The Press Information Bureau (PIB) on Wednesday swiftly countered multiple false claims circulating on social media, primarily from Pakistani users, that sought to distort facts surrounding the Indian Army's response to the Pahalgam attack and the potential for Indian retaliation. These debunked stories have sparked confusion and misinformation amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan.

One of the prominent false reports spread on the social media platform X falsely claimed that Northern Commander Lt. Gen. Suchindra Kumar had been removed from his position due to the Pahalgam attack. In its fact-check, PIB clarified that the report was untrue, reaffirming that Lt. Gen. MV Suchindra Kumar was scheduled for retirement on April 30, and that Lt. Gen. Pratik Sharma would take over as the new Northern Army Commander. PIB emphasized that these fabricated reports were part of a broader misinformation campaign designed to mislead the public.

Further, PIB addressed misleading claims that Pakistan had downed an Indian Rafale fighter jet along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Poonch sector of Kashmir. The social media posts, primarily from pro-Pakistan accounts, circulated a video purported to show a downed Rafale jet. However, PIB clarified that the video was from an incident involving a Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jet that had crashed in Maharashtra in June 2024, and not a recent incident in Kashmir. PIB urged citizens to be cautious when encountering such unverified claims and to refrain from sharing them without verification, stressing that misinformation can have serious consequences in such a sensitive geopolitical context.

These actions come in the wake of the government's ongoing efforts to curb the spread of fake news and provocative narratives, particularly those aiming to create unrest or promote misleading information about India. The government has already taken significant steps to address this issue, including the recent recommendation by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to ban 16 Pakistani YouTube channels. These channels had been targeting well-known Indian media outlets such as Dawn News, Samaa TV, Ary News, Geo News, and individual figures like former cricketer Shoaib Akhtar, spreading false and biased content to influence public opinion.

The government’s crackdown is part of a broader strategy to safeguard national security by countering the dissemination of divisive and inflammatory content. PIB's fact-checking initiative highlights the growing need for digital literacy and media responsibility, urging users to verify the authenticity of online content before sharing it.