Authors
A Twitter user claimed that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force shot down an Indian fighter jet Sukhoi Su–30 in Tibet recently.
Shared by the account Zhong Xin (@ZhongXN) on 3 October, the tweet reads, “Breaking News: Our Air force has shutdown Indian fighter jet Sukhoi su–30 in Tibet.”
Fact Check/ Verification
We did a relevant keyword search on Google and found no evidence to support this claim. We also looked for related information on the Indian defence ministry website but found nothing. Nor have any Indian or international media organisations reported on this.
On 4 October, the Press Information Bureau Fact Check tweeted a clarification on the claim stating that it is fake and no such incident has taken place.
The Press Information Bureau in Jharkhand debunked this claim as well.
This claim is shared at a time when territorial disputes between India and China in Ladakh continue.
Previous Claims Made By The User
The user in context, Zhong Xin (@ZhongXN), claims to be a columnist based in China Grove, TX. China Grove is a town in Bexar County, Texas, United States.
Xin’s Twitter bio reads, “Columnist/ Specially China Pakistan & Regional Current Affair/ Speaker / Traveler / Researcher /”.
As per analysis on foller.me, the words “Pakistan” and “China” have been used the maximum number of times (among all tweets) by this account.
A reverse image of the account’s profile picture on Yandex.com led us to Wang Feng’s profile on the China Center for Social Policy at Columbia University, New York. Fend is a Professor of Sociology at University of California, Irvine and Professor (invited) at Fudan University, Shanghai.
Evidently, the account Xin, has borrowed someone else’s photograph for their Twitter profile.
Also note, this isn’t the first time the user, Xin, has shared false or misleading information. On 25 August, a modified photograph of the former Indian Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag was tweeted with the caption, “India and China have held several rounds of military and diplomatic talks in the last few months but no significant headway has been made for a resolution to the border standoff. Says Rawat Ever since this statement came, we have been scared.” You can see the original photograph of the former chief here.
Conclusion
The claim by Twitter account, Zhong Xin, that the People’s Liberation Army shot down an Indian Fighter Jet Sukhoi su–30 In Tibet is false. The Press Information Bureau clarified that the claim is fake and no such incident has taken place.
Result: False
Our Sources
Press Information Bureau: https://twitter.com/PIBFactCheck/status/1312692937898119169?s=20
Press Information Bureau in Jharkhand: https://twitter.com/RanchiPIB/status/1312700907973300229?s=20
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