India debunks Pakistani digital army's claims on recall of embassy official from Jakarta

New Delhi, July 8 (IANS) Calling out Pakistan’s malicious campaign, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Tuesday issued a Fact Check report on a ‘fake’ letter circulated on social media over the purported recall of an Indian defence official from the Embassy in Jakarta.

“A #fake letter falsely attributed to the Ministry of Home Affairs, claiming the recall of Captain (Indian Navy) Shiv Kumar, Defence Attache at the Indian Embassy in Jakarta, is circulating on social media,” said a statement issued by the Press Information Bureau (PIB).

Cautioning media persons and the public against Pakistani propaganda accounts, the PIB said, “Do not fall for misinformation. Always verify such claims through official sources.”

The PIB’s Fact Check report said, “The letter is part of a misinformation campaign by Pakistani propaganda accounts.”

“Captain Shiv Kumar continues to serve as Defence Attache in Jakarta. Postings of Indian Navy officers of the rank of Captain fall under the jurisdiction of the Integrated HQ of MoD (Navy),” it said.

The PIB statement also clarified that the “Ministry of Home Affairs has no role in the appointment or recall of Defence Attaches”.

This is not the first instance of a disinformation campaign being launched by Pakistan's state-affiliated social media accounts. Soon after Operation Sindoor in May, the heightened activity of pro-Pakistan social media accounts was witnessed in a major digital offensive aimed at controlling the narrative with lies.

During the online propaganda war, attempts to circulate fake news and issue statements to claim miraculous military victories and heroic retaliation that simply did not exist.

In a blatant effort to hijack the narrative and distract information seekers from the reality on the ground, pro-Pakistan social media accounts turned to their familiar playbook: recycling outdated images, misrepresenting old videos, and inventing completely fabricated claims.

Their goal was to flood the information space with falsehoods so quickly and overwhelmingly that it becomes difficult to separate fact from fiction.

Even during Operation Sindoor, Indian authorities had issued alerts and Fact Check reports, exposing social media content which was part of a calculated, coordinated campaign designed to distort reality, mislead the public, and manipulate perceptions across the region.

One of the most prominent examples of fake news circulation was a viral image falsely claiming that the Pakistan Army had shot down an Indian Rafale jet near Bahawalpur.

The image, however, was debunked by PIB Fact Check, which confirmed that it was actually from a MiG-21 crash in Moga, Punjab, in 2021 -- entirely unrelated to current events.

--IANS

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