Social media, especially X, is a double-edged sword for Pakistan's national security, fueling radicalization and hybrid warfare. To tackle this, we must boost civic awareness, advance digital literacy, and ramp up fact-checking to outsmart misinformation and propaganda.

Social media has undergone significant changes in recent years, becoming crucial platforms for voices to reach billions almost instantly. These platforms offer both benefits and drawbacks, particularly threats. In Pakistan, the threats from social media, especially X (formerly known as Twitter), include radicalization, glorification of terrorist groups, promotion of violent sub-nationalism, and hybrid warfare. Since 2020, Pakistan has been relatively proactive in addressing social media challenges, but enforcing social media regulations remains difficult, particularly given the foreign origins of most platforms. Social media closely connects with national security in our society, investigating how insecurity and instability exploit social media and the state's response mechanisms to counter these threats.

Unlike traditional media, social media allows information to be shared without any checks for accuracy, which allows the negative use and proliferation of propaganda. Promoting civic awareness becomes necessary in Pakistan to curb the growing tendency of blaming, cribbing and negative use of social media against our national institutions.

From a national security standpoint, both internal and external hostile actors persist in exploiting social media platforms. Notably, people from various segments of society are now connected on these platforms. Unlike traditional media, social media allows information to be shared without any checks for accuracy, which allows the negative use and proliferation of propaganda. Promoting civic awareness becomes necessary in Pakistan to curb the growing tendency of blaming, cribbing and negative use of social media against our national institutions.
Most people now rely on social media to consume sociopolitical information. According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), internet penetration has reached 56 percent of the population, or 72 million social media users in 2023.1 In the context of a hybrid war against Pakistan by its adversaries, extremists, terrorists, and sub-nationalists heavily use X for propaganda, which creates divisions in our society. Additionally, disinformation from hybrid warfare spreads widely through online proxies of foreign powers, leading to a growing disconnect between the state and society.

In the context of a hybrid war against Pakistan by its adversaries, extremists, terrorists, and sub-nationalists heavily use X for propaganda, which creates divisions in our society. 

Comparative Analysis of Social Media Platforms
Social media usage in Pakistan shows that 46 percent of the population uses Facebook, followed by 42 percent on YouTube, 23.5 percent on WhatsApp, and 17.3 percent on TikTok. Although only 2.3 percent of Pakistanis use X, it remains the most crucial social media network for national security.2 This is because X often serves as a primary source of information shared on other platforms and reported by traditional media. It's important to note that most X users are highly educated and play a key role in shaping opinions and narratives.
Terrorist groups like Fitna al Khawarij (FaK), formerly recognized as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and various Baloch terrorist organizations manipulate X to reach their target audience with propaganda. FaK uses X to outline its goals and spread propaganda against the Pakistani state. Although X regularly bans FaK activists, they continuously create new accounts to share their views. 
Pakistan began publicly sharing its security policies in 2014. The first of these, the National Internal Security Policy (NISP) 2014, aimed primarily at addressing terrorism. The second NISP, introduced in 2018, focused on countering both extremism and terrorism. Most recently, in 2022, Pakistan unveiled the National Security Policy (NSP), which has been described as a comprehensive policy framework. 

Terrorist groups like Fitna al Khawarij (FaK), formerly recognized as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and various Baloch terrorist organizations manipulate X to reach their target audience with propaganda. 

Non-State Actors
Various groups, including religious and political ones, take advantage of social problems like sectarianism, ethnic injustice, gender inequality, and corruption to challenge the authority of the state. This mix of traditional and unconventional tactics can create a larger divide between the government and the people, eroding trust and unity. This divide can destabilize society and make it more difficult for governments to tackle these issues effectively. 
The promotion of violent extremism through social media has been the main goal of the foreign-funded non-state actors in Pakistan. The main target audience for FaK's propaganda is the Pashtuns, with 39 percent of its posts in Pashto, followed by 28 percent in Arabic, 24 percent in Urdu, 8 percent in English, and 1 percent in Balochi. About 15 percent of the posts are threats against the Pakistani state, 28 percent are videos, 21 percent cover arms training, 20 percent highlight combat achievements, and 16 percent are aimed at the general public.4
According to data revealed by the Islamabad Institute of Policy Research (IPRI), the Indian digital media has been engaging in systematic propaganda against Pakistan.5 For instance, Indian news outlets and official X accounts were involved in spreading false information about a so-called 'civil war' between the Sindh Police and the armed forces, for which Indian media was criticized.
Therefore, social media greatly contributes to instability, fostering insecurity. Specifically, X has been influential in shaping public discussions. Due to the presence of people from various spheres on the platform, it also serves as a key information source for traditional media. As a result, X has been exploited to spread extremism, terrorism, ethnonationalism, and hybrid warfare.
Countering Threats Posed by Misinformation
Leading researchers, tech companies, and fact-checkers say the threat posed by the spread of misinformation should not be underestimated. “Having a large number of people in a society who are misinformed is absolutely devastating and extremely difficult to cope with,” says Stephan Lewandowsky of the University of Bristol.6 A panel of experts highlighted significant challenges of the 21^st century, with many identifying the erosion of trust in reliable information sources as one of the most urgent issues. This challenge, in many respects, may overshadow all others. Without a shared foundation and a set of facts that people with differing perspectives can agree upon, addressing the world's pressing problems will be extremely difficult. The disinformation endangers the very foundation of democracy. The first lesson in any political science textbook would tell you that democracy depends on people being well-informed about the issues so they can discuss and make decisions.

