Chris Blackburn

@BarakPashtana words always inspire me. #Afghanistan deserves better. @GFAfghanistan

Two related news items about academics with links to Qatar 1️⃣ I was previously publicly attacked by Andreas Krieg, who accused me of being an extended arm of the United Arab Emirates in Sweden. The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) and the Swedish Psychological Defence Agency were also drawn into these unfounded allegations on the website Politics Today (published by SETA, which is affiliated with Erdoğan’s think tank). (Krieg has been linked to academic institutes in Qatar.) I reported this to King’s College London for defamation—and I was upheld in the internal process. The outcome was that Andreas Krieg published a public apology addressed to me on X. I later wrote about this in Swedish daily Expressen:  expressen.se/debatt/tro-och…  Andreas Krieg’s apology can be found here. x.com/MagnusRanstorp…  Now, the same Andreas Krieg has once again come under scrutiny. In legal proceedings in Northern Ireland, he lost a defamation case against a well-known journalist, further raising questions about his credibility and judgment. irishlegal.com/articles/paul-…  ⸻ 2️⃣ In the next step, activists turned to Farid Hafez, editor of the European Islamophobia Report and affiliated with the Georgetown University Bridge Initiative. The Bridge Initiative subsequently published a so-called “factsheet” targeting me, Lorenzo Vidino, the Danish professor Thomas Hoffmann, and researcher Sameh Egyptson. The purpose was obvious: to discredit us for our scrutiny of the Muslim Brotherhood. Article in Danish about ”Bridge Initiative and Factsheets” weekendavisen.dk/samfund/broder…  This activity has now been noted at the highest political level in the United States. A report from the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce on antisemitism at American universities specifically identifies the Bridge Initiative. The report states that the organization presents itself as researching Islamophobia, but in practice engages in casting suspicion on critics of political Islam. Particularly noteworthy is that the report—based on previously undisclosed documents from Georgetown—shows that the Bridge Initiative received $630,000 from Qatar in May 2024. The report can be read here. edworkforce.house.gov/news/documents…  The overall picture is clear: when academia, activism, and state interests converge, research risks becoming a tool for political influence—rather than a source of independent knowledge.

@kiwi_cyber1010 @KanwalSibal I think you are getting ahead of your skis. NIA hasn't stated that. It might, but not yet. Jumping to conclusions puts people in the potentially dumb category.

@CJBdingo25 @KanwalSibal So we should let America carve out Indian territory to form a Christian state? While they train insurgents acting against India. Are you dumb?

Not clear what is meant by keeping us “ in the loop”? That the US should have sought our consent and we should have given it for a known US mercenary along with Ukranian mercenaries to illegally enter our border areas with Myanmar, cross into Myanmar to train insurgents there knowing their links with elements on our side that are of the same ethnic group?

#EidMubarak to Muslims celebrating in the UK and around the world.

@CheenaInd @KanwalSibal NIA will hopefully tell us as it releases more details. But they haven't said that.

@CJBdingo25 @KanwalSibal Of sending terr0rist to India??

Using India as a “staging area” to promote insurgency in a neighbouring country is an entirely unacceptable violation of our sovereignty and our national laws. This terrorist activity by Ukranian mercenaries led by a known US mercenary “staged” from our soil cannot be played down because of general antipathy for the Myanmar regime. Terrorists become militant humanitarian activists!

Shashi Tharoor: India's silence on West Asia war is not moral surrender. It is responsible statecraft /1 indianexpress.com/article/opinio…

youtube.com/watch?v=zydA7F… My prediction: In the coming days and weeks NIA will say @OfficialSOLI were training Kachin rebels. The deal will be tied to minerals. Elements in the USA will try to tell India that it was to wrestle the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) leaders away from China's orbit. #NewGreatGame

@satyakasthala @KanwalSibal lowyinstitute.org/the-interprete… It's all about this. Everyone is chasing those Kachin rare earth deals.

@CJBdingo25 @KanwalSibal What did you smoke Chris Blackburn to keep India in the loop ? Get lost

Met with a delegation of UK Members of Parliament, led by Rt. Hon. @LiamByrneMP, Chair of the UK Parliamentary Business and Trade Select Committee. Held constructive discussions on advancing India-UK relations, with a focus on economic growth, sustainable development, and innovation. Confident that our win-win partnership will unlock new opportunities for both nations. 🇮🇳🇬🇧

@SUDHIRANJANSIN1 @Communist2003 @Matt_VanDyke @OfficialSOLI @USCIRF I think USCIRF are right to raise objections. But it's conclusions are fundamentally flawed. The executive branch doesn't really pay much attention to it anyway.

@CJBdingo25 @Communist2003 @Matt_VanDyke @OfficialSOLI Just like the West floods the media with BS about Russia, Putin, India & Modi. What do you have to say about the recent report from @USCIRF ? Being a keen India watcher, do you agree with what they say ? We've seen no objections from you, the way we see now against the arrests !

We need clarity on a dangerous situation. But is Russia is flooding the zone with disinformation? I've made inquiries into @Matt_VanDyke and @OfficialSOLI activities in Burma/Myanmar. They seem to be focused only on Myanmar, not the Seven Sisters. But it's early days. More could be released. There have also been dubious reports SOLI sniper teams were active in the Monsoon Uprising in Bangladesh...

@Matt_VanDyke @OfficialSOLI x.com/TheFederal_New… @SubirBhaumik2

@shashj A hard act to follow

Indian HC in London headed for Beijing. He's well regarded in London and UK-India ties have really strengthened.

Vikram Doraiswami @HCI_London has been one of the best loved & most admired Indian High Commissioners to the UK in my lifetime. He will be much missed- and is just the man India should send to China at this crucial moment when American is committing political harakiri with its foreign policy.

@Venkatr99338254 That wasn't what I said. It's a dangerous situation either way. That's why we need clarity on the situation.

Do you see clown makeup on our faces???.🤡 He was working in mayanmar but had no interest in Seven Sisters. Go sell this story to somebody else. And don't even try to give cover fire to these terrorist supporters saying this as Russian Misinformation. Every time the west gets caught with its hand in the cookie jar it becomes Russian Misinformation.

Even if for argument’s sake their activities are aimed at Myanmar the entering into and exiting from Myanmar through adjoining Indian territory in violation of Indian laws by foreign mercenaries is a very serious matter. It also constitutes interference in our relations with Myanmar. That they entered Mizoram illegally is a fact and talking of Russian “disinformation” in this regard is a distraction.

"Strategy, purpose, and even pride steadily eroded. Collectively, the FCDO lost the art of thinking strategically and retreated to narcissistic virtue signalling." conservativehome.com/2026/03/19/bob… via @conhome

Delighted to be the first UK guest on Global Order's "In Conversation" YouTube series with @HindolSengupta. We discussed UK politics, the Indian diaspora, UK-India trade relations, and India's journey over the last five years. Watch this space for the full interview. #UKIndia

@Communist2003 @Matt_VanDyke @OfficialSOLI Of course it's a concern for India, but Russia is flooding the issue with crap. It's clear Russia wants to create more distrust between India and the USA. Accepting that fact will lead to better analysis of the situation.

@CJBdingo25 @Matt_VanDyke @OfficialSOLI So myanmar is not concern for india.... The people he is training became Christian in Last century they were living with hindus for 5000 years but we didn't converted them... But American missionarymafia converted them in last century now they fight indian state