13/05/2025
On the day India launched , leading news outlet initially reported about 3 Indian fighter jets crashing in , and of Jammu Kashmir citing local govt officials but removed the story few hours later. They tweeted that they removed it because there was no “on-record information” which was an unusual explanation because media doesn’t need on-record statements to merely report an incident
Link for the tweet: https://bit.ly/4jI9nRv
However, on the same day several international media outlets including Reuters, Associated Press, New York Times, BBC, Telegraph published the report about Indian fighter jets downing in J&K citing confirmation from local govt officials & sharing pictures of the aircraft wreckage from the crash site in Pampore.
Links for the reports:
Reuters https://bit.ly/3EXu8JX
Associated Press https://bit.ly/4m4YsmA
BBC https://bit.ly/3Z3n3hK
New York Times https://bit.ly/4kufBVp
Telegraph (UK) https://bit.ly/4delaou
Late that night, CNN reported that a high-ranking French intelligence official told them that Pakistan shot down at least one jet belonging to and that French authorities were investigating if more Rafale jets were downed.
Link for the report:
https://bit.ly/4k7ufkZ
was the only Indian news portal that published article on the CNN report.
Link for the now removed article:
https://bit.ly/4iUVw9w
On 9th May, the internet service providers in India blocked access to The Wire’s website as per orders of Ministry of Information & Broadcasting with no explanation.
Link for The Wire’s tweet:
https://x.com/thewire_in/status/1920753952775143844
The Wire later received a written explanation from the ministry in which they were asked to remove the article on the CNN report from their website for them to restore the access. The Wire complied and their website was restored.
Link for The Wire’s statement on the matter:
https://bit.ly/4j3UvMn
The CNN report is however accessible in India on its own web page. (Link above)
On 9th May, Reuters reported that two US officials confirmed that Pakistan’s Chinese made jets shot down two Indian fighter jets and that at least one of them was Rafale.
Link for the report:
https://bit.ly/44CRCP7
was the only Indian news portal that published an article on the Reuters report. However, on 10th May, the article was removed. The article still appears in Google search results, but clicking on it redirects to a different story.
Link for Google search result:
https://bit.ly/4jNxuhD
Hours after India launched , an unidentified aircraft crashed in a village in (Punjab) at around 2 AM killing one civilian and injuring 9 others. Despite being a verified incident and covered by several Indian media outlets, there's no official information on the pilot and the origin of the aircraft. As per a report in Times Of India, Indian Air Force has declined to comment on the incident.
Link for TOI report:
https://bit.ly/45379aQ
No Indian media platforms have bothered or dared to find the truth. There's fear of backlash and being labelled as anti-national and peddler of Pakistani propaganda.
But the people of India need to know the truth as these reports raise serious questions on the abilities of Rafale and is also linked to safety of our pilots.
What do you guys think of all this? Let us know in comments.
