Investigators probing an ongoing wave of protests have uncovered a sophisticated, multi-layered digital warfare campaign allegedly backed by Pakistan and aimed at undermining the Indian government and discrediting its response to the unrest. The operation relied on coordinated fake accounts, encrypted messaging platforms, and psychological amplification techniques to push fabricated narratives to millions of users across India.

How the Campaign Was Structured

According to officials, the operation began with the creation of a primary proxy account, around which scores of additional proxy accounts were built. These secondary handles artificially inflated the reach of content posted by the primary account through coordinated interactions among themselves — creating a false impression of organic viral traction.

Once enough artificial engagement accumulated, genuine users began joining the conversation, further amplifying the fabricated content. As real profiles shared the posts, the fake narratives gained an air of credibility and spread well beyond the original network of proxy accounts.

Targeted States and Selective Amplification

Officials say the disinformation effort was deliberately geographically targeted. Posts were circulated most heavily in states where a non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is in power, with Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab recording the highest levels of engagement.

'These elements were selective while choosing the location where they wanted these fake posts to go viral,' an official said. Investigators are continuing to examine patterns of engagement across digital platforms to identify further targeting.

Informational Smurfing and the Whack-a-Mole Effect

The campaign reportedly deployed two distinct techniques to maximise reach and resist fact-checking. The first, informational smurfing, involves simultaneously dropping a narrative into dozens of small, fragmented chat groups so that the content appears to surface everywhere at once, lending it false ubiquity.

The second, the whack-a-mole effect, describes a situation where each time one false claim is taken down or debunked, a new version resurfaces on a different platform or channel. Officials say this approach makes it nearly impossible to fully suppress a narrative. WhatsApp and Telegram were specifically chosen for this phase because their end-to-end encryption prevents platform moderators and fact-checkers from easily identifying or removing offending content.

The Encryption Challenge for Law Enforcement

A senior Intelligence Bureau official acknowledged the scale of the problem, noting that law enforcement agencies can make formal takedown requests when such content surfaces on open social media platforms. However, once the same material migrates to encrypted channels and is forwarded repeatedly within private groups, the ability to intervene drops sharply.

'The problem is massive and these Pakistani elements keep finding new ways to amplify fake narratives and content,' the official said. Because the material is eventually forwarded by trusted contacts — family members, community groups, professional networks — it becomes embedded in everyday perception, making debunking both difficult and slow.

What Investigators Are Looking at Next

The investigation is ongoing. Authorities are examining the full network of proxy accounts, mapping the geographic distribution of engagement, and assessing which platforms bore the heaviest load of coordinated inauthentic activity. The findings could inform both policy responses and formal requests to digital platforms for greater cooperation on cross-border disinformation operations.