Ashish Singh is an award-winning journalist with 18 years in defence & strategic affairs.
NEW DELHI: We have known for a long time that modern warfare will be fought as much on social media as it is on the battlefield. The flooding of social media platforms like X with Pakistani propaganda in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack is one of the most recent examples of this. After the tragic and horrifying terrorist attack in Pahalgam, which claimed the lives of 26 innocent tourists, India took swift and strict diplomatic actions against Pakistan. The brutality of this act also drew widespread international condemnation. In response, Pakistan opened another sinister dimension: a battle of narratives on social media to distort global perception and undermine the truth. The posts, most prominently appearing on X (formerly Twitter) were replete with deliberate misinformation. From INS Vikrant to Indian Air Force to the Line of Control, there was nothing left untouched by the malice of disinformation. Pakistan military’s notorious Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) became brazenly involved, too. Post-Pahalgam Disinformation: Contradictions and Chaos In the immediate aftermath of the attack, the scale of online disinformation was immense. In the first wave, several accounts made claims about a fire onboard INS Vikrant, which they said was headed towards Pakistan. The posts go on to say that the aircraft carrier had been forced to return. In the second wave, several accounts started to repost and comment hateful one-liners on the posts, increasing the reach of this completely false claim. Mu l t ip l e u s e r s a n d open-source intelligence (OSINT) analysis accounts then pointed out that the claim was fake. Once this ruse was up, the same accounts began spreading fake news about the Indian Air Force bombing an Indian village, and the Indian Army suffering because of a shortage of trucks etc. In one instance, a Pakistan-leaning account superimposed the audio of a dialogue from the movie ‘Sam Bahadur’ on an old video of Indian Army soldiers’ training. The aim was to present the image of a senior officer asking soldiers if their energy was down because they hadn’t eaten anything. Despite the TRF (The Resistance Front), a Lashkarlinked terror group, openly claiming responsibility, ISPR actively promoted the conspiracy theory that the attack was an “inside job” orchestrated by Indian agencies. This disinformation campaign aimed to delegitimise India’s counterterrorism efforts and confuse global observers. Pakistani Army Chief General Munir’s inflammatory rhetoric days prior had set the stage for this narrative offensive, openly using anti-Hindu rhetoric and stoking extremist sentiments. Thousands of accounts, overwhelmingly traced to Pakistan, also coordinated to push hashtags such as #IndianFalseFlag, #PahalgamDramaExposed, and #ModiExposed, aimed squarely at muddling international understanding and diluting sympathy towards India. Senior intelligence officials observing the situation confirmed the nature of the operation: “The speed, coordination, and pattern of dissemination clearly indicated statebacked amplification rather than organic engagement.”
AI and the Weaponisation of Mockery
One of the more disturbing elements was the deliberate use of AI-generated imagery designed specifically to mock victims and humiliate Indian leadership. Particularly grotesque was a widely circulated video altering the tragic scene of a grieving woman beside a terror victim’s body into a celebratory dance routine. Another manipulated clip depicted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chained and guarded by men dressed as Pakistani police officers. Such offensive visual fabrications drew universal condemnation but nonetheless reached millions, fueling confusion and anger.
