Misinformation around the April 22, 2025 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir continued unabated on social media platforms this week. Indian media outlets also fell for some of the viral fake claims and reported it as real.
Heightened hostilities have prompted India and Pakistan to take several stringent political measures against each other. While India has accused Pakistan of involvement in the terror attack, the neighbouring country has denied India’s allegations. Amid the rising tensions, the United States has called on both countries to uphold peace and security in the Indian subcontinent.
This week, BOOM debunked multiple false claims — including false statements made by a political leader targeting Kashmiris and the circulation of old and unrelated videos directed at Pakistan.
For Fact Check Friday, BOOM brings you the weekly round up of the top five fact-checks.
BJP Leader Suvendu Adhikari Falsely Claims Two Kashmiris Set Up Suspicious Device In WB
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Suvendu Adhikari falsely claimed that two Kashmiri men installed a suspicious device on the rooftop of their rented home in Baruipur, South 24 Parganas in West Bengal.
However, BOOM found that the men were from Madhya Pradesh, not Kashmir. Baruipur police confirmed to us that the device was an outdoor Jio unit installed for high speed internet.
Read the fact-check here
News Outlets Misreport Old Video As Recent Fire At Lahore International Airport
Several news outlets, including ABP News, Financial Express, NewsX, Jagran English, and News18 Hindi, falsely reported an alarming old video of a fire at Lahore's Allama Iqbal International Airport, as recent.
BOOM found that the video was from May 9, 2024. According to Pakistan-based news outlet The Express Tribune, fire broke out from a conveyor belt which rapidly spread to nearby areas, destroying immigration systems and counters.
Read the fact-check here.
Media Outlets Air Fake Letters Claiming Mass Resignations In Pakistan Army
Amid mounting tensions between India and Pakistan, Indian media outlets including The Economic Times, Zee News, Republic Bharat, among others aired a fake letter claiming that scores of Pakistani soldiers tendered their resignations following the terror attack.
However, while examining the letter, BOOM found multiple discrepancies such as spelling errors and incorrect designations, confirming that the document was fake.
Read the fact-check here.
News Outlets Air Fake Letter Claiming Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif Hospitalised
In another instance of media misreporting, a fake letter was carried out by news organisations such as Times Now, Republic TV, NewsX, among others. The letter falsely claimed that Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was hospitalised on April 27 -- days after the Pahalgam attack, and was being treated for haemorrhoids.
BOOM found that no such official letter was released by the PMO, Pakistan. We also found that the letter carried the name and signature of the former principal secretary to the PMO, who was removed from his post in March, this year.
Read the fact-check here.
Video From Commando Training In Pakistan Peddled With False Links To Pahalgam
A graphic video falsely claiming to show a Kashmiri zipline operator being beaten by officers of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) was viral. The claims said that the operator is one of the terrorists who helped execute the attacks in Pahalgam.
However, the graphic video was debunked by BOOM in 2018. The video is from Pakistan and shows the training of soldiers in the country’s Special Service Group (SSG).
Read the fact-check here.
