PIB Fact Check debunks China Daily’s report of Indian jet crash, calls it ‘Chinese propaganda campaign’

NEW DELHI: In an attempt to spread false information amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, Chinese state media outlet China Daily wrongly claimed that three Indian jets crashed in Kashmir. The Press Information Bureau (PIB) Fact Check confirmed that the image used was from a 2019 incident.

The PIB further clarified that the image used is identical to one featured in a 2019 Al Jazeera report. Strongly denouncing the misinformation, PIB stated that the false claim appears to be part of a coordinated Chinese propaganda campaign aimed at creating panic and misleading the public.

Sharing a post on X, PIB Fact Check wrote, “A news report by @ChinaDaily falsely claims that at least three Indian jets crashed in Kashmir. The image is from an earlier incident from 2019. This is part of a coordinated propaganda campaign aimed at creating panic and misleading the public”.

A news report by @ChinaDaily falsely claims that at least three Indian jets crashed in Kashmir.#PIBFactCheck

The image is from an earlier incident from 2019.

Here is a news report from 2019: https://t.co/0BeLRorOvF

This is part of a coordinated propaganda campaign… pic.twitter.com/E1OQaDYkHV

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) May 9, 2025

Earlier on Wednesday, India’s Embassy in China had rebuked the Chinese media outlet Global Times for reporting that Pakistan’s military shot down an Indian fighter jet and advised verifying facts and sources before publishing such reports.

(1/n) Dear @globaltimesnews , we would recommend you verify your facts and cross-examine your sources before pushing out this kind of dis-information. https://t.co/xMvN6hmrhe

— India in China (@EOIBeijing) May 7, 2025

“Dear @globaltimesnews, we would recommend you verify your facts and cross-examine your sources before pushing out this kind of disinformation”, the Embassy of India in Beijing, China, said on X.

Following Operation Sindoor, the Indian Embassy in China also criticised Pakistan for trying to spread false information and twist the facts. The embassy called out several pro-Pakistan handles for spreading baseless claims related to the operation. “Several pro-Pakistan handles are spreading baseless claims in the context of #OperationSindoor, attempting to mislead the public. When media outlets share such information without verifying sources, it reflects a serious lapse in responsibility and journalistic ethics,” it wrote on X.

Escalating its tensions with India, Pakistan targeted Jammu using Hamas-style missiles to target multiple areas on Thursday, defence sources had said. The sources said the attack resembled a Hamas-style operation in Israel, where multiple cheap rockets were used to target cities.

Pakistan’s attempted retaliation came in the wake of India’s Operation Sindoor, where the Indian armed forces targeted nine terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on Wednesday. The operation was a direct response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.

On Thursday, the Indian Army had shot down more than 50 Pakistani drones during a large-scale counter-drone operation along the LoC and International Borders (IB), sources said. The Indian Armed Forces also successfully neutralised Pakistan military’s attempts at a large-scale drone and missile attack on multiple Indian military installations across Northern and Western India during the night of May 7-8, and an Air Defence system at Lahore was neutralised. (ANI)