Pakistan Launches Disinformation Campaign After India’s Operation Sindoor Strike
In the aftermath of India’s precise and decisive military action under Operation Sindoor, Pakistan has launched a coordinated disinformation offensive aimed at distorting reality and diverting attention from the actual events on the ground. The wave of propaganda, marked by fake images, repurposed videos, and fabricated narratives, reflects a calculated attempt to manipulate public perception across the region.
The disinformation campaign has rapidly spread through pro-Pakistan social media accounts and has been amplified by political figures, all working to project a misleading narrative of retaliatory success. Among the most prominent false claims was an image suggesting that the Pakistan Army had shot down an Indian Rafale fighter jet near Bahawalpur. Fact-checking agencies, including PIB Fact Check, debunked the claim, confirming the image originated from a 2021 MiG-21 crash in Moga, Punjab.
Adding to the deliberate spread of misinformation, Pakistan’s Minister Attaullah Tarar endorsed a widely circulated video claiming that the Indian Army surrendered at Chora Post. The video, lacking any verified source or credibility, was quickly identified as a complete fabrication. By publicly endorsing such unverified content, Tarar contributed significantly to the escalation of the disinformation drive.
Another deceptive post involved an old video falsely attributed to an alleged Pakistan Air Force strike on the Srinagar airbase. The video, upon investigation, was traced back to sectarian violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, earlier in 2024, and bore no connection to any recent military activity involving Kashmir.
Further muddying the waters, Pakistan-based social media handles recycled an image from a MiG-29 crash in Barmer, Rajasthan, from September 2024, to falsely portray fresh Indian Air Force casualties. None of these incidents had any connection to the ongoing developments post-Operation Sindoor.
In another unverified and quickly debunked assertion, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif claimed that Indian soldiers were taken captive during Pakistan’s supposed retaliation. The statement was later retracted after it was proven that no Indian soldiers had been captured, exposing yet another facet of the propaganda effort.
The Indian government and defence sources have condemned the flood of disinformation, pointing to Pakistan’s long-standing strategy of information warfare—especially during times of geopolitical tension. Officials noted that the current campaign not only aims to mask the impact of India’s successful strike but also seeks to create confusion, provoke unrest, and mislead the global community.
Analysts say the strategy follows a familiar pattern of information saturation: overwhelming digital platforms with falsehoods at such scale and speed that verifying facts becomes difficult, and perception replaces reality in the public discourse.
As the information war unfolds alongside real-world military operations, India continues to maintain clarity and transparency, countering each fabricated claim with evidence and official communication. The Ministry of Defence has reiterated that no Indian losses or surrenders occurred during or after Operation Sindoor, and that the mission achieved its strategic objectives with precision.
