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Amid rising tensions, Pakistani media spread misinformation, claiming the Pakistan Air Force shot down Indian drones and denying civilian deaths from retaliatory strikes. India debunked these claims, revealing a pattern of misleading narratives.
New Delhi:
Pakistan shot down Indian drones. FACT CHECK: FALSE
No Pakistani activity in Jammu and Kashmir. FACT CHECK: FALSE
Pakistani civilians died in a strike. FACT CHECK: NO CREDIBLE PROOF
Amid the heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, a huge flood of disinformation has emerged from Pakistani media and government-linked social media handles. They have systematically twisted facts, misled their audiences, and shielded terror actors behind a facade of patriotic propaganda. Many of these media platforms circulated baseless narratives alleging retaliatory attacks by Pakistan on Indian soil. Others posed as an uncritical extension of the state and military apparatus.
A look at how Pakistani media twisted the truth and fact checks:
Exaggerated claims, no responsibility
Every major Pakistani media news channel has been repeating the same unverifiable, inflated claim: Pakistan Air Force has shot down Indian drones. While Geo News alleged 25 to 29 drones were intercepted, ARY News claimed that India had used Israeli-made Harop drones for the attack. However, no one provided visual evidence or independent verification.
The Indian Army, in a statement, said that Pakistan took aggressive action by launching drone and missile attacks after the Operation Sindoor – a military strike targeted at terrorist launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir. The real evidence, including military footage and official updates, also showed that Pakistan started the attacks, and India responded in a controlled but strong manner.
Even so, Pakistani channels continue to deny any wrongdoing.
Civilians deaths
The Operation Sindoor targeted only terrorist bases and not civilians, the Indian Army confirmed. However, Pakistan, in a retaliatory, arbitrary act, attacked along the Line of Control (LoC), killing at least 16 civilians in Jammu and Kashmir.
None of the Pakistani media channels admitted that India’s strikes were targeted at terror facilities, including those belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba. They also did not report on the terrorists who were killed in India’s strikes.
Instead, they repeatedly emphasised “civilian deaths” without giving any concrete details.
Denying cross-border terror links
Some Pakistani media, such as Dawn News, outrightly denied Pakistan launching any attacks or harbouring terrorists. Instead, they called reports of Pakistani activity in Jammu and Kashmir “fake news”.
Theatrics over Karachi Port
The Pakistani media ran dramatic segments alleging Indian missile strikes on the Karachi Port, claiming Pakistan Navy installations were targeted. But, no verified information has been provided.
The Pakistani media is trying to portray their country as a wounded but heroic victim and suppressed the legitimate military outcomes of Operation Sindoor. They have also denied connection to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed.
Indian government fact-checks
The Indian government’s official fact-checking agency has been debunking the Pakistani media claims on social media.
Earlier today, a video showing a heavy MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket Systems) barrage was falsely shared as a real Pakistani attack on India. According to the Press Information Bureau (PIB) Fact Check division said that the footage is from a video game and has been online for over three years.
🚨 Pakistan Propaganda Alert!
A video showing a heavy MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket Systems) barrage is being falsely shared as a real Pakistani attack on India.#PIBFactCheck
✅ The video is from a video game and has been online for over 3 years.
✅ It has no connection to… pic.twitter.com/VXAE93YfXs
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) May 9, 2025
Many Pakistan-based social media handles claimed that Pakistan attacked the military base in Amritsar.
“Pakistan-based handles are spreading old videos falsely alleging strikes on a military base in Amritsar. The video being shared is from a wildfire from 2024. Avoid sharing unverified information and rely only on official sources from the Government of India for accurate information,” the PIB wrote in a post on X.
On Wednesday, the government’s official fact-checking agency also flagged a fabricated advisory falsely attributed to the Centre.
Some other fake claims shared by high-profile accounts affiliated with Pakistan’s military media wing and the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) included that the Pakistan Air Force had targeted Srinagar Airbase and destroyed an Indian Army Brigade Headquarters. However, these accounts failed to present credible evidence, visual proof, or satellite imagery to support the assertions.
