A tweet by a parody account of Wing Commander Vyomika Singh is being widely shared on Facebook as a real comment by her. Users are sharing this quote with a screenshot of the tweet, without revealing that it is from a parody account.
BOOM looked up the handle, which goes by @WingVyomikStan, and found it to contain a disclaimer saying it's a "Commentary Account." Furthermore, BOOM reached out to the Indian Army, which confirmed that Wing Commander Vyomika Singh does not have a social media account.
During the recently concluded military conflict between India and Pakistan, Singh represented the Indian Air Force (IAF) in the joint briefings on the conflict with the Ministry of External Affairs, and Indian Army representative Colonel Sofiya Qureshi. Following India's "Operation Sindoor" strike against Pakistan on May 7, the two countries have been engaged in growing military actions against each other, including rising number of airstrikes, drone attacks, and border skirmishes. The hostility ended on May 10 following a ceasefire announcement.
Hours before the announcement, Zee Kannada News ran the tweet by the parody account with a caption, that purported the parody text as a real comment by Singh. "Pakistan will soon be on its knees, this is a promise to all of you from a daughter of Hind," Singh was erroneously quoted as saying.
View an archive of the post here.
Click here, here and here to view more such posts by other Facebook users.
Parody Account Labeled as 'Commentary Account' on X
BOOM looked up the handle of the account in the screenshot - @WingVyomikStan - which led us to the X handle containing a bio that read, "Proudly serving in the skies, defending the nation with unwavering courage. Indian Air Force | Duty, Honor ~ Commentary Account ~ protecting the motherland."
Click here to view account, and here to view an archive of the above account.
The profile also contained an official disclaimer from X saying "Commentary Account," clicking on which led us to the platform's rules on fan, parody and commentary accounts. It read, "We allow compliant Parody, Commentary, and Fan (PCF) accounts on X only if the purpose is to discuss, satirize or share information."
Parody Handle of Sofia Qureshi Goes Viral
Yet another "Commentary Account" of Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, who was also present in the joint briefings with the MEA along with Singh, has also been viral around in around the same time, with both the accounts frequently sharing each other's posts. BOOM has confirmation from the Indian army that the account does not belong to Colonel Qureshi.