"Indian forces attacked Pakistan's nuclear facilities" "Two Pakistani fighter jets were shot down by India" "India destroyed Karachi Port, Pakistan's oil and trade lifeline" ... Every single one of these "news from another world" sounds convincing, some even accompanied by detailed maps and other auxiliary information, but they are all fabricated without exception.

According to a report published by The New York Times on May 17, after suffering setbacks in the conflict with Pakistan, India's internet was flooded with "victory-like fake news," including false briefings, meme images (similar to China's emoji packs), misleading short videos, posts released by AI, etc. But what is more worrying than the rampant spread of fake news is that in the past, such content only circulated on social platforms lacking verification mechanisms, while now many mainstream Indian media outlets have also started reporting these fake stories.

The report stated that the four-day conflict between India and Pakistan captured the attention of all Indians, and the competition among Indian media outlets in terms of timeliness and sensationalism had reached its peak. Due to the time required for proofreading and verifying news, there was a risk of "the latest and most exciting news being published first by another media outlet." As a result, many well-known Indian media outlets directly broadcast unverified information, and some even actively created fictitious stories.

Indian Border Security Force soldiers attend the funeral of an officer killed in the conflict between India and Pakistan. The New York Times

For example, some Indian media reported that Pakistan's nuclear base was struck by Indian troops, and rumors spread that radioactive materials leaked from the base. They also released "detailed maps," claiming that the locations marked on the map were the sites struck by Indian forces.

Several well-known Indian media outlets claimed that the Indian Navy attacked the port of Karachi, and related messages also spread widely on Indian social media. It came as no surprise that all these reports were later proven to be fake news. For instance, the video of the so-called "explosion at Karachi Port" actually came from the Gaza region.

Even Rajdeep Sardesai, one of India's most outstanding journalists and the anchor of the India Today program, reported false news about Pakistan's aircraft being shot down during a live broadcast. He apologized multiple times to his audience, stating that "the news about Pakistan's aircraft being shot down has not been confirmed," and condemned some false information as "right-wing misinformation deliberately spread under the guise of national interest," even pointing out that professional media outlets sometimes fall into traps.

In response to this phenomenon, Daniel Silverman, an assistant professor of political science at Carnegie Mellon University who specializes in researching the spread of misinformation, said that misinformation is sometimes used to cover up the truth, but mainly through highly resonant content to stir up the emotions of the audience. He also pointed out that given the historical enmity between India and Pakistan, the audience is already prepared to accept and spread any false information.

Indian Prime Minister Modi recently delivered a live speech to introduce the "achievements" of India's military action against Pakistan. AP

The New York Times' report also criticized India's Modi government, claiming that since Modi became India's prime minister in 2014, "freedom of speech in India has been eroded."

Regardless of whether The New York Times' accusation is a case of overgeneralization, the appearance of so much fabricated content in Indian media cannot absolve the government of responsibility. After suffering significant setbacks militarily and agreeing to a ceasefire with Pakistan, the Indian government instead launched a grand nationwide celebration campaign lasting 10 days to demonstrate its so-called "glory of victory."

Regarding questions from the Indian public about the number of Indian aircraft shot down, relevant government figures such as India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar have maintained silence and avoided addressing these issues on multiple occasions.

Despite this, some people within India still hope to make efforts to improve the public opinion environment, but their situation has become very difficult. Due to their commitment to verifying and combating false news, the Indian fact-checking agency Alt News was sued for defamation by another media outlet, and its journalists have faced continuous harassment. Pratik Sinha, founder of Alt News, stated: "The information ecosystem has collapsed."

This article is an exclusive contribution from Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7506745033568174627/

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