Information Warfare (IW) involves using various strategies and techniques to manipulate and influence public opinion, political discourse, and social norms through digital and social media platforms. It includes disseminating false or misleading information, disinformation, propaganda, and manipulating social media algorithms to amplify or suppress specific messages or opinions.
Russia’s alleged use of social media platforms to spread false information and divisive content to influence the 2016 US Presidential election outcome in Donald Trump’s favour and the use of malicious bots to undermine the UK
Brexit referendum are well-reported. Similarly, China and Pakistan have relentlessly used IW against India, going beyond territorial threats and economic coercion tactics.
China’s Information Warfare against India
IW is a crucial component of China’s commercial and military strategy formulation. Also known as
Integrated Network Electronic Warfare (INEW), China employs wide-ranging electronic and network-centric warfare techniques, including
cyberattacks and espionage, to deter and disrupt enemy capabilities. China has established control and is monitoring all digital social platforms using
San Zhong Zhanfa, a three-pronged strategy for public opinion/media warfare, psychological warfare, and legal warfare. Initially implemented in Southeast Asia, it is now actively targeted
against India. This strategy includes using print and social media, exerting soft power influence through
scholarships and investments, influencing opinions within the country, and spreading hate propaganda.
Legal warfare is used to “
bully” border countries to falsely claim a disputed territory as its own and claim territorial rights in adjacent areas. Understanding the implications of China’s IW tactics is critical for India to develop effective countermeasures and protect its national security interests.
China has established control and is monitoring all digital social platforms using San Zhong Zhanfa, a three-pronged strategy for public opinion/media warfare, psychological warfare, and legal warfare.
Attempt to propagate distrust during COVID-19
During the
COVID-19 pandemic, China was accused of engaging in a disinformation campaign aimed at undermining the efficacy of India-made vaccines and spreading misinformation about the
origins of the virus. By leveraging social media platforms, China attempted to
frame narratives that reshape perceptions of its pandemic response and emphasise the efficacy of Chinese vaccines while discrediting India’s vaccine efforts.
China’s state-owned media outlets, such as the
Global Times, have repeatedly carried fake news and ambiguous reports on India’s alleged failure to tackle the pandemic effectively. Some reports even suggested that India had sought to divert attention from
COVID-19 by provoking China and Pakistan on the border.
Doklam Dispute
During the 2017 Doklam
border crisis, China used social media to
influence domestic and international opinion. State-owned media and China’s foreign and defence ministries, made public statements to dissuade India from its actions. Beijing’s psychological warfare tactic included calling late
Sushma Swaraj, India’s then-External Affairs Minister, a liar and making baseless statements such as “the countdown has begun” and
“free Sikkim” to undermine India’s ability to conduct combat operations.
Social media-based propaganda campaigns
While state-run media outlets remain the primary platforms, China has also leveraged social media platforms to amplify its propaganda. For instance, in June 2020, Twitter removed 23,750 accounts from an organised network with 150,000 accounts propagating disinformation. These posts were spreading geopolitical narratives favourable to the
Chinese Communist Party. Likewise, other platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube have disclosed similar large-scale coordinated attempts suggesting influence propagation campaigns. Most fake Twitter accounts flaunt China’s close ties with Pakistan and other neighbouring nations to propagate its
social media war with India.
China’s state-owned media outlets, such as the Global Times, have repeatedly carried fake news and ambiguous reports on India’s alleged failure to tackle the pandemic effectively.
Pakistan: Following China’s footsteps
To fuel anti-India sentiments, Pakistan, too, has used various insidious means to push propaganda to destabilise the Indian information space—fabricating information and spreading disinformation via IT cells, bots, verified Pakistan-based handles, and troll accounts on social media platforms. Pakistani propaganda campaigns have focused on India-Pakistan military crises, alleged mistreatment of the Muslim community in India and the Kashmir issue.
Propaganda during the Balakot Air Strike
During the 2019 Balakot airstrike, Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman
shot down Pakistan Air Force’s F-16 fighter jet before his MiG-21 Bison crashed in Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Addressing a press conference, the Director General of Inter-State Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistani military, blatantly
denied this episode. His denial found support in a story carried by a US-based publication,
Foreign Policy, which stated that a physical count of Pakistan’s F-16s revealed none missing. The US Department of Defense immediately distanced itself from this report,
saying it was “unaware” of any such counting.
