A few hours after India carried out major airstrikes on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, fake news started spreading online. Some Pakistani media outlets and social media users claimed that Indian fighter jets were shot down by Pakistani forces. Surprisingly, even some Indian left-leaning people and The Hindu newspaper shared this false news.
The Hindu posted on social media (X) that three Indian fighter jets had crashed in Jammu and Kashmir — in Akhnoor, Ramban, and Pampore. They said a government official gave them this information. The report was filed by Deputy Editor Vijaita Singh, who has been accused before of publishing unverified news.
The Hindu also posted four photos, claiming they showed the crash sites. But soon, social media users pointed out that the photos were old and misleading. One of the photos actually showed a drop tank, which is an extra fuel container that fighter jets carry and drop when it’s empty. This is normal during long flights and doesn’t mean the jet crashed.
Once it became clear that no Indian jets had crashed, The Hindu deleted the post and apologized for spreading wrong information and causing confusion.
One of the photos used by The Hindu in their false report had a caption saying an Indian Air Force jet crashed in Wuyan Pampore, South Kashmir on May 7, 2025. Another photo claimed there was smoke and debris from a crashed aircraft near Akhnoor, Jammu.
But the truth is — no Indian jet crashed.
Experts looked at the images and found that the wreckage shown was not of a fighter jet but of a drop tank — an external fuel tank that fighter jets carry during long flights. These tanks are dropped (or jettisoned) when the fuel inside is used up, so the jet can fly faster and more safely. These tanks fall to the ground and may cause some smoke or minor fire, but it doesn’t mean the aircraft itself crashed.
So, the photos were misunderstood and misused. Once people pointed out the mistake, The Hindu deleted their post and admitted that the false report had caused confusion.
The newspaper posted on X, “We have deleted an earlier post about Indian aircraft involved in Operation Sindoor. There is no such on-record official information from India. We therefore decided to remove the post from our platforms. We regret that it created confusion among our readers.”
In a major operation against terrorism, India carried out overnight aerial strikes and destroyed nine terror camps located in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK). These camps were being used by deadly terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, and Hizbul Mujahideen to plan and carry out attacks in India.
The strikes were carried out with high-tech weapons and specially selected warheads to avoid civilian damage. No military establishment or civilian area was targeted, and there has been no collateral damage.
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