Indian Media’s Fake News, Propaganda Tarnish Modi Govt Global Image: Experts

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th May, 2025) The repeated dissemination of fake and unverified news, coupled with a surge in malicious propaganda from pro-Modi media outlets against Pakistan, has significantly damaged the international image of the Indian government in the wake of unprovoked missiles and drones attacks inside Pakistan and Azad Kashmir that claimed lives of 31 civilians including women and children besides injuring dozens others.

According to defense and media analysts, Indian media—allegedly aligned with the RSS-backed Hindutva narrative—has been continuously pushing misinformation and false reporting in the wake of the Pahalgam incident, depriving millions of South Asians of accurate and credible information, besides dangerously escalating regional tensions.

This misleading Indian media campaign, they warned, is not only pushing the region closer to full-scale war but also creating animosity among the masses of both the nuclear-armed countries.

In the aftermath of the Pahalgam incident, Indian media have launched an aggressive, misleading campaign against Pakistan, airing unverified reports and doctored videos, purportedly to malign Islamabad and label the indigenous independence movement in IIOJ&K as ‘terrorism’, but completely failed.

Inspite of these uncalled for Indian media and Modi Govt accusations, India failed to convince the international community, including its closest allies, about its claims—particularly regarding the recent missile and drone strikes inside Pakistan and Azad Kashmir, which martyred 31 civilians and injured many more.

“Instead of acknowledging facts, the Modi government's media machinery went into overdrive, spreading baseless allegations against Pakistan soon after the Pahalgam incident occurred and did not even wait for the initial investigation,” said Professor Dr. AZ Hilali, former Chairman of the Political Science Department at the University of Peshawar.

To hide failure, India again attacked Pakistan with Israel-made drones in order to create fear and panic among Pakistan citizens. He said the fascist Modi Govt allowed drone attacks inside Pakistan after facing rising national and international criticism for its shameless incursions into Pakistani territory.

In self-defence, Pakistan has shot down five Indian warplanes, including three Rafale jets and 31 Israel-made Hrop drones, besides inflicting heavy casualties on the Indian army.

He questioned how Indian media will hide Pakistan’s firm stance after a senior French intelligence official confirmed to CNN that an Indian Air Force Rafale fighter jet was shot down by Pakistan. It was perhaps the first time that a known combat French-made aircraft was shot down in combat in the world.

According to security sources, Pakistan has not carried out any attacks on Sikh or other civilian targets inside India. They further denied reports of strikes on 15 Indian cities, labeling such Indian claims as baseless fabrications.

Similarly, they refuted Indian media reports of a Pakistani F-16 being shot down and an attack on Indian-occupied Kashmir, describing them as “blatant lies” aimed at misleading the global audience.

Dr. Hilali emphasized that such fake narratives are being used by India to justify its naked aggression and deflect global attention from civilian casualties and infrastructure damage, resulting from its unprovoked missile attacks under cover of night in Pakistani territory on May 7.

He noted that similar patterns of blame have emerged in past incidents such as Pehalgam believed to have been orchestrated by Indian intelligence agency RAW, where Pakistan was accused without substantial evidence.

Dr. Wasim Akbar Sheikh, former Chairman of Journalism and Mass Communication at Gomal University DI Khan, criticized the Indian media’s fake news rhetoric for compromising journalistic ethics and prioritizing war propaganda over truth.

“This irresponsible behavior of pro-Modi media has poisoned public discourse, obstructed diplomatic channels and fuelled detestation among the masses of the two countries,” he said.

He maintained that many Indian media outlets had abandoned integrity in favour of politically driven narratives and monetary interests. Referring to a 2023 Reuters Institute report, Dr. Sheikh noted that over half of Indian digital news consumers rely on platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook, fertile ground for misinformation and fake news.

Brigadier (Retd) Mahmood Shah said that after recent military setbacks—including the downing of five Indian jets and 31 Israel made drones by Pakistan—India's security intelligence and media apparatus have shifted into a panic mode, pushing fabricated stories and airing fake videos to hide IAF failure besides justify potential further aggression against Pakistan.

He said India was now attempting to fabricate attacks in Rajasthan, Pathankot, and occupied Kashmir to create pretexts for escalation,” he said, emphasizing that Pakistan has acted purely in self-defence and will continue to respond firmly to any provocations or misadventure by India.

The experts concluded that peace in South Asia—home to more than 1.8 billion people—depends largely on truth, mutual respect & coexistence and responsible journalism instead of blame games and war rhetoric.

They urged the international community to step in and help de-escalate tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours before the situation spirals out of control.

They said peace in South Asia was linked with the resolution of the Kashmir issue and urged the UN Security Council to come forward and press India to give the right of self-determination to the oppressed Kashmiris of IIOJK who were subjected to human rights abuses and systemic state terrorism for over seven decades.