In the wake of heightened tensions and India's precision strikes on terror camps, Pakistan has reportedly resorted to spreading misinformation across social media platforms. The Press Information Bureau (PIB) has been actively debunking these fabricated claims, which include false reports of drone attacks and missile launches. This misinformation campaign appears to be an attempt to undermine the narrative and distort the global perception of the situation.
The PIB's fact-check unit has identified and debunked multiple instances of fake news. One such instance involved a video claiming to show a drone attack in Jalandhar, which was actually an unrelated video of a farm fire. Another video falsely claimed that a Pakistani army attack had destroyed an Indian post; however, the PIB confirmed that the video was staged and part of Pakistan's propaganda campaign. They also noted the absence of the "20 Raj Battalion" in the Indian Army, which was falsely depicted in the video.
An old video was also circulated, falsely alleging that Pakistan had launched a missile attack on India. The PIB identified the footage as being from the Beirut, Lebanon explosion in 2020. Furthermore, claims of a "fidayeen" attack on an Army brigade in Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir, were debunked, with the fact-check unit confirming that no such attack occurred.
These instances of misinformation peaked following India's thwarting of Pakistan's attempts to target its military sites with drones and missiles. Social media has been flooded with doctored videos, false claims, and old war footage by pro-Islamabad accounts. Some posts have even repurposed images from unrelated events, such as the Kabul Airport bombing in August 2021, and falsely linked them to the current situation to stoke panic. In other instances, footage from the video game Battlefield 3 and clips from the 2020 Beirut port explosion were misrepresented as evidence of Pakistani retaliation.
A fake advisory that mimicked civil defense protocols, urging citizens to stock up on food and medicines, was also circulated online. The PIB labeled it as "FAKE" and urged citizens to rely only on official sources for updates. The PIB has cautioned against "Pakistan-linked accounts" that are attempting to "flood the information space with falsehoods so quickly and overwhelmingly that it becomes difficult to separate fact from fiction". A Press Information Bureau official stated that there had been a marked spike in misinformation and that they are working to counter each falsehood.
The Indian government is advising the public to scrutinize information carefully and report any dubious content, especially concerning the Indian Armed Forces. Fact-checkers are working to debunk false claims and provide accurate information to the public.
