A video purportedly a news clipping of Republic Bharat is viral claiming the Pakistan army shot down an Indian jet involved in India's retaliatory military attack in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, monikered Operation Sindoor.
BOOM found that the video is doctored using several different clippings from an accidental crash of an Indian jet in Jamnagar, Gujarat on April 2, 2025. We were also able to confirm that Republic Bharat did not air the viral video, and the logo has been added to make the false claim that it is a news report.
In the wee hours of May 7, 2025, India launched airstrikes on several locations in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). The Indian government in a joint presser with the defence forces have said nine sites involved in terrorist attacks against India have been destroyed.
Unverified reports suggest Pakistani forces shot down Indian jets in a retaliatory strike, but no official confirmation has been issued as of publication of this story.
A Pakistani X handle Islamabad Insider shared the video with the claim, "BREAKING: Pakistan Air Force J-10C has shot down an Indian Jaguar with a long-range PL-15 missile. Indian media confirms the loss. This marks the fifth Indian jet downed by the PAF."
Click here to view the post and here for an archive
Fact Check
BOOM found that the video is a compilation of two clippings and one image, all dating back to April 2, 2025, when an Indian Air Force jet crashed in Jamnagar, Gujarat.
We found the same visuals as in the viral video published on April 2, 2025, by several media outlets including in The Times of India and India Today.
According to the media reports, the visuals show the wreckage from the crash of an IAF Jaguar, a fighter jet, in an open field of Suvarda village in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The report also named 28-year-old Flight Lieutenant Siddharth Yadav as a casualty in the accidental crash.
We also found a video news reports published on April 3, 2025, by WION and The New Indian Express carrying the same visuals as in the viral video.
We also found that the viral video has been superimposed onto a May 2, 2025, Republic Bharat show about India's diplomatic measures to the Pahalgam terror attack.
Audio is likely AI generated
BOOM also analysed the video's audio using AI detection tools such as Hiya and DeepFake-o-meter, which indicated that the audio is likely AI-generated.
Also Read:News Outlets Misreport Old Video As Recent Fire At Lahore International Airport
