Propaganda - ostensibly from a reputed British publication, The Daily Telegraph - declaring the Pakistan Air Force 'the undisputed king of the skies' has been junked by the government.
In a fact-check post on X Friday morning the government called out the image circulating on social media and said the photograph had been altered or edited with AI (Artificial Intelligence).
The Daily Telegraph "has never carried any such article", the government stressed.
A screenshot of the image - a front-page story from May 10, the date Pak reached out to India for a ceasefire - said "experts" described the PAF as "feared, respected, and remarkably efficient".
Combat Expert Backs India
In fact, an Austrian combat aviation analyst told NDTV India's retaliation to Pakistani aggression following Operation Sindoor was a "clear-cut victory".
Tom Cooper told NDTV Pakistan had been compelled to initiate the ceasefire process because of India's better firepower and its multi-layered air defence system.
READ | "No Surprise Islamabad Called For Ceasefire": Expert On India-Pak
"With at least two HQ-9s (Chinese-made air defence systems) knocked out, and the PAF suppressed enough to stop shooting PL-15s into Indian airspace... in a matter of three hours IAF Su-30MKI-, Mirage 2000- and Rafale-crews found enough opportunities to deliver a few really heavy blows."
More Embarrassment For Pak
Meanwhile, in an embarrassing moment for Pak, that country's Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, has been called out - by the Dawn, a prominent local paper - for referring to this false news in the Senate.
Mr Dar's gaffe has been pounced upon by the BJP's Amit Malviya, who called his statement a "blatant attempt to save face". On the Pak Air Force claim, Mr Malviya said, "The claim was so outrageous that even Dawn, Pakistan's own leading newspaper, felt compelled to fact-check and debunk it."
The BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar, a former Union Minister and now the party's Kerala unit chief, was even more scathing in his critique, calling Mr Dar's comments "head scratchingly stupid".
Mr Chandrasekhar also threw in a jab at the Congress' Rahul Gandhi for good measure, saying, "I've said this before and can't help say this again... apart from the Pak Army, only one other organisation operates on the sole premise of 'people are fools, so let's just lie' - that is Rahul's Congress."
Pak's Propaganda War
Amid diplomatic and military tension between New Delhi and Islamabad - triggered by the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam last month - social media handles from Pak and elsewhere have been called out for spreading false narratives and fake news.
VIDEO | Pak's Khawaja Asif Fact-Checked By CNN Anchor Over Op Sindoor Claim
Pakistan's Defence Minister, Khwaja Asif, has also been called out; last week Mr Asif was fact-checked during an interview with American broadcaster CNN. He had declared the PAF had shot down one of India's French-made Rafale fighter jets, a claim Delhi swiftly junked.
The government has junked Pak claims about shooting down a Rafale fighter jet (File).
CNN's Becky Anderson, however, asked for evidence or details about the claims, but the Pak Defence Minister seemed unable to offer any and tried to sidestep further questions
India's Fact-Check Drive
The government, meanwhile, fact-checked social media posts about the loss of a Rafale, pointing out the image being used online was an old photo from 2021 involving a Mig-21.
The government also fact-checked claims about Pak air strikes on a military base in Punjab's Amritsar, noting, in this instance, that visuals from a 2004 wildfire were being falsely shown.
There was an increase in the flood of disinformation and propaganda from the Pak side since the Indian military launched Operation Sindoor - precision strikes on terror camps in Pak and Pak-occupied Kashmir - and the government has taken note, sources told NDTV last week.
READ | After Op Sindoor, Pakistan's Propaganda Machine In Full Swing
Sources said that by flooding social media with recycled images, unrelated videos, and fabricated claims, Pak was attempting to obscure the actual outcome of Op Sindoor and create the illusion of a strong counter-response, as also generate global sympathy.
READ | India's Simple Answer To Pak Propaganda: Meticulous Evidence
Sources also said the government is documenting each instance to ensure Pak cannot hide behind a digital facade of lies, and had instructed each branch of the military to ensure its strikes and activities are documented, visually, so India can prove its side of the argument.
With input from agencies
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