Fact-Check: Debunking Misinformation on ‘Operation Sindoor’

Stay updated with all the fact-checks published by BOOM on ‘Operation Sindoor’, and get informed on the misinformation surrounding the 2025 Indo-Pak conflict.

Published - 15 May 2025 4:39 PM IST

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Fact-Check: Debunking Misinformation on ‘Operation Sindoor’

On May 7, 2025, Indian Army launched 'Operation Sindoor' targeting nine alleged terror outfits in Pakistan, as a retaliatory military action against the April terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. Since the military action, several border regions in India have experienced shelling with casualties reported in Kashmir and Punjab.

India's air strikes, and the ensuing escalation of military tensions with its neighbour generated a frenzy of disinformation, spilling over frequently from social media to mainstream media, and muddying the information ecosystem, leaving people misinformed and confused.

At BOOM, we have documented significant instances of information pollution on 'Operation Sindoor'. This page is a repository of all the fact-checks we published on this topic since May 7, 2025. Stay informed!

Live Updates

16 May 2025 11:01 AM IST
Video From Philadelphia Viral As INS Vikrant Attack On Karachi Port
Claim: Video shows the destruction of Karachi Port by Indian Naval Ship Vikrant in ongoing military escalations between India and Pakistan.

Fact: BOOM found the video is from January earlier this year, when a medical plane crashed in Philadelphia on January 31, 2025.
Read the fact-check here.
16 May 2025 10:57 AM IST
Old Photo From Türkiye Falsely Viral As Pakistani Pilot Captured In India
Claim: A viral photo claiming to show a Pakistani pilot captured by the Indian Army

Fact: BOOM found that the image is from December 12, 2016, when a Turkish F-16 fighter jet crashed near an airport in the city of Diyarbakir.
Read the fact-check here.
16 May 2025 10:50 AM IST
Video Of Pakistan Admitting To Losing Two Fighter Jets Is A Deepfake
Claim: Pakistan agrees that they lost two fighter jets.

Pakistan officially admitting huge losses, 2 JF 17 fighters have been shot down! DG ISPR Ahmed Sharif Chaudhary #IndiaPakistanTensions #IndiaPakistan #PakistanBehindPahalgam #IndiaPakistanwar @AdvaitaKala @miryar_baloch pic.twitter.com/zD4AIbsIkE
— Arun Anand (@ArunAnandLive) May 8, 2025

Fact: The video is a deepfake where the voice is AI generated and the lip movements do not match with the audio.
Read the fact-check here.
16 May 2025 10:48 AM IST
No, This Viral Video Does Not Show India's Strikes On Sialkot
Claim: Video shows an Indian airstrike in Sialkot, Pakistan.

Fact: BOOM found that the viral video is from Mumbai, Maharashtra where a massive fire broke out on March 24, 2025 after an LPG gas leak from cooking gas cylinders.
Read the fact-check here.
16 May 2025 10:40 AM IST
Viral Notice Claiming UGC Cancelled Exams After Operation Sindoor Is Fake
Claim: Photo shows a notice issued by the UGC announcing the cancellation of all its examinations due to the recent India-Pakistan conflict.

Fact: BOOM found that a viral notice circulating on social media, which claims that the University Grants Commission (UGC) has cancelled all exams due to the India-Pakistan conflict and Operation Sindoor, is fake. The UGC has in statement denied any such order.
Read the fact-check here.
16 May 2025 10:37 AM IST
Video Of Pilot Injured In 2019 IAF Plane Crash Viral As Operation Sindoor
Claim: Video shows an Indian Air Force pilot injured after his jet was shot down by Pakistan as retaliatory action to India's Operation Sindoor.
Fact: BOOM found that the viral video is from February 2019, when IAF's two Surya Kiran Aerobatic team planes collided mid air and crashed in Bengaluru. The crash left both pilots injured, with one of them seen in the video rescued by locals.
Read the fact-check here.
16 May 2025 10:36 AM IST
Old Video Viral Claiming IAF Pilot Rescued After 'Operation Sindoor'
Claim: Video shows Indian Air Force pilot involved in Indian Army's military 'Operation Sindoor' against Pakistan, being rescued by locals.
Fact: BOOM found that the viral video is falsely being linked to Operation Sindoor. The video is from February 2025 when an Indian Air Force Mirage-2000 fighter jet crashed in Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri district. Visuals show the pilot in the crash being rescued by locals after his safe ejection.
Read the fact-check here.
15 May 2025 5:01 PM IST
Video Of Pak Soldiers Viral As Indian Army Waving White Flags To Retrieve Bodies
Pakistani social media users misrepresented a video showing Pakistani army soldiers waving white flags at the LoC as Indian army soldiers.
Claim: Video shows the Indian Army soldiers waving white flags to retrieve bodies of soldiers killed in an attack at the Line of Control.
Fact: The video shows Pakistani soldiers waving a white flag to retrieve the bodies of their fellow soldiers, killed after a ceasefire violation retaliatory attack by Indian forces in 2019.
Read factcheck here
15 May 2025 4:59 PM IST
Video of Iran Missile Strike On Israel Linked To India's 'Operation Sindoor'
Claim: Video shows India conducting air strikes on Pakistan as part of ‘Operation Sindoor’.
Fact: Video shows Iranian missiles targeting Israel's Nevatim airbase in Negev desert in October 2024, and is unrelated to India's recent military operation in Pakistan.
Read the factcheck here
15 May 2025 4:58 PM IST
Doctored Republic Bharat Clip Viral As Pak Army Shooting Down Indian Jet
Claim: Video shows Republic Bharat reporting that a PAF J-10C shot down an Indian Jaguar with a long-range PL-15 missile, during Operation Sindoor.

Fact: Video is doctored using several different clippings from an accidental crash of an Indian jet in Jamnagar, Gujarat on April 2, 2025. Republic Bharat ran no such bulletin.
Read about the claim here