India, Dec. 4 -- The kind of clip that circulates during periods of heightened India-Pakistan tension usually looks something like this: a low, urgent hum under a grey warship ploughing through a choppy digital sea. A missile arcs into frame, trailing smoke before slamming into the vessel's side. There is a flash, a rising fireball, the camera shakes, and the ship begins to list. Then a bold caption appears: "Pak Navy destroys Indian warship - live footage."

For anyone scrolling on a small phone screen at midnight, it can look convincing. But nothing in these videos is real. The "warship" is a 3D asset, the "sea" is rendered water, and the entire sequence is lifted from readily available naval video games. These are not isolated incident...