Thread by @TheChronology__

5th Generation Warfare (Thread)
The Inside Story of Pakistan ISI’s Social Media Operations

Dec 8, 2020
A tweet about India’s farmer protests by a user named Damanjeet Singh stirred a storm on X

The tweet read: “I think Jinnah was right. I’m sorry, Pakistan.”

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In this tweet, An Indian Sikh man was trying to say that Indian govt was oppressive for Sikh and Sikh should have moved to Pakistan

Soon this tweet became super viral and #JinnahwasRigh trending on twitter and media was reporting it

Even Imran Khan promoted that tweet

That tweet didn’t come from an Indian Sikh Damanjeet Singh

It originated from Paki account originally named "Voice of Youth Pakistan."

The tweet wasn’t sent from Delhi, it was posted from Rawalpindi

The person behind it was on payroll of ISI’s social media cell

Welcome in 5GW

5th Generation Warfare (5GW) is a modern concept of war that focuses primarily on non-kinetic, psychological, and information-based tactics rather than traditional military force.

Replace Missiles and bullets with Tweets, posts, video, news article
Replace fighter jets and tank

with X, Facebook, telegram, Instagram

Here target is not enemy's military bases but mind of public of enemy country

Though objective remains the same - To weaken the enemy

5GW is about controlling perceptions, disrupting societies, and winning without fighting

It blurs the line between peace and war, between civilian and soldier. Its weapons are ideas, not bombs.

Pakistan has one of the best 5GW army in the world

Operation Cyclone
During 80s, ISI got the opportunity to work with CIA against Russian Armies in Afghanistan

From CIA, ISI learnt many techniques of psychological warfare which CIA was using to train Mujahedeen

ISI used these PsyOp techniques to brainwash Kashmiris, during 90s and Indian Muslims after Godhra 2002

The imp milestone in this journey was 2008 when Social media arrived

during 2009-15: ISI kept increasing emphasis on cyber operations, narrative-building against India

In 2016 : Pakistan entered in full scale 5G warfare

Dedicated depts and teams in ISI were created for 5GW

Thousands of youths were recruited and command centers were created

Key ISI Departments Involved in 5GW

1. Joint Intelligence X (JIX) – Coordination
- Acts as a liaison between all wings
- Coordinates hybrid operations across internal and external domains
- It also recruits assets for ISI in India
They keep eye on Indian trends, Indian handles

specially those who are critical to India
Most probably Indian Youtuber Jyoti Malhotra was identified by this dept only

2. Joint Intelligence Bureau (JIB) – Surveillance
- Monitors internal dissent.
- Coordinates with Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority to suppress

narratives against the state.
- It also gives training for information warfare

3. Joint Counterintelligence Bureau (JCIB) – Counter-Propaganda
- Identifies and neutralizes foreign narratives (especially Indian and Western).
- Monitors foreign journalists, diplomats, NGOs.

4. Joint Intelligence North (JIN) - India Focused Ops
- Conducts info-ops targeting India.
- Coordinates with proxy groups and digital assets for influence campaigns.

5. Special Communications Organization
Its very imp team of ISI 5GW. It designs the communication for

operation like how to provoke Dalit against Brahmin, How to provoke Indian public against Govt

6. Cyber Warfare Unit
- Based in Rawalpindi and under Military Intelligence and ISI.
- Pakistani youth who runs sock puppet accounts (Fake accounts) on name of Indians, Jews

Europeans, Americans etc

Operational Tactics in 5GW
So what ISI actually do through these depts

1. Disinformation Campaigns
- Use of fake news, doctored videos/images, and fabricated documents to mislead public opinion.
- Target audiences: India, Afghanistan, Western media,

and domestic population.

2. Psychological Operations (PsyOps)
Seeding confusion and fear during events like Pulwama, Balakot, or internal crises (e.g., Imran Khan’s arrest).
- Often uses nationalistic rhetoric to stir emotions.

3. Narrative Building via Academia & NGOs
- Influencing research think tanks, academic journals, and forums to promote favorable narratives (e.g., Kashmir as a humanitarian issue).
- Using humanitarian NGOs in tribal areas for dual-purpose

4. Proxy Digital Influencers
- Using fake personas or paid influencers to promote ISI-approved narratives.

- Hashtag warfare (e.g., #IndiaHijackedKashmir, #FreeKashmir).

Social Media Strategy & Teams

Pakistan operates sophisticated social media cells, often staffed by military personnel, media experts, and IT professionals.

Twitter/X : Primary battlefield for hashtag warfare, trend manipulation, targeting Indian narratives

most of the dalit atrocity narratives, north south narratives, Sikh oppression narratives you see in Indian twitter come from Pakistani handles only

Facebook: ISI runs thousands of FB pages, Distribution of visual disinformation, memes, and nationalistic posts from FB only

YouTube : Channels posing as independent analysts, used to push state-friendly narratives

Instagram/Tik Tok: Emotional and religious narratives targeting youngsters

Telegram and Whatsapp : Closed-group operations, coordination, rumor spreading specially to Indian Muslims

Notable Media & Digital Fronts:

DGISPR: Official voice of the military, increasingly media-savvy.

ISPR-affiliated influencers: Like Zaid Hamid, Orya Maqbool Jan, and emerging "defense analysts."

Fake accounts: Thousands of coordinated fake accounts used during Indo-Pak tensions.

Case Study 1: Kashmir Post-Article 370 (2019)

- Massive hashtag campaigns: #BleedingKashmir, #ModiHitler.
- Fake videos of “Indian atrocities” circulated, some later identified as Syrian or Rohingya footage.
- Pakistani diplomatic pressure on OIC and UN amplified by social media bots.

Case Study 2: Balakot Airstrike (2019)
- Pakistani narrative: “No Indian plane hit target.”
- Viral footage shared of destroyed forests falsely claimed to be the Indian strike site.
- Simultaneous counter-narratives pushed on social media by thousands of pro-Pakistan bots.

Case Study 3: India’s 2018 Dalit Protests

- A 2019 study found, 5,000 Pakistani social media accounts spread disinformation around movements linked to India (including caste-based protests)
- Pakistani “cyber warriors,” such as the Pakistan Cyber Force, organized content boosting emotional imagery and protest narratives, aiming to highlight India’s internal divisions and undermine its social cohesion
- ISI-linked digital actors framed the protests as systemic Hindu oppression, using supportive hashtags like #SaveDalits to gain traction internationally

This narrative war by ISI was so lethal that Indian govt had to go against Supreme Court and passed SC/St act

Case Study : Operation Sindoor (May 2025)

Thousands of coordinated Pakistani social media handles and bots quickly spread fake narratives during the 4-day escalation, seeking to frame India as an aggressor and justify Pakistan’s responses

- Narrative of Pakistan defeated India, Pakistan destroyed 6 Rafale

So next time when you see some Jatav abusing Sharma or some Dravidian abusing Bihari then there is very much chance that its actually Abdul from Rawalpindi

Pakistan’s approach to 5th Generation Warfare is deliberate and calculated and this strike runs 24x7

Don't fall for Pakistani propaganda because in this war, target is you

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