Social media has turned into an ugly place where people, sitting in their safe homes with no idea about the actual ground realities of a war zone, talk about war.
The situation in Jammu and Kashmir has been tense since the evening of May 8. Jammu city, along with some other parts, was attacked by Pakistani projectiles and drones. The Indian military was able to intercept as per the information available, and based on reports from people on the ground.
Even as that attempt failed, Poonch district was targeted heavily with intense shelling on intervening night of May 8-9. Heavy shelling was witnessed even a day before on May 7. The people of Poonch, the region I hail from, have witnessed such ordeals in the past but stood resiliently. Miles away from home in Delhi, where I study, such incidents bring back scarred memories and worries about my family back in Poonch.
Every time I call home, they say “Everything is fine here” despite the tense situation. “This is our home. We will live here and die here—it doesn’t matter. Where will I go, leaving my home behind?” my grandmother said when I spoke to her, even as she grappled with intense shelling going on outside the house.
For people living in vulnerable areas close to the borders, this is an everyday reality, unless the ceasefire between the two countries is well in place.
This reality becomes invisible in the jarring world of the national news channels and the online space, where random, unknown people giving their unwanted opinions on war, spreading fake news and narratives.
There are people who have already declared war on their WhatsApp statuses. Fake photos and videos of attacks are being spread without weighing the sensitivity of the situation.
Zee News, a master in creating misguiding, clickbait thumbnails, even declared that India had captured Pakistan’s capital city. Then came the fake news about Karachi port. Another so-called number-one channel ran a completely false story about a suicide attack in the sensitive district of Rajouri. This created panic among locals, and then they quietly deleted the video and removed the story without any explanation.
Then there was a case where an old video was shared by a right-wing national news platform in India, claiming it showed an attack on Pakistan. Ironically, the same video was also being circulated by Pakistani propaganda accounts, claiming it showed their army attacking India.
Then came the deeply disturbing case of Qari Mohammad Iqbal—a Muslim teacher from Poonch who was tragically killed in shelling from Pakistan on Wednesday. Several national news channels falsely portrayed him as a terrorist. This forced the Poonch district police to issue a statement refuting the claims as baseless and misleading. Sadly, one of the few prominent news portals, the Maktoob that reported the truth and debunked this fake news was withheld by the government.
Alt News, co-founded by Pratik Sinha and Mohammad Zubair, is one of the few news sites dedicated to busting fake news. They have done commendable work, tirelessly exposing fake news being spread on social media as well as on mainstream news channels.
Sadly, despite their fact-based work, Zubair and his platform are frequently targeted by right-wing accounts. In the past, he has even been arrested and taken to court—simply for reporting verified facts and challenging false narratives.
These accounts on X and other platforms belong to individuals sitting comfortably in their homes, posting anything just to grab attention.
It’s easy to talk about war from a distance. The real situation can only be understood by those who have lived through violence, chaos, and fear—and are actually on the ground.
In Jammu and Kashmir—especially in the Poonch district—we are witnessing casualties due to intense cross-border shelling. Yet, people sitting far away in comfort cheer for war, rooting for more destruction. This is not a war movie to enjoy on your OTT platform; real blood is being shed on the ground.
While social media is an open space and lack of responsibility by users is expected, what’s truly alarming is how the so-called national news channels have become so ethically bankrupt in their race for TRP that they seem to have completely forgotten their journalistic duty.
The responsibility of the press is to inform and educate—not to spread lies, fuel fake hype, escalate tensions and resort to war-mongering.
Have you liked the news article?