NEW DELHI: In the wake of Operation Sindoor, Pakistan launched a digital offensive, flooding social media with fabricated stories of military victories and destruction in India.
But behind the chaos, India’s Fact Check Unit (FCU) under the Press Information Bureau (PIB) has emerged as a silent force working around the clock to counter the onslaught of misinformation with precision and transparency.
The operation, which began on 7 May, was quickly followed by Pakistan’s aggressive propaganda blitz. False claims surfaced online alleging severe damage to the Indian Armed Forces, the capture of military installations, the downing of fighter jets, and attacks on prominent religious sites.
These narratives aimed to incite panic and distort the perception of the operation, both within India and globally.
Amid this barrage, the FCU played a critical role in debunking each falsehood. Officials said, “Following the operation, Pakistan responded not only with diplomatic rhetoric but also with a barrage of misinformation… Their objective was to distort facts, mislead the global audience, and regain control over the narrative through a flood of deceptive content. India, however, has countered this with transparency, factual rebuttals, and robust digital vigilance.”
The propaganda campaign saw the recycling of old images and videos, falsely presented as current evidence. These were amplified by media outlets across the border and, notably, shared by high-ranking Pakistani officials.
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, for instance, falsely claimed on social media that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) had shot down five Indian jets and drones, and that Pakistan’s Thunder hypersonic missiles had destroyed India’s S-400 strategic air defence system in Adampur.
At a media briefing on Saturday, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh stated, “There was a certain different way of mis-campaign that Pakistan conducted by its Press Conferences, which was conducted in a manner which was completely misleading and devoid of facts.”
As the digital offensive escalated, India’s FCU responded with real-time countermeasures, aided by a dedicated team using visual evidence and verified sources to expose false claims swiftly.
Established in November 2019 by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the FCU was set up to tackle fake news related to the government, its ministries, and departments. In the current crisis, it has become a vital pillar of India’s information integrity and a key defender of truth in the digital battleground.
