Pakistan’s Ordeal at the Hands of the International Media

Abstract

This study aims to examine the disinformation and negative propaganda warfare waged by adversary states against Pakistan and ascertain whether the warfare was impactful. In this warfare, the media is used to build narratives against Pakistan, portraying it as a promoter of terrorism, an unsafe nuclear arsenal holder, a possessor of a rogue army, etc. The purpose is to shape the Pakistani public’s opinion and international perception and, as a result, government policy in their favor. This study approached the problem through the agenda setting theory lens based on a seminal study by Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw (1972), one of the most valuable tools for investigating the influence of the mass media on public thinking and attitude. Interpretivism was the research paradigm adopted for this study, with a basic commitment to ontological relativism and epistemological subjectivism. Although this study was mainly involved in inductive reasoning, like most qualitative studies, it partly has a validating character. A purposive sampling method was adopted to recruit participants identified through snowballing. Based on guidance from the relevant literature for predominantly phenomenological studies, this research comprised a sample size of 15 interviewees with diverse backgrounds, comprising media academicians and journalists with international affairs backgrounds and defense analysts to complement the data from various aspects of the disinformation phenomenon. Based on five research questions, in-depth phenomenological interviewing was employed to collect data in line with this study's ontological stance and epistemological beliefs. The Thematic Analysis Method was used for data integration and analysis. Employing this method, 78 codes were identified from the interview data. These codes were segregated into 24 nodes and 18 child nodes based on similarity. The nodes were later clubbed into 5 themes. NVivo version 12 was used to compile the data graphically and assign it to visual presentations. This study identified eight potential impacts that disinformation recipients could have developed. Four of these potential impacts did not happen because of the significant moderators. The remaining four impacts were diluted to varying extents proportionate to the moderators’ significance.