In the recent conflict between India and Pakistan under Operation Sindoor, India has won the physical fight and tech war but has lagged behind in information war and narrative war.
Current CDS Gen Anil Chauhan says that about 15% of the strength was engaged only in tackling misinformation.
Wrong propaganda and misinformation also become a component of war at such times. Many such misinformation were seen in both World Wars through newspapers, radio and posters.
What is information war??
Now information war has become such a challenge that there is a need to create a new kind of war strategy to win the war.
In today’s times, there is a need to work on a war strategy that takes into account media, social media, artificial intelligence and even the smallest television broadcasts.
Due to lack of attention in information war, global media pushed India on the back foot in Operation Sindoor by showing wrong information at the global level.
Pakistan made many false claims like it has shot down fighter jets in many Indian bases and has destroyed the S400 system. This false narrative of Pakistan attracted the attention of the international media.
In such scenarios, the way information war is being expanded badly, our citizens and our defense institutions will have to be completely alert.
Information war has become very serious in modern warfare because through this, strategic advantage can be taken in this war by misleading the public, destroying communication systems, providing wrong information on social media and by influencing politically.
As you also know, whether it is technical war or physical war, a boundary is decided there but there is no boundary decided in information war, it can be led from anywhere in any manner and that too at minimum cost.
In information war, the enemy only needs technology and a better connectivity through which the enemy can steal data, corrupt data and can also break the morale of the public by influencing them.
There are countries like China which have developed such viruses and installed them in the software due to which the information war has increased even more. There are countries like India where the danger of all these things is increasing because pirated software is easily available in India.
Information war also causes the same kind of damage as physical or technical war because in information war also IT infrastructure gets damaged and communication network gets blocked.
In 2022, a video went viral on social media and the Internet in which it was shown that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zheleznyasky was urging his military to surrender to the Russian military, which was a completely fake video.
Here, information war was carried forward by spreading misinformation.
Similarly, during Operation Sindoor, Pakistan also made videos of some old fighter jets and uploaded their photos on the internet and social media and claimed that it has shot down India’s Rafale fighter jets or other fighter jets.
Apart from this, a video of India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar was made viral in which it was shown that India has suffered a lot of loss due to Operation Sindoor and India has made this biggest mistake.
Information warfare has become more dangerous than cyber attacks because it animates the public’s trust, emotions and thoughts through social media and online content.
In the information war, attempts are made to control the mind and heart by manipulating the opinions of think tanks, big experts, video shows and official statements of social media influencers.
The kind of wrong narrative that is being spread in today’s scenario and the information war is being used in the wrong way, it is not only the duty of the military to fight against the information war but it is also the duty of the government, private companies, big influencers and the public to stand against the information war.
Even in ancient times, information war was used. At that time, kings and emperors used information war to fight big battles in which they also got strategic advancement.
Artificial Intelligence has brought a new twist in the information war. Using Artificial Intelligence, true and false messages can be spread easily and effectively.
In information warfare, such information is spread through trusted platforms which, even if false, appears to be true. In this war, the enemy’s strength is shown to be less and oneself is shown to be more powerful and effective.
How to prevent information warfare?
The responsibility of fighting against information war is not only of the government but also of big organizations, institutes and individuals.
To stop information misinformation, the public should be educated by showing correct information through media. Any information should be verified thoroughly before believing it.
Attention should be paid to data protection by implementing cyber security rules and regulations from time to time.
There should be such a regulation through which the fast spread of misinformation can be stopped.
Information warfare can be stopped by taking help at international level and by using a standard procedure and strategy.
Along with making the public aware, there should be freedom for the media and monitoring of every publication published by the media.