How Pakistan Coordinated Disinformation Campaign Against India During Operation Sindoor

Indian cyber agencies traced the activities of multiple social media accounts, primarily based in Pakistan, with alleged links to the country’s military and intelligence apparatus.

This report, shared with central agencies, triggered a ban on different social media accounts of Pakistan-based celebrities and some foreign nationals, a source involved in drafting the report told News18.

According to the official, a “significant number" of accounts disseminated identical or closely-worded content in a well-coordinated time frame. Indian cyber labs identified the timing of similar content shared within a span of 30 to 40 minutes, with average engagement of over one million.

The official said the posts, marked by a distinctly “anti-India" tone and uniform messaging, were widely amplified suggesting a centrally directed information warfare effort. Initially, around 2,000 and, later, 2,300 additional social media accounts were suspended followed by further action.

In the report, intelligence agencies said that Pakistan’s armed forces and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) created and fuelled the “anti-India" campaign by generating fake content.

“The nature, tone, and timing of the content suggest a deliberate attempt to amplify anti-India narratives. The messaging was uniform, suggesting possible centralised coordination. Pakistan agencies facilitated and fuelled the propaganda, shared by alleged Pakistan-based news portals, further amplified by high-engagement accounts on various social media platforms, including Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, and Facebook," the official said while quoting the report, on the condition of anonymity.

“Multiple identified accounts recorded unusually high engagement levels after the ceasefire as well, with cumulative reach extending into the millions, thereby increasing the impact and visibility of the propaganda. The coordinated nature of these activities qualified as information warfare and posed a tangible threat to internal stability and the international image," the official said. 

Sources said the fake information was shared mainly from 6 pm to 11 pm to fetch high engagement. Later, the concerned ministry was asked to initiate action on these accounts, they said.

The analysis further revealed that those in the age group of 25 to 40 were the most active users on social media spreading “anti-India" fake content. Some accounts were found to be spreading fake and AI-created audio/video messages on different social media platforms.

The report also analysed that the most impactful feeds originated from Pakistan, with the initial 96 hours having the highest engagement.