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PeakMetrics / Fact Checks

War & conflict fact checks

Explore claims publishers have checked about war & conflict. Read their original ratings and follow the evidence.

5,848 published reviews in this topic

FACTLYWar & conflict

Video of Col Santosh Babu’s conversation with the Chinese Army

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerns a video circulated as showing Col Santosh Babu’s conversation with the Chinese Army in the context of the Galwan Valley clash. FACTLY reports that the circulated post combined two different clips and examined each one separately. Its investigation found that neither clip was footage of Babu speaking with Chinese soldiers in that incident. For the first clip, the review says reverse image searches of screenshots found the same footage on YouTube, uploaded on 13 January 2020 under a title describing a Chinese army argument with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police at the Arunachal Pradesh border. It also notes that the Indian officer’s shoulder badge identifies him as ITBP, whereas Babu belonged to the Indian Army’s 16 Bihar Regiment. Those details identify the officer in the clip as not Babu and place the footage online before the Galwan clash. The second clip begins at 1:59 in the circulated video. FACTLY traces it to a Deccan Herald posting dated 7 July 2017, titled “Watch: Jawans stop Chinese soldiers from entering Indian territory Part 1.” The review notes that Deccan Herald said it could not verify the clip’s authenticity; it relies on the footage’s earlier circulation to conclude that it was not connected to the later Galwan incident. Taken together, the separate provenance and timing of both clips contradict the claim that the compilation shows Babu’s conversation.

FACTLYWar & conflict

Pictures of martyred Indian soldiers in the recent border clash between India and China in the Galwan valley (Ladakh)

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The review examined multiple photos shared as images of Indian soldiers killed in the India–China border clash in Galwan Valley, Ladakh. It reports using reverse image searches and checking when images had appeared in circulation. Its investigation found that the photos were old and came from other contexts, rather than depicting the recent Galwan clashes. For one image, the review’s reverse search linked it to the killing of 76 CRPF jawans by Naxals in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district. Another image had circulated at least since 31 May 2020 and was tweeted by MP Asaduddin Owaisi in a post asking whether it showed PLA troops bringing down Indian soldiers in a close-quarters fight at Pangong Lake. The review says that image’s exact context could not be established, but that it was not related to the Galwan clashes. The third image was found on social media at least from 16 February 2019, after an attack on CRPF personnel. The review also located it in a Reddit post titled as showing the remains of soldiers killed in the Pulwama terrorist attack being taken home for cremation. Taken together, the review’s findings do not support identifying these images as pictures of soldiers martyred in the Galwan clash.

FACTLYWar & conflict

Visuals related to recent India-China fight in the Galwan valley (Ladakh).

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerns multiple videos circulated as footage of the India-China clashes in Galwan Valley, Ladakh, on the night of June 15, 2020. FACTLY’s review examined the videos’ earlier appearances and reporting about them. It concluded that the clips did not show that recent clash: “The videos are old. They are not related to the recent India-China clashes that took place in the Galwan valley on Monday night (15 June 2020).” The review traced several videos to earlier events or publications. One had previously circulated as footage of a border standoff but, according to FACTLY, showed a conflict near Pangong Lake on August 15, 2017. Another was online at least since May 2020, before the Galwan clash; FACTLY said its context and location were not authenticated, but that it was not footage of the June 15 fight. A third had appeared on the internet since at least 2017, including in a Deccan Herald YouTube video posted in July 2017. For the remaining examples, FACTLY reports finding older provenance: most of the visuals in Video 4 appeared in older news articles about other incidents; Video 5 had been uploaded to YouTube on January 13, 2020 and described as an encounter in Arunachal Pradesh; and Video 6 had been shown on Zee News on August 25, 2014 in a report about an incident in Tawang district. These prior dates and different locations establish why those clips could not document the June 2020 Galwan clash, while the review notes that some details—including the context and location of Video 2 and the precise time of Video 6’s reported incident—were not established.