The publications of several users on the Facebook social media platform shared a video of the combat aircraft and take off on a track, claiming that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) was ready for any emergency in the midst of recent tensions with India. However, the video is from October 2020 and shows PAF exercises to prepare for war situations.
An attack took place in Pahalgam, a tourist access point in Kashmir occupied by India that attracts thousands of visitors every summer, Tuesday. The gunmen opened fire against visitors, killing at least 26 people, all men from all over India, except one from Nepal, and wounding others 17. It was the most fatal attack in the region against civilians since 2000. It is said that a group until now unknown, appointed by several Indian media such as ‘The Resistance Front’, the responsibility of the attack was attributed.
India followed his example by announcing a series of actions against Pakistan. Responding in kind, the maximum brass of Pakistan also announced a series of measures, including the closure of its airspace for all the airlines owned by India or operated by India with immediate effect.
As the diplomatic channels dry and the treaties of the treaties are wobble, analysts warn that relationships between nuclear weapons neighbors can approach a dangerous turning point, with a remaining limited space for decallation.
On Thursday, a Facebook user shared a video of combat aircraft that land and take off from a track.
The title of the post said: “The combat aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force land on the highway, ready for any emergency.”
The Facebook reel obtained 16,700ky was shared 137 times. He did not share any other detail about the video, such as its date, location or context for jet movements.
The same video received 65,000 visits when published by the Digital News Outlet Pashto one With the same subtitle.
The same video was shared by several other Facebook accounts here, here, here and here.
None of the publications mentioned the date, context or no other additional detail for the video. It was shared in the middle of the current tensions between Pakistan and India, whose troops also exchanged fire during the night through the control line between April 24 and 25.
A verification of facts began to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality, to satisfy the requests of the public in search of authentication for the claim and a significant public interest in the recent tension between the two countries.
An inverse video search of the video showed a news report of October 7, 2020 from the English publication, The express trustee Titled “Clock: PAF Fighter Jets lands on the Islamabad-Lahore highway”.
The article mentioned that the PAF Combat team had been doing an exercise on the highway of the Islamabad-Lahore highway in case it once needed to perform air operations during war situations.
The news report also shared a video of the YouTube channel of the Pakistan Air Force showing the exercises, which corresponded to the same images under investigation.
Therefore, the verification of facts determined that the viral video of the combat aircraft landing and taking off from a highway, showing military preparation amid the recent tensions of Pakistan-India, is misleading.
The footage is old since 2020, and although he showed aerial force exercises to prepare for any war situation, he is not related to current events and tensions in the region. Sharing the video without these details can deceive the public during the current period of high tensions that the Air Force is coming into preparation for combat, which could spread fear and worry about war or military meetings.
This fact verification was originally posted by Iverify Pakistan, a CEJ and UNDP project.
