Sparked by war hysteria, social media went berserk on Wednesday as claims and counter-claims on crashed jets fed a rush of fake images and videos. But what took the cake was a Pak propaganda, passing off a video of the Surya Kiran crash in Bengaluru as proof of shooting down an Indian jet.
The actual video was about a pilot who ejected to safety after two Surya Kiran Advanced Jet Trainers (Hawks) collided mid-air and crashed on February 19. The crash site was Harohalli, ISRO Layout, near the Yelahanka Air Force Station and not in Pakistan, as it was made out to be.
But responding to Indian Twitterati's vociferous demand for proof of Pakistan shooting down an Indian jet, the Surya Kiran video came handy for many Pak Twitter warriors. Tweeted one of them, “Indian Pilot captured alive by Pakistan. Here’s the evidence India, and the whole world.”
Even as he claimed “That’s how things are done. With evidence. Your crow is in our hands. This is just the trailer. #DontMessWithPakistan,” came to a massive backlash. The video clearly had locals talking Kannada and offering help to the fallen pilot, Wing Commander Vijay Shelke.
“When did Pakistanis learn Kannada? Show some shame you Joker. This is a video of Bengaluru acrobatic plane crash pilot a few days back,” read one Indian response. As the tweet and the video went viral, another desi tweet read: “Breaking news: Kannada being taught as vocational language in Pakistani Madrassas.”
But the fake news propaganda reached another level when Chairman and Managing Director of Pakistan Television (PTV) Shahid Masood showed the Surya Kiran video again to claim: “Second Indian pilot arrested alive.”
Before Shahid's tweet could gain traction with his 5.23 lakh followers, veteran Indian journalist Barkha Dutt responded: “Please at least hear the accents in the background, Dr Masood before sharing fake videos of an old crash in India which the pilot survived.”
The video of Wg Cdr Vijay Shelke, who survived the Surya Kiran crash, had gone viral earlier for another reason: As the pilot lay waiting for help, an aeronautical engineering student consoled him, holding the latter's hand. The heartwarming video had turned out to be an instant hit.
The 22-year-old student, Chethan Kumar was later called by Wing Commander Vijay and his family to the hospital to express their gratitude.