Divided by the Border, United by the Online Misinformation Crisis

BLOG

Surabhi Srivastava & Sana Naqvi

I am Indian. And I am Pakistani. And we both work at RNW Media, an international (digital) media development organisation based in the Netherlands. 

We, yet again, find our two nations at the brink of another possible war. As media development practitioners, are acutely aware of a parallel cross-border battle – one waged in the digital media spaces in both countries, This has intensified in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, a series of strikes carried out by the Indian military on Pakistani infrastructure in response to Pakistan’s alleged involvement in the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, in Indian Administered Kashmir*. The attack, which took place on 22 April 2025, claimed the lives of 26 civilians, primarily tourists who were visiting Kashmir.

Misinformation about the military operation has been rife on X (formerly Twitter). It’s being openly shared and amplified by both Indian and Pakistani journalists, as well as by fake X accounts impersonating high-ranking officials on both sides of the border. Such misinformation relates to the number of casualties suffered in Pakistan resulting from Operation Sindoor, including unverified photos of dead bodies and disturbing scenes from hospitals in Pakistan, Indian fighter jets being targeted by Pakistan, claims about rebellion in the Indian military, and videos from Gaza being misused to “show” missile attacks allegedly carried out during Operation Sindoor. 

Manufactured and misattributed videos and images – claiming to depict military jet crashes and missile attacks – have gone viral on Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook. These posts, often being peddled by a plethora of disinformation and propaganda social media accounts in both India and Pakistan, are laced with religious undertone aimed at fuelling hate and divisive politics.

However, this is just the tip of the (misinformation) iceberg. In India, WhatsApp groups have been flooded with misinformation about “government advisories”, requesting citizens to take “precautionary measures” to prepare for the impending war, thereby creating unease, fear and panic among civilians. 

There have also been increasing reports about AI-generated content – including a recent deepfake video – flooding social media, particularly in relation to the rising tensions between the two countries. While not all AI-generated content can qualify as misinformation, its “messaging” is often “extremely provocative”. Meanwhile, in Pakistan, similar concerns are emerging. Alleged notices from government bodies – warning citizens about potential aerial strikes and advising precautionary measures in the event of  full-scale war – have sparked widespread panic among the population. 

This inferno of misinformation is underscored by a tragic and painful historical context. The two countries share a tense relationship where competing narratives work hard to become the indisputable truth. This precarious past, coupled with the geopositionality of the two countries, reflects how people engage and interact with current political discourse and (digital) media environments. This makes misinformation and propaganda even more worrying, as they can, – and do – easily translate to violence in real life. 

What has been especially painful to witness throughout the rampant warmongering on social and traditional media channels is the lack of accountability and ethical calibre from journalists themselves. Both Indian and Pakistani outlets have played a key role in amplifying and lending credibility to sensationalist and dramatic mis- and disinformation online. As tensions escalate between the two nuclear weapon-armed nations, misinformation – often shared without reflection on journalistic ethics or the broader public interest – continues to fan the flames of religious hatred and animosity across and within both countries. This has further normalised the rhetoric of “us vs. them”, linked to complex geopolitical calculations and dynamics playing out not only between Pakistan and India, but also across the broader South Asia region and internationally. 

From a media development perspective, this rapidly evolving online information landscape in the subcontinent highlights two key challenges: 

• a) How do we ensure that both Indian and Pakistani users of digital and social media become more aware and informed about their rights and responsibilities as digital citizens – becoming (digital) media literate and proactively preventing the spread of online mis- and disinformation?
• b) How do we hold Big Tech and social media platforms accountable for their role in amplifying and monetizing fake news, particularly in the context where content moderation policies, personnel and resources have been drastically cut and entirely replaced by fact-checking on social media platforms like X and Facebook?

As journalist Karen Rebelo echoed similar sentiments in her recent LinkedIn post, the propagation of the false binary between fact-checking and community notes corrodes trust and safety online. In reality, both are an urgent need of the hour if we are to confront the tsunami of misinformation that continues to flood social media channels across both India and Pakistan (and globally). The discourse on content moderation in South Asia is notably more layered and complex, given that it is intertwined with state-promoted and sanctioned online censorship of so-called “harmful content”. Ironically, this censorship has also targeted independent and public interest (digital) media actors and content – challenges that X is now contesting in an Indian court, arguing that such actions threaten online freedom of speech.

Beyond questions of content moderation and media literacy, we also ought to confront big-picture questions relevant not just for India-Pakistan relations, but also universally pertinent for the media ecosystem(s) that we engage with 24/7 today. 

Can truth and peace coexist? And if yes, how do we enable such digital media space(s) online that not only safeguard and promote truth, but are also safe, reliable and inclusive for all? How can digital media be used to shape, propagate and amplify counter-narratives that challenge the status quo, push the boundaries in favor of inclusion and human rights, and promote open societies built on peaceful coexistence and interdependence, rather than mobilised by hateful rhetoric, divisive politics, land borders and jingoism of war?

These are some of the questions we engage with in our work every day at RNW Media. As the current escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan demonstrates, these are not merely theoretical and philosophical questions – they shape our everyday lives. 

As media development practitioners – and as citizens, both offline and online – we hope for peace to prevail across our respective home countries. But we cannot shy away from grappling with these difficult, complex and uncomfortable realities that confront today’s built media ecosystem. Ultimately, the question remains: are we – as donors, as NGOs, governments, and everyday consumers of news – doing all we can, should and ought to be doing to support, enable and promote media and media-makers so they can continue the courageous work of speaking truth to power? Whether in the backdrop of a potential war or in confronting the drudgeries of everyday existence in our modern societies, this work has never been more vital. 

* Terminology used in accordance with language used in official UN documents.