Following the recent India-Pakistan conflict, Pakistan has initiated a concerted Misinformation campaign to undermine India’s overall global reputation, challenge its leadership, and alter global narratives in its interest. The campaign, based on unsubstantiated allegations and emotionally charged rhetoric, is built around two major pillars: discrediting India’s Rafale fighter aircraft and circulating false news about the capture of an Indian female pilot.
Targeting the Rafale: A Strategic Smear Campaign
Pakistan has claimed in an aggressive manner that it downed two of India’s Rafale jets, even though there is zero independent confirmation. These assertions are being blown up in Pakistani media and diplomatic circles to imply that India’s French high-tech aircraft is overhyped and vulnerable.
Pakistan is also said to be lobbying nations such as Indonesia to reconsider their Rafale acquisitions by painting the fighter jets as combat ineffective. The actual objective is to discredit India’s military reputation and disrupt its defence diplomacy, particularly in Southeast Asia, where India is enhancing its strategic footprint.
Fake Narrative of a Female Pilot’s Capture
Unverified reports regarding the purported capture of an Indian female fighter pilot during the conflict are now being shared by Pakistan, adding fuel to its propaganda fire. These unfounded allegations, which characterise the alleged incident as a “major military and psychological victory,” have gone viral on Pakistani social media platforms.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally asked President Donald Trump to stop the pilot’s identity from becoming public in order to further Dramatize this story. According to Pakistan’s Narrative, India was desperate to conceal the incident in order to preserve Modi’s political reputation and prevent international humiliation.
Such fiction is being pushed with calculated emotional hooks, including calls to parade the “captured pilot” as a war trophy, a term used deliberately to stir nationalistic fervour in Pakistan. But once again, there is no credible evidence, no confirmation, and no acknowledgement from neutral observers or international bodies.
Pakistan’s Use of AI and Fake Images to Mislead Global Opinion on India
Most of the images circulating on Pakistan’s social media platforms, particularly those claiming to show downed Rafale jets or the alleged capture of an Indian pilot, are heavily manipulated or fully AI-generated and fake images. These deceptive visuals are part of a deliberate misinformation campaign aimed at downgrading the credibility of India’s air force.
Why This Propaganda Matters
Three main goals underpin Pakistan’s campaign:
- Undermine India’s reputation for Defence around the world by disparaging its credibility and technology (Rafale).
- undermine India’s diplomatic progress, particularly with Indo-Pacific Defence partners.
- Create internal doubts among Indians by claiming that the government of hiding truth
This is not a military strategy, it’s an information warfare tactic aimed at manipulating perception when battlefield outcomes don’t go in Pakistan’s favour.
Strengthening India’s Response to Information Warfare
Pakistan’s continuing disinformation efforts use fake social media profiles, automated accounts, and made-up stories as misinformation to create a lot of issues and hurt India’s defence reputation. False stories about shooting down Rafale jets and capturing an Indian woman pilot are part of a planned mind game to fool people worldwide and shake their faith in India’s military strength. To fight back, India needs to show a clear strategy and prove its skills through exact strikes, team training, and open defence information. At the same time, India must boost its online safety setup to spot, take down, and reveal fake information networks fast. Building up open-source intelligence skills, digital detective work, and cyber spy teams will help stop future information attacks. In an era where perception can shape policy, India must lead with facts, prove strength through action, and protect truth through technology.
