A low-quality image of an Indian fighter jet engulfed in flames after crashing in September 2024 has been falsely claimed online to show an Indian jet downed amid escalated tensions between India and Pakistan in May 2025.

As arch-rivals India and Pakistan exchanged tit-for-tat missile, drone and fighter jet attacks across their shared frontier, a video was shared in posts falsely claiming it showed a downed Pakistani pilot being cared for by Indian civilians.

The viral video has been online since 2013. No Air Force plane crash has been reported in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.

A video of the pilot of an Indian Air Force jet that crashed in February has been falsely captioned online to say it depicted a pilot captured by Pakistan during its conflict with India in May.

Pakistan said it had shot down five Indian jets on May 7, 2025 during the worst violence between the nuclear-armed neighbours in decades, but an image of the burning wreckage of an aircraft widely shared online predates the current crisis.

Hours before New Delhi and Islamabad agreed to a ceasefire that brought a halt to days of intense fighting, a video was shared in posts falsely claiming it showed an Indian air force pilot who ejected from their plane and landed in Pakistan.

India fired 15 BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles at Pakistani air bases during Operation Sindoor, according to sources.