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The Fact Check unit of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) has debunked another misinformation campaign by Pakistan-based social media handles falsely claiming an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter crash linked to India's 'Operation Sindoor'.
The Fact Check unit, in its attempt to expose the blatant hijacking of the narrative, on Thursday clarified that the viral video showing the crash of the IAF helicopter was actually from a 2019 incident involving an IAF Mi-17 V5 helicopter crash near Budgam in Jammu and Kashmir. In a post on X, the PIB Fact Check unit stated, "Viral Video Alert! Truth Behind the Aircraft Crash Linked to Operation Sindoor! Pakistani social media accounts are recycling an old video and sharing it in the present context... The video is from an earlier incident from 2019, involving an Indian Air Force (IAF) Mi-17 V5 helicopter that crashed near Budgam, J&K." The post included a link to a 2019 release by the Ministry of Defence on the crash, stating, "On 27 February 2019, one Mi-17 V5 helicopter of Indian Air Force got airborne from Srinagar airfield at 1000 hrs for a routine mission. The helicopter crashed around 1010 hrs near Budgam, J&K. All six air warriors on board the helicopter suffered fatal injuries. A court of inquiry has been ordered to investigate the accident." The PIB's post featured screenshots of Pakistani social media accounts, falsely claiming the video depicted a recent IAF crash during Operation Sindoor. The PIB stamped the video with a "FAKE" label, warning against the spread of such propaganda and urging the public to rely on verified sources. The Pakistani side has jumped into a misinformation war against India following India's precision missile strikes targeting nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) under Operation Sindoor. It shows Pakistan's desperate attempt to shift the focus with a barrage of lies and digital theatrics. Pakistan's state-affiliated accounts have turned to their familiar playbook of recycling outdated images, misrepresenting old videos, and inventing completely fabricated claims to flood the information space with falsehoods so quickly and overwhelmingly that it becomes difficult to separate fact from fiction. One of the most prominent examples of Pakistan's desperate attempt at such theatrics is the viral image falsely claiming that the Pakistan Army had shot down an Indian Rafale jet near Bahawalpur. The image, however, was debunked by PIB Fact Check, which confirmed that it was actually from a MiG-21 crash in Moga, Punjab, in 2021 - entirely unrelated to current events. (ANI)
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