While news of India’s military retaliation to the terror attack in Pahalgam, dubbed ‘Operation Sindoor’, broke out in the early hours of May 7, the internet was flooded with misinformation and fake news. As netizens remained confused about the veracity of the news reaching them, Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair fact checked several claims, even those made by Pakistani internet users.
Several videos and photos from Israel and Gaza were shared online, claiming to be footage from Pakistan in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor. Zubair and Alt News fact checked these, and even shared their original sources.
Meanwhile, reports came in of an unidentified aircraft crashed at Aklian Kalan village in Punjab’s Bathinda on the intervening night of May 6 and 7. Soon, old visuals claiming to be from Bathinda started circulating online. Zubair also fact checked some of the videos that were simulations or old videos from Pakistan.
Zubair also exposed a list of X accounts from Pakistan that were hate mongering, posing as Indian Army personnel. Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir was found amplifying these voices. In fact, BJP MP Nishikanth Dubey, who was engaging with the communal trolls was also told by Zubair that the propaganda accounts were actually from Pakistan.
The fact checker’s efforts have been used by even the Indian right wing, who have, prior to this, directed relentless online attacks and legal cases against Zubair and Alt News.
An X user wrote, “My friend @zoo_bear has exposed many Pakistani propagandists and, more importantly, has made many of our countrymen—including @nishikant_dubey—aware, helping them protect themselves from Pakistan’s fake handles that are trying to mislead.”