Debunking Pakistani Claims: No Sukhoi Shot Down, Just Misinformation

Government Responds to False Claims

New Delhi: On Friday, the Indian government dismissed claims circulating on Pakistani social media that a Sukhoi Su-30MKI was downed in Muzaffarabad and that an Indian pilot had been captured.

According to a fact-check conducted by the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the image being shared by these accounts was identified as a fake, originating from an 11-year-old news article.

The PIB clarified that the image depicted an incident involving the Indian Air Force’s Sukhoi SU-30MKI, which crashed near Pune-Ahmed Nagar highway in Maharashtra on October 14, 2014.

In a post on X, the PIB stated, “Fake News Alert: Pakistani social media is falsely claiming that a Sukhoi SU-30MKI was shot down in Muzaffarabad, capturing an Indian pilot. This aircraft crashed at Undre Vasti of Kulwadi village in Maharashtra on October 14, 2014.”

The PIB included the original news report in their post, highlighting the misuse of the image by Pakistani sources.

Additionally, the PIB addressed a video that was being widely shared, labeling it as a propaganda piece from Pakistan.

This video, which purportedly showed a heavy Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) attack, was revealed to be footage from a video game.

The PIB's post on X read, “Pakistan Propaganda Alert! A video showing a heavy MLRS barrage is being falsely shared as a real Pakistani attack on India. This video is from a video game and has been online for over three years.”

The PIB emphasized that this video has no relevance to the current tensions between India and Pakistan and provided a link to the original clip.

The fact-checking unit of the PIB has urged the public to remain vigilant and verify information before sharing.

Earlier in the day, the PIB also debunked several other viral posts, including an image that falsely claimed to show an explosion at the Jammu Air Force base.

The PIB confirmed that this image was actually from a blast at Kabul airport on August 21, stating, “Explosion at Jammu Air Force Base? Here’s the truth! An old image is being circulated with false claims of multiple explosions at the Jammu Air Force Base in India.”

The PIB attached the original report from which the image was sourced.

The PIB fact-checkers have verified that numerous videos and images being circulated do not pertain to the ongoing military situation.

Earlier in the morning, the PIB debunked a widely shared video that claimed to show Pakistani attacks on Hazira Port in Gujarat and a drone strike in Jalandhar.

The PIB clarified that the Hazira Port video depicted an unrelated oil tanker explosion from July 7, 2021, which Pakistan is misrepresenting as an attack.

Another video, which was said to show the aftermath of a drone attack in Jalandhar, was confirmed by the PIB to be footage of a farm fire.

The PIB stated, “Drone Attack in Jalandhar. This video is unrelated and depicts a farm fire. The video has the timestamp of 7:39 PM, while the drone attack began later.”

Following India's extensive cross-border strikes on terror bases in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Pakistan, a surge of misinformation and false narratives has emerged from across the border, propagated by influencers, media, and government-backed social media accounts.

The PIB has already exposed several such misleading videos since the commencement of India's military actions against terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7.