India's "Firehose of Falsehood" Propaganda Model Targets Pakistan

by Riaz Haq

Dec 28, 2020

India with its massive disinformation campaign against Pakistan, as recently revealed by EU Disinfo Lab, appears to be following what a US think tank RAND calls "Firehose of Falsehood" propaganda model. It has over 750 fake media outlets covering 119 countries. There are over 750 domain names, some in the name of dead people and others using stolen identities. Pakistani policymakers charged with countering the Indian propaganda should read the RAND report "Firehose of Falsehoods" for its 5 specific recommendations to the US government to effectively respond to the Russian disinformation campaign. In particular they should heed its key advice: "All other things being equal, messages received in greater volume and from more sources will be more persuasive.......Don't expect to counter Russia's firehose of falsehood with the squirt gun of truth. Instead, put raincoats on those at whom the firehose is aimed" 

Scale and Duration of India's Campaign:

EU Disinfo Lab, an NGO that specializes in disinformation campaigns, has found that India is carrying out a massive 15-year-long disinformation campaign to hurt Pakistan. The key objective of the Indian campaign as reported in "Indian Chronicles" is as follows: "The creation of fake media in Brussels, Geneva and across the world and/or the repackaging and dissemination via ANI and obscure local media networks – at least in 97 countries – to multiply the repetition of online negative content about countries in conflict with India, in particular Pakistan".  After the disclosure of India's anti-Pakistan propaganda campaign, Washington-based US analyst Michael Kugelman tweeted: "The scale and duration of the EU/UN-centered Indian disinformation campaign exposed by @DisinfoEU is staggering. Imagine how the world would be reacting if this were, say, a Russian or Chinese operation".  

American Analyst Michael Kugelman's Tweet on Indian Disinformation Campaign

Firehose of Falsehood:

What Kugelman calls "Russian Operation" appears to be a reference to a US government-funded think tank RAND Corporation's report entitled "The Russian "Firehose of Falsehood" Propaganda Model". Here is an excerpt of the RAND report:

"Russian propaganda is produced in incredibly large volumes and is broadcast or otherwise distributed via a large number of channels. This propaganda includes text, video, audio, and still imagery propagated via the Internet, social media, satellite television, and traditional radio and television broadcasting. The producers and disseminators include a substantial force of paid Internet “trolls” who also often attack or undermine views or information that runs counter to Russian themes, doing so through online chat rooms, discussion forums, and comments sections on news and other websites".

EU Disinformation Lab Report on India's Disinformation Campaign Against Pakistan

Indian Political Unity Against Pakistan:  

Former US President Barack Obama has observed that “Expressing hostility toward Pakistan was still the quickest route to national unity (in India)”.  The Indian disinformation campaign is a manifestation of Indians' political unity against Pakistan.  EU Disinfo Lab has found that Indian Chronicles is a 15-year-long campaign that started in 2005 on former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's watch, well before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's election to India's highest office in 2014. It has grown to over 750 fake media outlets covering 119 countries. There are over 750 domain names, some in the name of dead people and others using stolen identities.  Here is an excerpt of EU Disinfo Lab's report:

"The creation of fake media in Brussels, Geneva and across the world and/or the repackaging and dissemination via ANI and obscure local media networks – at least in 97 countries – to multiply the repetition of online negative content about countries in conflict with India, in particular Pakistan". 

RAND's Recipe:  
Traditional countermeasures are ineffective against "firehose of falsehoods" propaganda techniques. As researchers Christopher Paul and Miriam Mathews of RAND put it: "Don't expect to counter the firehose of falsehood with the squirt gun of truth." They suggest:
1. Repeating the counter-information 
2. Providing an alternative story to fill in the gaps created when false "facts" are removed 
2. Forewarning people about propaganda, highlighting the ways propagandists manipulate public opinion. 
3.  Countering the effects of propaganda, rather than the propaganda itself; for example, to counter propaganda that undermines support for a cause, work to boost support for that cause rather than refuting the propaganda directly 
5. Turning off the flow by enlisting the aid of Internet service providers and social media services, and conducting electronic warfare and cyberspace operation
Summary: 
India with its massive disinformation campaign against Pakistan appears to be following what a US think tank RAND calls "Firehose of Falsehoods". Pakistani policymakers charged with countering the Indian propaganda should read the RAND report "Firehose of Falsehoods" for its 5 specific recommendations to the US government to effectively respond to the Russian disinformation campaign. In particular they should heed its key advice: "All other things being equal, messages received in greater volume and from more sources will be more persuasive.......Don't expect to counter Russia's firehose of falsehoods with the squirt gun of truth. Instead, put raincoats on those at whom the firehose is aimed" 
Load Previous Comments

  • Riaz Haq

    Dr. Audrey Truschke
    @AudreyTruschke
    Disinfo Labs — a group that promotes far-right Hindutva conspiracy theories against critics of the Modi government — is an Indian intelligence operation, WaPo reports.

    Some thoughts on why this matters —

    https://x.com/AudreyTruschke/status/1734210988625305897?s=20

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    EU DisinfoLab
    @DisinfoEU
    Many of you read
    @wapo
    ’s investigation and we want to reiterate that there's no association between us and 'The DisinfoLab', an Indian entity.

