Fact Check: How India Is Exposing Pakistan's Propaganda Amid Conflict

Ever since Pakistani terrorists attacked innocent Indian tourists at Pahalgam, in Jammu and Kashmir, and the Indian defence forces retaliated with Operation Sindoor, Pakistan has launched a misinformation campaign to divert the attention of Indians and instill fear amongst the masses.

India has firmly rejected this, calling out Pakistan's claims regarding attacks on Indian infrastructure completely baseless.

The Foreign Secretary of India, Vikram Misri, while addressing the media during a special briefing on Operation Sindoor accused Pakistan of propagating lies and further escalating tensions through propaganda.

"Claims have been made about large sections of Indian critical infrastructure, power systems, cyber systems, etc, being attacked and destroyed, are completely false," Misri said.

Misri also urged the Indian masses to not be misled and misguided by the "tissue of lies" being peddled by the Pakistani state.

He further highlighted Pakistan's continued attempts at sowing discord between communities in India.

Pakistan's Fake News Propaganda Busted

The Press Information Bureau's (PIB) fact-checking unit has recently debunked several Pakistani claims that have been circulating on social media. These instances are as follows:

Jammu and Kashmir Airport Blasts: In one such instance the PIB debunked Al Jazeera's claim of explosions around the Jammu and Kashmir airport, calling them fake.

In a report, Al Jazeera had said that there had been around 10 explosions around the J&K airport, which was fake news.

Additionally, in a recent post on X, PIB said, "the surge in fake videos flooding your social media feeds is NOT ACCIDENTAL."

"Pakistan's propaganda network is manipulating you," it added, emphasising on the fact that forwarding such unverified and misleading content can do more harm than good.

IAF Jaguar Crash Falsely Linked To The Conflict: In yet another such attempt at Pakistani propaganda misleading Indian masses, a fake video was being circulated on social media which was falsely linked to the current context. This video depicted the crash of an IAF Jaguar which was originally a separate case altogether.

Udhampur Base Destroyed: Further, there was another video circulated by 'AIK News' on live TV which claimed that Pakistan had destroyed the Udhampur Air Base.

The video is originally showing a fire accident at a chemical factory in Hanumangarh, Rajasthan and it is unrelated to the content.

Nagrota Air Base Attack: Another viral video on social media claims that there has been a blast on the Nagrota Air Base, which is false, as the video was originally posted on Instagram on October 2024 and is now being linked to this conflict.

Bathinda Airfield Destroyed: PTV in a post on X said that the Bathinda airfield has been destroyed peddling fake news on social media, as PIB Fact Check later clarified in a separate post on X that said post is fake and that the Bathinda airfield was "FULLY OPERATIONAL" and that there was "NO DAMAGE WHATSOEVER."

Missile Attack On Delhi Airport: Further, another social media video claims to have destroyed the Delhi airport, falsely, while it is originally from a gas station explosion in Aden, Yemen, from August 2024.

These are few of the cases where PIB has busted the propaganda peddled by Pakistani war mongers through social media but this fake news narrative is not limited to these instances.

Also Read: PIB Busts Al Jazeera Fake News Claiming Explosions Outside Srinagar Airport