Information war is an essential feature of modern warfare. Conflicts are now fought as much in the cognitive and digital domains as on the physical battlefield.
It enables actors to shape perceptions that benefit one party and harm its adversary, irrespective of the situation on the ground. A disinformation campaign can boost the morale of your armed forces and mobilize public opinion in favour of the war, while simultaneously undermining enemy morale.
These campaigns can influence decision-making by both the actual combatants and neutral third parties without the use of kinetic force, often at low cost and with asymmetric advantages.
In modern warfare, disinformation is often sown at the very top by official military/political leadership to manipulate public perceptions of the war.
One only needs to look at two recent wars: the India-Pakistan War (May 2025) and the current Iran-US War to see this strategy in play.
Iran’s Disinformation Campaign
On the third day of the war, Iran claimed that it had shot down several US fighter jets in Kuwait. Within hours, the Kuwaiti defense ministry acknowledged that several US fighter jets had crashed in the country.
In no time, several videos emerged showing a USAF F-15 fighter jet crashing in Kuwait and pilots ejecting, making the Iranian allegation look credible.
Even though most security experts cautioned that the incident is most likely the result of friendly fire, many in Iran cheered, believing that Tehran had indeed shot down multiple USAF fighter jets.
Interestingly, during the 12-day war last year, Iran had been unable to shoot down even a single Israeli fighter jet. Furthermore, on February 28 and March 1st, over 200 Israeli fighter jets and dozens of USAF fighter jets conducted multiple sorties over Iran, but Tehran could not neutralize even a single warplane.
Still, people started celebrating that several USAF fighter jets were finally shot down by Iran. However, by afternoon, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) had acknowledged that three F-15 fighter jets had crashed in Kuwait and that all crew were safe.
It said that the crashes were most likely the result of friendly fire from Kuwaiti air defense systems.
“At 11:03 p.m. ET, March 1, three U.S. F-15E Strike Eagles flying in support of Operation Epic Fury went down over Kuwait due to an apparent friendly fire incident. During active combat—that included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones — the U.S. Air Force fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses,” the CENTCOM said in a statement.
“The cause of the incident is under investigation,” the statement added.
Similarly, on March 1, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed that “the US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln was struck by four ballistic missiles.”
However, CENTCOM called Iran’s claim a lie. “The missiles launched didn’t even come close,” CENTCOM said in a post on X.
“The Lincoln continues to launch aircraft in support of CENTCOM’s relentless campaign to defend the American people by eliminating threats from the Iranian regime,” it added.
Again, on March 3, Iran claimed that it had attacked the Israeli Prime Minister’s office, and the fate of Benjamin Netanyahu is not known. However, Israeli media soon refuted the report and said that there were no injuries in the attack.
Notably, Iran used the same playbook last year during the 12-day war as well.
In June 2025, during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, the state-owned Iranian media repeatedly claimed that the Iranian air defenses had downed two Israel Air Force (IAF) F-35I Adir stealth fighter jets.
The claims were dismissed by Israel as Fake News. Still, many Iranians believed the propaganda, especially because it was aired on Iranian state media.
The event was marketed as the first-ever shootdown of F-35 fighter jets.
“Iran has earned the distinction of being the first country in the world to successfully shoot down fifth-generation fighter jets by targeting two stealth F-35 fighters belonging to the Zionist regime,” Iran’s state-owned Press TV said at the time.
However, in December, nearly six months after the incident, Iran’s state media finally acknowledged that it made those claims incorrectly, noting they were based on unreliable information from a military official.
As the current war widens, Iran is set to double down on this strategy of running disinformation campaigns to boost the morale of its forces and convince them that they’re in the fight.
This is critical, as if soldiers feel they’re fighting a lost cause, it is very difficult to keep them motivated.
Though the strategy is not unique to Iran.
During the four-day war between India and Pakistan in May 2025, Islamabad used the same strategy, making false, exaggerated claims to declare victory in the brief war.
Pakistan initially claimed that it had shot down five Indian fighter jets, which also included multiple Rafale jets. Later, Pakistan claimed that it shot down six, then seven, and even eight Indian fighter jets.
Similarly, Islamabad started claiming that the downed Indian fighter jets included four Rafales.
The propaganda served two purposes. Firstly, it created a perception that Pakistan was the undisputed victor in the brief war. Secondly, it boosted the image of the Chinese fighter jet J-10CE and the joint Chinese-Pakistani fighter jet JF-17.
Notably, before the India-Pakistan War, the J-10CE, a 4.5-generation Chinese fighter jet, had never been combat-tested, and Pakistan was the only country to have bought the aircraft.
Chinese state-run media amplified these unverified Pakistani claims for obvious reasons, as it boosted the image of Chinese fighter jets.
According to Associated Press, Chinese embassy staff in foreign countries employed AI-generated images of downed Rafale fighters, footage from video games, and more than 1,000 fabricated social media accounts to create a fake narrative against Rafale fighters and boost the demand for Chinese J-10CE aircraft.
Similarly, findings by French intelligence confirmed that China orchestrated a coordinated disinformation and misinformation campaign aimed at undermining India’s defense capabilities, specifically targeting the French-made Rafale fighter jets.
The campaign’s objective was clear: to erode India’s defense posture and weaken France’s expanding strategic partnerships in Asia by casting doubt on the credibility of its defense exports.
According to Justin Bronk of the Royal United Services Institute, the Rafale was deliberately targeted due to its strategic significance and high visibility. The French Ministry of Defense emphasized that this was not merely an attack on a fighter aircraft but a direct assault on France’s industrial credibility, strategic autonomy, and global defense relationships.
Unfortunately, many Western media outlets and even US President Donald Trump fell prey to this fake Pakistani propaganda.
However, after months of deliberation and studying the evidence, many think tanks are now concluding that India might have lost three fighter jets, and Pakistan might have lost up to five, and that by the end of the war, India had achieved undisputed air superiority over Pakistan.
However, what is curious is how Western media outlets fell prey to Pakistani propaganda so easily.
There could be various reasons for this.
For instance, during Operation Sindoor, India’s response was slow and reactive. There was no immediate strategic communication or coordinated counter-narrative from official institutions, creating an information vacuum quickly filled by Chinese and Pakistani disinformation.
Pakistan’s ISPR, backed by coordinated bot networks, flooded social media platforms like X, Telegram, YouTube, and Instagram with fabricated visuals, deepfakes, and false narratives—reportedly pushing over 200,000 posts in the first 48 hours. Simultaneously, Chinese state media and diplomats amplified these claims while promoting Beijing’s own military prowess and technological reliability.
Another reason could be India’s continued reliance on Russian defense platforms such as the Su-30MKI, S-400, and BrahMos.
It is possible that many Western analysts were reluctant to highlight the effectiveness of Russian systems, as this could have undermined the broader Western narrative against Moscow.
Regardless, these examples show how critical information warfare has become in modern wars. If not managed well, a country risks losing the war narrative despite holding a clear advantage on the ground.
- Sumit Ahlawat has over a decade of experience in news media. He has worked with Press Trust of India, Times Now, Zee News, Economic Times, and Microsoft News. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Media and Modern History from the University of Sheffield, UK.
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- He can be reached at ahlawat.sumit85 (at) gmail.com
