Operation Sindoor Synopsis: Info Warfare
This case study lays strong emphasis on Tech-driven disinformation, bot networks, etc in the 2025 India-Pakistan conflict. We will explore the spread of unproven, baseless & falsified narratives.
Disclaimer: The visualizations are constructed using a combination of verified data from reports (e.g., tweet volumes, casualty claims, and fact-checked disinformation narratives) and estimated data where precise metrics are unavailable (e.g., hourly tweet distributions, sentiment splits, and bot activity percentages). Estimates are derived from provided data points and we tried our best to align with the observed trends and pattern. In case of any discrepancies kindly report to us.
Pahalgam Attack (April 22, 2025)
Tech Used by India
AI-driven digital forensics analyzed militant communications, while sentiment analysis tools tracked X reactions. Indian state media used NLP to craft multilingual press releases.
Pakistani Falsified Narrative
The attack was an Indian “false flag” to justify aggression, with “Kashmir Resistance” as a fabricated group. No evidence supported the false flag theory. Pakistan cited historical conspiracies (e.g., 2001 Parliament attack) without proof.
Technology Involved
Pakistani bots used NLP to generate viral posts in Urdu, English, and Hindi, amplifying #PakistanUnderAttack. Deepfake audio clips of alleged Indian officials planning the attack circulated on WhatsApp.
Data: Post Volume on X (estimated from trends)
April 22, 18:00 IST: 1,500 posts/hour (#IndiaUnderAttack).
April 23, 09:00 IST: 60,000 posts (#IndiaStrikesTerror).
April 24, 12:00 IST: 50,000 posts (#PakistanUnderAttack).
May 6, 00:00 IST: 1.2 million posts/day (combined hashtags).
Bot Activity: ~40% of posts from automated accounts (based on X moderation reports).
Sentiment Split (estimated): 60% pro-India, 35% pro-Pakistan, 5% neutral (global X users)
Operation Sindoor: Civilian vs Terrorist Target (May 7, 2025)
Date: Night of May 6 – Early May 7, 2025 📍 Target Locations: Bahawalpur, Muridke (Punjab Province, Pakistan) Operation Type: Surgical air and drone strikes on cross-border terrorist launchpads and command centers.
Tech Used by India
Satellite Intelligence (IMINT)
Used Cartosat-3 and RISAT-2BR1 satellites to map enemy terrain and movement.
🤖 AI-generated Strike Planning
Deep-learning models optimized trajectory and timing for minimal civilian impact.
🎯 Loitering Munition + Swarm Drones
Combat-tested drones like SkyStriker and ALFA-S launched from Gurez and Akhnoor bases.
🧵 Electronic Warfare Systems
Blocked Pakistani radar tracking; systems like Samyukta used for SIGINT jamming.
Key Highlights
Target: Alleged terror camps in Bahawalpur and Muridke.
Claimed Success: India showcased “precision” strikes.
Pakistan’s Counterclaim: Fake claim of 31 civilian deaths, no terror targets hit.
Pakistani Falsified Narrative
Claim:
Indian strikes hit civilian zones, killing 31 civilians, including 2 children.
Shared "proof" in the form of viral images and hospital footage.
Refutation:
Image Analysis: 4 out of 5 images traced to 2019 Pulwama aftermath and 2020 Syrian strikes (reverse image search).
No Ground Confirmation: Neither MSF nor HRW verified any civilian casualty claims.
Deepfake GAN Videos: Circulated on WhatsApp with metadata mismatches (e.g., GPS tags placed in Nepal).
Disinformation Metrices
X (Twitter)
#IndiaAttacksCivilians
~180,000
47%
Botometer, NLPTrack
Viral deepfake clips
Unknown
Very High
Verified by AltNews
YouTube Shorts
"Strike Aftermath" footage
~700K views
62% flagged videos
YouTube AI Shield
India's Strategic Messaging
AI-NLP Multilingual Rebuttals
Posts in Hindi, Urdu, English, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi across 20 state-run handles.
AR Visual Explainers
Released 3D visualizations of flight paths + laser designator impact footage.
Expert Commentary
Retired Generals and Satellite Analysts featured in national media.
Other Reports and Analysis
@IntelCrush (Open Source Intelligence Group): Verified changes in thermal radiation around Muridke between May 6 & May 8.
Bellingcat-affiliated forums: Flagged 12 Pakistani posts as "recycled conflict footage".
United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT): No direct assessment, but later confirmed disturbances in targeted zones.
Battle Damage Assessment (BDA) (Based on the Indian Defense Brief and Satellite Imagery)
Bahawalpur
JeM Training + Armory Depot
Roof damage seen on May 8 satellite pass
Muridke
LeT HQ & Recruitment Center
Infra damage seen, thermal diff anomalies
Sialkot (Secondary)
Radio Intercept Post
Local power grid disrupted
1) Social Media Post Volume Timeline (April 22 – May 6):
Shows surges in hashtag usage like #IndiaUnderAttack, #IndiaStrikesTerror, and #PakistanUnderAttack.
