiracy against the Indian state.

As of July 22, the post received over 12,900 views.

On July 21, Neel Rao, President, Bharatiya Janata Party, Narmada District, Gujarat, also shared the same video with a similar caption on his official X account.

What did we find?

We found several replies stated that the video is from Bihar and, taking this as a cue, performed a keyword search that led us to The Indian Express report published on June 15.

According to the report, a large crowd of candidates travelling for the Bihar Police Prohibition (Excise) Constable examination gathered at Patliputra Railway Station in Patna on June 14, leading to disruptions, stone-pelting and damage to railway property. According to officials, some individuals repeatedly pulled emergency chains, demanded special trains and allegedly prevented other candidates from boarding trains, prompting police to use force to disperse the crowd and restore normalcy.

The Indian Express’s video report, dated June 14 and shared on its official YouTube channel, shows the same incident from a different angle.

Other media outlets, such as The Times of India and The Federal, also reported the incident on June 14

Following the recent viral claim, Northern Railway, through its official X account, clarified that the train seen in the footage is not a Hydrogen train but a WAG-12 loco.

Thus, footage from an unrelated incident at Patliputra Railway Station in Bihar was falsely linked to the CJP protest.

A false AI-generated letter falsely linked CJP to Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.

On July 21, X account @MeghUpdates shared a letter dated July 21 alleging that Jamaat-e-Islami, a Bangladeshi political party, has extended support to CJP in their ongoing protest in India.

The letter shared states that the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has extended its “full and unconditional solidarity” to the ongoing student movement in India, praising the protesters’ struggle for justice, education, rights and human dignity. It describes the movement as a symbol of resistance against oppression, condemns any repression or violence against the students, and draws parallels with the historical role of students in Islamic movements. The letter concludes with prayers for the success, safety and unity of the protesters, urging them to continue their peaceful movement while expressing faith that their efforts will be rewarded.

As of July 22, the post garnered 4,54,500 views, 6,300 likes and 3,000 reposts.

Believing the letter to be true, a user responded, tagging the Office of the Home Minister of India, “Now it’s clear this is not a protest; it’s an anti-India agenda. People who are supporting these cockroaches are also anti-India. @HMOIndia, crush these anti-nationals. The majority of Indians support you.” Another user stated, “This is what happens when you throw your own people under the bus. Wolves come in and take them. Don’t complain then. The government has mistreated the students beyond imagination.”

Dr B.L. Sreenivas Solanki, BJP’s official spokesperson for the state of Telangana (based on the X bio), also shared the letter on his X account on July 21.

How did we verify?

We analysed the viral claim and found no credible news reports or official reports from Bangladesh corroborating it. A detailed inspection of social media profiles associated with the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami also revealed no such letter or information which hints at the party’s alleged support for CJP.

We performed a reverse image search of the viral image and identified that it was initially shared on Reddit on July 21.

Several Reddit users suggested that the letter appeared AI-generated. Furthermore, we noticed visual discrepancies between the viral letter and the original Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami letter from November 2025, such as Bangladesh misspelt as ‘Bangladeshe’ in the logo and contrasting header and footer. These inconsistencies suggest the viral letter may be fake.

Additionally, we analysed the viral letter using Hive Moderation’s AI-detection tool and found it to be 97% AI-generated.

The findings indicate that an AI-generated letter was circulated online to falsely portray the CJP protest as being supported by a foreign political organisation.

The false claims examined in this report sought to portray protesters as violent, to suggest foreign backing, and to reshape public perception of the movement without credible evidence. This highlights how misinformation can rapidly accompany major political developments, making independent verification essential before viral claims are accepted as fact.