In May 2025, the world witnessed a watershed moment in the history of conflict as India and Pakistan clashed in an environment defined not just by military maneuvers but by a relentless battle for perception, trust, and truth. Operation Sindoor unfolded across digital and psychological domains, where bytes, beliefs, and behavioral manipulation became as decisive as missiles and tanks. As Lt. Gen. A.B. Shivane (Ret.) observed, "Victory now hinges on controlling perceptions as much as territories." The events of 2025 revealed that the future of warfare will be shaped as much in the minds of populations as on the ground, and that democracies must urgently adapt to defend against this invisible, insidious threat.
The Anatomy of Modern Cognitive Warfare
Weaponizing AI: Deepfakes, Synthetic Media, and the Crisis of Authenticity
The 2025 clash saw the deployment of AI-generated content at an unprecedented scale and sophistication. Deepfakes hyper-realistic but entirely fabricated videos became the weapon of choice for state and non-state actors alike. Within hours of the first airstrikes, a video surfaced showing India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar "apologizing" for the escalation. The video, viewed over 12 million times before being debunked, was a product of advanced generative adversarial networks (GANs). Similarly, Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) circulated doctored footage of Indian jets being shot down actually repurposed from a 2021 aviation incident.
Dr. Kate Crawford, AI Ethics Researcher, cautions: "Deepfakes have democratized deception. In the wrong hands, they can erode the very idea of objective reality, making truth negotiable and trust a casualty."
The crisis of authenticity was further exacerbated by synthetic audio, forged documents, and AI-generated "official" statements, all designed to blur the line between fact and fiction. In response, the Government of India moved swiftly to counter these tactics. A dedicated war room was established under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, integrating experts from the Army's Corps of Signals and the National Cyber Coordination Centre. This team proactively monitored digital platforms and rapidly issued clarifications through the Press Information Bureau's Fact Check Unit, debunking deepfakes and other false narratives, including the widely circulated fabricated video of the External Affairs Minister.
Algorithmic Propaganda: Hyper-Personalized Disinformation and Social Engineering
Cognitive warfare in 2025 was not just about mass deception, but about precision manipulation. AI-powered sentiment analysis and natural language processing enabled adversaries to tailor disinformation to specific linguistic, regional, and psychological profiles. For example, fake advisories warning of imminent fuel shortages in Punjab and Haryana led to panic buying and supply chain disruptions. Meanwhile, veterans and military families received targeted messages sowing doubt about the government's commitment to their welfare.
Pro-Pakistan bot networks, leveraging automation and AI, flooded social media with over 5,000 coordinated posts per day under hashtags like #PakistanVictory, overwhelming authentic voices and shaping the online narrative.
Col. (Ret.) Ajai Shukla, Defense Analyst, observes: "The battlefield is no longer geographical it's psychological, playing out on smartphones, WhatsApp groups, and Twitter feeds. The enemy's goal is not just to misinform, but to divide, demoralize, and destabilize."
Indian cyber agencies, including Maharashtra Cyber, responded by removing thousands of fake news posts and doctored images, helping to limit the spread of panic-inducing misinformation. The Indian Armed Forces coordinated closely with civilian agencies to maintain narrative coherence and morale. The integration of military cyber experts with government communication teams ensured that counter-narratives were data-driven and timely, helping to prevent adversaries from dominating the information space.
The Armed Forces, in keeping with the Ministry of Defence's 2025 'Year of Reforms' vision, demonstrated remarkable agility and modernization. They leveraged new domains such as cyber and space, and adopted emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance operational readiness and cognitive defense. The Defence Institute of Psychological Research (DIPR) played a vital role, supporting the forces with psychological screening tools, cognitive and psychomotor systems, and specialized training for junior leaders in cognitive warfare. These initiatives not only optimized human capital but also fortified the psychological resilience of soldiers, ensuring they were prepared for the unique pressures of cognitive and information-centric conflict. The DIPR's collaboration with the Infantry School and Army Training Command to develop tools like PsySHOT for specialized infantry roles, and the deployment of computerized aptitude tests, further strengthened the military's ability to adapt to evolving threats.