2) Sentiment Distribution Pie Chart:
Bot vs Human Activity Pie Chart:
Pakistan's Act of Attack (May 7-8):
Tech Used
AI-driven content moderation suppressed Pakistani propaganda on Indian platforms. CGI-enhanced videos of S-400 intercepts were shared on X.
Pakistani's Falsified Narrative
Drone and missile strikes killed 40–50 Indian soldiers and hit strategic targets in Punjab and Jammu. Unproven Claim: India denied these figures, reporting minimal losses. No independent confirmation emerged, and X users flagged doctored images of destroyed Indian bases.
Sentimental Analysis Overview
Pakistan (domestic)
88%
7%
5%
Surge in hashtags like #DecisiveStrike, #IndiaKneels
India (domestic)
6%
85%
9%
Most saw the claim as fake or exaggerated
Gulf Countries (UAE, KSA)
22%
55%
23%
Mixed reactions, some pro-Pak narratives gained early traction
United States
30%
48%
22%
Indian diaspora pushed counter-narratives, many flagged disinfo
UK & EU
25%
50%
25%
OSINT community heavily involved in fact-checking
Global Avg.
35%
55%
10%
Heavily influenced by India’s multilingual rebuttals and forensic reports
Civilian Impact and Humanitarian Claims (May 9, 2025)
Pakistani state media claimed that Indian drone and missile attacks had targeted civilian populations along the Line of Control (LoC) after Operation Sindoor and Pakistan's retaliatory strikes. This was said to have resulted in:
Displacement of thousands of civilians
The number of non-combatant fatalities
Destroying public buildings, such as homes, mosques, and schools
While fact-checkers and satellite imagery platforms disproved numerous viral images, India vehemently denied these allegations, citing a lack of verifiable evidence.
Tech Used by India
🏠 IoT-enabled Smart Shelters
Deployed in Delhi post-2024 floods. Used AI-powered sensors to monitor real-time air quality, seismic activity, and nearby air raid vibrations. Shelters auto-lock and report crowd metrics to centralized systems.
🗣️ AI-Generated Rebuttals
NLP-driven content generation system (built on BharatGPT-like models) translated Ministry of Defence statements into 10 languages (including Urdu and Pashto), released across DD News, PIB, and regional media platforms.
Pakistani's Falsified Narrative
Allegation: Indian drone strikes target:
The regions of Kotli, Neelum Valley, and Charhoi sector (POK).
Caused the deaths of 31 civilians, including three women and two children.
"Random shelling" caused the displacement of over 7,000 civilians.
Utilized Media Tools:
Videos of deepfake drone strikes that depict burning villages.
Religious allusions in emotionally charged captions.
Images of a woman clutching a child covered in blood (identified as a 2019 Syria image).
Evidences and Analysis
31 civilian deaths
Unverified
No NGO confirmation; no hospital records shared.
Displacement of 7,000+
Unconfirmed
UNHCR and ICRC didn't report any official camps or migration.
Strike videos
Fake / Deepfake
Identified via metadata (origin: 2019 Aleppo incident).
Photos of child victims
Misattributed
Reverse image search linked them to 2019 Pulwama aftermath.
Satellite Verification:
Planet Labs & Sentinel-2 imagery:
No visible crater marks or scorched earth in reported locations.
Villages intact and no signs of recent migration or encampments.
Heat signature overlays showed no thermal anomaly.
Tech Used by Pakistan to Spread Misinformation
GANs + Deepfakes
Created realistic footage of crying civilians, bombed houses, and emergency room scenes.
To inflame emotion and build international pressure.
Botnets on X & WhatsApp
Used ML-based evasion models to bypass moderation by mimicking human syntax patterns.
To amplify hashtags and engage influencers unknowingly.
Data Poisoning Attacks
Uploaded altered metadata to OSINT platforms like GeoConfirmed.
To confuse independent researchers.
Trending Hashtags Over X And Other Platforms
#IndiaKillsCivilians
May 9, 11:30 AM
~75,000
52%
#StopIndiaGenocide
May 9, 2:00 PM
~63,000
49%
#SaveKashmiriLives
May 9, 5:00 PM
~42,000
46%
Bot Analysis: Using IP clusters (a group of networked computers, or nodes, that work together as a single system to provide services or resources) and time logs, more than half of the posts were linked to bulk-sharing farms in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Global Sentimental Analysis
Pakistan
91%
5%
4%
India
8%
87%
5%
Gulf Nations
40%
45%
15%
EU + US
28%
54%
18%
Post Ceasefire (May 10 - May 11, 2025)
During the post-ceasefire period, Pakistan’s disinformation campaign aimed to portray its military response as a decisive success, deflect blame for the conflict’s escalation, and rally domestic support.
