On Wednesday, India criticised the Chinese media outlet Global Times for its news reporting of Operation Sindoor military strikes. It advised the portal to “verify facts" and "cross-examine sources before pushing out disinformation.” Global Times had asserted that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) had “shot down another Indian fighter jet in response to overnight airstrikes carried out by India at multiple locations in Pakistan,” mentioning “sources from the Pakistani military.” 

According to military sources, Xinhua reported, “This is the third Indian fighter jet that has been shot down in response to the overnight strikes,” Global Times stated. In response, the official Twitter handle of the Embassy of India in Beijing posted a series of messages, saying, “Dear @globaltimesnews, we would recommend you verify your facts and cross-examine your sources before pushing out this kind of disinformation."

“Several pro-Pakistan handles are spreading baseless claims in the context of #OperationSindoor, attempting to mislead the public. When media outlets share such information without verifying sources, it reflects a serious lapse in responsibility and journalistic ethics,” another Twitter post says.

In follow-up posts, the Indian embassy in Beijing stated, “@PIBFactCheck had brought to light instances of fake news with old images showing crashed aircraft being re-circulated in various forms in the current context of #OperationSindoor. While one is from an earlier incident involving an Indian Air Force (IAF) MiG-29 fighter jet that crashed in Rajasthan in September 2024, the other is an IAF MiG-21 fighter jet from Punjab in 2021.”

In a statement outlining some “facts of the issue,” the Indian embassy stated, “On April 22, 2025, Pakistani and Pakistan-trained terrorists from Lashkar-e-Taiba launched a brutal attack on Indian tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, India. They singled out a specific community by asking people to identify their religion and killed 26 people, including one Nepalese national, making it the deadliest terrorist attack in India since the November 26, 2008 attacks in Mumbai.”

One of the posts described the Pahalgam attack as exceptionally brutal, noting that most of the victims were shot in the head at close range, often in front of their family members. “Family members were deliberately traumatised through the manner of the killing, accompanied by the exhortation that they should take back the message.”

The Indian embassy stated in a post that a group called The Resistance Front (TRF) took the responsibility for the Pahalgam attack, describing it as “a front for the UN-proscribed Pakistani terrorist group, Lashkar-e-Taiba.” The post also mentioned that India had shared details about the TRF with the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee in its May and November 2024 reports, highlighting the group’s role as a cover for terrorist organisations based in Pakistan. 

“Earlier too, in December 2023, India had informed the monitoring team about LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammad operating through small terror groups such as the TRF. Pakistan's pressure to remove references to TRF in the April 25 UN Security Council Press Statement is notable in this regard,” a post read. “Pakistan's long track record of perpetrating cross-border terror in India is well documented, and beyond question. Pakistan also has a well-deserved reputation as a haven for terrorists from around the world, with internationally proscribed terrorists enjoying immunity there,” another post stated.

The last post stated, “India accordingly exercised its right to respond and pre-empt as well as deter more such cross-border attacks. These actions were measured, non-escalatory, proportionate, and responsible. They focused on dismantling the terrorist infrastructure and disabling terrorists likely to be sent across to India. The world must show zero tolerance for terrorism.”