French Navy Debunks Pakistan's Rafale Claims, Calls It 'Misinformation and Disinformation'

New Delhi: The French Navy has sharply dismissed the claims made by the Pakistan-based media outlet, Geo TV, and its correspondent Hamid Mir alleging that the French naval commander had confirmed Pakistan's air superiority and that Indian Rafale jets were shot down during the military tensions between the two countries following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.

The French Navy called out the articles directly on its official X handle, posting screenshots of the articles and using the hashtag “Fake News” to describe them. The statement of the French Navy asserted that the report contained “extensive misinformation and disinformation” and clarified that the remarks attributed to Captain Launay were fabricated. 

“These statements were attributed to Captain Launay, who never gave his consent for any form of publication,” the French Navy added.

The French Navy further clarified that when asked about Operation Sindoor, Captain Launay neither confirmed nor denied any claims about losses, and he refused to comment on allegations about Chinese jamming of Indian aircraft. The Navy also added that he never mentioned the Chinese J-10, contradicting what Pakistani media tried to project. The French Navy rejected this narrative, stating that "he never mentioned the Chinese J-10", another claim circulated by a Pakistani news outlet.

A recent U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission report also revealed that China initiated a disinformation campaign around "Operation Sindoor", using fake social media accounts to spread AI-generated images of alleged plane debris. The campaign aimed to sabotage French Rafale fighter jet sales in favour of China's J-35s by falsely claiming the debris was from planes destroyed by Chinese weaponry.

"China launched a disinformation campaign to prevent sales of French Rafale aircraft in favour of its own J-35s, using fake social media profiles to propagate AI images of supposed 'debris' from the planes that China's weaponry destroyed," as per the reports. 

The report further stated that Beijing "opportunistically" used a May clash between India and Pakistan to advertise its weapons' advanced technology, seeking to capitalise on its ongoing border tensions with India and advance its defence industry goals.

'Desperate Attempt of Pak's Misinformation Machinery': BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) condemned what it described as a “desperate misinformation campaign” by Pakistan to defame Operation Sindoor and the Rafale fighter jet fleet. BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya said that Pakistani correspondent Hamid Mir has repeatedly circulated fabricated claims regarding Rafales and the so-called May conflict and has now been publicly exposed.

“When official institutions start debunking their propaganda, you know how desperate Pakistan’s misinformation machinery has become,” the BJP stated, also hinting that Mir maintains connections with several Indian journalists, urging readers to “spot them”.

ALSO READ: 'Fake': India Debunks Pakistan's AI Propaganda Over Doctored Amit Shah Video