Typo terror: India’s clumsy ruse about Pakistan’s nuclear ‘leak’

WEB DESK: Indian social media, and at times mainstream media, had been consistently claiming that a certain Pakistani nuclear facility was attacked on Saturday during the four-day armed conflict between the two nuclear neighbours, which ultimately became the cause for ‘urgent ceasefire’. This however is nothing but disinformation.

While this ‘fake’ news has been circulating on social media for a few days, on Tuesday, the matter took an even more (non) serious tone, when a supposed ‘Press Release’ was published, attributed to the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Pakistan.

The suspicious notification riddled with spelling errors, formatting issues, and, most bizarrely, signed by someone whose name appears to be a poorly disguised variation of a famous cricketer, the statement said and that radiation is now spreading across the region.

However, this brazen attempt at propaganda spectacularly backfired into a misinformation meltdown –  undermined not only by a dozen typos and an ‘imaginary’ signatory, but also capped off with Pakistan’s scathing, and frankly deserved, ridicule on social media platforms.

Here’s a quick look at the simple spellings and grammar mistakes that jump at you at a single glance, as pointed out by the X (Twitter) page “Islamabad Vibe”.

It is notable here that this is not the first time that the Indian media has pulled a move like this. Earlier, the mainstream news channels in India had started reporting a full-fledged takeover of Pakistan’s cities and even arrest of the Prime Minister. It was only the next day when their people found out it was all fabricated lies, aimed only at viewership and without an iota of truth to it.

PM MODI’S SPEECH AND THE LOSS OF AN ELECTION SLOGAN

Yesterday (Monday), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the country in a first direct appearance since the beginning of the armed conflict. His speech, contrary to the facts at hand and in line with the Indian media’s blatantly false reporting, reiterated claims of victory.

An exact sentence out of Modi’s yesterday speech said, “The terrorists were eliminated. We had destroyed the terror camps established in the heart of Pakistan.” With such a tall claim, the question arises that if Indian military’s Operation Sindoor was such a success, then what would be Modi’s claim to the election victory, come next election season.

Hatred against Pakistan and tailoring of the entire election campaign around action against Pakistan has long been the chosen campaigning strategy for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). With the claim that now India has destroyed the alleged terror network in Pakistan, Modi will probably have to come up with some new made-up allegation to toe the same line.

Indian channel NDTV claimed that India destroyed “11 air bases and 9 terror camps”, and another Indian publication India Today soon followed suit. The propaganda has continued, eventually culminating into Modi’s national address.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE NEAR FUTURE?

Assuming that the hotline communication between the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both countries do not suddenly break up, the two nuclear neighbours are expected to maintain ceasefire.

Meanwhile, the Indus Waters Treaty remains in unilateral abeyance, people living in Azad Kashmir and Indian Occupied Kashmir will likely continue to suffer – with fear if not with actual attacks – and the tensions remain high on the border between India and Pakistan.