‘Fake Video Alert’: PIB Debunks Claim That Pakistani Missile Downed Indian Mi-17 Helicopter

The Press Information Bureau (PIB) on Thursday debunked a viral video falsely claiming a Pakistani missile downed an Indian Mi-17 helicopter.

The footage was identified as a 2019 friendly fire incident near Budgam, Jammu & Kashmir, where an Indian surface-to-air missile accidentally struck the IAF chopper, killing six personnel and one civilian.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the PIB confirmed the fake video stating, "Some Pakistani propaganda accounts are recirculating an 'old video' on social media, falsely claiming that a missile shot down an Indian Mi-17 helicopter," adding that the video is from an earlier incident that took place in 2019, involving an Indian Air Force (IAF) Mi-17 V5 helicopter that crashed near Budgam, J&K.

The PIB warned, saying that such fake content is often circulated to create panic, spread misinformation, and malign India’s image, and urged the public to always verify such claims from official and credible sources before sharing.

The video was posted by a troll account named "Baba Thoka" whose bio reads, "Specialist in delivering instant karma to Indian trolls."

His post claimed a Pakistani missile downed an Indian Mi-17 helicopter in Kashmir's Budgam area on November 5, 2025, accompanied by "Pakistan Zindabad" chants, but the video is recycled footage from a 2019 Indian Air Force Mi-17 crash caused by friendly fire during the Balakot airstrike tensions.

It should be noted that no credible reports confirm any such incident in November 2025 and searches of news sources yield only historical events showing a clear case of how old clips are repurposed to inflame India-Pakistan border narratives.

The same video was circulated in May by the X handle of China Daily, a China-based English news outlet, during Operation Sindoor claiming that three Indian military jets had crashed in Jammu and Kashmir during the recent India-Pakistan military conflict. Following this, multiple social media users circulated an image purportedly showing the aftermath of the alleged crash.

However, the PTI Fact Check Desk had investigated the claim and found it false. The image being shared was actually from February 2019, when an Indian Air Force Mi-17 helicopter crashed in Budgam, Jammu and Kashmir, after an Indian missile mistakenly hit it. The photo used in the China Daily X post is old, and there has been no official confirmation of any Indian jet crashes in Kashmir on May 7.