Following the 22 April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack, India launched Operation Sindoor, escalating tensions along the Line of Control (LoC). Both sides reported intensified cross-border firing and armed forces operations, leading to military and civilian casualties (here, here, and here). After days of attacks from both sides, a ceasefire agreement was reached through high-level military and diplomatic talks on 10 May 2025. However, Pakistan reportedly violated this agreement within hours of its announcement. Pakistani drones were sighted and intercepted in various parts of Jammu and Kashmir, including Srinagar, as well as regions of Gujarat (here, here).
Amidst this, an infographic (here, here, and here) purportedly published by the news outlet CNN is going viral on social media, claiming that India suffered greater losses than Pakistan in the ongoing conflict between the two countries. According to the viral graphic, India reportedly lost six jets (including two Rafales), an S-400 air defence system, 553 drones, 11 airbases, 21 soldiers, and 19 civilians. In contrast, it claims that Pakistan lost three airbases, 78 drones, 13 civilians, and one soldier. In this article, let us fact-check the claims made in the post.
Claim: A graphic published by CNN shows that India suffered greater losses than Pakistan in the ongoing conflict between the two countries.
Fact: The viral graphic claiming that India suffered greater losses than Pakistan in the ongoing conflict between the two countries was not published by CNN. Neither India nor Pakistan has made any official announcement regarding the loss of weapons or military combat equipment since 07 May 2025, when Operation Sindoor was launched. Furthermore, a CNN spokesperson confirmed to multiple fact-checking organisations that CNN did not publish any such infographic. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
To verify whether CNN had published any such infographic, we conducted a relevant keyword search. However, we did not find any reports indicating that CNN had published the viral graphic. We also checked CNN’s official website and social media handles (here, here, here, and here) but could not find any report published by CNN suggesting that India suffered more losses than Pakistan in the ongoing conflict between the two countries.
During this search, we came across a news report published by CNN on 12 May 2025, titled “India and Pakistan both claim victory. But this latest conflict has no winners.” CNN has published multiple reports (here, here, here) related to the ongoing India-Pakistan conflict; however, none of them mention that India suffered significantly more military losses than Pakistan.
Neither India nor Pakistan has made any official announcements regarding the loss of weapons or military combat equipment since 07 May 2025, when Operation Sindoor was launched. In a recent media interaction, the spokesperson for the Pakistan Army, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, stated that one Pakistani aircraft was slightly damaged during the Indian missile attack (here).
At a press conference held on 11 May 2025, the Indian armed forces neither confirmed nor denied the loss of fighter jets during the recent conflict with Pakistan. Indian Air Marshal A.K. Bharti stated during the briefing that they would refrain from commenting on losses, adding that “losses are a part of combat.” Both countries, however, have acknowledged civilian casualties in the conflict.
Additionally, we found a post on X (formerly Twitter) by the Government of India’s PIB Fact Check unit, dated 12 May 2025, which labelled the viral infographic as fake. The post further clarified that CNN never ran any such story or infographic comparing losses.
Furthermore, multiple fact-checking organisations (here, here, and here) contacted CNN. In response, a CNN spokesperson confirmed that CNN did not publish any such infographic.
To sum it up, the viral graphic claiming that India suffered greater losses than Pakistan in the ongoing conflict between the two countries was not published by CNN.