Pakistan resorted to a similar pattern of IW on the fourth anniversary of the Balakot airstrike, on 27 February 2023, with numerous tweets from Pakistani Twitter accounts, such as #PakistanZindabad, #SurpriseDay, and #TeaIsFantastic. These accounts posted
images,
memes, and
videos mocking Wing Commander (now Group Captain) Varthaman after his capture by the Pakistani soldiers. The target of this campaign was to reiterate the false claims of the failure of the Indian airstrike and to show the Indian military in poor light.
Alleged mistreatment of the Indian Muslim community
Another theme that has repeatedly figured in Pakistani IW campaigns is the alleged mistreatment of the Indian Muslim community. Pakistan has relentlessly insinuated atrocities against Indian Muslims. On numerous occasions, it has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of fascism, promoting Hindu supremacy, and being anti-Muslim. The ISPR has advanced this agenda through various social media handles and
think tank reports. The Pakistani media, too, has compared Prime Minister Modi with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler claimed that the condition of Muslims in India was similar to the treatment of Jews during the Holocaust in the 1940s in Germany.
Pakistan resorted to a similar pattern of IW on the fourth anniversary of the Balakot airstrike, on 27 February 2023, with numerous tweets from Pakistani Twitter accounts, such as #PakistanZindabad, #SurpriseDay, and #TeaIsFantastic.
To advance this narrative, Pakistan has leveraged various events in India. For instance, the
Delhi riots in late February 2020 saw massive tweet traffic from accounts linked to Pakistan, with hashtags like #Hinduterrorism and #RSSKillingMuslims. In addition, there was an active sharing of
fabricated and
edited media reports on various social media platforms belonging to different countries and timelines, claiming to be from India.
Kashmir issue
On Kashmir, Pakistan has consistently resorted to disinformation campaigns by claiming that Indian Army has committed war crimes in Kashmir using verified Twitter handles, including that of ISPR, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) website, foreign media, and social media trolls.
Pakistani MOFA’s website has a separate section called
‘Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’, which contains heavily edited and misleading media portraying the Indian Army as a threat to the Kashmiri population. Foreign media, too, has contributed to Pakistan’s IW against India. For instance, Stoke White, an independent UK-based investigative unit, published a
report in collaboration with
Legal Forum Kashmir, a Pakistan-based law firm alleging war crimes and human rights violations by the Indian Army in Kashmir.
Pakistan’s anti-India propaganda witnessed hyperactivity following India’s decision to abrogate Article 370 in August 2019. The ISPR went so far as to
claim that the 1947 instrument of the annexation of Kashmir was ‘illegal’. Further, the Pakistani Prime Minister repeatedly
alleged persecution of Kashmiri Muslims and
militarisation of the Valley.
Countermeasures by the GOI
The IW onslaught by China and Pakistan has posed a formidable challenge to India in balancing factual information dissemination with national security concerns. So far, India has adopted a strategy of deterrence and defence rather than proactiveness and pre-emption.
Pakistani MOFA’s website has a separate section called ‘Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’, which contains heavily edited and misleading media portraying the Indian Army as a threat to the Kashmiri population.
India has taken preventive measures through programmes, such as
’Satyamav Jayate’,
Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan, and
National Digital Literacy Mission to counter disinformation and increase digital literacy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government established a WhatsApp chatbot and a fact-checking unit under the
Press Information Bureau. On the IW front, the Indian Army created the position of
Director General Information Warfare two years ago to monitor propaganda from China and Pakistan. However, these initiatives aim to serve as fact-checks rather than the larger objective of dominating the ‘war of narratives’.
Sustained efforts are required to win this propaganda and information warfare. Countering the anti-India narratives can be effective only in the short term. The Government of India will need to adopt a coordinated and comprehensive approach like a
‘grand plan’ involving all ministries to combat the IW that targets the Indian psyche, especially the youth to generate discontent against the government and communal discord. Indian Army is investing in IW but must allocate funds for psychological operations, electronic and cyber warfare, and utilise new technologies like artificial intelligence for disseminating pro-India narratives. Partnerships with social media platforms can help with effective fact-checking. India must adopt a holistic approach to combatting IW and allocate resources to protect its national security interests.
Sarthak Ahuja and Samridhi Diwan were interns at the Observer Research Foundation
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