SUMMARY
- Multiple Indian TV channels aired 2023 Gaza airstrike visuals, falsely claiming they were from India’s Operation Sindoor.
- Senior journalists and digital media outlets amplified the clip without verification, fueling misinformation.
- The incident raises urgent questions about media accountability during wartime reporting.
When Truth Gets Collateral Damage: Media Missteps During a Crisis
In a climate charged by real military confrontation, the boundary between information and propaganda becomes dangerously porous. This was no more evident than on May 7, 2025, the morning after India launched its tri-services offensive, Operation Sindoor, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. As social media exploded with visuals of fiery explosions and missile trails, India’s mainstream media jumped on a particularly dramatic clip — showing seven missiles lighting up the night sky. It was broadcast by channels such as Aaj Tak, ABP News, and News18 as purported real-time footage of India’s precision strikes.
Except, it wasn’t.
A fact-check trail quickly led to a Sputnik Armenia report from October 13, 2023, confirming the footage was from Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. Yet by the time this truth emerged, the video had already been widely disseminated by some of the country’s top journalists, including Rubika Liyaquat and Aditya Raj Kaul, and amplified by digital outlets and hyper-nationalist accounts. In the rush to frame a moment of geopolitical consequence, fact was sacrificed on the altar of virality. And that’s where the danger truly lies.
How false videos blurred fact and fiction after #operation_sindoor https://t.co/B4Mny13JV1
— Scroll.in (@scroll_in) May 7, 2025
Government, the media and ordinary social media users amplified outdated war clips in the showdown between India and Pakistan.@sighyush reports pic.twitter.com/DHsyj5Rx28
How a 2023 Gaza Video Became “Proof” of India’s Pakistan Strike
- A widely circulated video showed seven missiles being launched, with news anchors describing it as footage of India’s strike on Bahawalpur and Kotli.
- Alt News confirmed the video was originally aired by Sputnik Armenia in October 2023 during Israeli attacks on Gaza.
- BBC journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh had already flagged the clip in 2023 as viral misinformation.
- Despite this, Indian newsrooms reused the footage without verification.
The footage was aired across multiple channels — with no disclaimer, no verification, and no sourcing. Anchors like Anjana Om Kashyap and Chitra Tripathi used the visuals to build suspense, anchor credibility, and narrative continuity. Meanwhile, digital platforms like NEWJ and Panchjanya pushed the same visuals online, helping it trend under hashtags like #OperationSindoor and #IndiaStrikesBack.
What’s troubling isn’t merely the reuse of old footage; it’s the fact that leading journalists with large followings — Rubika Liyaquat among them — explicitly used the video to list targets hit by India. Some claimed it was a strike on Jaish-e-Mohammad headquarters, others said it was Bahawalpur going up in flames. Even government-affiliated voices stayed silent as the narrative ballooned.
Verified Lies: When Media Becomes a National Security Risk
- Platforms like Alt News and Shayan Sardarizadeh traced the footage back to the Israeli Air Force’s campaign in Gaza.
- Zee News, Business Today, and Amar Ujala used screenshots from the video despite no official confirmation from the Indian government.
- Some senior journalists have faced prior fact-checks but continue to amplify unverifiable content.
What began as an effort to document a retaliatory strike morphed into a case study of coordinated misinformation. At least nine well-known Indian outlets either aired or published the fake visuals. Most tellingly, none retracted or issued corrections after the source was exposed.
Digital propaganda accounts also piled on. Far-right X handles like @MeghUpdates with a history of sharing unverifiable military content, took the baton and ensured the video reached millions. Foreign-based journalists like Pakistan’s Sabir Shakir repurposed the same footage to claim “Indian aggression,” further internationalising the misinformation.
The ecosystem was complete: top TV anchors, anonymous accounts, digital newsrooms, and propaganda networks all recycling a 1.5-year-old war video to manufacture the optics of a powerful Indian retaliation.
Behind the Noise: What Operation Sindoor Actually Did
- On May 7, India confirmed it had conducted precise non-escalatory strikes on terror facilities in Pakistan and PoK.
- The Ministry of Defence stated no Pakistani military installations were targeted.
- Targets included Lashkar and Jaish training camps in Bahawalpur, Muridke, Muzaffarabad, and Kotli.
India’s military success in Operation Sindoor was real. The government’s claim of neutralising Lashkar-linked camps and degrading terror infrastructure has been corroborated by multiple intelligence sources. But the media’s rush to provide a cinematic representation of that success has diluted its legitimacy.
The irony is sharp: at a time when India conducted one of its most complex cross-border operations since Balakot, the narrative was hijacked by a recycled video — discrediting the actual accomplishment.
Echoes in the Static: What Happens When News Becomes Noise
India’s democratic foundation allows for a vibrant press. But the trust placed in that press is its most fragile asset. The misuse of old war footage as real-time national victory damages more than just public perception — it erodes the credibility of journalism and, more dangerously, gives adversaries ammunition to call Indian narratives into question.
As India and Pakistan edge closer to full-scale escalation, factual integrity isn’t just an editorial choice — it’s a strategic necessity. The media’s job isn’t to cheerlead; it’s to verify, clarify, and contextualise. When those lines blur, disinformation becomes indistinguishable from state messaging, and that’s how wars get out of hand.
