ISLAMABAD: An image shared thousands of times on Facebook purports to showa Jerusalem-based newspaper reporting the arrest of an Israeli pilot inPakistan.
The claim is false; the photo in the post shows an Israeli Air Force pilotwho died in a helicopter crash six years ago.
Multiple Facebook posts contain what appears to be a screenshot of anarticle by Israeli newspaper the Jerusalem Post.
In the purported screenshot there is a photo of a man in military uniformstanding with his family next to a plane.
The man’s head has been circled in red, as has the article’s headline –which says, in fragmented English, “Family Bids Farewell to Pilot WhoArrested by Pakistan Army After Crash The Fighter Jet”.
The same image was shared hundreds of times elsewhere on Facebook. There isa logo saying “Pakistan News” overlaid on the purported screenshot’stop-left-hand corner and the caption under the photo reads: “Lieut-Col(res) Noam Ron with his family 370 (photo credit: Courtesy Ron family).”
The image also contains text in Urdu on a dark red background above thepurported screenshot, which says: “Israeli newspaper confirmed the arrestof its pilot in Pakistan.
Startling truth has come forward. Speculations died down. Pilot is inPakistan’s custody.” The screenshot is a doctored copy of the JerusalemPost article published on March 12, 2013, which contains the samephotograph of the man and his family.
The headline in the original article says: “Family bids farewell to pilotwho died in IAF crash”. IAF stands for Israeli Air Force. The name of thereporter and the photo caption are the same.
According to the Jerusalem Post, Lieutenant Colonel Noam Ron died alongwith his colleague Major Erez Flekser when the helicopter they were flyingcrashed on March 12, 2013. The incident was also report on at the time bythe Times of Israel. – APP/AFP