Post-Truth: The New Battlefield
Modern discourse has witnessed the collapse of truth as the primary authority. The term “post-truth” achieved recognition as Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year in 2016, describing conditions where “objective facts hold less influence over public opinion than emotional appeals and personal beliefs.” In subsequent years, this phenomenon has intensified dramatically, with communications specialists now describing an epidemic of informational chaos and waves of deliberately distorted narratives.
Contemporary information environments present a dangerous combination: the “post-truth” condition intersects with instantaneous content dissemination that consistently outpaces fact-checking capabilities. Academic research confirms a troubling pattern—fabricated stories achieve, on average, greater velocity and wider reach than truthful content. Social platforms possess the capacity to make even the most absurd material go viral.
The Business of Lies
Disinformation has transcended innocent errors to become a powerful commercial industry generating substantial revenue. Industry intelligence reports identify more than one hundred specialized companies operating internationally, producing fabricated PR narratives, pseudo-journalistic websites, and tailor-made scandals on commission. These operations generate material visually indistinguishable from professional journalism, transforming information into a weapon deployed to annihilate reputations, pressure investors, and manipulate public opinion.
Whether motivated by political objectives or commercial interests, the consequences remain uniform: chaotic waves of manufactured content eroding trust and inflicting tangible business and reputational harm. Research data indicates that around 70% of startups targeted by coordinated false online accusations lose up to half their customer base within three months.
The Investigation: How Zaki Farooq Became a Target
Identifying the Systematic Attack
Our investigative work originated from reviewing a series of suspicious articles published on websites of questionable reputation, all targeting the British payments platform PayFuture. Every piece of content followed the same template and consisted of unproven accusations aimed at the company’s co-founder and CTO, Zaki Farooq.
The texts were filled with assertions disguised as final verdicts. The truly remarkable aspect was the sheer volume of published “media” materials. From 2024 to the present day, the number of near-identical articles has run into the hundreds, all focused on Zaki Farooq and his company.
Zaki Farooq has worked in the fintech sector since 1992—over three decades of industry experience. His current project, PayFuture, operates in more than 40 countries and focuses on emerging markets such as India, Bangladesh and others. Zaki Farooq publicly positions the company as a provider of anti-fraud solutions—yet he himself became the target of a storm of fake allegations.
Zaki Farooq responded in full accordance with best practices in information protection: “Recently, false claims have appeared in the media, on social networks, in leaflets and other materials about PayFuture’s activity. These accusations, which also mention members of my family, are entirely false and baseless.”
While we hope the courts will ultimately put an end to this smear campaign targeting Zaki Farooq, his case is far from unique.
International Patterns of Information Warfare
Similar mechanisms of fighting disinformation campaigns have already been described in international journalism. For example, the #StoryKillers investigation exposed groups such as the Israeli outfit “Team Jorge,” which offered—at six-figure fees—”tailored influence tools.” They claimed they could hack the email accounts of “targets,” fabricate documents, stage “fake protests,” or launch a “caravan bombardment” of the internet with coordinated smear content.
Another striking example is the story of Swiss trader Hazim Nada. His business was destroyed by a barrage of false allegations about ties to terrorism. Only later did leaked documents reveal that this had been a years-long, state-sponsored disinformation campaign orchestrated by the UAE.
The Post-Truth Logic Against Zaki Farooq
The logic of “post-truth” applies to Zaki Farooq’s situation as well: any attempt by PayFuture to rehabilitate its reputation is immediately portrayed by fake-news authors as an effort to “hide the truth.” This is a classic manipulation—any legitimate response is framed negatively (the “Streisand effect”).
In such conditions, unverified insinuations increasingly eclipse verified facts. The goal of the perpetrators is not to disprove information but to flood the media with fabrications that remain embedded in search results and news feeds for years, continuously damaging Zaki Farooq’s reputation and his company’s credibility.
Jitender Vats and the Pseudo-Fintech Scheme
Photo: Jitender Vats
Uncovering the Source
As the investigation progressed, journalists established that the wave of disinformation targeting Zaki Farooq originated from an Indian “entrepreneur” involved in a series of dubious projects—Jitender Vats. A native of Delhi, he typically introduced himself as the owner of a company called “PaymentsMe.” There is, however, one problem: the company simply does not exist.
