Viral image of The Daily Telegraph newspaper praising PAF after India escalation

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan observed discrepancies in the viral photo, analysed it through tools and checked British publication The Daily Telegraph to see if it had shared any such news story.

Posts from multiple users across social media were circulating a photo since May 10, 2025, allegedly showing the front page of The Daily Telegraph newspaper declaring the Pakistan Air Force as the “King of the Skies” amid the recent escalation with India. However, there was no such article published and the screenshot is a fake.

The intense military exchange between India and Pakistan came to a halt over the weekend after both nations agreed to a ceasefire pushed by United States President Donald Trump.

Tensions between the long-standing rivals escalated following the April 22 attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, which left 26 dead. India accused Pakistan of the attack, and in response, closed the Wagah border, revoked Pakistani visas, and suspended the Indus Water Treaty in the days leading up to airstrikes in multiple cities of Pakistan. The Pakistani military launched a retaliatory operation, Bunyan um Marsoos, on May 10 following India’s attack on their airbases.

HOW IT STARTED

On May 10, Barrister Khadija Siddiqi posted a photo of the alleged front page of The Daily Telegraph newspaper, featuring a news story accompanied by a headline that read: “Pakistan Air Force: The Undisputed King of the Skies”.

The post was captioned: “The glory of Allah, our warriors!”

It was viewed by over 66,000 people.

The image was also shared here, here, here, and here, racking up 234,000, 45,000, 33,000 and 43,000 views, respectively.

The image was also shared on Facebook by Ikhtiar Wali Khan, the prime minister’s coordinator on information for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on May 11.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and keen public interest in the international coverage of the recent tensions between Pakistan and India.

Analysing the viral image, the team noted multiple discrepancies, including spelling mistakes, mistyped and jumped sentences and language inconsistencies.

Words such as “Fγααωσε” instead of “Force” and “preformance” instead of “performance” are glaringly incorrect. “Aur Force” appears instead of “Air Force” and “advancemend” instead of “advancement”. These typographical and spelling errors are inconsistent with the professional editorial standards of a mainstream newspaper.

The layout was also compared to the official version of The Daily Telegraph, accessible through the newspaper’s official website.

The comparison revealed significant differences in design and content. The viral headline appears overly large and centred, inconsistent with the typical newspaper layout.

Official editions usually feature a variety of headlines of differing font sizes on the front page. It includes multiple stories, promotional banners, bylines, and supporting visuals, offering a snapshot of the day’s top stories.

Additionally, a thorough review of the May 10, 2025, edition of The Daily Telegraph found no corresponding article or page that contained any praise for the Pakistan Air Force.

Finally, the image was run through multiple AI content detection tools, including Decopy AI and Undetectable AI, which determined it was 99.99 per cent and 100pc likely to be AI-generated.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a viral image shows The Daily Telegraph newspaper praising the Pakistan Air Force is false.

The image of the British newspaper is a fake and no such article has been published by the outlet.

Multiple claims

At the same time, iVerify Pakistan observed multiple other claims regarding the Pakistan-India escalation. Here are more claims that were debunked by the platform.

– Video of Pakistanis celebrating in UK after the ceasefire – MISLEADING

On May 11, a 42-second video clip was shared by an X account, claiming to show overseas Pakistanis, along with police in the UK, dancing with the caption, “Pakistanis in Britain celebrate defeat of Indian forces”.

The post was seen by more than 273,000 people. It was later deleted

The same post was reposted by an Indian user, who, according to his bio, is an economics and political analyst. The caption of the post read, “Thousands of innocent people killed. Hundreds of thousands suffered. Tens of billions of dollars got blown away. And these morons are celebrating. Worse, they are now polluting the culture of the UK.”

His post received 2.9 million views.

Former Pakistani news anchor Sabir Shakir also shared the video with a similar claim, and his post was viewed more than 143,000 times.

Several other users on X circulated the same video, as can be seen here, here, here, here, and here, collectively gaining over 81,000 views.

