IN the modern era of hybrid warfare, the battlefield has shifted from physical borders to the digital screens of millions.

A sophisticated and highly coordinated disinformation campaign has recently been unearthed, revealing a multi-layered operation designed to fracture regional alliances and destabilize Pakistan’s diplomatic standing. At the heart of this campaign was a fabricated narrative that “Pakistan has betrayed Iran.” Far from a grassroots movement or a series of organic reports, this was a meticulously planned information warfare operation executed by a joint network of Indian and Afghan operators.

The campaign operated through a structured lifecycle identified by investigators as the Initiator-Proliferator-Amplifier model. This methodology was designed to bypass the natural skepticism of social media users by creating a false sense of authenticity through “identity layering.”

The process began with The Initiators. Fake Iranian personas and news outlets, such as INN Iran National News and Irania TV, were established to serve as the “original” sources of the lie. These accounts, posing as legitimate Iranian voices, manufactured the claim that Pakistan was assisting the United States in strategic oil transportation. By using Iranian branding, the network ensured the narrative appeared as an internal grievance from Tehran, lending it immediate – though false credibility.

Once the spark was lit, the Proliferators took over. This stage was dominated by large-scale Afghan-based accounts, including figures like W.A. Mubariz and Burhan Uddin, who boast hundreds of thousands of followers. Their role was to localize the betrayal narrative, framing it within the context of religious sensitivity and economic treachery. By appealing to the shared religious sentiments of the region, these operators successfully turned a fabricated political claim into an emotional flashpoint for the public.

However, the strategic brain of the operation resided elsewhere. Investigative evidence points to Indian operators acting as the primary controllers and narrative-shapers. Accounts like Ravikumar M and Sumit Tomar acted as the Strategic Controllers, ensuring the conversation remained focused on portraying Pakistan as an unreliable Western proxy. The centerpiece of this stage was the Times of Iran News, an account with over 176,000 followers. Despite its name, investigators identified it as a propaganda hub operated from India, serving as the Main Amplifier that packaged these lies into verified news for global consumption. This was not merely an exercise in social media trolling; it was a calculated attempt at strategic information warfare. The coordination, involving handle renaming, synchronized posting and the masking of geographical locations, demonstrates a high level of state-like sophistication.

The objectives were threefold: First, Sow discord to create deep-seated mistrust between Islamabad and Tehran. Second, Incite public unrest to exploit religious and nationalistic emotions within Pakistan and Afghanistan.Third, diplomatic sabotage to isolate Pakistan on the global stage by painting it as a destabilizing force in the region.

The exposure of this India-Afghanistan disinformation axis serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities inherent in the digital age. As fake Iranian identities were used to mask a foreign agenda, it highlights the urgent need for heightened media literacy and robust verification mechanisms to protect regional stability from the shadows of digital deception.

—The writer is an alumnus of QAU, MPhil scholar and a freelance columnist, based in Islamabad.

© Pakistan Observer