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      • Pahalgam: Media Outlets Misreport...
      Fact Check

      Pahalgam: Media Outlets Misreport Old Image As 'Exclusive' Visual Of Attacker

      BOOM found that the photo is from a video available on Facebook since 2021 at least.

      By -  Srijit Das & | By -  Nivedita Niranjankumar
      Published -  24 April 2025 5:59 PM IST
    • Boomlive
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      Pahalgam: Media Outlets Misreport Old Image As Exclusive Visual Of Attacker
      CLAIMPhoto from the Pahalgam attack, shows one of the terrorists involved opening fire on the victims
      FACT CHECKBOOM found that the photo is a screengrab from an old video, available online since 2021, four years before the April 22, 2025, incident in Pahalgam, Kashmir.

      Mainstream media outlets misreported an old photo, claiming it shows the terrorist involved in the Pahalgam terror attack, captured on camera with his assault rifle.

      The misreporting was aired on live TV by news channels India Today, AajTak, Times Now and published as web reports by ABP News, Zee News, The Economic Times, News18, CNBC TV18, Mint and FirstPost. All the media reports published the old picture claiming it was an exclusive "first picture" of the terrorist in the attack.

      BOOM verified the picture and found that it is a screengrab from a video available on Facebook since October 2021. Additionally, none of the media reports mentioned included any confirmation by a government official that the photo shows an attacker involved in the recent Pahalgam attack.

      In one of the deadliest attacks on civilians in India, terrorists opened fire at the Baisaran meadows in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, killing 26 tourists and a local. Survivors and family members of the deceased have alleged that the terrorists targeted non-Muslims, after asking for identification and names. Initial probe indicates that five terrorists, including three from Pakistan, were involved. Indian government has since taken serious diplomatic actions against Pakistan, including suspending the Indus treaty.

      India Today aired the photo in a special show on Pahalgam claiming it was a photo of the terrorist captured on camera in the act, terming it, "First image of terrorist who attacked tourists" with the anchor claiming it showed an exclusive ground report by the channel.

      In the photo, a man wearing a purple kurta and pyjama is seen with a rifle, as if captured on camera while running at the scene.


      Click here to view the post and here for an archive.

      Hindi news channel AajTak also aired the same photo with the same false claiming it was captured by one of the people present during the attack.


      Click here to view the post and here for an archive.

      Several other outlets, including Times Now, ABP News, Zee News, The Economic Times, News18, CNBC TV18, Mint, Firstpost, Republic and News24, also misreported the same picture.


      News18 and Times Now have since updated their story without clarification, changing it to a fact check debunking the picture.

      Also Read:News Outlets Misreport 2022 Video As Recent Visuals Of Pakistan Train Hijack

      Fact Check

      BOOM found the same visuals in a video available on Facebook since October 2021, nearly four years before the April 22, 2025, attack.

      We first broke the video into keyframes and ran reverse image searches and a recent post on Instagram showed a different angle of the same viral picture.


      View this post on Instagram

      A post shared by மக்கள் தலைவர் பொன்னார் (@makkal_thalaivar_ponnar)

      The post while recent, showed the same man in a different angle, with his rifle visible in a clearer angle. This indicated that the photo was likely part of a longer video.

      Using this as a clue, we ran advanced searches using specific keywords and found both the photos in a video uploaded on Facebook in October 2021.


      Click here to view the post and here for an archive.

      The video was uploaded by a Pakistani account with no details in the caption about the location or the identity of the man.

      In the 40-second footage, the man can be seen doing manoeuvres with his rifle, mimicking moves seen in combat/arms training. The video also shows another person standing at a slight distance from the man, watching his training.

      Below is a comparison between the image aired by news channels and the video available on Facebook.

      Two handles on X also debunked the image and sourced it to the same video from 2021. See here and here

      Additionally, the survivors of the Pahalgam attack in their eye-witness statements have said the attackers were dressed in camouflage outfits unlike the man in the photo used by media reports. The Indian Express also reported that the terrorists rounded up some of the tourists, asked the women and children to step away and then shot them at close range. Other reports quote the survivors as describing the scene as chaotic with the attackers talking to the victims, asking them to prove their identity before firing at them.

      In the video, the man is seen only pointing his gun in the air while doing poses, not attacking any person or shooting with his rifle. The video also does not show any victims in the background and does not match the scenes from the attack, as described by the survivors of the Pahalgam incident in interviews.

      BOOM was unable to independently verify the location or identity of the man but was able to confirm that the image reported by media outlets as that of the attacker is old and not from the recent Pahalgam attack.


      Also Read:Media Outlets Falsely Claim Rashtrapati Bhavan Hosts First Ever Wedding


      Tags

      Media MisreportingJammu & KashmirPahalgam Terror Attack
      Read Full Article
      Claim :   Photo shows a terrorist opening fire and killing people in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22, 2025.
      Claimed By :  India Today, AajTak, Times Now, News18 and other media outlets
      Fact Check :  False
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