The video also shared on TikTok, where it received more than 17,000 views.

On Instagram, the same clip was widely shared, with posts here, here, here and here collectively amassing over 205,000 likes.

The same video was also shared on YouTube, as can be seen here, here and here.

A reverse image search yielded the original video posted on TikTok by a user named Zeeshan2215 on August 17, 2024. The 42-second clip is the same as that of the viral clip.

Further investigation revealed another video from the same event, filmed from a different angle. This video was uploaded on TikTok on August 27, 2024, with the caption: “Pakistan Independence Day 2024, Wilmslow Road, Manchester.”

This confirmed that the video showed celebrations from Pakistan’s Independence Day celebrations in 2024 and has no connection to the recent events involving Pakistan or India.

– Video of Udhampur air base in India up in flames – FALSE

On May 10, senior journalist Hamid Mir shared a video of a fire brigade approaching a site clouded with heavy black smoke as it can be seen ablaze with a huge fire as onlookers observe and guide the fire fighters towards the scene.

The caption of the post said, “This is Udhampur Air Field in India. It’s a military target not civilian target. Pakistan totally destroyed this military installation in response to civilian casualties in Pakistan.”

The video received 1.7 million views and was shared 10,000 times.

The same footage was featured and run by leading media outlets such as SAMAA TV and Geo News on X and YouTube, respectively.

The clip was prolifically shared on X by several other users as can be seen here, here and here.

A reverse image search yielded a Facebook post of a user based in Maharashtra, India, according to their bio.

The caption of the video said, “Hanumangarh Chemical Factory Hanumangarh”. The date and time of the video showed to be on May 9, 11:47am, a day prior to Operation Bunyanum Marsoos in which Pakistan attacked Udhampur airbase in India, among others, in retaliation.

According to state media PTV News, the operation was launched in the early hours of May 10, proving the clip is not from the Udhampur base attack.

A keyword search of “Hanumangarh factory fire” also yielded a news bulletin by Indian outlet NDTV Rajasthan which included similar clips of a fire brigade and heavy black smoke taking over the scene.

– CNN infographic on Pak-India military conflict statistics – FALSE

On May 12, a user on X shared an image from CNN Newsroom showing a chart with conflict statistics between India and Pakistan, including the number of armed tools reportedly used by both countries during their recent military encounters.

The caption of the post said, “It’s official, we won the 2025 Pakistan-India Conflict by every metric according to CNN, Pakistan Zindabad.”

The text of the graphic read, “Pakistan’s strike in India, conducted by the PAF, downed six combat jets, including two Rafales and an S-400 air defence system. A total of 26 air bases were targeted inside India, including Jammu, Udhampur, Gujrat and Pathankot air bases, most of which were acknowledged by the Indian Army in a press conference.”

It further said, “According to Indian statements, nearly 23 air bases were targeted inside Pakistan. However, none of these claims were officially accepted by Pakistan, and India did not provide any authentic evidence till date.”

The image presents a chart of conflict statistics between Pakistan and India during air base attacks. According to the data, India lost six jets, 11 air bases were affected, and 553 drones were lost. Additionally, 21 Indian soldiers and 19 civilians were reported dead. There was 1 air defence system loss, and no tank losses were reported.

On the other hand, Pakistan lost no jets, three air bases were affected and 78 drones were lost. The casualties included a soldier and 13 civilians. No tank or air defence losses were recorded for Pakistan.

The post gained 16,500 views.

The same image was shared by several Pakistani accounts, as can be seen here, here, here, here and here, with a total of over 300,000 views.

A reverse image search did not return any results linking it to CNN’s official website or social media platforms.

Additionally, a review of CNN’s official page, including the ‘data and graphics’ section, revealed no such chart or visual.

Evidence and References

The Daily Telegraph, May 10, 2025, edition:
https://dailytelegraph.pressreader.com/the-daily-telegraph-saturday/20250510