Drones and the Missiles of Misinformation

In war, truth is the first casualty.

As I sat down to write this blog yesterday, news broke of an India-Pakistan ceasefire. Depending on whom you ask—or which news feed you're glued to—it was either a rare moment of diplomacy, a victory for U.S. mediation, a strategic pause granted by India’s hardline dominance, or simply unnecessary interference by a third country.

But by the time I finished writing, the ceasefire had ended. I rewrote it as escalations resumed. By morning, the mood on social media had shifted again—there was an eerie silence. Everyone, including mainstream media, had gone quiet. I paused and wrote this blog a third time, after listening to the Indian Defence press briefing in the evening.

Before diving into the misinformation war, let me recount how the past week seemed to unfold: A week of air strikes—drones, missiles, aircraft dogfights—fuelled by a social media frenzy between both countries, complete with memes, theatrics, and drama from news anchors. It was orchestrated so well it could put Hollywood and Bollywood to shame. Then came the U.S., repeatedly claiming it wouldn’t interfere. Both countries asserted there would be no negotiations and that this was a war meant to resolve a long-standing conflict. Meanwhile, media and social media pushed sensationalism. And then, almost predictably, Uncle Sam stepped onto the global stage and announced a ceasefire. The same media and so-called analysts hailed the move, and stock markets cheered.

Then came the plot twist: ceasefire violations. Then another pause. All within 24 hours.

Fog of War

Mainstream media in both countries celebrated the conflict. But the truth? It's hidden—buried under memes, half-truths, and "cowboy journalism" on prime-time news and social media timelines. What we saw was a textbook example of what military theorists call the fog of war—that murky zone where reality is obscured not just by combat, but by conflicting narratives crafted by states, corporations, and attention-hungry influencers.

Only now, the fog isn’t smoke from cannon fire—it’s content. And it’s relentless.

Historically, propaganda was slow, analog, institutional. You needed editors, printing presses, or a regime’s blessing to get your message across. Today, the battlefield is digital, decentralized, and asymmetrical. In this new kind of war, drones —they’re Twitter users, Instagram live streamers, Telegram channels, and WhatsApp forwards. Cheap. Fast. Disposable. And capable of real damage.

Missiles, on the other hand, are the legacy media: large, expensive institutions that once claimed a monopoly on truth. And just like air defence systems trying to shoot down drones with missiles, these media giants are overwhelmed—sometimes even hijacked—by the very sensationalism they’re supposed to resist. The result? No one knows what’s true anymore. Worse, most don’t care. They just want their side to be right.

Last week, both countries’ prime-time news channels went into full-blown war-fantasy mode. Most of their “breaking news” never even happened. These were trusted names, followed by millions. The information was not just false—it was dangerous. The only goal - Ratings and rage! Social media wasn’t any better. It was worse—faster, more chaotic, and emotionally weaponized. The sheer volume of posts, “breaking” threads, viral clips, and AI-generated deepfakes created a manic information environment where sober thought became impossible. This wasn’t just misinformation. It was mind saturation.

And yet, amid the barrage of noise, I noticed something. Young Indians weren’t just sharing reels or reposting rants. They were thinking. Asking real questions. Challenging inconsistencies. Debunking claims in real time. Demanding context—not just content. For the first time, I saw a generation resisting the hypnosis of legacy media and the dopamine-fueled hysteria of social media.

This morning, there’s an eerie silence across all platforms. Perhaps we did hit a major target and can’t talk about it. Or maybe something happened on our side that we’re not ready to disclose. What’s mind-blowing is that in an age of mass information—where someone in the remotest part of either country can live-record an incident with a mobile phone—news can still be tightly managed.

The massive information overload is creating more problems and mistrust. That’s one of the new age weapons—discrediting available information to breed chaos. We don’t know what’s what anymore. Fifteen years ago, we would have eagerly turned on the TV and believed a press briefing to be the truth. Today, a counterview surfaces within minutes on social media, and even the official press brief is questioned.

Diplomacy in the Dark

Even official foreign policy communications have taken a strange turn. The United States—a third country—publicly announced it had mediated between India and Pakistan on social media. While India downplayed the U.S.’s involvement, Pakistan praised Washington. Strangely, the U.S. announced the ceasefire before either India or Pakistan did.

Although the ceasefire was soon violated by Pakistan, this wasn’t a routine event. It was a turning point. So many questions linger: Did we hit a nuclear site? That seems speculative- else the scientific proof would have been there. Or was Pakistan preparing a N -attack, and did the U.S. step in to stop it? Could this terror wave have orchestrated by a secret cell of a third country —staged to disrupt India’s path toward manufacturing dominance and challenge China’s economic influence? Also, since India has suddenly emerged as one of the most powerful militaries in Asia—even outpacing China in some domains—and we’re gaining recognition in the African defence market according to some news.

Or this could this be a genuine covert operation against Pakistan after the terror attack. Unfortunately, partisan political opportunism by some politicians, jingoism by the Bhakt brigade, and theatrics in both mainstream and social media have only added to the information chaos. I had hoped this war would give us a clearer picture than the ones before. I had hoped platforms like X would help filter out propaganda. I’m disappointed.

For decades, we’ve lived with false narratives. Our history books said we won. Theirs said they did. Just as rapid social media cycles distort our understanding now, earlier generations had newspapers, radio, and television doing the same. Propaganda has always been part of the story—social media just amplified it.

If I have to analyze my emotion as my truth, here it is:

We need to project strength—through affirmative action, accurate information, foreign policy, and robust diplomacy. The world must know the true power of our nation.

Maybe this is/was the right moment to eliminate terror cells once and for all. Maybe this is/was the time to send a strong message to third countries to stop meddling in our affairs. China is mercantile in its approach—perhaps peace accords based on trade are still possible. Wars and tariffs alike originate in the pursuit of money and power—something I explored in my last blog: Art of Deal vs. Art of War.

Information vs. Emotion

We’re living through an Information Cold War, where logic is outgunned by emotion. Facts are flattened by feelings. The winners aren’t those with evidence—they’re those who spin the most compelling story.

This isn’t just about India and Pakistan. It’s about Israel-Hamas. Ukraine-Russia. China-Taiwan. Even the most “developed” democracies are caught in this battlefield of narrative warfare.

Here’s the hard truth: People don’t believe what is true.They believe what feels true.

We’ve built an entire civilization on the fragile hope that humans are rational—that logic will prevail. That good arguments change minds.

Hence, l will leave you with a counter-thesis to everything I’ve written:

Maybe the fog of information warfare is necessary. Maybe it’s created for a reason—to control the narrative for a population that simply can’t handle the truth. Because without that control, there would be chaos. Humanity has been conditioned for centuries—on different truths told through different stories of gods and power. Our curiosity is limited. We don’t always seek the truth. We just enjoy the story.

Maybe that’s who we are.

Religions knew it.

Cults knew it. 

Political consultants definitely know it.

You don’t win minds. You win myths.

If you want to change someone’s worldview, don’t show them charts. Tell them a story. Make them feel .Because emotion sticks. Logic—usually—doesn’t.

The fog of war isn’t just over the battlefield anymore. It’s in your mind.