A three-year-old image of a white quadcopter is being shared with a false claim that the Nepali Army shot down an Indian spying drone that was spotted near the India-Nepal border.
The image shows a while colour quadcopter drone which is lying on the ground. Quadcopter drone is an aircraft equipped with four rotors, which are arranged in a square or rectangle to allow a stable flying of the drone.
The photo is being shared in the backdrop of tensions between both the countries over the border dispute at the Kalapani-Limpiadhura-Lipulekh tri-junction area between Nepal-India and China.
The image is being shared with the caption, "Nepal Army shot down an Indian spying quadcopter in Darkachua along India Nepal border. It had intruded 90 meters in Nepal side of India-Nepal border."
Nepal Army shot down an Indian spying quadcopter in Darkachua along India Nepal border.
— डा। सपना 🇳🇵 (@DrSapanaGurung1) July 19, 2020
It Had intruded 90 meters in Nepal side of India-Nepal border.#SAUSMF pic.twitter.com/Qu0OgCpqgd
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Nepal Army shot down an Indian spying quadcopter in Darkachua along India Nepal border.
— Irmak Idoya इरमक ईड्या🇳🇵 (@Irmaknepal) July 14, 2020
It Had intruded 90 meters in Nepal side of India-Nepal border. pic.twitter.com/s1ZHm4EA6c
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Nepal Army shot down an Indian spying quadcopter in Darkachua along India Nepal border.
— 李建国 (@jianguo222) July 19, 2020
It Had intruded 90 meters in Nepal side of India-Nepal border.#Nepalpic.twitter.com/NIOrOzmVio
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On searching on Facebook with the same caption, we found that the image was shared with the misleading claim.
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FACT-CHECK
On performing a simple reverse image search using Google Images, we found that the image dated back to October 2017. The search results showed news reports stating that the Pakistani Army had then claimed that it had shot down the drone along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rakhchikri sector in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Search results
The official Twitter handle of the Pakistani Army had tweeted the viral image on October 27, 2017, with the caption, "Indian quadcopter spying across LOC in Rakhchikri sector shot down by Pak Army shooters. Wreckage held."
Indian quadcopter spying across LOC in Rakhchikri sector shot down by Pak Army shooters. Wreckage held. pic.twitter.com/g9FG7EghPS
— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) October 27, 2017
The wreckage of the drone would likely be sent for analysis Geo News reported on October 27, 2017. The image of the drone was widely reported in the media back then and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had also tweeted responding to the claims made by Pakistan calling the drone a 'toy'.
BOOM could not independently verify the incident, however we could establish that the image of the drone is old and it was not taken at the India-Nepal border as being claimed.
Additionally, we did not find any credible news reports stating that an Indian spying quadcopter was shot down in Darkachua along India Nepal border.