Fiction takes over reality: Indian media drowning in fake news

The ongoing hostilities between India and Pakistan aren't just restricted to the battlefield — a parallel war has been opened against Islamabad on Indian mainstream as well as social media.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the April 22 attack on tourists in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, which India blamed on Pakistan — a claim Islamabad denies.

On May 7, India launched unprovoked strikes in Pakistan, killing at least 31 civilians. Pakistan retaliated by downing five Indian fighter jets, including three Rafales, and nearly 80 drones.

Despite this, India continued its aerial intrusions. On the night of May 9-10, it attacked three Pakistani airbases. In response, Pakistan launched a powerful strike targeting over 20 Indian military sites.

But let’s take a quick look at how the war is unfolding on social media — and how fictitiously Indian media has covered the ongoing tensions.

Coordinated barrage of false claims

Meanwhile, following India's first attack, in a state of panic, several prominent Indian news networks unleashed a coordinated barrage of false claims, fueling nationalist hysteria and manufacturing a fictional narrative of overwhelming Indian victories and Pakistani collapse.

Indian media claimed that India shot down two Pakistani fighter jets and captured one of its pilots. Some news outlets also accused Pakistan of launching attacks on Pathankot, Jaisalmer, and Srinagar.

However, the government of Pakistan categorically rejected the baseless and irresponsible allegations propagated by the Indian media, saying: "These claims are entirely unfounded, politically motivated, and part of a reckless propaganda campaign aimed at maligning Pakistan."

The channel DNA, for example, posted a bombastic update on its official X account proclaiming: “India attacks Pakistani Capital Islamabad!” The post was later quietly deleted without explanation.

Zee News took the falsehood a step further, asserting that Pakistan’s capital had been “occupied” by Indian forces. 

Meanwhile, Aaj Tak staged a dramatic simulation of a military strike on Karachi Port, presenting it as a real-time offensive. 

India Today followed suit, claiming attacks on both Lahore and Karachi.

Zee News went further still, airing graphics declaring that the Pakistani military had surrendered and several major cities had fallen to Indian control. 

The segment simultaneously portrayed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as hiding in a bunker while also surrendering — both images aired within moments of each other.

Anchors Anjana Om Kashyap and Shweta Singh, from Aaj Tak, joined the disinformation campaign with alarming reports of alleged suicide bombings in Pathankot and Rajouri — both of which remain completely fictional.

The fabricated reports were so excessive and absurd that they sparked backlash from within India itself. Notably, Indian commentator and author Basant Maheshwari publicly apologised for sharing unverified news:

"I have NEVER deleted tweets but today I am deleting all tweets that I made without verifying the claims of our Indian media channels. I feel sad not because of tweeting but more so because I [wrongly] believed what I saw!"

Indian media strikes in India!

Indian fact-checker Mohammed Zubair also highlighted the hysteria in Indian media, which fuelled public unrest.

Times Now, he said, shared an unverified video with a baseless claim that explosions were heard near Jaipur airport creating panic among citizens. However, it deleted it later. "No clarification."

Apart from Aaj Tak, veteran journalist Barkha Dutt also shared that Indian forces had targeted Karachi Port, showing how deeply fake news had affected even journalists known for their credibility.

"BREAKING @themojostory - our Navy has targeted the Karachi Port - as part of the massive ongoing retaliation in response to Pakistan missiles and drones targeted at multiple locations in India including Jammu airport, more details awaited."

Taking things forward, Times Now also reported that a coup was taking place against Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir — at at time when all political parties as well as citizens have stood behind the armed forces.

Huge Karachi blast?

India also labelled its own citizen, Qari Mohammad Iqbal, a “most-wanted terrorist”, who was killed on May 7. "Conferred with the title Qari, someone who reads and recites the Quran, he was dubbed a terrorist by mainstream media outlets," reported Alt News.

However, later, Poonch district police refuted such claims, saying: "The deceased, Maulana Mohd Iqbal, was a respected religious figure in the local community and had no affiliation with any terror outfit."

Meanwhile, videos were also shared, which were purported to be from Karachi. A huge explosion was seen in that video as well as a screengrab from the viral clip.

ABP Ananda’s official X account with a caption that said: “BIG BREAKING: Major action by INS Vikrant, massive explosion, Karachi devastated, consecutive attacks by India”.

However, when they might have figured out that they were wrong, they edited the X post and replaced the screengrab with an image of a Pakistani flag.

Republic, another Indian news channel, reported that a blast occurred near the Pakistani Prime Minister House.

But did it stop there? No. It went ahead and said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had been moved to a safehouse. Also, if you're wondering, the blast actually did not take place.