Bbc News: Misinformation spreading over Pakistan strikes in Afghanistan
news is debunking AI-generated images and old footage claiming to show downed aircraft following overnight strikes by Pakistan on targets in Afghanistan. The coverage also notes a separate claim that the Afghan Taliban shot down a Pakistani jet in Jalalabad and captured the pilot alive.
News debunks downed aircraft images
The team is focused on images and old video that circulated after overnight strikes by Pakistan on targets in Afghanistan. We're debunking AI-generated images and old footage claiming to show downed aircraft following those strikes. Around the time of the claims, there were also old videos circulating online claiming to show overflowing toilets on board a warship, which we debunked.
Claims about Jalalabad and pilot
A headline in the coverage reads that the Afghan Taliban shoots down Pakistani jet in Jalalabad, capture pilot alive. The report presents that sequence as a circulating claim: that a Pakistani jet was shot down in Jalalabad and that the pilot was captured alive. No further operational details are provided in the material examined here.
Pakistan strikes and Taliban offensive
news coverage says Pakistan conducted strikes on two provinces and the capital of Kabul in response to a major offensive against Pakistani military posts announced by the Taliban. The work on Afghanistan has been a substantial part of the day, and the team says its work has split into three parts while it follows these developments.
USS Gerald R Ford deployment
The feed is also tracking the world's largest warship, the USS Gerald R Ford. The carrier left Greece yesterday and is expected to arrive near Israel. Coverage notes that the deployment now extends to 247 days and that this week the team kept readers updated on reports that the world’s largest warship was facing plumbing issues. The US Navy released a statement on Thursday addressing some of these claims. The statement said: “In recent weeks, media reports have raised concerns regarding shipboard systems, including sanitation. ”
“On a ship this size, with this many Sailors, clogs will occur, ” said Captain David Skarosi, the commanding officer of the carrier. “In most instances, ” Skarosi added, “clogs are the result of items being flushed that should not be introduced into the system”. Any plumbing issues are quickly resolved “with no impact to operational readiness”, he said. Admiral Daryl Caudle also addressed the reports of low crew morale on board in the Navy’s statement. “Extended deployments demand endurance, ” the chief of naval operations said. “They ask Sailors to miss births, anniversaries, and everyday moments at home. ”
Fact-checking, Glasgow and politics
Here in the UK, the fact-checking team have been digging into leader Zack Polanski’s claims about wealth taxes in Switzerland and Labour’s claim that Nigel Farage was responsible for the £350m bus claim during the Brexit referendum campaign following the Gorton and Denton by-election. Earlier notes mention the Green Party's by-election win and that after the Green Party's by-election win we're fact-checking claims made by Zak Polanski about wealth tax. The feed also describes broader methods used: the team says it uses open-source intelligence, satellite imagery, fact-checking and data analysis to help report complex stories.
Verify will be back with you first thing on Monday morning, so please do join us then. Thomas Copeland is identified in the material as Verify Live journalist. Verify on Tour reached Glasgow this week, where the team had the opportunity to meet nearly 200 teenagers to discuss disinformation, AI, verification and everything in-between. This feed is where we post our work throughout the day. Get in touch with us by following this link.
Closing: The assembled material combines debunking of manipulated images and old footage related to overnight Pakistan strikes in Afghanistan, a circulating claim that the Afghan Taliban shot down a Pakistani jet in Jalalabad and captured the pilot alive, tracking of the USS Gerald R Ford's extended deployment and plumbing reports, and domestic fact-checking of political claims about wealth tax and the £350m bus claim.
