Simulated video clip falsely shared as visuals of NRF fighters striking down Pakistan fighter jets in Panjshir - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 7, 2021
A video is being shared on social media claiming it as visuals of National Resistance Front (NRF) forces striking down Pakistan fighter jets at Panjshir valley in Afghanistan. Some of the mainstream Indian news channels have also published the same video with a similar claim. In the wake of the ongoing conflict between Taliban fighters and NRF forces at Panjshir, this video is being shared on social media. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of NRF forces striking down Pakistan fighter jets in Panjshir valley, Afghanistan.
Fact: The video shared in the post shows a simulation clip created using the ARMA 3 video game software. This video has nothing to do with the ongoing conflict between the Taliban and NRF forces at Panjshir valley in Afghanistan. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the screenshots in the video, similar visuals were found in a video published by a YouTube channel named Saionji Rei, on 22 August 2020. This video was uploaded on YouTube with the title, “A-10 Thunderbolt Warthog Thunderbolt CRAM Sius”. The description of the video stated it as a simulation video clip created using the ARMA 3 video game software. Saionji Rei YouTube channel had shared multiple other simulated clips created using the ARMA 3 software. They can be seen here and here.
ARMA 3 is a virtual reality-based military tactical shooter video game. This game was developed and published by Bohemia Interactive through the Steam distribution platform.
Earlier, when similar simulated clips of ARMA 3 software were shared as the visuals of the Israel Air Defence system destroying Palestinian missiles, FACTLY published fact-check articles debunking those claims. They can be seen here, here, and here.
To sum it up, a simulated video clip is falsely shared as the visuals of NRF fighters striking down Pakistan fighter jets in Panjshir.