New Delhi, Nov 10 (IANS) As panic and misinformation swirled in the aftermath of Monday evening’s deadly car explosion near Delhi’s Red Fort, the Press Information Bureau’s Fact Check unit swiftly intervened to quash a viral falsehood.

In a late-night post on X, PIB exposed a widely circulated image—showing a massive fireball and mushroom cloud—being falsely peddled as footage from the Delhi blast.

The agency clarified that the photo actually dates back to an Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s Dahiyeh suburb in Lebanon on September 27, 2024.

“Some propaganda accounts are circulating an old image on social media, falsely claiming it to be linked to the blast in Delhi,” PIB stated.

“PIBFactCheck: The image is from a 2024 blast in Lebanon, not from Delhi.” The post included a direct link to a Lebanese news outlet (mtv.com.lb) confirming the original context: “A new Israeli airstrike targeted Beirut’s Dahiyeh.”

The misinformation surfaced within an hour of the 6:52 pm blast, which killed eight and injured over 25 near Lal Qila Metro Station’s Gate No. 1.

Several unverified handles, including some with blue-check marks, amplified the Lebanon image with captions like “Delhi under attack” and “terror returns to the capital.”

By 9 pm, the fake visual had garnered over 1.2 million impressions, fuelling panic and conspiracy theories ranging from foreign involvement to domestic sabotage.

PIB’s intervention came as Home Minister Amit Shah visited the blast site and Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Hospital, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu, and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath issued condolences. Delhi Police urged citizens to refrain from sharing unverified content, warning that such posts could “hamper ongoing investigations.”

Fact-checkers noted that the Lebanon blast image—originally tied to escalating Israel-Hezbollah tensions—had been recycled multiple times in 2024, including during unrelated incidents in Syria and Iraq.

Authorities have flagged over 40 accounts for spreading the fake image, with action under IT rules imminent.

Meanwhile, the NIA and Delhi Police Special Cell continue probing the actual blast.

As the nation mourns, PIB reiterated: “Always verify such claims through credible and official sources before sharing.”

–IANS

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