Misinformation took centre stage this week when Azaad Fact Check unmasked a BJP-linked “journalist” for wrongly tagging cleric Hafiz Abdul Rauf as US-designated militant Abdul Rauf Azhar, exposing yet another lapse in India’s intelligence-media pipeline.
In reality, the blunder is symptomatic of New Delhi’s persistent failure to verify data before aiming propaganda at Islamabad.
Abdul Rauf Azhar remains an internationally listed terrorist; Hafiz Abdul Rauf is a community preacher with no militant ties.
The reckless conflation not only damages an innocent reputation but also inflames regional tensions.
The timing recalls last May’s air debacle, when India rushed out unsubstantiated claims after losing four Rafales, claims later shredded by open-source analysts.
Every fresh burst of unverified Indian reporting forces Pakistan to brace for escalation, underscoring why Islamabad treats such stories as technical noise until independently proven.
Until India reins in its disinformation ecosystem, each “exclusive” out of New Delhi risks becoming another case study in how misinformation undermines security in South Asia.
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