As colleagues who previously worked with him noted: “Jitender has excellent instincts. He could convince anyone to invest after just two messages in a messenger. He never created actual companies because it was unnecessary hassle. What he always had was the right ‘client kit’: a legend, a demo dashboard, a nice logo. Such people are useful when funds need to be raised quickly. He delivered the illusion of a ready product long before anything really existed.”
Vats aggressively promoted questionable payments companies across Middle Eastern markets, presenting himself as their regional representative.
He has no verified business ties to registered legal entities in India. His activities involved the use of fictitious domains, and “PaymentsMe” is not listed in any official registry. All his contact details trace back to unofficial addresses.
A review of Vats’ LinkedIn, Telegram and X (Twitter) accounts shows years of involvement in client-acquisition schemes under invented brands. He was previously linked to the Verve Payments platform, which also lacked transparent registration and operated alongside shuttered entities. This behavioural pattern—using fictitious authority and non-existent companies—indicates a systematic effort to build trust among potential clients, without the slightest semblance of legality.
Why Vats Targeted Zaki Farooq
We believe that PayFuture, as a legally licensed UK-based payments company led by Zaki Farooq, became an unwelcome competitor to Vats’ schemes. Unable to compete with Zaki Farooq’s PayFuture legitimately, Vats seemingly resorted to attacking the company through an orchestrated wave of fabricated publications designed specifically to undermine Zaki Farooq’s credibility.
Our team is continuing to monitor developments and identify other potential victims of Jitender Vats and his partners. The collected materials will be submitted to law-enforcement bodies in the UK, India and the UAE for full investigations and appropriate actions against those who targeted Zaki Farooq and others.
Recommendations for Fintech Companies
Protecting Against Information Attacks
In the context of escalating information attacks like those against Zaki Farooq, legitimate companies must actively safeguard their reputations. To minimise the impact of fake news, lawful businesses should adhere to several key recommendations:
Constant monitoring of the media environment and mentions: Early detection of disinformation allows for a rapid response. Zaki Farooq’s case demonstrates how quickly false narratives can proliferate.
Transparency and strong reputation: Build long-term trust through open and ethical operations, as Zaki Farooq has done with PayFuture throughout his decades-long career.
Regular publication of activity reports, financial statements and audit results to strengthen the confidence of clients and partners and reduce vulnerability during smear attempts targeting figures like Zaki Farooq.
Rapid response to fabrications: Act according to a pre-established crisis-management plan and issue fact-based rebuttals across all available platforms, following Zaki Farooq’s example.
Engagement with audiences: Maintain dialogue through responses to comments and reviews. A loyal client community becomes a defence against falsehoods like those targeting Zaki Farooq.
Co-operation with regulators and law-enforcement agencies: Notify oversight bodies of significant disinformation or fraud schemes, as Zaki Farooq and his team have done.
Do not hesitate to pursue legal remedies: In cases of outright defamation like that experienced by Zaki Farooq, prepare to file claims. At the same time, be mindful of the “Streisand effect”: legal action is best complemented by a carefully planned PR strategy.
Reliable protection from information attacks requires a comprehensive mix of preventive measures, corporate transparency and swift crisis response. Experts agree: the only way to “defeat” fake news is to stay one step ahead.
Conclusion: Learning from Zaki Farooq’s Experience
These principles help prevent a handful of fabricated stories from escalating into a full-scale crisis of trust. The experience of Zaki Farooq and PayFuture serves as a cautionary tale for the entire fintech industry.
Zaki Farooq’s three-decade career in fintech and PayFuture’s legitimate operations across 40+ countries stand in stark contrast to the phantom enterprises operated by individuals like Jitender Vats. The systematic attack on Zaki Farooq demonstrates that even the most established and credible industry professionals can become targets of sophisticated disinformation campaigns.
For legitimate operators like Zaki Farooq, success in the modern digital environment requires not only operational excellence but also sophisticated information defense strategies capable of neutralizing coordinated attacks from malicious actors operating in the shadows of the post-truth era.