
Navigating the network of disinformation campaigns against the Indian Army
Jammu and Kashmir has been rocked once again by gruesome fear of terror attacks. The dreadful Reasi bus terror mishap has resulted in the death of at least 10 while left many injured after the terrorists fired upon a bus carrying pilgrims that fell into a deep gorge. In its aftermath, security has been beefed up in Jammu and Kashmir. Not only this, but the Indian army has also launched a massive operation to flush out the terrorists from the union territory. However, amid this, several Pak-centric handles became active on social media platform X and conducted some disinformation campaigns against the Indian Army. In this DFRAC’s Exclusive report, we have analyzed these campaigns’ intricacies and brought the truth to light.
Accounts involved in the online disinformation campaign against the Indian Army

In our investigation, numerous accounts have been discovered sharing pro-Pakistan and anti-India content on X alongside posting fake and misleading content specifically related to the Indian Army. Here are the collages showcasing a little glimpse of these accounts with brief information given on X
Ironclad
PSYWAR Bureau
Faryal Sikder (ফারিয়াল শিকদার)
Pakistan First

Account which has been discovered first in our investigation is Ironclad, operating under the name of @NavCom24. The account is withheld in India and sustains more than 6k followers on X. Additionally, a total of 410 posts have been done from this account. It has been found that this account is an initiator of fake news and misinformation against the Indian Army. Subsequently, its tweets and posts have been replicated and shared by several other accounts on X.

Another account running actively this disinformation campaign is PSYWAR Bureau, operating under the name of @PSYWAROPS, which holds nearly 1k followers on X. As per X’s bio, the joining month of this account is March 2024 and based in California USA but our investigation has revealed that this account has shared the majority of the Tweets and posts falls under the category of Anti-India content. Interestingly, misleading content against the Indian Army can be easily discovered on this account.

Faryal Sikder, an account operating from Bangladesh and active on X since December 2023, holds around 3k followers on X. The account description cites: “I am a Muslim and a right-wing Bangladeshi nationalist” (Translated from Bengali). The account has been discovered spreading massive misinformation related to India whether it’s false claims or misleading videos on X and promoting the disinformation campaign by sharing false claims in the Bengali Language

Account named Pakistan first with username @Pak1stTeam operating from Islamabad joined X(formerly Twitter) in January 2024. A total of 531 posts can be seen on this account at the time of writing this report. A brief investigation of this account revealed that tweets and posts are generally related to Pakistan and the disgracing Indian Army.
Furthermore, there are numerous accounts on X can be seen disseminating and propagating this disinformation campaign by following a copy-post pattern of the above accounts.

Disinformation debunked: Some fact-checks conducted by our team underscoring the cross-posted pattern by these accounts on X
After the Reasi bus attack, a wave of misinformation started on X against the Indian army in the form of false claims and misleading content. Here are some fact-checks conducted by our team in this regard. Additionally, we have also presented the analysis of the paste pattern followed by these accounts on X
Misinformation 1
The account named Ironclad shared an image on X with the news alleging that 10 Indian soldiers have been confirmed dead by local police in a huge attack on a bus carrying Indian Army soldiers in Reasi, occupied Jammu & Kashmir. The post was done on June 9 and accumulated around 23k views on X.
The misinformation has been cross-posted by many accounts on X which usually share pro-pak content including the account of Faryal Sikder

In our fact-check process, we found that the above news of 10 Indian soldiers dead has been misleadingly shared on X. In reality, Reports from several media outlets confirmed that 10 pilgrims were killed and over 30 injured in the recent bus terror attack. Moreover, the shared image has been falsely employed with misleading claims.

Misinformation 2
Another account PSYWAR bureau has posted footage regarding Reasi attack and claimed: ”Shocking new camera footage has surfaced, revealing that the recent Reasi attack was an ins!de job orchestrated by the lnd!an Army” The post was done on June 13 garnering at least 2k views. Several pro-Pakistani accounts propagated this post by reposting it on X

Upon reverse-searching the video, we found the same clip shared by Asia Net News. In the video, the caption read, “ Reasi terror attack: CCTV footage shows jeep closely trailing behind pilgrims bus before the attack” It has nowhere mentioned that the trailing jeep in the video belonged to the Indian Army. The viral claim is Fake and Baseless. Pak-backed TRF terrorist group claims responsibility for the attack.
Misinformation 3
As the Indian army launched the massive operation to trace out the terrorists in J and K, an account named Pak first took to X and alleged: “Indian army is moving in Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir, Bandipora area to commit genocide of the local population. They plan to target young boys from the local population to inflict fear in the population”. The post has been promoted by various accounts to defame the Indian army on a global level.

Contrary to this claim, we found that news of the Indian Army search operation after the Reasi Bus terror attack had been in the headlines lately. Multiple media outlets reported this news.
Misinformation 4
Ironclad on June 16 posted an image of the vehicle under the damaged condition with the caption: “Indian Army convoy has attacked in Manipur in which 6 soldiers have been confirmed dead” The same image could be seen on Faryal Sikder’s account along with a similar caption in Bengali. Moreover, the post was further cross-posted by many handles on X.

