Fact Check: Viral Video Of Fire And Air Strike Not Related To Indian Strikes On Terrorist Installations in PoK And Pakistan

New Delhi (Vishvas News). In the early hours of May 7, Indian armed forces struck terrorist bases in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan. This has led to multiple claims linking unrelated images and videos with the military action. A Social Media post that shows two separate videos stitched together vertically. The top half shows people running with a fire raging in the background and the bottom half displays a possible air strike. 

Vishvas News found that video on top shows a fire incident from April 23 in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh. The other video, is actually footage from a video simulation game. This videos have no connection to Pakistan.

What is in the viral post?

Instagram account @shriramgupta744 shared the viral video with the caption “Modi launched an attack, Jai Shri Ram, Pakistan on fire”

Investigation

Top Video:

To verify the viral claim, we took screenshots of the video and performed an image search with Google Lens. We found this video uploaded on an Instagram page named lalbihari_nishad_king_off_999 on April 24, 2025. The location was specified as Ballia, Uttar Pradesh

We also found this video on some YouTube channels on April 24 with the claim that it was from Ballia.

A keyword search led us to a Dainik Bhaskar news report from April 23, 2025, which featured the viral video. The report in Hindi, said, “A massive fire broke out on Wednesday afternoon in Pachkhora Chatti, Sukhpura police station area, Ballia district, engulfing the huts of five Basfor community families.”

For further confirmation, we contacted Ramesh Jaiswal, the journalist whose report is quoted above. Jaiswal confirmed the video being circulated showed the the fire at Pachkhora Chatti in Sikandarpur, Ballia, on April 23, 2025.

Second video:

Next, we turned our attention to the second video used in the viral claim. Upon closer inspection, we noted that the footage appeared to be from daytime, while India’s reported strikes occurred at night. Careful viewing also revealed other anomalies. The trees appeared artificial and animated.

We contacted Dynamo Games founder Anish Jain for confirmation in this matter. He confirmed to us that “this is a simulation clip, which someone has captured during a game called World of Tanks. You can also see a tank in one frame.”

We checked the World of Tanks simulation game on Youtube, and found several videos with visuals resembling the viral one.

Following the Pahalgam terror attack, the Indian armed forces conducted ‘Operation Sindoor’ during the early hours of May 7, 2025, targeting nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). This operation included striking the training centre where the perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack were trained. More details are available in the reports here. 

User social__media123886, who shared the viral video with a fake claim, is followed by more than 50 thousand people on Instagram.

Conclusion: Vishvas News investigated the viral claim and found it to be false. The top portion of the viral post shows a fire in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, from April 23, 2025, while the bottom portion is footage from a simulation game. This video has no connection to the Indian military action in PoK and Pakistan.

Tags

• Air Strike on Pakistan
• India's retaliation
• Pahalgam attack
• Pakistan