The 2025 India-Pakistan conflict redefined modern warfare, shifting the battlefield from borders to minds. Operation Sindoor highlighted the power of cognitive warfare, where AI, deepfakes, and disinformation became strategic tools.
A viral deepfake of India’s External Affairs Minister and misleading footage by Pakistan’s ISPR blurred reality and manipulated public perception.
India responded swiftly, forming a war room within the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, with cyber and military experts debunking fake content in real time.
AI-driven propaganda exploited regional and psychological vulnerabilities, from fake alerts causing panic to morale attacks on military families.
Agencies like Maharashtra Cyber countered with rapid takedowns, while DIPR trained military leaders in psychological resilience.
The Invisible Battlefield of 2025, where communication emerged as a key defense, with daily press briefings and frontline commanders engaging the public to maintain narrative control.
Pakistan’s strategy echoed China’s “Three Warfares” doctrine, escalating the cognitive conflict globally.
Despite reactive challenges and outdated cyber laws, India pushed back with strategic diplomacy and digital literacy efforts.
Moving forward, India must invest in AI-native defense, update cyber laws, and build a National Cognitive Security Agency.
The 2025 clash proved cognitive warfare is now a core element of national security—demanding urgent, unified action to protect the nation’s mind-space.
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