Misinformation Plagues Online Narrative Amidst India-Pakistan Tensions
The recent cross-border strikes between India and Pakistan have ignited a firestorm of misinformation on social media platforms, with fabricated videos and images masquerading as authentic footage of the conflict. These misleading posts, many of which have amassed millions of views, exploit the heightened emotional climate surrounding the conflict to propagate false narratives and exacerbate existing tensions. BBC Verify has debunked several prominent examples of this manipulated content, revealing the extent to which misinformation is being weaponized in the digital sphere.
One widely circulated video, viewed over 400,000 times, purportedly depicted a Pakistani retaliatory explosion. Upon closer inspection, BBC Verify identified the footage as originating from the devastating 2020 Beirut Port explosion, a tragic event entirely unrelated to the current conflict. Similarly, a video claiming to show Indian strikes in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, which garnered over 3 million views, was traced back to Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip in October 2023. This repurposing of existing footage, often depicting dramatic explosions or scenes of destruction, underscores the manipulative tactics employed to deceive online audiences.
The spread of this misinformation is not accidental. Eliot Higgins, founder of the investigative journalism website Bellingcat, notes that the algorithms driving social media platforms prioritize engagement over factual accuracy. Content that evokes strong emotional responses, such as videos of conflict or disaster, is inherently more engaging, regardless of its veracity. This creates a perverse incentive for users to share sensationalized content, even if it is demonstrably false, as it rewards them with increased visibility and reach.
Beyond simply misrepresenting the events on the ground, some of the misinformation appears deliberately designed to inflate the perceived severity of the Pakistani response. One video, which has accumulated nearly 600,000 views, falsely claimed to show the Pakistan Army destroying an Indian Brigade headquarters. The footage, depicting explosions in darkness, was traced back to an unrelated video circulating on YouTube prior to the current conflict. This fabricated portrayal of Pakistani military strength serves to escalate tensions and fuel animosity between the two nations.
Further examples of fabricated content include photographs purportedly capturing a Pakistan Air Force operation targeting Indian air bases. These images, seemingly taken by a drone, were actually screenshots from the video game Battlefield 3. The Pakistani military’s claim of downing five Indian jets also triggered a wave of misleading videos purporting to show the wreckage. However, BBC Verify identified two widely shared images as depicting previous Indian air force crashes, unrelated to the current conflict, one in Rajasthan in 2024 and another in Punjab in 2021.
Experts, like Professor Indrajit Roy of York University, suggest that this surge in misinformation is driven by a desire to bolster support for the military within Pakistan. The propagation of false narratives painting Pakistan’s military prowess in a more favorable light aims to galvanize public opinion and foster a sense of national unity. This dynamic is fueled by "jingoists on both sides of the border," who leverage social media platforms to amplify, distort, and weaponize information to generate hostility and hatred. Even the Pakistani military itself inadvertently shared an unrelated clip, later withdrawn by news agencies after its inauthenticity was exposed, highlighting the pervasive nature of misinformation within the conflict’s narrative.
The long-standing conflict in Kashmir has historically been a breeding ground for online misinformation. Following the deadly militant attack on Indian tourists in Pahalgam last month, AI-generated images circulated, further blurring the lines between reality and fabrication. Vedika Bahl, a journalist with France 24, observes a significant increase in misinformation from both sides following the Pahalgam attacks. She highlights the crucial role of X (formerly Twitter) in originating much of this misinformation, which then often migrates to WhatsApp, the dominant communication platform in South Asian communities. This transition from public social media to private messaging apps makes it harder to track and debunk the spread of false narratives. The ease with which misinformation proliferates and its potential to exacerbate real-world tensions underscores the urgent need for improved media literacy and more effective strategies to combat the spread of false narratives in the digital age. The consequences of unchecked misinformation in such a volatile region are potentially severe, and addressing this challenge requires a concerted effort from social media platforms, governments, and individuals alike.