India debunks Pakistan's claim of downing fighter aircraft, capturing soldiers

Shortly after India’s Operation Sindoor against nine terror camps in Pakistan, Islamabad has hoped on to its propaganda machine and has been spreading one misinformation after another. Pro-Pakistan social media handles and even influential political figures used their entire day to deliberately spread fake news.

Many of them also indulged in fabricating stories of miraculous military victories and heroic retaliation, all made out of thin air. Several social media accounts have been sharing outdated images, misrepresenting old videos, and inventing completely fabricated claims. One government source told Network18 that all this fake news is part of Pakistan’s age-old playbook.

⚠️Propaganda Alert!

Beware of old images shared by pro-Pakistan handles in the present context!

An #old image showing a crashed aircraft is being circulated with the claim that Pakistan recently shot down an Indian Rafale jet near Bahawalpur during the ongoing #OperationSindoor… pic.twitter.com/LdkJ1JYuH0

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) May 7, 2025

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“Their goal is clear — to flood the information space with falsehoods so quickly and overwhelmingly that it becomes difficult to separate fact from fiction. This is not just misinformation; it is a calculated, coordinated campaign designed to distort reality, mislead the public, and manipulate perceptions across the region,” the government source told Network18.

Old images and videos circulated by Pakistani accounts

One of the most prominent aspects of Pakistan’s propaganda machine is the spreading of old videos and images. For example, one of the viral images falsely claims that the Pakistan Army had shot down an Indian Rafale jet near Bahawalpur. The image, however, was debunked by PIB Fact Check. The PIB confirmed that the image was from a MiG-21 crash in Moga, Punjab, in 2021.

Some of these lies are also spread by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during his addresses after the Indian operation. There was another video falsely claiming that the Indian Army raised a white flag and surrendered at Chora Post.

In a video shared by several pro-Pakistan handles, it is being falsely claimed that the Pakistan Airforce has targeted Srinagar airbase#PIBFactCheck

❌ The video shared is old and NOT from India.

✅The video is from sectarian clashes that took place in the year 2024, in… pic.twitter.com/vPmMq4IWdE

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) May 7, 2025

The fabricated video was also shared by Pakistan’s Minister Attaullah Tarar, who publicly endorsed the claim without any evidence. By sharing such a frivolous post, Tarrar managed to give it an official weight.

Another example of this was the video that claimed that the Pakistan Air Force targeted the Srinagar airbase. In reality, the footage was from the sectarian clashes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, that occurred in early 2024. Another rumour that took over the internet was that Pakistan destroyed an Indian Brigade Headquarters, a claim that has no basis in fact and has been entirely fabricated, according to defence sources, News18 reported.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif also participated in spreading false information that Indian soldiers were captured during the recent military strikes. Asif claimed that Indian soldiers had been taken prisoner following Pakistan’s response to India’s Operation Sindoor. However, these claims were promptly dismissed as false, with no evidence to support the assertion of captured soldiers.

Interestingly, the Pakistani defence minister later backtracked on the statement and acknowledged that no Indian soldiers were taken into custody. The government sources have been calling it a strategic use of misinformation.