At the UC Berkeley Tech & Democracy Conference, Nighat Dad presented Digital Rights Foundation’s 2025 investigations showing how digital disinformation is reshaping geopolitical tensions and humanitarian responses across South Asia. Her findings flagged platform opacity, regulatory gaps and a fragmented fact-checking ecosystem as key drivers that amplified harmful narratives and undermined public safety.
The research highlighted gendered disinformation during the Indo-Pak escalations in May, where targeted falsehoods disproportionately affected women and distorted civic understanding at critical moments. Speed and virality were routinely prioritised over accuracy and safety, allowing misleading content to spread across borders before corrections could take effect.
During Pakistan’s floods investigators documented a parallel rise in AI-generated synthetic visuals and cross-border censorship that complicated relief efforts and sowed confusion among affected communities. Platforms continued to favour engagement metrics over accountability, while states used regulatory ambiguity to control online narratives — a combination that intensified risks for those on the ground.
Dad urged strengthening institutional accountability and building regional coordination mechanisms to counter digital disinformation effectively. She called for gender-responsive crisis protocols so that emergency responses and fact-checking processes account for targeted harms and protect vulnerable groups during conflict and disaster.
Implementing transparent platform practices and harmonised regulatory standards across the subcontinent is essential, according to the Digital Rights Foundation, to preserve democratic integrity and human security when crises unfold. Without concerted action, the pace of online misinformation will continue to outstrip current safeguards and deepen real-world harms.
