Tensions are high after India carried out strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Wednesday morning. India's military said it struck infrastructure used by militants, while Pakistan's army reported India had killed 26 civilians. This attack came two weeks after India blamed Pakistan for the deadly Pahalgam attack on April 22 in the India-administered Jammu and Kashmir region, which killed 26 people in a tourist hotspot.

As the worst outbreak of violence between the two nuclear powers in two decades ramps up, misinformation on social media is spreading like wildfire. DW Fact check takes a look at some of the most viral video claims.

Claim: These videos allegedly show Indian missiles raining down on Pakistan and the aftermath of the bombing on the ground. The first video tagged with the hashtag "Operation Sindoor" — the name given to the strikes by the Indian defense ministry — had been viewed 5 million times by the time of publishing. 

DW Fact check: False

These videos don't show the current conflict and are taken out of context.

A reverse image search with a video still from the first video showing missiles in the night sky takes us to the same video that was first published over seven months ago. It shows Iranian missiles hitting Israel. What looks like an insert showing the location seen in the right-hand corner of the footage is actually the logo of the state-owned Indian news channel DD India, which published the video on October 1, 2024.

The second video that allegedly shows the impact on the ground in Pakistan was first posted three weeks ago with the hashtag "Gaza." In the video, chaotic scenes show adults and children running for safety, covered in dust and carrying injured people. Children can be heard screaming, and people are speaking Arabic, which is not a common language in Pakistan. 

Pakistan hails its defense for downing Indian fighter jets

In this deep-rooted conflict, both sides are spreading partisan misinformation.  

Claim: This user, who is presumably pro-Pakistan, claims to be posting about French-made Rafale fighters, used by the Indian Air Force, shot down during last night's strike on Pakistan, near Bahawalpur.

DW Fact check: False

The picture attached to the post does show a French-designed aircraft. However, it is not a Rafale fighter but a Mirage 5. This type of assault jet was retrofitted for the Pakistan Air Force so that it could carry and deliver nuclear weapons.

According to India TV, Dawn and The Economic Times, the wreck shown on this particular post had been of a plane on a training mission in Punjab in southeastern Pakistan three weeks ago. Both pilots survived with minor injuries after ejecting themselves and escaping the crash near Multan.

The historic region of Punjab was partitioned in the middle of last century when the modern states of India, Pakistan, and, several decades later, Bangladesh emerged, following the subcontinent's independence from the British Empire. Therefore, there are two Punjab areas, one as a province in Pakistan, and the other as a state in India. 

'Proud Indian' laments the death of the wrong pilot

Pakistani social media users weren't the only ones posting out-of-context footage. 

Claim: This X post with more than 2 million views, reads: "Pakistanis shot down 1 Rafale & 1 Su-30 near Akhnur! And destroyed our brigade HQ". It was published on an X account whose owner refers to the Indian government as "the Modi regime," and claims to be a "proud Indian" who values "truth over propaganda" in his account description.

DW Fact check: False

In this case, the account is spreading misinformation, as two of the pictures attached to his posts are not related to the Indian strikes on Pakistan last night. 

The top-right image does depict a Russian-built MiG-29 of the Indian Air Force (IAF), one of which Pakistan claims to have shot down last night. But the newspaper DNA India and other media outlets published the same photo as early as September 2024. According to these sources, the fighter jet had crashed in uninhabited territory in the Indian state of Rajasthan during a routine flight, causing no other damage than to the plane itself. The pilot reportedly ejected himself to safety.

The picture on the left also shows an IAF aircraft, but just like in the previous two images, it was not used in the strikes on Pakistan. The news channel Times Now reported over n a month ago that a British-French Jaguar fighter jet had crashed in the northern Indian state of Gujarat, showing this very same image.

Are gamers spreading footage from video games?

Claim: This video allegedly shows how Pakistan shot down an Indian fighter jet.

DW Fact check: Fake

Users online were quick to point out that this scene is from a video game, most likely from this one. Compared to other night-time footage, the video is suspiciously well-lit and has an artificial feel to it. Going through the video frame by frame, the unnaturally pixelated lights are a hint that the video is artificial.  

It's not the first time that video game footage has been used in conflicts. DW Fact check has reported on other cases in the past.

Edited by: Rachel Baig