A notable pillar of India's cognitive defense was the government's and armed forces' commitment to regular, transparent communication. The Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) held daily press briefings, with the Official Spokesperson and Foreign Secretary addressing the media alongside senior officers such as Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh. These briefings provided timely updates, addressed disinformation, and clarified India's actions and intentions to both domestic and international audiences. At the operational level, senior military leaders including the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMO), Air Operations (DGAO), and Naval Operations (DGNO) conducted their own briefings, ensuring that accurate information about military developments, ceasefire agreements, and operational outcomes reached the public and media directly. Army generals in the field also engaged with the press, offering on-ground perspectives and reinforcing the credibility of official narratives. This multi-tiered approach to communication helped counter adversarial propaganda, reassured the Indian public, and maintained international confidence in India's transparency and restraint.
The "Three Warfares" Doctrine: China's Influence and the Multipolar Cognitive Arena
Pakistan's information operations bore the unmistakable imprint of China's "Three Warfares" doctrine psychological, legal, and public opinion warfare. State-backed Chinese outlets like Global Times and CGTN amplified fabricated stories of Indian aggression, while legalistic narratives painted India's actions as violations of international law.
Dr. Brahma Chellaney, Geostrategist, notes: "Cognitive warfare thrives in legal and informational gray zones. By leveraging plausible deniability and cross-border digital proxies, adversarial states can shape global perceptions with minimal risk of direct retaliation."
The result was a multipolar cognitive arena, where narratives were as fiercely contested as physical territory.
Systemic Shortcomings and Vulnerabilities Exposed
Reactive, Fragmented Counter-Disinformation Efforts
India's institutional response, while commendable in its speed, was fundamentally reactive. The Press Information Bureau (PIB) managed to debunk over 20 major fake narratives within 72 hours, but by then, the damage was often done. Maharashtra Cyber's removal of 5,000+ malicious posts was a significant effort but highlighted the challenges of manual detection when facing AI-generated content at scale.
Apar Gupta, Internet Freedom Advocate, remarks: "Fact-checking is like mopping a flooded floor. The real challenge is to fix the leak to develop anticipatory, AI-driven systems that can detect and neutralize disinformation before it spreads."
The coordination between government agencies, civil society, and private sector fact-checkers could benefit from further integration to enhance rapid, unified responses. Nevertheless, the immediate actions taken by the government and armed forces during the crisis such as the establishment of a war room, the use of real-time content moderation, the deployment of psychological support and training for troops, and the consistent field briefings by Army generals demonstrated agility and a capacity for rapid adaptation in the cognitive domain.
Legal Obsolescence and Jurisdictional Gaps
India's legal framework, designed in an earlier digital era, has yet to fully encompass the complexities introduced by AI-driven threats. The Information Technology Act, while robust in many respects, offers limited recourse against creators and disseminators of synthetic media. Cross-border actors, often operating from servers in jurisdictions with differing legal standards, have been able to exploit these gaps.
Rahul Matthan, Cyberlaw Expert, emphasizes: "Our legal frameworks are analog relics in a digital age. Without robust, enforceable laws against AI-generated deception, we are fighting 21st-century threats with 20th-century tools."
Societal Susceptibility: Cognitive Fatigue and Weaponized Trust
One of the most profound challenges revealed was the vulnerability of Indian society to cognitive manipulation. AI-powered disinformation campaigns exploited existing social fissures religious, regional, and economic. A 2025 Observer Research Foundation (ORF) survey found that only 32% of Indians could reliably identify a deepfake or synthetic news item.
Dr. Sameer Patil, National Security Analyst, states: "Cognitive warfare doesn't just exploit ignorance it weaponizes trust, turning citizens into unwitting amplifiers of hostile narratives."
The constant barrage of conflicting information has led to cognitive fatigue, polarization, and diminished social cohesion, underscoring the need for widespread digital literacy initiatives. During and after the clash, India's emphasis on public digital literacy and awareness was reinforced, with campaigns and independent fact-checkers playing a vital role in amplifying truth and debunking falsehoods. This reflects a growing ecosystem of societal resilience against cognitive attacks.
Geopolitical Dimensions: Asymmetry, Isolation, and Ideological Infiltration
Technological Asymmetry and the Race for AI Sovereignty
Pakistan's access to sophisticated Chinese AI tools, such as SenseTime's deepfake generators, provided a technological edge in the cognitive domain. While India has made strides in fact-checking and cyber defense, the rapid evolution of generative adversarial networks (GANs) and other AI techniques demands accelerated investment in indigenous AI detection and response capabilities.