On investigation, our team discovered that an old image had been misleadingly shared with the false news of an Indian Army convoy being attacked in Manipur. Originally, the image was from 2022 and depicted one of the three vehicles of the Indian Army Convoy which had come under heavy landslide that claimed the lives of 6 Army personnel.

Misinformation 5
Another false claim by Ironclad stating that according to a local reporter, the Indian Army lost 8 soldiers yesterday in the Doda district of Jammu has also been found on Faryal Sikder’s account with a similar Bengali caption.

Upon Investigating this claim, we found that the shared post claiming the Indian Army lost 8 soldiers in the Doda district is misleading. Reports from several media outlets confirmed that 3 militants were killed in the recent encounter in J&K’s Doda.
Misinformation 6
Taking to X(Twitter), Faryal Sikder shared an image showing the bodies of deceased soldiers and alleged:”12 Indian soldiers have been killed by local militias and separatist groups in the Indian state of Manipur” (Translated From Bengali)
Subsequently, the similar post was also done by other pak-centric accounts such as Ironclad and Pakistan Times.

In the probe, it has come to the light that image has been misleadingly shared with false news. Originally, the image was from a 2016 incident when six security personnel were killed in an encounter with militants in the Chandel district of Manipur.

Misinformation 7
Psywar Bureau targeted the Indian Police also. Sharing an image on X, the account claimed that five Indian poIice personnel, including a deputy superintendent of police, were killed by protesters in Jammu and Kashmir.
The post has been promoted by various accounts on X through reposting process.
A keyword search on Google in this regard has revealed that five police personnel, including a deputy superintendent of police, were injured on Saturday, June 29 after allegedly being attacked by a mob protesting against an anti-encroachment drive in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district. Moreover, the Image shared in the above post is from April 2024, not the recent one.

Miscellaneous Misinformation in this campaign
The disinformation campaigns have not only been limited to the Indian Army or Indian security personnel but the current incidents and other issues related to India have also been distorted and shared online to disgrace India’s reputation in the current social media landscape.
The recent tragedy of Delhi Burger King in Rajouri has been manipulated by the X handle Pakistan First.
The handle posted a video on X and wrote: “Indian intelligence agency R&AW agent assassinated in Burger King restaurant in Rajouri garden area of Delhi. The agent was called using a honey trap and then killed by target killers. 40 bullets were emptied into the agent”
However, our probe found that the reality was completely different. According to multiple media reports, the victim shot in Delhi’s Rajouri Garden food joint has been identified as Aman Joon from Haryana’s Jhajjar.

Another misinformation was posted from the Ironclad handle on X stating that a ship carrying explosives from India’s Visakhapatnam port to Israel was destroyed by Houthis.
In a subsequent manner, the claim along with the same image was further copy-pasted by some common handles that used to share Ironclad’s posts earlier.

Upon brief investigation, we discovered that the image was taken from recent footage released by Yemeni Military media on X showing Yemeni forces targeting the Transworld Navigator ship.

Further, the facts of the Tejas aircraft news were misrepresented by Ironclad and other pak-centric handles on X.

Sharing an image of a fighter jet engulfed in fire on X, Ironclad claimed that a Tejas aircraft of Indian Air Force has crashed in Surat, Gujarat. Contrary to the crash, the Tejas Fighter Jet making an emergency landing at Surat Airport was in the headlines lately. Several media outlets reported this news.

Additionally, the facts of the Fire incident which took place in Wazirabad Police Training Centre ‘Malkhana’ in northeast Delhi have been altered on X by the handle of Faryal Sikder. While posting the video of this incident, the handle alleged: “Maoist rebels attack and set fire to a police training centre in New Delhi’s Sonia Vihar. This is the third Maoist attack in a major Indian city in a week. Stay with us for updates. Source: Hindustan Times”.
Similar claims along with the video were cross-posted by Hello Pakistan and another handle on X.

On examining the article published by Hindustan Times, we found that no such words (Maoist rebels attack) have appeared in its content. Moreover, reports from other media outlets did not mention Maoist rebel attack at all.
Lastly, misinformation by Ironclad stated: “Indian made artillery shell explode inside the barrel of Israeli howitzer, killing 03 IDF soldiers”.
it was further promoted by many handles on X using a copy-pasting pattern. However, the misinformation turned out fake since no such sources are available online in the support of above claim except a news article asserting that Indian munition is being used by IDF for training purposes.

Using social media platforms to tarnish the Indian Army’s image on a global level
Social media platforms play a significant role in today’s era by making information accessible to the users around the world. Hence, content shared on Social media platforms creates a global impact. A brief examination of these accounts disclosed that they are using social media platforms to target and deteriorate the Indian army’s image not only on a digital level but on global level also. Moreover, we also discovered that a keyword search regarding the Indian Army in the search bar of X gave us a plethora of misinformation and false claims that can be accessible to everyone across the Internet. Here’s a collage showing some examples in this regard.

Conclusion
The report vividly portrays the network of disinformation campaigns against the Indian Army on X which are being conducted by some specific handles to tarnish the reputation of Indian Army digitally. In addition to this, we have unraveled the complexities devised by these handles targeting the Indian Army on the internet. It’s time for a halt to these campaigns and the misinformation spread through it. Severe steps should be taken against these handles which are spewing substantial antipathy against India across the Internet.