Tech Used to Spread Misinformation
Deepfake Videos
Showed alleged Indian soldiers being carried away — traced to Call of Duty cutscene
ML-Generated Threads
Long-form “battle summaries” with made-up military jargon, designed to appear as Indian media leaks
Satellite Image Fakes
Photoshop-layered craters placed over Jammu cantonment map
Botnets
45% of tweets during May 10–11 flagged as generated via automation clusters (IP fingerprinted in Rawalpindi)
i) Claim: Pakistan's Air Defenses Repelled Operation Sindoor
Claim by ISPR (Pak) & State Media:
Pakistan claimed that its ground-to-air missile defenses (likely LY-80 systems) intercepted 80–90% of Indian munitions.
Claimed India's Rafale and drone strikes caused “no significant damage”.
Claimed this forced India to accept a ceasefire out of frustration.
Factual Assessment of Claims
Radar Logs
Missing
No radar tracking or interception telemetry released
Debris Imagery
Recycled
3 images traced back to 2019 Balakot airstrike photos
Satellite Imagery
Absent
No FIRMS (NASA) or Planet Labs indication of active intercepts
Independent Verification
None
No confirmation from UN, Reuters, BBC, or OSINT sources
Expert Commentary
Contradicted
Analysts from @GeoConfirmed and @IntelCrush found no blast or intercept craters on Pak soil
Misinformation Metrix
X (Twitter)
~420,000
185,000 (44%)
Botometer, BharatFact, EU Disinfo Lab
Est. 3M+ Forwards
Untraceable
AltNews & BOOM flagged deepfakes
YouTube
~15 major videos
11 removed
Claimed intercept footage from Arma 3
Telegram
4 groups shared “victory graphics”
Not verified
Suspected IR-supported psyops
ii) Claim: Soldiers killing and Military Infrastructure Destroyed
Baseless Claim by Pakistan
Drone strikes allegedly killed 40–50 Indian soldiers.
Claimed key airbases and communication centers in Pathankot, Gurdaspur, and Jammu were crippled.
Shared imagery showing burned hangars, cratered helipads, and bodies in uniform.
Factual Assessment of Claims
Casualty Claims
Unverified
No names, ranks, or MoD confirmation from India
Image Analysis
Doctored
5 out of 7 viral photos were reverse-traced to Syria 2018, Afghanistan 2021
Footage Timestamps
Inconsistent
Metadata showed some videos were created on April 30, before the alleged attack
Independent Sources
None
BBC, Reuters, Al Jazeera did not corroborate casualty figures or base damage
Local Reports (India)
Minimal Damage
2 drone fragments fell near civilian zone in Pathankot; 3 minor injuries reported
Global Sentimental Analysis
Pakistan
94%
3%
3%
India
6%
88%
6%
Gulf States
40%
42%
18%
EU/US
28%
58%
14%
Global Avg.
38%
50%
12%
Conculsion: Role of Technology in Indo-Pak Info Warfare
Tech Domain
Pakistan’s Usage
India’s Response
Impact
🎭 Deepfakes & Narrative Warfare
- GAN-generated fake videos of civilian deaths- Deepfake audios of Indian officials- Recycled war imagery presented as recent
- AI-NLP multilingual rebuttals (10+ languages)- Fact-check infographics- Rebuttals posted via official & verified handles
> Accelerated disinformation spread> Many false visuals went viral before being debunked
🤖 Botnets & Disinformation
- 45–60% of posts in key hashtags from bot accounts- Machine learning bots mimicking human speech- Coordinated tag spamming
- Bot detection via X moderation + ML filters- Sentiment analysis models monitored trend hijacking
> Short-term global narrative sway achieved by bots> Later discredited through forensic work
🌐 Cyber & Hacking Claims
- Claimed breaches of Indian military databases (MES, MP-IDSA)- "Emergency alert" phishing campaigns
- Official denial with logs- Public disclosure of fabricated evidence- CERT-IN flagged phishing attempts
> Undermined trust briefly, but no real compromise detected
🛰️ Satellite & Media Forensics
- Photoshopped images of intercepts- Altered timestamps on attack videos
- Used FIRMS (NASA), Planet Labs to disprove damage claims- Realtime strike maps and BDA visuals shared
> Strong evidence helped India counter disinfo with facts
🏠 Civilian Safety Technologies
- Claimed Indian strikes targeted civilians, causing mass displacement
- IoT-enabled smart shelters in Delhi auto-reported safety status- No independent NGOs verified Pak claims
> Emotional appeal temporarily worked globally> Lost momentum after image tracing
📣 Narrative Control & Strategy
- ISPR-driven victory messaging- Telegram groups & YouTube channels hyping “decisive response”
- Quiet confidence; let third-party experts & OSINT debunk disinfo- Avoided over-messaging to prevent overreach
> India's measured approach lent credibility internationally
(The closer the shape is to the edge, the more severe the impact of that domain.)
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