Three days have passed since the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, where militants opened fire on civilians in the Baisaran meadow, killing 26 tourists and one local, and injuring several others. On April 22, the Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow group of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility.
According to the victims' families, the attackers allegedly targeted Hindu male tourists, reportedly asking for names and verifying identities before carrying out the killings. In response to the brazen attacks, India suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, expelled Pakistani military advisors stationed at the New Delhi High commission, shut down the Attari-Wagah border post, revoked visas issued to Pakistani nationals, and ordered their immediate return to Pakistan from India.
The tragedy also fueled a wave of misinformation online, with news outlets and social media users sharing old and unrelated images and videos falsely linking them to the attack.
Here are some of the false claims we’ve debunked so far:
1. Pahalgam: Media Outlets Misreport Old Image As 'Exclusive' Visual Of Attacker
Several major news channels and outlets—including India Today, AajTak, Times Now, ABP News, Zee News, and The Economic Times, among others, falsely claimed to have an exclusive “first picture” of one of the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack.
However BOOM found that the image was a screengrab from an old video that has been on Facebook since October 2021.
Read the fact-check here.
2. Pahalgam Attack: Media Falsely Reports Video As Final Footage Of Naval Officer
Similarly, a viral video of a couple dancing, filmed in Pahalgam eight days before the attack, was falsely claimed to be the ‘last video’ of Navy Lieutenant Vinay Narwal and his wife Himanshi—Vinay being one of the victims killed in the attack.
The video was widely circulated on social media and misreported by several news outlets. However, BOOM verified that the couple in the clip are social media influencers Ashish Sehrawat and his wife Yashika Sharma—not the Narwals. Read the fact-check here.
We also debunked another video of a couple dancing in the Valley that was falsely linked to Lieutenant Vinay. We found that the woman in the viral video was Priya Prasad, who later clarified in an Instagram post that she and her partner are safe.
3. Old Video Viral As Retaliation By Indian Army After Pahalgam Attack
An old video showing the Indian Army in retaliatory action —has resurfaced with a false claim that it shows the Army killing 12 Pakistani soldiers in response to the Pahalgam attack.
BOOM found that the video is from Poonch and shows Indian forces firing across the border following alleged ceasefire violations in April 2020, as reported by news outlets at the time.
Read the fact-check here.
4. Pahalgam Attack: Video Of Child Sitting On Corpse And Crying Is Old
In yet another instance of misinformation tied to the Pahalgam terror attack, a disturbing video of a child crying over his grandfather’s body was falsely shared as a recent scene from the attack.
However, BOOM found that the viral clip dates back to 2020 and shows 3-year-old Aayad Khan sitting on the body of his grandfather, 65-year-old Bashir Ahmed Khan, who was killed during an encounter between Indian security forces and terrorists in Sopore, Kashmir.
Read the fact-check here.
Fake List Of Pahalgam Terror Attack Victims Surfaces
A list claiming to name 26 victims of the Pahalgam terror attack—15 of whom are identified as Muslims—is viral on social media with a false claim that it was published by India TV.
BOOM reached out to the Jammu Defence PRO Lt Col Suneel Bartwal, who confirmed that the list is fake. India TV also denied publishing any such report.
Read the fact-check here.