Operation Sindoor

The Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Anantnag district of Jammu & Kashmir, which claimed the lives of 25 Indian citizens and one Nepali national. Following the attack, India took strong measures against Pakistan, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, closing the Attari land border, and downgrading diplomatic ties. The attacks took place at 1:44 AM, with 24 precision missile strikes targeting nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK). Operation Sindoor is a response to escalating cross-border tensions and aims to dismantle terror camps linked to banned groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and Hizbul Mujahideen with no military establishments targeted. 

BOOM had debunked misinformation related to Operation Sindoor, BOOM fact-checked a video showing India's airstrike on a terrorist base in Pakistan, under 'Operation Sindoor', in response to the Pahalgam attack, which was carried by several Indian media outlets. BOOM found that the viral footage actually shows Israeli airstrikes on Gaza from October, 2023, and is unrelated to the current India-Pakistan conflict.

BOOM fact-checked another photo of two crashed Indian Rafales involved in Operation Sindoor, shot down by Pakistan. BOOM found that the viral photos date back to accidents in 2021 and 2024 when IAF jets crashed during routine sorties. We were able to trace both the images to news reports published in 2021 and 2024 from Punjab and Rajasthan about the incidents. One image shows the crash of an Indian Air Force MiG-21 fighter jet in a field in Moga, Punjab’s in May 2021 while the other is the wreckage of an IAF MiG-29 that crashed in Barmer, Rajasthan.

BOOM fact-checked a video purportedly showing a news clip from a Republic Bharat news story on a Pakistani Air Force jet shooting down an Indian jet with a missile. BOOM found that clippings from an unrelated IAF jet crash in Gujarat have been doctored onto an old news bulletin. BOOM fact-checked another footage of India's airstrikes as part of 'Operation Sindoor' in Pakistan. BOOM found that the footage shows Iranian missiles targeting Israel's Nevatim airbase in Negev desert, and is unrelated to India's recent military operation in Pakistan.