The fictional strikes on the Karachi port and what it says about Indian media

by Oishani Bhattacharya

On May 8, tensions between India and Pakistan escalated. The previous day, India had launched Operation Sindoor, targeting nine terror bases in Pakistan. Shortly after the military strikes by India, Pakistan retaliated. There was shelling and cross-border firing in several areas of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).

Amid this geopolitical conflict, social media was flooded with reports of drone and missile sightings across both countries. There was panic, and worries over the damage an all-out war could cause. Adding to this chaos was the coverage by several Indian news channels that aired a series of sensational and unverified claims—from Islamabad facing attacks by the Indian armed forces to Pakistan army chief Asim Munir being arrested. As the conflict intensified and public confusion mounted, sections of the Indian media descended into a maddening frenzy.

A May 11 report by Scroll said 21 Indian civilians, including five children, were killed in J&K in the first four days of the India-Pakistan conflict. On May 10, foreign secretary Vikram Misri announced that India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire.

Among all the “news” reports broadcast during the cross-border shelling, one story stood out: the decimation of the Karachi port. Many visuals showing the Karachi port in shambles surfaced on social media and were aired on segments of news channels.

Do These Visuals Show A Wrecked Karachi Port?

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The short answer is no. The visuals aired by news outlets (added above) and circulated on social media had nothing to do with the Karachi Port.

For instance, Bengali news channel ABP Ananda aired a clip that apparently showed damage at the Karachi port after it was struck by naval aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. However, an Alt News probe revealed that the footage was actually three months old. Worse, it depicted scenes in Philadelphia after a plane crash. Philadelphia is in Pennsylvania, United States, thousands of miles away from Karachi. The channel also used a screengrab from the viral video in their online report that INS Vikrant had attacked the Karachi port, as well as their X post. However, these were later replaced by generic images of INS Vikrant and a Pakistan flag, respectively. No clarification was issued by the outlet for using the misleading image. The news report and the X post claiming  ‘extreme action’ INS Vikrant led to the Karachi port being destroyed are still live.

In another instance, an image purportedly showing INS Vikrant’s strike on the Karachi port was used in online reports of several news outlets, including Zee News, TV9, and Amar Ujala, among others. Alt News found that the image was actually from a 2023 naval drill, not an attack. In fact, the warship featured in the viral photo wasn’t INS Vikrant, but INS Vikramaditya.

Similarly, another visual of an explosion illuminating the night sky and smoke billowing was also circulated with claims that it showed INS Vikrant attacking the Karachi port. Alt News found that the image dates back to 2020 and is of Israel’s airstrike on Gaza. It has no connection to the India-Pakistan conflict.

On the intervening night of May 8 and 9, news outlets had almost established that the Indian Navy had wiped out the Karachi port. It remains unclear whether they picked visuals of attacks and destruction from social media or vice versa. It’s also hard to say which is worse.

Alt News has debunked several such clips shared with claims that they were scenes from the Karachi port.

The Spectacle by Broadcast Media

Late on May 9, many mainstream news channels, such as India Today, Aaj Tak, TV9 Bharatvarsh, ABP and Zee News, declared that the Indian Navy had attacked the Karachi port. They said the international port, where major business happens, was in shambles.

‘Exclusive’ reportage by India Today had commentary from a retired lieutenant general of the Indian Army on the ‘attack’ by the Indian Navy. Tickers flashed ‘Indian Navy attacks Pakistan’s Karachi’ and ‘Exclusive’ across the screen.

Its Hindi counterpart, Aaj Tak, too, claimed that the Indian Navy had launched an attack on the port. As if the sequence of events and the way they were described were not dramatic enough, a blaring siren played in the background for added theatrics. Senior journalist and anchor Anjana Om Kashyap, whose face has often been associated with the channel, kept telling her co-anchor Sweta Singh that “we” successfully surrounded Pakistan from all sides. The whole production was embellished by ‘representational’ visuals of drones being launched. These representative visuals were later circulated by Pakistan-based media outlets and social media users with claims that they showed the Pakistan Army firing with its multi-rocket launcher near the Line of Control (LoC). However, Alt News fact checked this visual and found that it was sourced from the video game Arma 3.

Zee News also said on air that the navy launched an offensive on Karachi with similar siren sounds playing in the background to heighten the drama. During one of these segments, the anchor says, “Karachi port ko tabah kar diya hain nausena ne” (The Karachi port has been demolished by the Indian Navy). This is followed by sounds of applause.

