Pakistani channel Geo TV put out a source-based video purportedly of IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan who was allegedly captured by Pakistan. Meanwhile, patently fake videos did the rounds of Pakistan social media
The Pakistani Defence Ministry announced that Pakistan ground forces have captured two Indian Air Force pilots. “One has been taken to Combined Military Hospital as he was injured. The other is safe with us,” announced the Inter Services Public Relations at a press conference held in Islamabad.
Pakistani channel Geo TV also put out a source-based video of IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan who was allegedly captured by the Pakistani forces. The Lede has a copy of the video but since it is not fact checked, we are not making it public.
In the meanwhile, fake videos did the rounds of Pakistan.
This is a video that was taken of a pilot who crashed during rehearsals at the Bengaluru Aero India 2019 show on 19 February. This video is now being shared widely in Pakistan, falsely stating that an IAF pilot has been captured in Pakistan after the Pakistan Air Force allegedly shot down an Indian fighter jet this morning.
Amidst the English conversation, Kannada conversations can be heard in the background saying – “Bring water and come” and “Call fire, ambulance.”
In the video, some voices in the background can be heard speaking in Kannada, the language predominantly spoken in the southern Indian state of Karnataka.
The video went viral amongst journalists and opinion makers in Pakistan who began sharing it as proof that an IAF pilot had been captured by the country. The first tweet about an IAF jet being shot down in Pakistan and a pilot captured came from Major General Asif Ghafoor. Ghafoor is the Director General of Inter Services Public Relations in Pakistan.