Fact Check: Jaishankar Never Said India Lost Rafale Jets to Pakistan (WATCH)

The original Newsweek interview footage contains no such admission. PIB urges verifying information before sharing. The video's lip movements are  out of sync with the fabricated audio.

New Delhi: The Press Information Bureau has dismissed claims that a video circulating on social media showing External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar admitting that India lost three Rafale jets to Pakistan as fake. “The circulating video has been digitally manipulated, with doctored audio falsely attributing statements to Dr S Jaishankar. The original video is from an interview with Newsweek, and at no point did the EAM mention any such loss of fighter jets to Pakistan. Always verify before you amplify,” a statement read, adding a link of the original interview.

The 22-second clip shows External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar seated with a mic in hand, addressing an audience. He is heard saying, “...the Pakistanis launched a massive attack on us that night. We had already lost three Rafale jets to Pakistan two days earlier, so their attack was quite unfair — but they went ahead with it anyway. We responded swiftly afterward…”

Several users had claimed that Jaishankar said “It was very unfair of Pakistan to target Indian jets”. However, Indian military officials have not yet disclosed the number of fighter jets lost in the conflict following the launch of Operation Sindoor on May 7. Alt News reported that the lip movements were not in sync with the audio at times, and that the video was fake with audio likely overlaid.