Indian social media has been circulating fake screenshots of a fabricated news report claiming that the banned militant group TTP has stolen a Pakistani F-16 fighter jet from an airbase. The screenshot, falsely attributed to a prominent English-language Pakistani newspaper, has been debunked.
The publication clarified through iVerify Pakistan that no such story was published on May 1 or any other date. It confirmed the viral image was digitally manipulated using AI-based tools like FotoForensics and labeled it as completely false.
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This disinformation comes amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, following a deadly gun attack in Pahalgam, Indian-occupied Kashmir, on April 22, which killed 26 tourists and injured 17. Most victims were Indian nationals, with one from Nepal.
In the aftermath, India began blaming Pakistan without presenting evidence—a charge Islamabad has firmly denied. Pakistani officials have called for an independent and impartial investigation, accusing Indian media and officials of spreading baseless propaganda and possibly staging the incident for political gain.