Nandan Nilekani, Tech Entrepreneur, emphasizes: "Without investing in indigenous AI for defense and detection, we risk ceding the narrative and strategic advantage to hostile actors."
Ideological Infiltration and Proxy Networks
Cognitive warfare blurred the lines between external adversaries and internal dissent. Pro-Khalistani and far-left groups inadvertently amplified ISPR propaganda, while influential Indian voices were co-opted to legitimize false equivalences between Indian counterterrorism and Pakistani aggression.
Sushant Sareen, Pakistan Analyst, observes: "Cognitive warfare turns dissent into a weapon a fifth column without traitors, eroding national unity from within."
The subtle exploitation of ideological fault lines requires nuanced strategies that respect democratic freedoms while safeguarding national security.
The Global Credibility Concern
China's diplomatic shielding of Pakistan at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and its amplification of anti-India narratives in international media contributed to a global credibility deficit. False stories such as India's suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty being labeled "water terrorism" gained traction in Europe and North America, complicating India's diplomatic efforts.
Recognizing the importance of strategic communication on the global stage, the Indian government dispatched an all-party parliamentary delegation to key world capitals during the crisis. This delegation engaged directly with foreign governments, international media, and think tanks, presenting India's perspective, countering disinformation, and reinforcing the nation's commitment to stability and responsible action. This bipartisan approach not only helped to correct misconceptions but also demonstrated India's democratic unity and transparency to the international community.
Shashi Tharoor, MP and Author, laments: "In the court of global opinion, lies often sprint while truths tie their shoelaces. The battle for narrative dominance is now a matter of national security."
The Way Ahead: Building Cognitive Resilience for the Digital Age
AI-Native Defense Ecosystems
India must prioritize investment in AI-powered detection and response systems capable of real-time identification of deepfakes and synthetic media. Collaborations with global technology leaders can facilitate deployment of watermarking, provenance tracking, and automated content verification for official communications, ensuring authenticity and trust. The experience of 2025 has already laid important groundwork, as the rapid establishment of coordinated cyber defense and fact-checking teams demonstrated the value of integrated digital infrastructure.
Legal Overhaul and International Norm-Setting
A comprehensive amendment of the Information Technology Act is needed to criminalize the creation and dissemination of deepfakes, mandate transparency in AI training data, and empower swift cross-border takedowns. On the global stage, India should champion efforts to establish a "Geneva Convention for Cognitive Warfare," setting norms and red lines for AI use in conflict and disinformation.
Societal Immunization and Digital Literacy
Digital literacy must become a core component of education systems, complemented by public awareness campaigns such as #CheckBeforeYouShare targeting all demographics. Training community leaders, veterans, and educators as "cognitive first responders" can create a grassroots defense network against disinformation and manipulation. The government's emphasis on public digital literacy during the crisis has already begun to foster a more resilient society.
Strategic Communication Hubs and Rapid Response
Establishing a National Cognitive Security Agency (NCSA) to coordinate efforts across military, intelligence, media, and technology sectors would enhance India's ability to respond swiftly and coherently. Pre-approved, data-backed counter-narratives should be prepared for rapid deployment, ensuring that truth maintains parity with falsehood in the information space. The coordination between military cyber experts and government communicators during the 2025 clash offers a strong foundation for such future initiatives.
Conclusion: Securing the Mind - The New Imperative
The India-Pakistan clash of 2025 was not just a test of military might but a profound warning for democracies worldwide. As Sun Tzu wrote, "Supreme excellence lies in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting." In the age of cognitive warfare, the battlefield is everywhere and nowhere embedded in our devices, conversations, and collective consciousness.
India's path forward must be defined by technological sovereignty, legal innovation, and societal resilience. Only by anticipating and adapting to the invisible threats of the digital age can nations safeguard not just their borders, but the very fabric of their democracy and identity. The invisible battlefield is here and the time to build cognitive resilience is now.
[Major General Dr Dilawar Singh is an Indian Army veteran who has led the Indian Army's Financial Management, training and research divisions introducing numerous initiatives therein. He is the Senior Vice President of the Global Economist Forum AO ECOSOC, United Nations and The Co President of the Global Development Bank.]
