No truce in India-Pakistan disinfo war

India and Pakistan have announced a ceasefire after coming close to all-out conflict, but on social media citizens on both sides are vying to control public perceptions by peddling disinformation.

Platforms such as Facebook and X are still awash with misrepresented footage of the attacks that killed at least 60 people and sent thousands fleeing. AFP fact-checkers have debunked many of the clips, which actually show the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the war in Ukraine.

Indian and Pakistani media outlets have also amplified misinformation, including false or unverifiable claims of military victories that experts say have exacerbated tensions and contributed to a flood of hate speech. "It's complicated to establish the military facts because, in addition to the reality of strikes that are difficult to ascertain, there's a communication war going on," said General Dominique Trinquand, an international relations analyst and former head of the French military mission to the United Nations.

Disinformation peaked when India launched deadly air strikes on Wednesday targeting "terrorist camps" in Pakistan, two weeks after a deadly attack on the Indian-run side of disputed Kashmir.

AFP fact-checkers have debunked many of the clips, which actually show the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the war in Ukraine.

New Delhi blames Islamabad for backing the April 22 attack near the tourist town of Pahalgam, which killed 26 people -- almost all of them Hindu men. Pakistan denies the claim. After the first round of Indian air strikes, the Pakistani military shared footage that had previously circulated in reports about a 2023 Israeli air strike in Gaza. The clip quickly appeared on television and social media but was later retracted by numerous media outlets, including AFP.

AI-generated imagery has also muddied the waters, including a video that purportedly shows a Pakistan Army general saying the country lost two of its aircraft. AFP fact-checkers found the clip was altered from a 2024 press conference.

"We have seen a new wave of AI-based content in both video and still images due to increased access to deepfake tools," said Joyojeet Pal, an associate professor in the School of Information at the University of Michigan.