When India and Pakistan Went to War – Online

Nishtha Gupta

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When terrorists attacked a tourist convoy in Pahalgam in April 2025, killing 26 civilians, it set in motion a crisis that brought nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan to the brink. India retaliated with airstrikes deep inside Pakistani territory. Pakistan returned fire. In capitals around the world, diplomats raced to defuse tensions, eventually securing a fragile ceasefire.

But even as guns fell silent along the border, another battle was escalating – one waged in feeds and timelines, fought not by soldiers but by social-media savvy citizens. They weren’t soldiers or diplomats, but in an instant, they had enlisted as digital warriors in a war fought not with missiles or tanks, but with likes, shares, and viral outrage.

This wasn’t warfare as traditionally understood. This was warfare as theater, driven by outrage, optimized for engagement, and amplified by algorithms. Social media didn’t merely document the conflict; it reshaped it. For millions, especially politically disengaged middle-class citizens, it offered a compelling way to experience nationalism – not as citizens voting or organizing, but as digital warriors performing patriotism online.

This was conflict transformed into content. And it changed the nature of war itself.

The Frontline in Your Pocket

Traditional warfare demands clarity: who attacked whom, and why. But the digital battlefield defies such clarity, thriving instead on immediacy, sensationalism, and emotional intensity. In the chaotic aftermath of the India-Pakistan strikes, social media feeds filled rapidly with misinformation – clips from unrelated conflicts, recycled explosions, even footage from video games – all shared without verification. Authenticity quickly became irrelevant; what mattered was engagement.

Platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Telegram weren’t merely passive channels; they actively propelled misinformation forward. Algorithms favored the most shocking visuals and incendiary headlines, fueling outrage because outrage captures attention. And attention, especially on social media, is highly profitable and addictively engaging.