TV9 Bharatvansh’s broadcast said that multiple explosions were heard at the Karachi port. One of the hosts of the segment says in Hindi that before making their moves on the chess board, India set all the pieces beforehand; the preparations were so meticulous that no one had an inkling. It further said that they could not reveal anything more because it would be akin to revealing intel and “we are responsible” unlike the media in Pakistan.

The sound of the siren was used here too. This was an “All-out attack against Pakistan,” the channel said, sharing these updates on X. “Heavy damage to Karachi port due to Indian strike”.

ABP News, too, claimed that the Indian Navy attacked Karachi. The anchor said that nearly 12 explosions were ‘reportedly’ heard in Karachi.

By May 10, the Directorate General Fire Service, Civil Defence and Home Guards had to issue an advisory directing media channels to refrain from using air raid siren sounds in their broadcast segments. “Routine use of sirens may likely to reduce the sensitivity of civilians towards the air raids sirens,” the directive said.

Trolls Come For The Telly

While the Indian media was busy running these segments and propagating myths about the Karachi port, posts from social media users in Pakistan came as a brutal reality check. At 5:29 am on May 9, one social media user said, “I even woke up after sleeping, but according to Indian media, Karachi had been destroyed and I had died”. On the bulletin by Times Now Navbharat that Karachi port was attacked by INS Vikrant, another user wrote, “I think they put the wrong Karachi location in Google Maps!” One user chimed in saying, “Can someone from the indian navy currently taking over Karachi closest to my location come over I need someone to watch my baby while i pray”? Another user, seemingly confused, asked which Karachi they were showing.

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Jibes from Pakistani accounts were one thing, but then came an official statement from the Karachi Port Trust. At 8:40 am on May 9, they said they were “operating normally & securely. All port functions, activities & operations are taking as normal routine activity.” They called the Indian media coverage “completely false and baseless”.  (Archive)

An hour before this statement was shared, the port had already said that they were safe and their X account had been hacked. This came barely minutes after a post saying “Karachi Port has sustained heavy damage following a strike by India, resulting in unacceptable loss of property. Emergency response efforts are underway. Updates on restoration will be provided regularly. We stand resilient. #IndianNavyAction #IndiaPakistanWar #KarachiPort” was made from this account. (Archives 1, 2)

To make clear the point that the port sustained no damage, Pakistan-based journalist Sanjay Sadhwani (@sanjaysadhwani2) posted a video of himself standing near the Karachi port at 5:25 am on May 9. (Archive)

How Not To Report During Conflict

This was not a case of a source going rogue or one reporter or channel getting something wrong, which can very well happen. This was a battery of news outlets making viewers believe something completely fictional in a war-like situation. A major port like Karachi being destroyed would have significantly escalated tensions. The blaring sirens and visuals of INS Vikrant may have given viewers a sense that these were sights and sounds from the site of conflict. They had little reason to doubt it since multiple channels were airing it.

And all this despite some Indian journalists, such as WION foreign affairs editor Sidhant Sibal, clarifying that there was “No Indian Navy Action at Karachi.”

In a press briefing on May 9, foreign secretary Vikram Misri, colonel Sofiya Qureshi, and wing commander Vyomika Singh gave updates on Pakistan’s drone attack and India’s subsequent military retaliation. At no point during this did they say anything about military action by the navy or any ‘offensive’ launched in Karachi.

Even on May 11, Indian Navy vice admiral AN Pramod said that Indian Navy warships “remain deployed in the northern Arabian Sea in a decisive and deterrent posture with full readiness and capacity to strike select targets at sea and on land, including Karachi, at a time of our choosing”. He did not once mention that the navy had carried out an attack.

It’s hard to find a word that fully captures the reportage that unfolded late on May 8. It was not only embarrassing and irresponsible, but absurd.

A country’s citizens, teetering on the edge for any updates on what was happening, were led to believe that India was launching offensives in areas of civilian habitation in Pakistan and using warships as a final blow to ‘attack’ a major port. All this when the Indian defence forces kept reiterating that their military strikes were non-escalatory, focused and measured. An average citizen could have been panic-sticken and afraid. And then to be told that none of it happened is slightly bizarre.

In future, the ‘destruction’ of the Karachi port will serve as an example of what not to do when reporting in sensitive times of conflict.

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