Video of burning aircraft is from May 9 violence, not terror attack on Mianwali airbase
A post shared on X had falsely made the claim
(Reuters) – An old video of a dummy fighter jet set ablaze by supporters of the PTI chairman in May 2023 in Mianwali, Pakistan, has been falsely captioned as showing scenes from a November 2023 attack at an airbase in that city.
Nine militants were killed in the Nov 4 attack on the Pakistan Air Force Training Airbase in Mianwali, which caused “some damage” to three non-operational aircraft, Reuters reported, citing a military statement that did not mention any casualties among security personnel.
A post on X (archived), formerly known as Twitter, shared the video on the day of the militant attack captioned: “Pak Airforce fighter jets up in flames. Meanwhile, Mianwali airbase attack still ongoing.” The video was also shared on Facebook (archived).
The footage, however, can be viewed in a video compilation from Indian daily Hindustan Times uploaded to YouTube on May 9 and described as showing a Chinese Shenyang F-6 dummy aircraft that was set on fire by the PTI chairman supporters in May 2023.
Police arrested hundreds of supporters of the ousted prime minister for violence following his arrest on corruption charges in May, including attacks on state-owned buildings and vehicles.
VERDICT
Missing Context: A video of a burning airplane is from protests in Mianwali, Pakistan, in May 2023, not from a militant attack in November.
