Govt fact-checking unit swings into action in the wake of Operation Sindoor to highlight false claims | Mint

In the wake of Operation Sindoor, India’s cross-border counterstrike following the Pahalgam terror attack, government fact-checking units swung into high alert to highlight and debunk misleading information on social and mainstream media and set the record straight.

Their job multiplied as social media channels were flooded with unverified images of troop movements, doctored videos claiming to show missile launches, and misleading news about diplomatic escalations.

“A barrage of coordinated disinformation has been carried out by certain social media handles in general and mainstream media in particular in Pakistan with the sole objective to instil fear among the Indian masses,” the Press Information Bureau (PIB) said in a statement. “This psychological warfare has been actively debunked by the Press Information Bureau for the last few weeks. In addition, Indian media and social media users have been falling for misinformation. The fact-check unit of PIB put the record straight and debunked misinformation, disinformation and outright lies.”

PIB said a video of a drone attack in Jalandhar was widely circulated to create panic. The PIB found that it was an unrelated video of a farm fire.

In one video circulated online, an Indian post was claimed to have been destroyed by the Pakistani army. This was shared and amplified by a number of fake and unverified accounts. PIB found the claim to be completely false and confirmed it to be staged because there was no such unit in the Indian Army.

The video aimed to mislead the public and was part of a coordinated propaganda campaign, PIB added.

Busting myths

An old video was shared on social media with the claim that Pakistan had launched a missile attack on India. Upon fact-checking the video, PIB found out that the video was actually of an attack that took place in Beirut in 2020.

Information regarding a terrorist attack on an army brigade in Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir was also shared and circulated widely. Upon fact-checking, PIB confirmed that no such terrorist or suicide attack had occurred at any army cantonment. The false claims were solely intended to mislead viewers and cause confusion. The video was accordingly flagged.

Among other fake videos and pictures, an old image was circulated with false claims of multiple explosions at the Jammu Air Force Base in India. This was, in fact, from the Kabul Airport blast in August 2021.

“PIB continues to actively engage in debunking fake news, busting myths and protecting sovereignty and national interest,” it said.