The main target audience for FaK's propaganda is the Pashtuns, with 39 percent of its posts in Pashto, followed by 28 percent in Arabic, 24 percent in Urdu, 8 percent in English, and 1 percent in Balochi. About 15 percent of the posts are threats against the Pakistani state, 28 percent are videos, 21 percent cover arms training, 20 percent highlight combat achievements, and 16 percent are aimed at the general public. 

Today, with news sources becoming fragmented and misinformation spreading rapidly online, is there anything that can be done? As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more advanced, the system will start doing some fact-checking on its own. At first, the system will focus on addressing claims already verified by human fact-checkers, automatically sending out corrections to stop rumors before they take hold. For instance, if someone claims 'crime is rising,' it’s relatively straightforward for a computer to verify if we know where to find crime statistics. It is only possible if people in our society become aware and educated about fact-checking/authentic websites. The real challenge for the government right now will be creating tools capable of assessing more specific claims, but over time, the system will grow increasingly effective.

A panel of experts highlighted significant challenges of the 21st century, with many identifying the erosion of trust in reliable information sources as one of the most urgent issues.

By offering people information outside their usual comfort zone but not so far that they would ignore it, you can help prevent self-radicalization within their informational bubbles. For example, a significant portion of the U.S. population lives in what we consider an alternate reality, and they circulate completely false information among themselves. Trying to penetrate these bubbles is incredibly challenging because any effort to correct their beliefs is often dismissed as part of a conspiracy. This is why Republicans and Democrats can disagree over something as basic as the number of people in a photograph. 

Since the youth form a significant portion of Pakistan's population, fostering civic awareness and engagement is essential. Initiatives such as promoting digital literacy, encouraging fact-checking before engaging with contentious content, and educating individuals on distinguishing between authentic news, misinformation, and propaganda are vital. 

Similarly, ensuring national security is a matter on which every Pakistani should completely agree. Employing numerous professional fact-checkers to identify and flag all false content on social media would be costly and time-consuming. However, the users of these platforms can contribute to this effort by accurately evaluating the reliability of news websites. A study analyzing the results of two experiments involving nearly 2,000 participants suggests this approach might be effective.7 The research indicates a notable alignment between fact-checkers' and laypeople's assessments, with both groups consistently giving very low ratings to hyper-partisan and fake news sites and accounts. Through civic education, citizens should also be able to distinguish between misinformation, false narratives, and accurate information and facts.

According to data revealed by the Islamabad Institute of Policy Research, the Indian digital media has been engaging in systematic propaganda against Pakistan.

As Pakistan faces escalating threats from hybrid warfare, it is crucial to address the growing animosity towards national institutions, which is increasingly evident in our society. Since the youth form a significant portion of Pakistan's population, fostering civic awareness and engagement is essential. Initiatives such as promoting digital literacy, encouraging fact-checking before engaging with contentious content, and educating individuals on distinguishing between authentic news, misinformation, and propaganda are vital. These strategies empower citizens to critically assess information and help mitigate the impact of hostile narratives aimed at undermining state institutions. By prioritizing these efforts, we can strengthen national security and build a more informed and resilient society while keeping the freedom of expression and democratic values intact.

The writer is a policy researcher based in Islamabad. She currently works as a Research Associate at the Institute of Social and Policy Sciences (I-SAPS). 
E-mail: [email protected]

1.     Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, Annual Report 2023, Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, https://pta.gov.pk/assets/media/pta_annual_report_31-01-2024.pdf
2.     Saad Al Abd, "Social Media as a Threat to National Security: A Case Study of Twitter in Pakistan," 2022, Margalla Papers 26 (2): 96-107, Doi: https://doi.org/10.54690/margallapapers.26.2.117 
3.     Saifur Rehman Tahir, “A Study of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Social Media Communication," NACTA, Vol I, Issue II, 2020, https://nacta.gov.pk/vol-ii_issue-i_2020/ 
4.     Indian digital media engaging in systematic propaganda against Pakistan, published on October 20, 2022, ‘Indian digital media engaging in systematic propaganda against Pakistan’ (tribune.com.pk)  
5.     Richard Grey, “Lies, propaganda and fake news: A challenge for our age” BBC, https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170301-lies-propaganda-and-fake-news-a-grand-challenge-of-our-age 
6.     Denise-Marie Ordway, "Fake News and Fact-checking," published on January 13, 2020, https://journalistsresource.org/politics-and-government/fake-news-fact-checking-research-2019/