PIB busts Pakistan’s fake claim of Rafale jet crash with 2008 image fact-check. Viral photo exposed as misinformation amid rising India-Pak tensions. Read the full truth.

PIB Exposes Pakistan’s Rafale Jet Crash Lie: 2008 Photo Misused to Spread Misinformation

New Delhi — This week social media was battered by a tsunami of misinformation on several Pakistan-based accounts that said Indian Air Force Rafale fighter jet crashed on May 7, 2025 in a very misleading way. Along with the above assertions and ahead of these rampant emotions online which is said to be the funeral of pilot dealing the infamous crash. However the truth, as found out by India’s official fact-checking unit PIB is an altogether different narrative.

Old Photo, New Propaganda

After Operation Sindoor, the propaganda war on social media platforms was brewing in Pakistan as tensions mounted. Image went viral to provoke anger and bewilderment; X, facebook and rest were a-blazing with the same. In a conspiracy, Indians were trying to cover up an irradicable fatal Rafale crash. The image was a military funeral of the IAF pilot who died in crash.

But the Press Information Bureau’s Fact Check traced the image to 2008 only. The picture, it said, is not related to any Rafale jet nor any modern military incident. Neither was it from the year 2025 nor connected to any crash However, it was a decade old image getting reused in politics and anti-India narrative.

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Pattern of Fake News from Pakistan

This is not a one-off occurrence. In the last few months Pakistan-based sources were pressurising with multiple unverified and baseless false allegations. The relentless online misinformation machine that has not been able to stop even from fake drone strikes in Jalandhar to imaginary port attacks on Gujarat port and airbase at Jammu. However all of these claims have been previously debunked by PIB through conventional media.

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Digital Warfare: Misinformation as a Weapon

Today’s conflict zones are driven by the digitally and information is as potent as missiles indeed. Even on the battle front online, India is intensifying its defence strength while creating an equal level of intensity. Fake/ misleading content eg:Rafale crash fake etc is disseminated to shake public confidence and confidence.

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Conclusion: Fact Prevails Over Fiction

It was the quick action of the PIB that not only exposed the truth, but also it work to reiterate the importance of responsible digital sharing. More than ever, we need to stay vigilant, double-check facts and follow credible news when the fake news runs wild.

The Rafale crash claim is false. The photo is from 2008. And the truth is now clear.