Fact-check: Old videos falsely linked to recent India–Pakistan tensions after Pahalgam attack
Both videos are being falsely presented as recent footage involving Pakistan
Updated Wednesday May 07 2025
After an attack that killed 26 civilians in Pahalgam, in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) on April 22, online users began circulating video clips claiming they show recent developments following heightened tensions between India and Pakistan.
The claims are false. The viral videos predate the April 22 attack.
Claim
Indian social media accounts are sharing a 32-second video clip with the logo of the Qatar-based channel Al Jazeera, alleging that the news outlet reported that the Indian army had staged an attack in Pakistan’s city of Sialkot on April 30.
Fact
The claim is false. Geo Fact Check’s investigation found that the video is unrelated to Pakistan and is actually from Gaza. It was first posted following an Israeli airstrike on the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza on November 9, 2023. The footage was reported by Al Jazeera English (timestamp 5:06) here and by AFP here on the same day.
Claim
A 39-second video circulating on X (formerly Twitter) claims to show Indian jets penetrating Pakistan’s airspace and flying along the Sindh coastline.
Fact
This claim is also false. The video is from Russia, not Pakistan. It was first posted on April 28, 2020, by the official YouTube channel of the Russian Ministry of Defense. The footage shows a training exercise by Russian air forces over the Baltic Sea. The original video can be viewed here.
Verdict: The clips circulating online are unrelated to the April 22 attack in Pahalgam. One is from Gaza, filmed in November 2023, and the other shows a 2020 Russian military drill over the Baltic Sea. Both are being falsely presented as recent footage involving Pakistan.
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