India’s Disinformation Campaign: A Threat to International Law and Multilateralism
The Jammu and Kashmir Council for Human Rights (JKCHR) has condemned India’s persistent disinformation campaigns, characterizing them as a strategic weapon that undermines democratic institutions, manipulates international opinion, and violates the core principles of international law and multilateralism. The JKCHR highlighted India’s extensive disinformation network, exposed by the EU DisinfoLab in 2020, as a prime example of state-sponsored deception industrialized and normalized in international affairs. This network, operating for over 15 years, involved NGOs, media outlets, fake think tanks, and impersonated identities, some even representing deceased individuals, to further Indian state interests, discredit Pakistan, and undermine the legitimate rights movement in Jammu and Kashmir.
The disinformation campaign penetrated mainstream forums, including the UN Human Rights Council, the European Parliament, and the broader UN system. This exploitation of international platforms represents a systemic failure of oversight and verification mechanisms at the highest levels. India’s objective extended beyond geopolitical advantage over Pakistan; it aimed to obfuscate the reality of its conduct in Kashmir by flooding international forums with pro-India narratives, effectively silencing genuine discourse about human rights abuses and the denial of self-determination in the region. While India may have temporarily manipulated global perception, the exposure of this campaign through the "India Chronicles" report stripped the Indian government of any credible claim to transparency, non-violence, or respect for the UN Charter.
The JKCHR underscored the moral damage inflicted by India’s disinformation, emphasizing how the cause of the Kashmiri people was wronged not by the strength of India’s arguments, but by the sheer volume and virality of its lies. This manipulation of information not only damaged India’s reputation but also revealed a state machinery that thrives on deception rather than diplomacy. The international community must acknowledge the severity of these actions and implement stronger mechanisms to counter such blatant disregard for international law and human rights.
In May 2025, India resorted to disinformation once again during a brief military confrontation with Pakistan. Indian official and semi-official media outlets propagated fabricated reports of dramatic victories, including the alleged occupation of major Pakistani cities like Lahore and Karachi. Pakistan’s swift and decisive military response debunked these claims, exposing the fragility of India’s strategic narrative and transforming a purportedly triumphant war campaign into a public relations disaster. The Indian media’s descent into jingoistic fantasy severely damaged its credibility, both domestically and internationally. This false reporting constituted a dangerous exercise in wartime propaganda that risked further escalation and misinformed a vast population.
The JKCHR stressed that India’s disinformation machine, designed for psychological warfare, ultimately became a source of national embarrassment. The organization called for the invocation of Articles 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the United Nations Charter, which address the admission, suspension, and expulsion of member states, in response to India’s persistent violations. India’s disinformation campaigns, from Geneva to Karachi, demonstrate how modern information warfare can be used not only to manipulate narratives but to rewrite political realities. These episodes necessitate strengthened institutional checks, improved verification protocols at international forums, and a renewed commitment to the principles enshrined in the UN Charter.
The international community bears a responsibility to ensure accountability for those who abuse the marketplace of ideas to perpetrate reputational and moral fraud. The JKCHR’s call to action emphasizes the urgency of addressing India’s disinformation campaign and upholding the principles of international law and multilateralism. Failure to act will embolden such behavior and further erode trust in international institutions and norms. The fight against disinformation requires collective vigilance and robust mechanisms to counter its corrosive effects on global discourse and stability