Zee, TV9, Lokmat, Amar Ujala, others use naval drill image from 2023 to show INS Vikrant struck Karachi port

An image of a naval vessel with a flame in the background is being widely used by media outlets to suggest that the Indian Navy’s INS Vikrant struck the Karachi port in Pakistan as the conflict between the two countries intensifies.

The unverified image is among a sea of such visuals that have emerged and are viral on social media in the aftermath of escalating tensions between India and Pakistan after India launched military strikes at nine terrorist sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7. Since then, there has been retaliation and shelling; both sides have upped the ante.

On May 8, Zee News Kannada used the viral image in a report titled, “IND-PAK War updates: India’s terrifying weapon used on Pakistan..! The Pakistanis ran, wondering, ‘Will I survive or die?’”. (Archive)

Several other media outlets—including TV9, Amar Ujala, Lokmat Times, Hindustan, Jagbani or Punjab Kesari’s Punjabi counterpart, Pratidin, Ei Samay, Haribhoomi, and Bhaskara News—also published reports with this image. Note that Pratidin’s report seems to have been taken down, but the image and headline are still visible online. All outlets used the image with similar claims that the Karachi port was destroyed as the Indian Navy has entered the battle. We have added the screenshots below.

Click to view slideshow.

On social media, several users shared the image claiming the navy was in action and that the Karachi port has been destroyed.

X user India Forums (@indiaforums) posted the viral image on May 8 and wrote, “Indian Navy in action 🚢💪 Karachi Port destroyed by INS Vikrant 🔥” (Archive)

Below are more posts from X.

Click to view slideshow.

Fact Check

To check the authenticity of the claims, we ran a reverse image search and came across a report by the news agency Asian News International (ANI) from October 15, 2023. The report titled “Western Naval Command chief reviews operational readiness of Western Fleet”. The report carried a gallery of images and the now-viral image was featured in this report.

Below the image, the report mentions that Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Flag Officer, Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, “witnessed anti-submarine, anti-aircraft, and surface drills, and live firings by multiple platforms in a realistic multi-threat scenario, including air operations from INS Vikramaditya“. Note that the Western Fleet is based in Mumbai.

ANI also shared the image on its X account on October 15, 2023.

The fact that the image appears in news reports from 2023 makes it amply clear that it is unrelated to the current conflict. The visual is from a military drill and inspection conducted by Western Naval Command Chief Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi and does not depict an attack on the Karachi port. Also, it shows the naval vessel INS Vikramaditya and not INS Vikrant. Media outlets misreported and widely circulated the image with suggestive headlines, contributing to misinformation during a sensitive period.

The post Zee, TV9, Lokmat, Amar Ujala, others use naval drill image from 2023 to show INS Vikrant struck Karachi port appeared first on Alt News.

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