Fact-check: Viral Indian defence ministry document about Operation Sindoor 2.0 is AI-generated

Visual discrepancies and grammatical errors emerge as Indian government agency also debunks the document

Multiple users on social media platform X since June 16, 2026, have been sharing an alleged classified Indian Ministry of Defence document claiming that India is preparing “Operation Sindoor 2.0” and considering fresh military action across the Line of Control (LoC) by exploiting protests in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. However, the document is AI-generated.

Pakistan and India fought in a four-day conflict in May 2025. Indian fighter jets were shot down by the Pakistan Air Force on the night of May 6-7 in response to the Indian Air Force’s late-night missile strikes at six Pakistani sites, including Subhan Mosque in Bahawalpur’s Ahmedpur East, Bilal Mosque in Muzaffarabad, Abbas Mosque in Kotli, Umalkura Mosque in Muridke, the village of Kotki Lohara in Sialkot district, and Shakargarh.

The hostilities prompted diplomatic engagement by regional and international actors, eventually leading to a ceasefire and a reduction in military activity. “Operation Sindoor” was the codename given by India to its military operation.

Separately, the government of AJK on June 5, 2026, declared the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) a proscribed organisation and placed it under the First Schedule of the region’s anti-terrorism act. In response, JAAC observed a shutdown and wheel-jam strike.

On June 6, 2026, authorities in AJK launched a crackdown on the proscribed JAAC, arresting scores of its leaders and activists from different areas. The region has since witnessed unrest with clashes between protesters and security forces that have led to deaths and injuries, with each side blaming the other.

HOW IT STARTED

On June 16, an account on X, which appears to be pro-military based on its past posts, shared an image of an alleged document from the Indian defence ministry with the following caption:

“India is preparing for Operation Sindoor 2.0 to take advantage of the situation in Azad Kashmir … The Ministry of Defence has directed that the latest recommendations regarding operational planning and the potential use of forces be prepared and presented at the National Security Committee meeting.”

The post gained 17,200 views.

Another pro-military account shared the same image on the same day with a similar caption, gaining 2,472 views.

On June 17, Geo News Senior Correspondent Waqar Satti also shared the image on X with the following caption: “If India is dreaming of any new misadventure by using the situation in Azad Kashmir as a pretext for its aggression, then this is another dangerous miscalculation on its part. The Modi government should remember that this time, it will not just be Pakistan’s armed forces, but millions of Pakistani people who will stand like a wall of lead in defence of their homeland. No matter how much planning India does, it will once again gain nothing but defeat, disgrace, and failure. This time ENDIA ”

The post gained 1,984 views.

Similarly, the same image was also shared by other users on X, as can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, further amplifying the claim.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and keen public interest in relations and tensions between Pakistan and India.

Inspecting the document for visual discrepancies revealed that the classification marking was written as “TOPSECRET” without a space, instead of “TOP SECRET”. Furthermore, “favorable” is used in the first paragraph, which is American English, while India uses British English, thus “favourable” should have been used.

Another grammatical error was the omission of the definite article “the” before “Line of Control” in the second paragraph.

The viral image was further analysed using AI detection and forensic tools. Fake Image Detector flagged the document as 75 per cent modified.

Another AI detection tool, TruthScan, flagged the video with 96pc probability.

AI detection tool DeepAI flagged it as 97pc AI-generated content, and Sightengine flagged it as 61pc doctored content.

A keyword search was subsequently conducted to verify whether any credible Indian or international media outlets had reported such a document related to “Operation Sindoor 2.0”, but yielded no results.

Further investigation revealed a fact-check by the Press Information Bureau’s (PIB) Fact Check, the Government of India’s agency to debunk fake claims, which further confirmed that the viral document is AI-generated.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that an alleged Indian Ministry of Defence document reveals plans for “Operation Sindoor 2.0” and fresh military action against Pakistan is false.

The document is AI-generated.

This fact check was originally published by iVerify Pakistan — a project of CEJ-IBA and UNDP.