This Video Doesn’t Show Pakistan Shooting Down Rafale Fighter Jet Near LoC

Neither is this video recent nor does it show a Rafale fighter jet being shot down.

Fact-Check | The video is old and is being shared on the internet with a false claim.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A video showing the aftermath of a plane crash is being circulated on social media platforms with a claim that it shows a Rafale fighter jet, which was recently shot down by Pakistan near Poonch.

What did users say?: An X (formerly Twitter) premium subscriber shared the clip with a caption that said, "Reports suggest that Pakistan has shot down an Indian Rafale fighter jet along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Poonch sector of Azad Kashmir."

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: X/Screenshot)

The post had garnered over 1.8 lakh views on the platform. A different version of the claim said that it shows Indian Air Force shooting down a Pakistani jet.

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: X/Screenshot)

(More archives of similar claims can be found here, here, and here.)

What are the facts?: The video dates back to June 2024 and shows visuals of a Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jet that had crashed in Nashik, Maharashtra. This makes the claim false.

What led us to the truth?: A simple reverse image search on the keyframes of the viral clip directed us to the same visuals published on the official Facebook handle of ET Now.

• It was posted on 4 May 2024 with a caption that said, "An Indian Air Force Sukhoi fighter jet crashed in Nashik, Maharashtra today, with both pilots safely ejected before the impact."

News reports: A report published in Hindustan Times mentioned that a Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter plane had crashed in Maharashtra's Nashik. No casualties were reported in the incident and the pilot as well as the co-pilot had sustained minor injuries.

The report was published on 4 June 2024.

(Source: Hindustan Times/Screenshot)

PBI debunks the claim: The fact-checking wing of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) debunked the viral claim and said that the false claim is being peddled by several pro-Pakistan social media accounts.

• The post further said, "Pakistan Army has not shot down any Indian fighter jet".

• It was shared on 29 April.

Conclusion: It is evident that an old video of a jet crash is being shared on the internet with a false claim.

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