Old plane crash video falsely linked to India-Pakistan conflict

[Pelican Press 0]

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Old plane ****** video falsely linked to India-Pakistan conflict

After India and Pakistan clashed in the worst military violence in decades, social media posts shared a video falsely claiming Pakistanis rescued a pilot from a downed Indian fighter jet. But the footage first circulated in news reports about a plane that crashed during a training exercise in February 2025. 

“Pakistanis rescuing a pilot from an Indian aircraft shot down by a Pakistani military attack,” reads part of a Sinhala-language

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shared May 7, 2025.

The post includes a reel whose caption says in Urdu: “Take this, Your father Pakistan has destroyed seven Indian planes. A video of shooting down of one plane has surfaced”.

The video shows a plane engulfed in flames and people tending to someone dressed in military fatigues. An AFP reporter confirmed the people in the video are speaking in Hindi with a rural accent.

Screenshot of a Sinhala-language

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post captured May 20, 2025

India launched air strikes on what it called “terrorist camps” in Pakistan on May 7,

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an immediate response from Islamabad (

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). 

The fighting was touched off by an attack last month in the Indian-administered side of disputed Kashmir that killed 26 tourists, mostly Hindu men, which New Delhi blamed on Islamabad. Pakistan denies any involvement in the attack.

Pakistan claimed it downed 

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, including three French-made Rafale fighter jets, although New Delhi has not confirmed any losses (

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).

The clashes, the worst between the neighbours in decades, were brought to a halt by a ceasefire announced May 10.

Similar 

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spread

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on

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alongside the same video. But the footage predates the violence. 

A

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and subsequent

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on

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found a 

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published February 7 on the verified

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account of Indian media outlet Aaj Tak (

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).

“Another video has emerged related to the ****** of an Indian Air Force fighter aircraft (Mirage-2000) near Bahreta Sani village in Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh,” part of the Hindi-language caption reads. 

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/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

Screenshot comparison of the false

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post (L) and the video posted by Aaj Tak

The footage bears the red logo of Aaj Tak, visible in the top right-hand part of the clip shared on

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.

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/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

Screenshot of a

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post taken May 20, 2025

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 published the

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on February 7 (

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).

Other Indian media organisations, including The Times of India and NDTV, reported that a twin-seater Mirage 2000 

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from the country’s air force

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in the state of Madhya Pradesh on February 6 (archived links

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and

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).

The Indian Air Force 

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on X that the pilots ejected before the plane crashed due to a system malfunction (

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). 

A police officer from Karera — a municipality in the Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh — also 

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the plane ****** to

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and said two pilots were on board the jet when it crashed. The Indian news outlet quoted one of the pilots (

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).

AFP has debunked other misinformation stemming from the conflict between India and Pakistan

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.

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#plane #****** #video #falsely #linked #IndiaPakistan #conflict

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