In recent days, India and Pakistan have been engaged in their most expansive military conflict in decades, well beyond their disputed Kashmir border.
On May 8, Sirens blared and an enforced blackout by the local authorities was imposed in some of the northern states and cities of India including Indian-administered Kashmir. Blasts were heard soon after as missiles and drones flew across the sky, according to local witnesses.
Parallelly, an equally dangerous war erupted across television screens and social media feeds. Multiple Indian television channels aired blatantly false claims that Pakistani cities were under attack.
The coordinated disinformation campaign designed to inflame nationalist sentiment did not come from trolls but a stream of misleading content played from mainstream media networks with massive national audiences. Major Indian news outlets broadcast a torrent of fabricated reports aimed at vilifying Pakistan.
Concerted campaign of vile imagination
The channel DNA went so far as to post on its official X handle: “India attacks Pakistani Capital Islamabad!” The post was later deleted without explanation.
Zee News amplified claims devoid of facts: “Pakistan’s Capital Islamabad has been occupied!”
The frenzy didn’t stop there. Aaj Tak simulated a military strike on Karachi Port, broadcasting the fabricated destruction live from its studio as if covering a real-time offensive.
India Today joined in by alleging an Indian assault on both Lahore and Karachi.
Times Now Bharat took it a step further with theatrical newsroom histrionics, even enlisting a retired Indian serviceman to legitimise the charade. The performance was so exaggerated that it drew both public ridicule and concern.
Among the most egregious fabrications was a report from ABP News, falsely claiming that Pakistani Army Chief General Asim Munir had been arrested.
Not to be outdone, 1st India News continued the narrative by “appointing” a new army chief for Pakistan, effectively scripting an alternate universe of geopolitical events.
The disinformation reached absurdist levels when Zee News aired graphics declaring that the Pakistani army had surrendered after Indian forces “captured several major cities.”
Screens simultaneously showed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hiding in a bunker and surrendering to Indian forces within the same segment.
Adding to the fabrication, anchors Anjana Om Kashyap and Shweta Singh reported alleged suicide attacks in Pathankot and Rajouri – claims that remain entirely unverified and likely false.
Authorities have said five civilians were killed in Indian shelling overnight in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
The flood of fabrications prompted rare introspection from a few influential voices. Indian author Basant Maheshwari, who commands a large online following, issued a public apology:
“I have NEVER deleted tweets but today I am deleting all tweets that I made without verifying the claims of our Indian media channels. I feel sad not because of tweeting but more so because I (wrongly) believed what I saw!”
Curbing credible voices
On Thursday (May 8), X announced that the Indian government has directed it to block over 8,000 accounts on its platform. Although the company disagrees with the orders, it stated that it has begun to comply under protest.
X also warned that failure to adhere to these directives could result in severe penalties, including hefty fines and potential imprisonment of its employees based in India.
Some of these include independent media houses such as thewire and maktoobmedia, Free Press Kashmir, The Kashmiriyat and those of veteran journalists like Anuradha Bhasin and Muzamil Jaleel.
The move has drawn condemnation as an “assault on press freedom” and a deliberate attempt to silence credible voices, even as mainstream media that has been spreading disinformation continues to operate unchecked.
