Govt acts on online misinformation on Operation Sindoor; power infra, banks on ‘high alert' over cyberthreats
Agencies and organisations which are in charge of India's critical infrastructure, such as the Power Ministry, financial institutions including banks, and telecom operators are also on 'high alert' after having faced a number of cyber attacks following the Pahalgam terror attack last month. 'There have been some DDoS attacks on some infrastructure, but we have contained them. Now we are on high alert because such attempts will certainly be made,' the official said. A DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack is a cyberattack where an attacker overwhelms a website, server, or network with malicious traffic from multiple sources, making it slow or inaccessible to legitimate users
On Wednesday afternoon, during a meeting between officials from the two ministries, there was acknowledgement that social media platforms like X were flooded with misinformation related to India's strikes on nine sites hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). It was decided that since the situation was evolving with people making varied claims online, the government would have to closely monitor such content, and also dip into its legal arsenal of prohibiting such content from spreading.
In times of uncertainty, online disinformation campaigns often act as a strategic ploy to capture the narrative war. Such campaigns—which have become routine now on social media platforms that have been unable to curb the sheer number of misleading content on their sites—have been used in previous and ongoing conflicts as well, such as the Israeli strikes on Gaza, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
From visuals of unrelated air strikes and incorrect claims of retaliation, to even footage lifted from video games — as India carried out Operation Sindoor in the early hours of Wednesday, social media platforms like X became the battleground for online disinformation campaigns in a bid to mislead people.
The Press Information Bureau's (PIB's) fact check unit has fact checked several viral claims related to the airstrikes which were being made online. One such post contained a letter written by a scientist at DRDO about an alleged failure in BrahMos missile components. The fact check unit clarified that no such scientist works at DRDO and the letter is fake. Several old visuals showing a crashed aircraft were also circulating online with the claim that Pakistan recently shot down an Indian Rafale jet near Bahawalpur during the ongoing Operation Sindoor, which the PIB unit has deemed to be fake.
The government has advised users of social media platforms to exercise restraint. 'Don't trust and share unverified information. Check official sources from the Government of India for accurate information,' the IT Ministry said in multiple posts on social media platform X.
Post the Pahalgam terror attack, the government had banned 16 Pakistani YouTube channels, including some leading channels such as Dawn News, Samaa TV, Ary News, and Geo News, for disseminating provocative and communally sensitive content, and false and misleading narratives and misinformation against India, its Army and security agencies.
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Hindustan Times
a minute ago
- Hindustan Times
Modi tells NDA meet Oppn scored self-goal on Sindoor
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Indian Express
31 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Elevating ties, Manila hails Delhi's defence capabilities, BrahMos
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He thanked the government of the Philippines for condemning the Pahalgam terror attack, and for standing with India in the fight against terrorism. 'As maritime nations, maritime cooperation between the two countries is both natural and essential. We have been working together in humanitarian aid, disaster relief, search and rescue,' he said. 'Today, when the President is in India, three ships of the Indian Navy are participating in a naval exercise in the Philippines for the first time,' Modi said. Last Saturday, India and the Philippines began 'bilateral maritime cooperative activity'. Sources said India joined the efforts owing to its shared concerns about China's growing maritime power, including in the South China Sea. And at a media briefing on the Presidential visit, the Ministry of External Affairs said India's position on the South China Sea is 'clear and consistent' and it considers it as part of the global commons. In response to a query on the bilateral naval exercise, MEA Secretary (East) P Kumaran said India has an 'abiding interest' in peace and stability in the region. Kumaran said India is in talks with the Philippines for development of submarine infrastructure. On Tuesday, Marcos said Modi and he agreed to cooperate further in the defence and security sector. 'India becomes only the fifth strategic partner for the Philippines. This new apex attests as much to the remarkably rapid growth, broadening and deepening of our 75-year-old bilateral relationship, the possibilities represented by the strong upward trajectory of our true economies as it does to the growing alignment of our interests and views on the challenges and imperatives of our time,' he said. 'We agreed to continue levelling up our collaboration in defence and security,' he said. 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She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. ... Read More
NDTV
34 minutes ago
- NDTV
Israel Considering Ordering Total Occupation Of Gaza, Says Report
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Meanwhile, Netanyahu's far-right coalition partners demand to keep fighting and reoccupy Gaza for the long haul, after Israel withdrew settlers and troops stationed there two decades ago. - Aid 'exploited' - Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza in early March, which it only began easing more than two months later to allow a US-backed private agency, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), to open food distribution centres. United Nations special rapporteurs called on Tuesday for the GHF to be immediately dismantled, saying aid was being "exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas". COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body overseeing civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said it would partially reopen private sector trade with Gaza to reduce its reliance on aid deliveries. "A limited number of local merchants were approved by the defence establishment", and would be allowed to bring in basic staples including fruit, vegetables, baby formula and hygiene products, COGAT said. On the ground in Gaza, the civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 56 Palestinians who were waiting near aid distribution sites on Tuesday. The Israeli military told AFP troops had "fired warning shots" in the direction "a gathering of Gazans advancing" towards them near one of those sites, in the territory's south, but that it was "not aware of any casualties as a result". In northern Gaza, where the civil defence said 20 people were killed not far from an aid crossing, an AFP journalist saw bodies brought to Hamad Hospital. The army told AFP it was looking into the report.
