Moving to contain a surge of misinformation following the Pahalgam terror attack, the government has blocked 16 Pakistani YouTube channels. But the floodgates of fake news are open on social media platforms with scores of unverified posts peddling false, inflammatory narratives.
The Press Trust of India’s fact check unit examined 10 of the most widely circulated claims, nine on X (previously Twitter) and one on Instagram, falsely portraying heightened tensions, retaliatory strikes and internal unrest in the aftermath of the April 22 tragedy in Kashmir in which 26 people were killed.
All 10 were debunked as misleading or completely false.
ONE: A viral claim suggested the Pakistani Army had destroyed two Indian checkpoints in the Leepa Valley of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The post was accompanied by an image of a fire in the hills. PTI’s verification traced the image to a 2025 wildfire in Northern Ireland’s Mourne Mountains, an incident unrelated to any military action. The photo, shared by a user named 'Pakistan' on X on April 27, has garnered 54,000 views so far, and 61 other users reposted it.
TWO: Another video circulating online claimed to show an Indian journalist confronting Army officers over their alleged refusal to engage with Pakistan. However, the footage was from a March 2025 joint press conference by Gaurav Yadav, DGP of Punjab Police, and Lt Gen Mohit Wadhwa, chief of staff, HQ Western Command in the assault case of a colonel in Patiala.
Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath and his son Angad Singh Bath were allegedly attacked by police personnel on the intervening night of March 13 and 14 over a parking dispute in Patiala in Punjab.
THREE: A post alleged that Pakistani military posts suffered heavy losses along the Line of Control (LoC), backed by visuals of shelling. The video was found to be from May 2023, showing security forces clashing with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters during protests demanding Imran Khan’s release in Pakistan.
FOUR: Claims that the Indian Army targeted innocent civilians in Jammu and Kashmir and demolished their homes were also found to be false. News footage and reports confirmed the structures were linked to Pakistan-sponsored terrorists operating in the region.
FIVE: A video showing an explosion in the mountains was shared with the claim that the Pakistan Army had targeted and destroyed an Indian Army post on the Indian side of the border. However, the investigation revealed that the same video has been available on the internet since 2020 and is unrelated to any attack by the Pakistan Army along the LoC.
SIX: An image falsely claiming four Indian soldiers were recently killed at the LoC was actually from a 2020 operation in Kashmir's Handwara area, when five security personnel, including a colonel, a major and a sub-inspector, and two unidentified militants were killed during an 18-hour anti-militancy operation.
SEVEN: A baseless allegation that China would block rivers to India in retaliation for a supposed violation of the Indus Water Treaty was unsupported by any credible source. The fact check team scanned top Indian and Western news websites but found no information or news reports to substantiate the claim.
EIGHT: A fabricated video showed a senior Indian Army officer allegedly blaming security lapses for the Pahalgam attack found wide traction. A senior Army official, contacted by PTI, confirmed that the video was fake.
NINE: A clip showing a building being struck by a missile was misattributed to Indian action in PoK. It was actually footage from 2024 Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon.
TEN: A video claimed that the Indian Air Force had conducted surgical strikes on Indian civilians, resulting in casualties. In reality, on April 25, 2025, a non-explosive drop tank accidentally fell from an IAF aircraft in Madhya Pradesh, damaging a house but causing no injuries, a fact confirmed by the local district administration.
The fact check team relied on video and photo metadata analysis, reverse image searches, cross-referencing with verified news reports, and consultations with sources on the ground to establish the origins and authenticity of the claims.
The team actively monitors such claims and can be reached on WhatsApp at +91-8130503759 for verification requests.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.