Collaboration Yes. Confrontation No.

The attack in Pahalgamin April shook the regionand sparked a briefwar situation betweenPakistan and India. As tensionsescalated on the military front,the media coverage by the Pakistaniand Indian news outletstriggered a digital upheaval ofdisinformation, jingoism andBollywood-esque war-mongering.

To keep any such futureconflicts from further escalation,journalists on both sides of theborder need to focus on gettingtheir facts straight, report with acollaborative mindset and seethe region as one connectedcommunity rather than just twonuclear-armed countries stuck ina historical conflict.

In the age of social mediaconnectivity, collaboration is notimpossible to achieve, unlikeprevious wars when people reliedonly on information provided bythe state, such as updates fromRadio Pakistan and broadcastsof milli naghmas. As Dr MairaQaddos argues in A ColossalIrony: Exploring The Role OfMedia During “Fall Of Dhaka1971”, the media then “did notshow the real picture of the issue,and instead kept on highlightingthe negativities and atrocities thatgave air to the conflict.”

This time, as border skirmishesincreased and war-related memeswent viral on social media, therewas more interaction and back andforth between Indian and Pakistaninetizens than there ever hadbeen during an India vs Pakistancricket match. So, reachingout to journalists to collaborateacross borders on sane, nuancedreporting is not a huge ask.

According to Ramsha Jahangir – a Pakistani journalist and policy expert specialising in mis/disinformation, internet rights,censorship and digital society –the need is to create supportivenetworks that collaborate acrossborders in safe and meaningfulways. This support can comefrom international news outletsby encouraging collaborativestories without co-opting them.“It’s not just about stoppingmis/disinformation; it is aboutre-humanising the ‘other side,’”says Jahangir. “Collaborativejournalism across the IndiaPakistan border will not solvethe conflict overnight, but itcan crack the door open tobetter understanding and deescalation.” However, when thereare conflicting narratives at anational level as well, even themost passionate collaborativeprojects can waver when itcomes to agreeing on framingthe tone of a story, and in thisrespect, Jahangir emphasisesthe importance of non-politicalspaces for journalists to shareexperiences and build trust.“It starts by redefining what a‘patriotic journalist’ looks like. Notas someone who echoes warcries, but as someone who asksharder questions.”

While the Indian media resortedto loud, sensationalist reportingof fake news regarding whatwas happening on the ground,the Pakistani media resortedto tongue-in-cheek reactionsto that reporting. The fewmedia outlets in India thatfocused on nuanced, verifiedreporting, such as The Wire,were censored by the Indiangovernment. According to theCommittee to Protect Journalists,“Internet Service Providerstold The Wire that they had received orders to block the siteunder a government directiveissued under the InformationTechnology Act, 2000.”

Archis Chowdhury, seniorcorrespondent and fact-checkerat BOOM India, says that Indianjournalists were not been exposedto Pakistani media coverage eversince it was banned during theconflict. He adds, “When peoplewatch Bollywood movies in India,they get riled up. They become veryemotional, and it was pretty muchthe same for them when it cameto watching the news because thenews was presented exactly inthe same way.” As a result, therewas hardly any reliable informationabout the scale of the conflict andthe realities on the ground. “Whatdid the Indian army do to Pakistan?What did the Pakistan Army do toIndia? If either side wants thesequestions answered, the best wayto do so is to create a network ofreliable journalists who can informaudiences about what is happeningacross borders,” says Chowdhury.“This helps create a reliable biggerpicture of the conflict, rather thana Bollywood version, according towhich each other’s cities have beenblown up, when nothing of the sorthas happened.”

While working on a story forBOOM on media misinformationabout India’s ‘invasion’ ofPakistan, Chowdhury reached outto several Pakistani journaliststo confirm every detail, and hereceived a lot of help in verifyingbig and small claims. “There is alot of opportunity for collaborationhere, and I don’t think it should belimited to just this conflict. I thinkthere is real promise for goodcollaboration aimed atproviding verified information onboth sides.”

Ankita Anand, an award-winningjournalist based in Delhi withyears of experience in crossborder collaboration, says crossborder collaboration sensitisesus to issues that are commonto both sides; otherwise, we willalways be zooming in only on thedifferences. “When I collaboratedwith a Pakistani journalist onhow South Asia can tacklepollution, we were looking atthe larger South Asian picture,”she says. In her opinion, crossborder collaboration allows us tofocus on stories about people’sconnection to each other andtheir culture. “Our waters areconnected, so environmentally,this is something we need tokeep in mind. Focusing on ourcommon problems and ourcommon heritage are two waysof building peace narratives.”Anand’s advice is thatjournalists, media organisationsand NGOs need to put asystem in place wherebyPakistani and Indian journalistscan attend organised meets,virtual and physical, in order tobuild a bridge.

The Western world aboundswith conferences, fellowshipsand opportunities for mediaprofessionals to meet and holddiscussions. So, imagine a futurewhere similar opportunitiesexist for Indian and Pakistanijournalists to do so as well –and maybe then the fear andwarmongering we saw recentlycan be exchanged for thenuanced approach that comeswith verified reporting.

Zahra Salah Uddin is a multimediajournalist with a decade of experiencein international newsrooms and thenon-profit sector.