The Press Information Bureau released a statement, wherein it listed seven such incidents it fact-checked to "put the record straight and debunk misinformation, disinformation and outright lies".
As the tensions betwen continue to escalate in the aftermath of Pakistan's missile and drone attacks across the Line of Control along the western borders and India's retaliation, certain social media handles in Pakistan began carrying out "coordinated disinformation," with the objective of "instilling fear among the Indian masses".
The Press Information Bureau on May 9 released a statement, wherein it listed seven such incidents it fact-checked between 10:00 PM on May 8 and 6:30 AM on May 9 to "put the record straight and debunk misinformation, disinformation and outright lies".
"This psychological warfare has been actively debunked by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) for the last few weeks. In addition, Indian media and social media users have been falling for misinformation," the PIB release noted.
Here are the seven incidents fact-checked by PIB:
- The fact-check unitof PIB debunked a video claiming a drone attack in Jalandhar. It noted that the investigation revealed that the footage was an unrelated video of a farm fire. The unit also stated that the timeline of the video was posted at 7:39 PM, while the drone attack by Pakistan began much later. The same was backed by the District Collector of Jalandhar.
- Another video claimed that an Indian post was destroyed in an attack by the Pakistani army. The fact-check unit dismissed it, confirming that the video was staged and part of Pakistan's "propaganda campaign". It was found that there was no "20 Raj Battalion" in the Indian Army, as shown in the video.
- PIB also fact-checked an old video being circulated, claiming that Pakistan had launched a missile attack on India. However, the video was from an explosive attack in Beirut, Lebanon, in 2020.
- A 'fidayeen' attack (suicide attack) on an Army brigade in Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir, was widely shared. However, PIB found that it was nothing but another major false information. PIB has confirmed that no such attack took place, saying that the claim was intended to :mislead and cause confusion".
- A purported confidential letter from the Chief of the Army Staff (CoAS), General VK Narayan to the Army officer of Northern Command, regarding military preparedness was debunked as "completely fake". PIB confirmed that General Narayan is not the CoAS, and that the letter circulated was entirely fabricated.
- PIB also exposed a baseless claim on social media that claimed that the Indian military used Ambala Airbase to attack Amritsar and its citizens. The post was found to be "completely baseless and a part of a concerted misinformation campaign".
- Another post alleged entry bans into airports across India, which was debunked by the PIB as fake. It was found that no such decision was taken by the Union Government.
The PIB Fact Check unit's efforts in debunking fake news and busting myths have been crucial in helping citizens identify facts from false information being spread, espcially during such times.
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