Pak deputy PM leads nation in praising air force based on fake Daily Telegraph clipping

A purported clipping from The Daily Telegraph newspaper dated Saturday, May 10, is viral on social media. It shows part of a story with the headline, “Pakistan Air Force: The Undisputed King of the Skies”, in block capitals.  The image has gained traction amid speculation about who suffered more losses during the recent armed conflict between India and Pakistan. A ‘CNN graphic’ which was widely shared recently in this regard showed India suffering more damage in terms of equipment loss. Alt News found it to be fake.    

The supposed report got a lot of attention after Pakistan deputy prime minister Ishaq Dar referred to it in an address in the senate on May 15. Dar, who is also the country’s foreign minister, stated, “… what does The Telegraph say? Pakistan Air Force is undisputed king of the skies..,” even as the house erupted in applause.  

On social media, Pakistani X user Dr Shama Junejo (@ShamaJunejo) shared the image and claimed the Daily Telegraph report evidence of the fact that Pakistan had a clear upper hand in the recent armed conflict. (Archive)

Another Pakistani X user, Dr Qamar Cheema (@Qamarcheema), shared the image and called Pakistani Air Force the ‘pride of Pakistan’. (Archive)

Several other Pakistani users have shared the image and made similar claims.

Click to view slideshow.

Fact Check

On carefully examining the supposed report by The Daily Telegraph, we found several inconsistencies that cast serious doubts on its authenticity. We spotted multiple spelling errors and garbled, illegible words. These have been highlighted below: 

Such glaring mistakes are highly unlikely to be made by a reputable international publication and strongly suggest that the image is fabricated. 

There are two well-known papers by the name, The Daily Telegraph, one based in the United Kingdom and the other in Australia. The masthead in the purported image closely resembles that of the UK-based publication.

So, we checked the website of the UK-based the Daily Telegraph. We could not find any such article on their website.

This clearly suggests that the article referred to by the Pakistani deputy prime minister never appeared in The Daily Telegraph. The viral clip is fake.

We also found that both the Union government’s press information bureau (PIB) and Pakistani newspaper Dawn had fact-checked the claims. PIB stated, “By endorsing a completely fabricated image and headline, #Pakistan intentionally lent official weight to a piece of digital deception.”

This #fake claim was further amplified by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar during his statement to the Senate on 15 May 2025.

By endorsing a completely fabricated image and headline, #Pakistan intentionally lent official weight to a piece of digital deception.… pic.twitter.com/k2s8LT5YJh

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) May 16, 2025

Dawn published a fact-check report, stating, “Viral Daily Telegraph article praising PAF after India escalation is fake”. 

To sum up, the image of the viral The Daily Telegraph article praising Pakistan Air Force calling it the “undisputed king of the skies” is fake. Pakistan’s deputy prime minister Ishaq Dar amplified the fabricated image and the headline in the senate on May 15, 2025.

The post Pak deputy PM leads nation in praising air force based on fake Daily Telegraph clipping appeared first on Alt News.

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