Fact-check: Viral clips falsely claim to show Indian airstrikes on Sialkot, Rawalpindi
The videos predate the May 7 incident and are unrelated to the current situation
Updated Saturday May 10 2025
On May 7, after India carried out airstrikes on Pakistani cities, several video clips began circulating online, with users claiming they depict the recent attacks on Sialkot and Rawalpindi.
These claims are false. The videos are unrelated to Pakistan.
Claim: Indian social media users are sharing a 21-second video of an explosion on a bridge, alleging it shows a bridge destroyed in Sialkot by India during Operation Sindoor.
Fact: Incorrect. The video is not from Pakistan. AFP Fact Check debunked this claim last year and traced the video to a fire in Chile, first posted online in February 2024.
The fact check can be read here.
Claim: A 22-second video clip showing an explosion is being shared with the claim that it also shows an Indian attack on Sialkot.
Fact: The claim is false. The video predates the May 7 attack and is not from Pakistan. A reverse image search traced it to a gas leak explosion in Mumbai in March, which was reported by Times of India (ToI).
The ToI new report can be seen here.
Claim: A 32-second video clip allegedly shows multiple explosions in Rawalpindi following the May 7 Indian airstrikes.
Fact: The claim is untrue. Reverse image and keyword searches found the video was posted online in October 2023, long before the recent India-Pakistan tensions.
Here is the link of the account that posted the video in October 2023.
Claim: Two images circulating online claim to show the aftermath of Indian airstrikes on Sialkot.
Fact: The claim is false. Geo Fact Check traced both images to 2021, where it depicts an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.
One of the images can be seen here, as reported by the New York Times.
And the other one here as reported by DW, a German broadcaster.
Verdict: The video clips and images circulating online, claiming to show Indian airstrikes on Sialkot and Rawalpindi, are false. All visual content predates the May 7 incident and is unrelated to the current situation.
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