Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
Claim
Images linked to the chopper crash that killed Iranian President Raisi and others.
Fact
2020 images of a training aircraft crash have been shared in a false context.
Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign minister Hossein Amir-abdollahian and others were killed in a helicopter crash in East Azerbaijan province on Sunday. Soon after, social media platforms were flooded with unverified images and videos claiming to show the chopper crash that killed President Raisi and others. Newschecker investigated two such images and found that they have been shared in a false context.
Image 1
Multiple social media users shared an image of an aircraft wreckage, and stated, “All nine people on board including Iranian President Ibraheem Raisi dead in Helicopter crash in Northern #IRAN”
Such posts can be seen here and here.
Image 2
An image featuring, what appears to be, a rescue team in the middle of a dense forest has also been widely linked to the death of the Iranian President in the chopper crash.
Such posts can be seen here and here.
Also Read: Viral Video Of Man Thrashing Infant Is From Turkey, Not Hyderabad
Fact Check/Verification
A Google lens search on image-1 yielded multiple reports from 2020 featuring the viral photograph claiming to show the wreckage of the helicopter that crashed with Iranian President Raisi onboard.
Displaying viral image-1, a report by Iran based Rokna.net, stated, “The first pictures of the crash of the two-seater training plane of the police force in Mazandaran’s Swan Motel were released (translated from Persian via Google)” Adding that the bodies of two victims of the aircraft crash were also recovered by the authorities.
Notably, the report also featured image-2 that has been linked to the Iranian President’s chopper crash.
The Rokna.net was dated 1399/02/03. As per the Persian calendar, the second month of the year 1399 is equivalent to April 2020 of the Gregorian calendar.
We found a report by Amolnews that featured the viral image-1 and stated, “Following the crash of a Naja training plane in the forests of Motel Qu, two Naja air forces were martyred yesterday. Major pilot Ali Eidi, captain pilot Ali Islami, from the Naja forces who were present in this plane and unfortunately, were martyred in this accident that happened due to bad weather conditions (translated from Persian via Google)”
Also Read: Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann Thrashed By Public? No, Video Goes Viral With False Claim
A report by Kodoom, dated April 23, 2020, carried the viral image-2, and elaborated, “After the Naja plane crashed in the forests of the Swan Motel, finally, with great efforts last night at around 10 o’clock, the bodies of two people who died in the Naja plane were moved from the forest. Yesterday evening, a Naja military aircraft that was during military training. (translated from Persian via Google)”
Furthermore, an X post by @Iranian_RCS, dated April 22, 2020, carried both the images that have been linked to the chopper crash that killed the Iranian President on social media platforms.
Conclusion
We could thus conclude that 2020 photographs have been falsely linked to the chopper crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign minister Hossein Amir-abdollahian and others.
Result: False
Sources
Report By Rokna.net, Dated April 22, 2020
Report By Kodoom, Dated April 23, 2020
X Post By @Iranian_RCS, Dated April 22, 2020
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Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