ISPR’s Propaganda Playbook and Structural Expansion
Central to Pakistan’s misinformation apparatus is the ISPR, the military’s nefarious media and psychological warfare entity tasked with shaping both domestic public opinion and international narratives. In recent years, ISPR has undergone a structural transformation to boost its hybrid warfare capabilities. Now commanded by a Lieutenant General, it oversees two newly specialised wings dedicated explicitly to Information Operations (Info Ops) and Psychological Operations (Psy Ops), indicating Pakistan’s strategic intent to control and manipulate informational landscapes at multiple levels. Info Ops units within ISPR are systematically focused on controlling digital and cyber domains. For example, following the April 2025 Pahalgam attack, ISPR-coordinated cyber units launched a misinformation effort across social media, rapidly spreading false narratives alleging Indian complicity and fabricating claims— such as the supposed dismissal of senior Indian military officers and the fictional downing of an Indian Rafale fighter jet—effectively exploiting digital platforms to undermine trust in official narratives. The use of media in these operations is notable. This week, Pakistani journalists took to X to post that General Asim Munir was visiting Line of Control to boost troops’ morale. The attached video, from December 2022, was being peddled as proof that Gen Munir is on the frontlines now. On April 29, 2025, ISPR spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Choudhary publicly accused India of engaging in “state-sponsored cross-border terrorism”. When playing an audio clip obviously featuring a Pakistani (the accent made it clear as day), he claimed it was an Indian Army Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) bribing a local man to carry out a bomb blast. He wanted state media to tell the world about this “irrefutable proof”. Simultaneously, Psy Ops units specialise in crafting emotionally manipulative content to radicalise vulnerable populations, primarily through targeted media messaging, extremist religious rhetoric, and orchestrated social media campaigns. This was vividly demonstrated during the Kashmir Solidarity Day events on February 5, where ISPR directly facilitated extremist speeches and widely disseminated inflammatory statements from senior military figures and militant leaders like General Syed Asim Munir, Talha Saeed, and Rizwan Hanif. These speeches explicitly encouraged violent jihad and radicalisation. The ISPR’s structural expansion has turned it into the nerve centre of Pakistan’s hybrid warfare strategy. It seeks to advance despicable state objectives at a significant cost to regional stability and international trust.
ISPR’s Role in Domestic Suppression and Political Manipulation
Internally, ISPR has increasingly interfered in Pakistani politics, manipulating elections, silencing critics, censoring media, and actively suppressing democratic voices. In the 2024-2025 elections, ISPRdriven campaigns specifically targeted former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) party. Opposition leaders were imprisoned or forced into exile, media outlets censored, and election narratives tightly controlled through sophisticated disinformation campaigns orchestrated by ISPR operatives. Former Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa openly admitted to decades of political interference, acknowledging the military’s active manipulation of Pakistan’s democracy. ISPR’s role in these activities emphasises its dual objectives: domestic control and external narrative manipulation.
Absurdity Unveiled: The Fake Think Tank Incident
Sometimes, however, ISPR’s elaborate disinformation efforts verge on the absurd. An investigative report exposed a shocking revelation in January 2025: the Pakistani military allegedly created a completely fictitious Washington DC-based think tank, the “Beltway Grid Policy Centre,” staffed entirely by AIgenerated experts. The fabricated institution released misleading reports critical of opposition parties, amplified by mainstream Pakistani media outlets. The instance has shown the extreme lengths ISPR goes to manufacture legitimacy and influence both domestic and international perceptions.
India’s Swift Response: Factchecking and Transparency
Alerted swiftly to the magnitude of this misinformation offensive, Indian authorities rapidly mobilised countermeasures. India’s Press Information Bureau (PIB) conducted real-time fact-checking, systematically debunking numerous false claims originating from Pakistani social media handles. Among these claims were outrageous allegations such as the removal of Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General Suchindra Kumar and Vice Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sujeet Pushpakar Dharkar. There was a fabricated assertion about a Pakistani military strike downing an Indian Rafale fighter jet, too. Through transparency and timely clarifications, India effectively neutralised many misleading narratives, showing the resilience of factual transparency against systematic disinformation. Diplomatic Contradictions and International Fallout In the diplomatic arena, Pakistan’s leadership projected further contradictions. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif engaged in dangerous nuclear sabrerattling, asserting readiness for nuclear escalation. In contrast, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif simultaneously called for international mediation and neutral investigations into the Pahalgam incident, directly contradicting his minister’s aggressive threats. These conflicting messages eroded Pakistan’s international credibility and signalled internal political disarray. The Strategic Implications: Global Awareness and Vigilance The global community is increasingly recognising Pakistan’s orchestrated disinformation campaigns, diminishing their strategic effectiveness over time. International institutions and governments have become more cautious and sceptical of Pakistan’s narrative, wary of the consistent pattern of misinformation and provocations. India’s measured responses, backed by prompt fact-checking and transparency, continue to build international trust, further isolating Pakistan on the diplomatic front.