ABP Exclusive: Pakistan Spread Fake News On India’s Role In US Airstrike On Iran, Posts Reached 97 Million

<p>Following the U.S. B-2 bomber strike on Iran&rsquo;s nuclear facilities, Pakistan once again activated its malicious agenda, launching a coordinated misinformation campaign targeting social media users in India and Iran. The campaign falsely claimed that the U.S. had used Indian airspace to carry out its strikes on Iran. Taking cognisance of the matter, the Government of India promptly dismissed the claim. PIB Fact Check labelled the viral claim as fake news and clarified that no part of Indian airspace was used during the U.S. airstrike on Iran.</p>
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”>
<p dir=”ltr” lang=”en”>Several social media accounts have claimed that Indian Airspace was used by the United States to launch aircrafts against Iran during Operation <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/MidnightHammer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#MidnightHammer</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/PIBFactCheck?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#PIBFactCheck</a><br /><br />❌ This claim is FAKE<br /><br />❌Indian Airspace was NOT used by the United States during Operation&hellip; <a href=”https://t.co/x28NSkUzEh”>pic.twitter.com/x28NSkUzEh</a></p>
&mdash; PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) <a href=”https://twitter.com/PIBFactCheck/status/1936807977534849494?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>June 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
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<h3><strong>Campaign Orchestrated by ISI</strong></h3>
<p>After this, ABP News launched an in-depth investigation into the false narrative, which uncovered that the entire campaign was orchestrated by Pakistan&rsquo;s intelligence agency, the ISI. The objective may have been to sow confusion and unrest within India or to portray India as a &ldquo;villain&rdquo; in the eyes of the Iranian public.</p>
<p>As per ABP News&rsquo; exclusive investigation and analysis, the disinformation operation against India began exactly at 5:30 PM IST from a fake X (formerly Twitter) account impersonating an Iranian news anchor named &ldquo;Sahar Emami.&rdquo;</p>
<p><br /><img style=”display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;” src=”https://feeds.abplive.com/onecms/images/uploaded-images/2025/06/23/bfede61fb75d80fd494a6142bf588d88175068583674825_original.png” width=”720″ /></p>
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<p>The tweet from this fake account alleged that India had allowed the U.S. to use its airspace to launch strikes on Iran. Following this tweet, the false narrative was rapidly propagated across X by thousands of coordinated accounts, in a textbook &lsquo;toolkit&rsquo;-style campaign.</p>
<p><br /><img style=”display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;” src=”https://feeds.abplive.com/onecms/images/uploaded-images/2025/06/23/55e7788ba52ce581369b56aaf73330a8175068546348225_original.png” width=”720″ /></p>
<h3><strong>Account Traced to Lahore; Bots Replicated Message Within Seconds</strong></h3>
<p>After performing a reverse trace of the X account impersonating Sahar Emami, with the username @iamSaharEmami, it was revealed that the account was actually being operated from Lahore, Pakistan, by an individual named Abdul Fareed.<img style=”display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;” src=”https://feeds.abplive.com/onecms/images/uploaded-images/2025/06/23/9bace8daf696bf71d35765b8eff9a4a5175068565649925_original.png” width=”720″ /></p>
<p>Just seconds after the fake Sahar Emami account posted the initial misinformation tweet, the exact same message was replicated word-for-word by thousands of bot accounts &mdash; some of which had Pakistani flags in their display names.</p>
<p><br /><img style=”display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;” src=”https://feeds.abplive.com/onecms/images/uploaded-images/2025/06/23/04da2283e3136369a00c8046a11e849e175068550632125_original.png” width=”720″ /></p>
<p><br /><img style=”display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;” src=”https://feeds.abplive.com/onecms/images/uploaded-images/2025/06/23/85aec75d3b2293501bbcd349f334d75b175068577817525_original.png” width=”720″ /></p>
<p>Using word, mention, and hashtag analysis tools, ABP News discovered that every account amplifying this narrative in the first two hours originated from Pakistan-based IP addresses.</p>
<p><br /><img style=”display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;” src=”https://feeds.abplive.com/onecms/images/uploaded-images/2025/06/23/351615b37937a692bda813bd30f77acd175068555993225_original.png” width=”720″ /></p>
<p>Moreover, the investigation found that not only were Pakistani bot accounts involved, but several banned accounts restricted in India were also actively participating in spreading this falsehood. For instance, one of the accounts sharing the toolkit belonged to retired Pakistani Brigadier Ashfaq Hussain. His X account has been withheld in India, yet it was among the key disseminators of the false claim.<br /><br /><img style=”display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;” src=”https://feeds.abplive.com/onecms/images/uploaded-images/2025/06/23/f8a5ecc856535048049b0d61284d6e72175068557933125_original.png” width=”720″ /></p>
<h3><strong>97 Million Reached; Cyber-Op Reportedly Funded in Crores</strong></h3>
<p>The toolkit used English keywords and hashtags related to both India and Iran, aiming to maximise reach in both countries. According to ABP News&rsquo; reach analysis, the false narrative ultimately reached nearly 97.5 million people.<img style=”display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;” src=”https://feeds.abplive.com/onecms/images/uploaded-images/2025/06/23/b222d8cecac21f64d272a76dca4ec1ec175068570194025_original.png” width=”720″ /></p>
<p>Cybersecurity expert Amit Dubey told ABP News that ever since &ldquo;<a title=”Operation Sindoor” href=”https://news.abplive.com/topic/operation-sindoor” data-type=”interlinkingkeywords”>Operation Sindoor</a>,&rdquo; Pakistan has intensified its cyber misinformation war against India, aiming to instigate internal social unrest and distrust &mdash; a tactic ISI has long pursued. However, this new campaign appears far more aggressive and is reportedly being funded with crores of rupees.</p>
<p>Interestingly, just 24 hours before the U.S. strike, Pakistan was demanding that the U.S. President be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. But following the attack, it abruptly switched stances and began condemning the U.S. Moreover, several Pakistani social media users even admitted that U.S. bombers used Pakistani airspace, raising strong suspicions that, to deflect attention, Pakistan deliberately shifted focus towards India and initiated this false propaganda.</p>
<p>However, ABP News&rsquo; exclusive investigation has now exposed Pakistan&rsquo;s entire misinformation operation, revealing that the disinformation campaign targeting India in the wake of the U.S. strike on Iran was a deliberate cyber-op launched by Pakistan. The intention may have been to strain Indo-Iranian relations, but Pakistan&rsquo;s sinister plot to mislead more than 97 million people has been exposed.</p>