The recent conflict between India and Pakistan, dubbed Operation Sindoor, has been marred by a flood of disinformation spread through recycled footage, AI-generated visuals, and fake government notices. A significant portion of fact-checks published in May 2025 were related to this conflict, with 64.4 percent containing old and unrelated claims. One key tactic involved repurposing international conflict footage from Israel, Palestine, Iran, and Sudan, and falsely localizing it to fit the India-Pakistan narrative.
Videos were often reframed with new captions, such as a montage depicting missile strikes and explosions falsely claimed to show recent Indian airstrikes on Pakistani targets. News outlets even aired old footage of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza as visuals of Indian airstrikes on Pakistan. Viral images of plane wreckage falsely claimed to show the downing of two Indian Rafale jets were old footage of MiG-21 and MiG-29 crashes in Punjab (2021) and Rajasthan (2024).
Videos misrepresenting IAF pilots being rescued or injured were also found to be unrelated to the recent conflict.
AI fuels misinformation
False attack messages resurfaced, including a viral claim that Indian ATMs would shut down due to a ransomware attack from Pakistan.
This message, circulating since 2017, led several news outlets to misreport it, despite the State Bank of India confirming that ATMs were fully functional. AI-generated content played a significant role in the spread of disinformation, with instances of deepfake videos fabricating admissions of defeat or apologies by political and military figures from both sides. Forged government notices also went viral, including a fake circular claiming the University Grants Commission (UGC) had cancelled all exams and another alleging former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s death in jail.
Videos containing text comprised 58.4 percent of the fact-checks, followed by images and text at 38.6 percent. Sensationalism drove 99 percent of the fact-checks, with false content making up 71.3 percent, fabricated content 12.9 percent, misleading content 9.9 percent, and manipulated content 5.9 percent. As efforts continue to combat disinformation, the public is urged to rely on fact-checked information during these challenging times.
The spread of misinformation not only affects the perception of the conflict but also has the potential to escalate tensions between the two nations.
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