Fake News: No, this is not Balakot in 2019. AFP exposes Indian social media post on 'bomb-hit' Pakistan
Widely shared Facebook post of 'devastated Pakistan' shows quake aftermath in 2005
Dubai: Photos shared numerous times on Facebook and Twitter claiming to show a devastated area of Pakistan on February 27, 2019 after Indian airstrikes are "misleading", AFP reported.
The images, also published by the BBC, are AFP photos showing the aftermath of a 2005 earthquake which killed tens of thousands of people in Pakistan.
"This misleading Facebook post was published February 27, 2019 and has been shared hundreds of times," the Paris-based news agency stated in the AFP Fact Check website.
The post’s caption states in Hindi: “You have seen many pictures of Pulwama; now look at state of Pakistan today.”
It contains three images which show destroyed buildings and dead bodies in the rubble.
AFP stated in a tweet that people were sharing their photos taken in 2005 out of context.
The misleading claim has also been posted on Twitter.
"Pulwama" refers to a suicide attack in the Pulwama district of Indian-administered Kashmir which killed 41 Indian paramilitary troops on February 14.
Media reports published multiple photos of the Pulwama attack.
In a tweet clarifying the real story behind the picture, AFP stated that people were sharing their photos taken in 2005 "out of context".
On February 26, 2019, India said it had carried out airstrikes on suspected militant bases inside Pakistan.
"The three photos actually show the aftermath of an earthquake which struck near the town of Muzaffarabad in Pakistani Kashmir on October 8, 2005, killing tens of thousands of people," AFP stated.
BBC also reported on the 2005 killer quake, with scenes of devastation in Pakistan during the massive temblor that hit the country. The same pictures on the Facebook post were taken from this report.
AFP stated that the main image used in the misleading post is their picture taken in Balakot, Pakistan, on October 10, 2005. The same image can also be seen on AFP’s Image Forum website which goes back more than 13 years.