Fake News Propaganda slandering Pakistan’s Global Image
Fake News and Misinformation propaganda have emerged as one of the most decisive threats to the countries. Fake news has become a key methodology used in modern war theatre. In 2018, Tandoc Jr., Lim, and Ling developed a typology of fake News that surrounds everything from lawful expression (e.g., news parody and satire) to full-blown propaganda.
According to research, from the last 15 years, more than 1,100 news outlets are mostly Indian spread anti-Pakistan sentiment around the globe. The anti- Pakistan campaign relied greatly on information and deception from these sources.
The term “Fake News” refers to two distinctive things one is a fake news story, which is cast to appear like real news, but which focuses on things that never occurred and another one is an effort by a politician to disgrace a report that depicts their actions in a negative light.
Over the past several years, the Politics of diverse nations have been altered by the spread of the internet and social media usage. Declaring anything to be fake news becomes an effective Political tactic, with some politicians using it as a standard expression, and this strategy has been comprehensively used by Pakistani politicians.
The conflict between India and Pakistan is ongoing. History shows several mentions that India and Pakistan, both nations carried out numerous disinformation campaigns and Propaganda against each other.
In 2021, the Brussels- based Eu DisinfoLab revealed a massive network of 265 fake local media outlets in 65 countries serving Indian motives. In the investigation of Indian Chronicles, another Indian network linked to Srivastava Group (Indian- based firm) had been uncovered by the group that purposes to highlight Pro- Indian and anti-Pakistan approaches in India.
The exposure of ‘Indian Chronicles’ (India’s disinformation campaign against Pakistan) has not stopped the Indian misinformation war machine from augmenting the threat of terrorism from the border of Pakistan. Numerous Indian media outlets have been quick to take benefit from Pakistan’s shortcomings on FATF’s (Intergovernmental Financial Action Task Force) preconditions by promoting sensational coverage for international viewers.
Fake news and propaganda are one of the modern factors of a clash between giants, as this is the most effective way to manipulate the target audience and groups. To prevent the trending problem, Marriyum Aurangzeb (the newly sworn-in information Minister of Pakistan) said about the new Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) laws that would be amended to “eliminate fake news” and “Disinformation Campaigns’.
A decision was taken down via a meeting between the information Minister and the Media Joint Action Committee (MJAC) of Pakistan, with a discussion supportive that fake news harms national security and communal harmony.
The conflict between India and Pakistan is not the end of the war but an ongoing war, as both the nations are powerful and have enough capabilities to defeat each other. Because of the rivalry between big giants, common individuals are also getting affected. To stop this ongoing war, the administration of both nations should take the necessary step so that internal harmony of the regions would be maintained.
