Social media, propaganda/fake news and digital social engineering can be termed as the “triad of disruption.” This persistent threat applies the ubiquitous power of social media and “messages to propagate and fake news utilising professional information warriors to manipulate the masses via the art of digital social engineering.
Introduction
After four days of clinical, calibrated strikes, the Indian Armed Forces achieved the objectives that had been given to them in a calibrated, controlled and decisive manner. India’s response to the Pahalgam terror attack was deliberate, precise, and strategic. While Operation ‘Sindoor’ represented an evolution in our war fighting doctrine showcasing the capability and ability of our Armed Forces. It Is also the first war fought in in a highly informationalised battlefield hence it extended beyond traditional military engagements.
The role of information, either provided or denied, is an important consideration in military planning and operations. In fact, throughout the history of warfare, armies have sought advantage through actions intended to affect the perception and behaviour of adversaries. Information is a powerful tool, and can be termed an element of national power and therefore synchronising information programmes, plans, messages, and products as part of a whole of government effort.
If Operation Vijay was the first televised war in the Indian context, Operation Sindoor can be termed as the first war fought in the digital era which includes print, visual and social media. The continuous streaming of visuals, debates and print were constantly available literally in the palm of one’s hand. It therefore became one of the most powerful tools in shaping perceptions.
Shedding the Balakot Experience
The Armed Forces learning from their experience after the Balakot strikes were now absolutely clear about the requirement of providing clear images of the targets engaged and destruction caused and this was provided leaving no doubt for ambiguity.
There was also a marked difference in the manner in which the briefings were conducted both by the Foreign Secretary and the Spokespersons for the Armed Forces as well as those by the three Director Generals of Operations compared to those after the Balakot strikes. These briefings by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh articulated the government’s intent to the nation and the world. The DGMO’s of course took on questions which they answered with a great deal of granularity and clarity while maintaining the confidentiality of sensitive information.
India’s astute messaging established clearly that Pakistan is the aggressor in the ongoing conflict and that India’s response has been well-planned and controlled, in contrast to Islamabad’s reckless offensive targeting civilian areas. It also communicated India’s position that while it will not initiate aggression, any attack will get a tough response.
However, there were many unverified accounts proliferating due to the advent of the internet. The expansion of information technology, the widespread availability of wireless communications, and the far-reaching impact of social media, today’s information environment poses new and complex challenges for military operations.
In the military Context, it involves tools like propaganda, misinformation, cyber operations, psychological operations and control over media narratives to influence perceptions.
The Triad of Disruption
Social media, propaganda/fake news and digital social engineering can be termed as the “triad of disruption.” This persistent threat applies the ubiquitous power of social media and “messages to propagate and fake news utilising professional information warriors to manipulate the masses via the art of digital social engineering.
Unlike traditional weapon technologies, development of information-based techniques do not require sizable financial resources or state sponsorship. Information systems expertise and access to important networks may be the only prerequisites. Because the cost and technical skills required for executing an online disinformation campaign are remarkably low, the number of actors and the amount of malicious content has increased.
New information-based techniques will substantially increase the power of deception, dramatically complicating efforts to build support for security-related initiatives. They will shape and build the narrative. In fact, strategic communications are aimed at shaping perceptions and binding them in a vice like grip. There is also an inability to analyse truth and falsification of facts.
Dangerous Distortions
There were significant efforts to shape the information environment. Most were absurd though some had a hint of sophistication. Speaking to Al Jazeezra Pakistan’s Defence Minister, Khwaja Asif said the attack was ‘orchestrated’ and his government ‘suspects very strongly that it was false flag operation’ which remains an outrightly ridiculous assumption. In fact, in the UNSC Meeting on 15 May, members refused to accept Pakistan’s “false flag” narrative.
The theatre of absurdities included the removal of the Northern Army Commander which was followed by that of the Vice Chief of Air while in actual fact both these officers were superannuating. During the four days, the claims pelted out were even more bizarre aimed at both creating a division in our society as well as lowering the morale; these included Indian ballistic missiles being aimed at Sikh population centres and gurdwaras. This was an evident attempt to exploit communal sensitivities while, in actuality, Pakistan had targeted a Gurdwara across the line of control.
There were claims of downing five Indian aircraft which included a Raffale. In addition, there was also a claim of having captured an Indian pilot. The fog of war is inherently confusing. But Pakistan’s increasingly aggressive information efforts create new and significant risks for miscalculation in future crises.
False narratives and exaggerated claims of Indian military losses and fabricated stories of communal violence were viral on social media platforms aiming to erode public trust.
The Nuclear Leak
In afterbath of the strikes the social and print media were full of claims regarding the damage caused to Pakistan underground nuclear weapon storage complex in Kirna Hills near Nur Khan Air field. The report was soon followed up with satellite imagery, claims of US aircraft visiting the site as well as transportation of huge quantity of Boran from Egypt to control the radiation leak. All were bogus and finally on 15 May the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that no radiation leak or release has occurred from any nuclear facility in Pakistan. Earlier, Air Marshal A K Bharti had also denied that India had targeted Kirana Hills or any nuclear installation in Pakistan.
This was a bid at discrediting the Indian achievements as well as portraying it as an irresponsible nuclear power. Our narrative had been marked by clarity from the beginning; India was targeting the perpetrators and planners of terror with an aim of destroying terror infrastructure across the border. The destruction of a nuclear storage facility was cleverly designed to counter this narrative.
India is a responsible nuclear power and its actions were deliberate, proportionate, and did not target nuclear infrastructure. The Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal has clearly stated that “Our actions were calibrated and entirely within the scope of conventional military operations. Speculative narratives about nuclear escalation are baseless and irresponsible”.
The Indian Armed Forces are highly professional and responsible and will never resort to irresponsible actions, Indian actions remained strictly within conventional military boundaries and that nuclear rhetoric would not be allowed to dictate India’s security response.
Conclusion
As Clauzewitz wrote: moral forces on the battlefield have a big impact on its outcome. He also stated that military events could only be planned to a small degree because of the incalculable influence of ‘friction’. Strategic Communication is now contributing to this friction in the modern battlefield milieu.
The Web 3.0 is remaking our very notion of reality. Increasingly, there’s an obfuscation of the reality, any point of view can be projected as genuine or as true and there are takers for it. The information space consists of domestic, adversarial and international audiences. This needs to be dominated, however, our tools have been shaped and sharpened for domestic audiences whereas we need to focus on the external audience in a similar manner as well. There is, therefore, a need to enhance media awreness, and develop robust counter-disinformation strategies to safeguard national interests in this digital age.
There will be varying narratives, all churned out by social media cells, by vested interests including disgruntled elements. The responsibility now lies with the individuals themselves to cross check and verify the source and credibility of the information before blindly disseminating it in the digital space. Adding to the social media the main stream media with its continuous tirade of ‘breaking news’ also needs to be less exuberant.
One thing we must understand that Information is power and today a much larger part of the world’s population has access to that power in their hands. This power needs to be harnessed and be aligned with the national objectives. The fact is that information has become a new dimension of conflict and has moved from the periphery to a prime slot. It is a new standoff weapon and can be manipulated and accessed from anywhere, on the basis of your smartphone though non kinetic it remains powerful.
Major General Jagatbir Singh VSM, (Retd), has held various command, staff and instructional appointments and served in varied terrains in the country. He has served in a United Nations Peace Keeping Mission as a Military Observer in Iraq and Kuwait. He has been an instructor to Indian Military Academy and the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. He has commanded the prestigious 1 Armoured Division. He is a prolific writer in defence& national security and is a Distinguished Fellow at USI.
