section_path: Impact/Misinformation
section_name: Misinformation
paragraph_text: Misinformation
  
  There were a number of misinformation campaigns in both countries during the conflict, particularly on social media platform X. A rise in online hate speech on social media described as misogynistic, sexist, and promoting gender-related violence against women also saw a surge in both countries during the conflict.
  
  Sumitra Badrinathan, an assistant political science professor at the American University, stated that misinformation about the rivalry between India and Pakistan often originated from anonymous online accounts, but during the ongoing conflict, misinformations at least on the Indian side had been put out by "previously credible journalists and major media outlets." South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman also noted a "very high volume of particularly egregious fake news" in Indian media outlets aligned with the government. Several Indian broadcast outlets reported unverified claims, including supposed strikes on a Pakistani nuclear base, downing two Pakistani fighter jets based on AI generated deepfake, Indian army crossing the international border, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif fleeing to a bunker, Pakistan's Army Chief Asim Munir being deposed in a coup and arrested, capture of Pakistani capital Islamabad, and had also circulated stories such as the Indian Navy attacking Karachi Port, all of which were discredited.
  
  According to the UK Defence Journal and the Washington Examiner, footage from a video game Arma 3 was shared by the official X (Twitter) handle of the Government of Pakistan, with Information Minister Attaullah Tarar praising the military's "timely and nerve-wracking response", as the video showing a jet being targeted went viral on social media during the conflict. A Daily Telegraph frontpage showing Pakistani aerial victory in the conflict, shared by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar in the Senate and by Ikhtiar Wali Khan online, was found to have been AI-generated by fact checkers. A CNN infographic purportedly verifying Pakistan's official claims of gains and losses in the conflict was similarly found to have been fabricated. False reports of Pakistan capturing Indian pilot Shivangi Singh were also widely circulated on Pakistani social media.
  
  Deutsche Welle fact-checked several false claims on social media during the conflict. A video with over 5 million views, allegedly showing Indian missile strikes, was in fact footage of Iranian missiles hitting Israel published by DD India in October 2024. Another claim by a pro-Pakistan user that a French-made Rafale fighter, used by the Indian Air Force, was shot down in Pakistan, near Bahawalpur. The picture, in fact, was not a Rafale but a Pakistani Mirage 5 that crashed on a training mission in southeastern Pakistan three weeks before the conflict. Another viral video from a June 2024 crash of a Sukhoi Su-30MKI of the Indian Air Force in Nashik, Maharashtra was falsely shared as that of a Rafale jet shot down by Pakistan near the Line of Control.