    @gerryshih
    revealed their connections to Indian Intelligence and a deliberate use of our name to leverage our established credibility.

    https://x.com/DisinfoEU/status/1734220723764236601?s=20

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    Covert Indian operation seeks to discredit Modi’s critics in the U.S. - The Washington Post

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/10/india-the-disinfo-l...

    The Disinfo Lab, which at one point consisted of about a dozen private contractors working out of a four-story whitewashed building on a leafy street in New Delhi, was created in mid-2020 by Lt. Col. Dibya Satpathy, now 39, an intelligence officer who has worked to shape international perceptions of India, said the three people familiar with the operation. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive intelligence activities.

    Satpathy was initially commissioned as an infantry officer and served in the army’s intelligence and public information units, said a person briefed on his military personnel record. That person and another source close to the military said Satpathy was later detailed to his current posting with India’s external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). Over the years, Satpathy has introduced himself to Western journalists and commentators under fake identities — including his preferred alias, Shakti, meaning “power” in Hindi — and sought favorable coverage of India or critical coverage of its adversaries, Pakistan and China, according to five additional people who have had contact with Satpathy.

    Dec 11, 2023

  • Riaz Haq

    How misinformation overtook Indian newsrooms amid conflict with Pakistan - The Washington Post

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/06/04/india-news-channels...

    Journalists from some of India’s largest news networks spoke to The Post about why falsehoods filled the airwaves during a crucial and dangerous moment.

    NEW DELHI — Shortly after midnight on May 9, an Indian journalist received a WhatsApp message from Prasar Bharati, the state-owned public broadcaster. Pakistan’s army chief had been arrested, the message read, and a coup was underway.

    Within minutes, the journalist posted the information on X and others followed suit. Soon enough, it was splashed across major Indian news networks and went viral on social media.

    The “breaking news” was entirely false. There had been no coup in Pakistan. Gen. Asim Munir, far from being behind bars, would soon be elevated to the rank of field marshal.

    It was the most glaring — but far from the only — example of how misinformation swept through Indian newsrooms last month during several of the most violent nights between the nuclear-armed neighbors in decades.

    The Washington Post spoke to more than two dozen journalists from some of India’s most influential news networks, as well as to current and former Indian officials, about how the country’s information ecosystem became inundated with falsehoods — and how it warped the public’s understanding of a crucial moment. The journalists spoke on the condition that their names and employers remain anonymous, fearing professional reprisals. Most of the officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.

    As the fighting escalated night after night, few Indian officials were put forward to explain what was happening, said Nirupama Rao, India’s former foreign secretary. The vacuum was filled on television newscasts by “hypernationalism” and “abnormal triumphalism,” Rao said, creating what she called a “parallel reality.”

    Times Now Navbharat reported that Indian forces had entered Pakistan; TV9 Bharatvarsh told viewers that Pakistan’s prime minister had surrendered; Bharat Samachar said he was hiding in a bunker. All of them, along with some of the country’s largest channels — including Zee News, ABP News and NDTV — repeatedly proclaimed that major Pakistani cities had been destroyed.

    To support the false claims, networks aired unrelated visuals from conflicts in Gaza and Sudan, from a plane crash in Philadelphia — and even scenes from video games.

    Zee News, NDTV, ABP News, Bharat Samachar, TV9 Bharatvarsh, Times Now and Prasar Bharati did not respond to requests for comment.

    “It’s the most dangerous version of what a section of TV news channels have been doing for a decade, completely unchecked,” said Manisha Pande, media critic and managing editor of Newslaundry, an independent news outlet. “At this point, they’re like Frankenstein’s monsters — completely out of control.”

    India has one of the most expansive and linguistically diverse media landscapes in the world. Nine hundred television channels attract millions of viewers each evening across Indian towns and cities; newspapers still have a wide reach in rural areas.

    Over many decades, the country’s independent press has played a critical role in exposing government corruption and holding power to account. In the past decade, however, particularly in television news, that independence has been eroded.

    Some of India’s largest channels now routinely echo government talking points, analysts say — out of ideological alignment with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, or as a result of pressure from the state, which has prosecuted journalists under terrorism, sedition and defamation laws, as well as by using regulatory threats and tax probes to silence critical voices.

    Pande also attributes the shift to opportunism. “For most of these anchors, aligning with power is a calculated career move,” she said.

    Jun 4, 2025

  • Riaz Haq

    Shashank Mattoo
    @MattooShashank
    NEW: US Ambassador Sergio Gor slams Indian TV news

    "I love getting back home and watching Indian TV news shows. The later it gets, the crazier the shows become. At 6 PM you have 8 people arguing on the show. At 10 PM, there are 12 people who are all talking at the same time."

    https://x.com/MattooShashank/status/2091735547987308857?s=20

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    Derek J. Grossman
    @DerekJGrossman
    😄 true! I’ve appeared on many of them, I would know. India has an absolutely toxic media landscape.

    https://x.com/DerekJGrossman/status/2091747150325809214?s=20

    18 hours ago