Fact-Check: Old Video Showing Massive Fires Viral as Pakistan Striking Amritsar

We found that the video has been online since February 2024 and predates Operation Sindoor.

Fact-Check: We were able to trace this video back to 2024.

(Source: The Quint) 

A video showing several fires at a distance has gone viral on social media with the claim that it shows Pakistan striking Amritsar, India, amid Operation Sindoor.

Users also claimed that numerous casualties were reported, with several critically injured.

An archive of the post can be found here. 

(Source: X/Screenshot)

This post gathered over four lakh views at the time of writing this story. (Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

Is the claim true?: No, the claim is false.

• We found that the video has been on the internet since February 2024 and reportedly shows wildfires in Chile.

What we found: We divided the viral video into multiple screenshots and ran a Google reverse image search on some of them.

• With the results, we found a clip on X from February  2024, when it was shared as visuals of fire from Valparaiso in Chile.

• This meant that the video predated the ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan.

• Similarly, we came across the same video on Facebook by Acción Ciudadana Chile from 4 February 2024. It also noted that the video depicted wildfires in Chile.

• We, then, ran a relevant keyword search and found reports from February 2024 about wildfires in Chile.

• Reuters reported on 4 February 2024, about a deadly wildfire in Chile which claimed fifty one lives.

• It mentioned that the condition of Valparaiso was the most delicate in all of the places in Chile.

• As per a report by Down to Earth, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction noted that the February 2024 wildfires were the country’s deadliest wildfire since record-keeping began in 1900.

• Similarly, the Guardian also reported about the Chilean wildfires in 2024 and mentioned its deadly nature with a significant death toll.

• In March 2024, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) made a report about the wildfires and noted that 134 lives had been lost.

• We found no reports which stated that Pakistan had struck Amritsar at the time of writing this story.

• Team WebQoof debunked the same video when it went viral with a different claim. You can read the report here.

Conclusion: We were able to trace back the video to 2024 which predates the present conflict between India and Pakistan.

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