Picture shows Chernobyl nuclear plant control room, not Pakistan airbase after Indian strikes

Published on May 27, 2025 at 11:42
3 min read
By Sachin BAGHEL, AFP India

Days after India attacked several Pakistani airbases, a picture circulated in social media posts falsely claiming it showed a damaged control room at one of the bases. It was actually taken at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant decades after the facility was abandoned.

"Scene at Nur Khan Airbase," reads the Hindi-language post sharing the photo published on Facebook on May 18.

Screenshot of the false post taken on May 21, 2025

The facility was among the three Pakistan airbases targeted by Indian missiles a week earlier, as New Delhi and Islamabad engaged in an intense four-day conflict (archived link).

The fighting killed more than 70 people in both countries before a ceasefire was agreed on May 10 (archived link).

The conflict was sparked by a militant attack on April 22 in Indian-controlled Kashmir, which killed 26 people, mainly Hindu men. New Delhi blamed Pakistan for backing the attack, which Islamabad denies (archived link).

The false post spread among Hindi-speaking users on Facebook and X, where it was shared hundreds of times.

Some users appeared to believe the claim is genuine.

One user commented, "Well-established airbases were destroyed, thanks to our soldiers."

"Beautiful view. My heart felt happy," another wrote.

But a Google reverse image search reveals the false picture actually shows the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant's control room, similar to those seen on stock photo websites Alamy and Adobe Stock (archived here and here).

CNN published a picture showing a wide view of the room in a report on May 29, 2020 taken by German photographer Bernhard Ludewig (archived link).

Screenshot comparison of the false post (left) and the photo in the CNN article

Ludewig told AFP on May 22 that the image circulating online depicts the power plant's control room.

"There is basically just one good photo spot left today... so most pictures will show things from a very similar perspective," he said in an email.

The Telegraph also published a video filmed in the plant on October 25, 2019 showing similar visuals (archived link).

A reactor at the Chernobyl power plant exploded during a botched safety test on April 26, 1986, resulting in the world's worst nuclear accident, which sent clouds of radiation across much of Europe and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate (archived link).

AFP has debunked other misinformation stemming from the conflict between India and Pakistan.

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