Fact Check: False Claim Of Indian Fighter Jet Being Shot Down Circulated Propaganda By Pakistani Users

New Delhi (Vishvas News): Since the launch of ‘Operation Sindoor’, a video showing a crashed fighter aircraft has gone viral on social media. Several Pakistani users are sharing it with claims that the Pakistani army shot down an Indian fighter jet.

Vishvas News’ investigation revealed that the viral claim is false. The video is unrelated to ‘Operation Sindoor’ and is from India. It depicts an incident from February, when an army fighter jet crashed in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh. However, both pilots survived the crash safely.

What is going viral?

Facebook user Faizan Sanawar shared the viral video on May 7, 2025, with the caption, “Hello Indians, this is your mother’s sindoor fallen down. Look carefully and then don’t say that this is fake news.”

See the archive link of the post here.

Investigation

To verify the truth of the viral post, we analysed the video carefully and noticed Aaj Tak’s logo. We conducted a Google search using relevant keywords. Our search led us to the full video on Aaj Tak’s website, published on February 6, 2025. According to the video, “An Indian Air Force fighter plane crashed near Bahreta Sani village in Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh. The pilot is safe. However, the reason for the crash of the Mirage-2000 fighter plane could not be ascertained.”

Based on the available information, we conducted a Google search using relevant keywords and found a report related to the claim on Dainik Jagran’s website, published on February 6, 2025. According to report, “The Army’s twin-seater Mirage 2000 fighter plane crashed in Dehreta Sani village of Sunari outpost area of Karaira in Narwar tehsil of Shivpuri district. The fighter jet was completely burnt to ashes in the incident. Both pilots on board the fighter jet survived completely safe. The villagers helped the pilots.”

Other news reports can be seen here .

For further clarification, we contacted the Naiduniya Shivpuri’s reporter Vikas Pandey, who confirmed that the viral claim is false. This video is of an accident that occurred in February in the Karaira region of Shivpuri, where an army plane crashed. Fortunately both pilots onboard were rescuedby the local villagers. The army later ordered an inquiry into this incident.

Additionally, we also found a press release from the Press Information Bureu (PIB) , issued by the Ministry of Defence. It stated, “After the Pahalgam terrorist attack, the Indian Army has taken a major action and attacked the terrorist infrastructure under ‘Operation Sindoor’. The Indian Army has carried out air strikes on a total of 9 terrorist bases in Pakistan and PoK.”

Finally, we scanned the Facebook account of the user who shared the video with the false claim and found that the user shares posts related to the Pakistani Army.

Conclusion: Vishvas News’ investigation revealed that the claim about the crashed aircraft video is false. The video is not related to ‘Operation Sindoor’ and depicts an incident from February in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh, where a fighter jet crashed. Fortunately, both pilots survived the crash unharmed.

Tags

• India Pakistan Tension
• Indian Fighter Jet
• Operation Sindoor