IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s return to India hogged the news space, but it also set the fake news mills running.
This month, The Quint came across a social media post, which falsely claimed that the Indian Air Force pilot’s uniform has been kept at a Pakistani museum.
CLAIM
A number of Facebook and Twitter posts shared the image of a military uniform, which – they claimed – belongs to Wing Commander Abhinandan and has been kept at a Pakistani museum as “war trophy.”
TRUE OR FALSE
The claims are false. The Quint found out that the uniform does not belong to Abhinandan.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
A reverse image search of the photo showed at least two tweets – featuring the image – that were posted before Abhinandan was captured on 27 February.
These original tweets by Sheikh Saleem Ahmed, a Pakistani national, suggest that the uniform belongs to an Israeli pilot Captain Lutz.
According to them, a Mirage – flown by Captain Lutz – was shot down by Pakistani pilot Abdus Sattar Alvi during an air combat in April 1974.
One of the images in the tweets confirm the claim.
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