Continued Fight in the Information Conflict Between India and Pakistan

Revamped Article:

The latest India-Pakistan clash is swirling with a whirlpool of misinformation, bogus footage, and social media manipulation. Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter are still burdened with fake videos related to the attacks that claimed at least 60 lives and displaced thousands more. Fact-checkers from organizations like AFP have refuted many of these clips, which were, in fact, footage from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the war in Ukraine.

Indian and Pakistani media outlets have been instrumental in peddling misinformation, spreading unverified claims of military triumphs that experts say have escalated tensions and fueled a deluge of hate speech.

General Dominique Trinquand, an international relations analyst and former head of the French military mission to the United Nations, stated, "It's tough to sort fact from fiction because we're dealing with actual strikes that are hard to confirm, coupled with a communication war orchestrated by both sides."

The tipping point came when India launched brutal air raids on Pakistani targets, two weeks after a deadly attack in the disputed Kashmir region. New Delhi accused Pakistan of backing the April 22 attack near Pahalgam, which left 26 people – mainly Hindu men – dead. Pakistan denies these allegations.

In response to the Indian air strikes, the Pakistani military shared footage that had originally circulated in reports about a 2023 Israeli air strike in Gaza. The clip quickly surfaced on television and social media but was later pulled back by several media outlets, including AFP.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has added another layer of complexity to the situation, as AI-generated visuals have contributed to the confusion. For example, a video claimed to show a Pakistani Army general announcing the loss of two aircraft. AFP fact-checkers discovered that the clip was fabricated, altering a 2024 press conference.

Joyojeet Pal, an associate professor in the School of Information at the University of Michigan, remarked, "We've witnessed a surge of AI-based content across both video and still images, likely due to the increased accessibility of deepfake tools."

Both countries have exploited the information void to raise alarm and promote their respective narratives. Pakistan has been reported to have lifted a year-long ban on certain social media platforms, such as X, the same day of the Indian air strikes, according to the AFP's data analysis. Usama Khilji, a digital rights expert and activist in Pakistan, stated, "In times of crisis, the government needed its people to be heard loud and clear around the world without any silencing."

Pakistan's National Cyber Emergency Response Team (NCERT) issued a cyber alert on May 8, warning of increased cyberattacks and misinformation via emails, social media, QR codes, and messaging apps. Both Pakistan's Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Karachi Port Trust later acknowledged being hacked. A post from the Karachi Port Trust's account declared that the port – one of South Asia's busiest – had been attacked by the Indian military. The page was later restored, with the port authority confirming no attack had taken place.

India, on the other hand, has executed a sweeping crackdown on social media accounts of Pakistani politicians, celebrities, and media organizations. The government ordered X to block over 8,000 accounts and banned more than a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels, alleging they were spreading provocative content, including news outlets. The Press Information Bureau (PIB) Fact Check, a government-run website, has refuted over 60 claims about the ongoing crisis, including countless unfounded Pakistani military victories.

A Cyclical Relationship of Misinformation and Hate Speech

The deluge of misinformation online has coincided with an uptick in offline hate speech. The US-based India Hate Lab documented 64 in-person hate speech events between April 22 and May 2, primarily filmed and shared on social media. Raqib Hameed Naik, executive director of the Center for the Study of Organized Hate, stated, "There exists a symbiotic relationship between offline hate speech and the proliferation of dangerous online content."

Naik explained that the Pahalgam attack set off a wave of far-right rallies in India, where leaders exaggerated the tragedy to incite hatred and violence against Muslim Indians and Kashmiris. Several videos online show individuals dressed in Hindu attire promoting economic boycotts of minority Muslims. Rallies in the north Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand exhibited similarly inflammatory language.

With a ceasefire now in place, Naik warned that hate speech would once again find its focus on religious minorities. "The war machine may have halted, but the hate machinery never rests. I fear it might return with even greater intensity."

(Enrichment data incorporated where relevant and applicable)

Despite the Indian-Pakistan conflict, social media outlets have continued to circulate misleading footage from other international incidents, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza and the war in Ukraine.
In the midst of the crisis, social media platforms like X have become battlegrounds for both countries to promote their narratives, with Pakistan lifting a year-long ban on certain social media platforms on the same day of the Indian air strikes.
The Pakistani National Cyber Emergency Response Team (NCERT) issued a cyber alert on May 8, warning of increased cyberattacks and misinformation via emails, social media, QR codes, and messaging apps, with both Pakistan's Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Karachi Port Trust later acknowledging being hacked.
India, in response, has imposed a sweeping crackdown on social media accounts of Pakistani politicians, celebrities, and media organizations, blocking over 8,000 accounts and banning more than a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels.
The surge of misinformation online has coincided with an increase in offline hate speech, particularly against religious minorities in India, with the US-based India Hate Lab documenting 64 in-person hate speech events between April 22 and May 2, primarily filmed and shared on social media platforms.