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Wasi Mirza

With the rise of social media and generative AI, how much of what we see online is true? In this new series, SCMP Fact-Check, the Post investigates claims circulating online and debunks viral misinformation impacting the daily lives of Hongkongers.
“Air India flight AI-315 from Hong Kong sparked panic after a fire broke out in its auxiliary power unit,” a Facebook post’s caption reads in part.
The 20-second clip, which shows a photo of smoke billowing from a plane, has garnered more than 132,000 views.
The photo was shared in similar posts on X and Instagram.

The image circulated online on July 22, after an Air India plane departing Hong Kong caught fire after landing in India’s Delhi. No injuries were reported.
Several media outlets, including some in India, Pakistan and Hong Kong, used the photo in their reports about the July 22 fire.
The image, however, had appeared in news reports about a different fire almost three years ago.
Investigation
A reverse image search on Google found a video report with a similar frame published by Indian broadcaster NDTV on September 14, 2022.
“Air India Express Plane Catches Fire At Muscat Airport,” the video’s title read.
In that incident, which occurred in Muscat, Oman, an engine of an Air India Express plane caught fire, according to reports, forcing an evacuation and causing no serious injuries.
Keyword searches with this information led to other video reports from outlets such as India’s Hindustan Times and Odisha TV (OTV) covering the 2022 Muscat fire. They contained the same scene.
The photo’s existence online since 2022 shows that it predates the fire incident in 2025.
Below is a screenshot comparing the image in the misleading posts with a matching frame from the OTV report.

Verdict: Misleading
Seen something suspicious online? Tell us on factcheck@scmp.com.


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Air India

Photo from 2022 shared online as depicting July fire on Air India plane leaving Hong Kong

An Air India Airbus A320 aircraft. Photo: NurPhoto via Getty Images

A screenshot of the misleading Facebook post with lines crossed through. Photo: Facebook/SCMP Composite

A composite image showing the misleading Facebook post (left) with a frame from the OTV report (right). Photo: Facebook/OTV/SCMP composite

Video of people struggling in Typhoon Wipha winds filmed in Zhuhai, not Hong Kong

A screenshot of the video posted on Facebook with lines crossed through by the Post. Photo: Facebook/SCMP Composite

A composite of the video in the misleading posts (left) with the video on MSN (right). Photo: Facebook/MSN/SCMP Composite

A composite showing scenes from the video in the misleading posts (left) with an image from Google Maps (right), with similar elements highlighted by the Post. Photo: Facebook/Google/SCMP Composite

A composite showing the name of the club visible in AccuWeather’s video (left) compared to a video filmed at the same location (right). Photo: AccuWeather/YouTube/SCMP Composite

Video ‘from fatal Air India crash in June’ actually shows Hong Kong airport

Parts of an Air India plane that crashed on June 12 are seen on top of a building in Ahmedabad, India. Photo: AP

Screenshot of the false post with lines crossed through by the Post. Photo: Facebook/SCMP Composite

A screenshot showing similar scenes from the video (left) and the photo on Alamy (right), with similar areas highlighted by the Post. Photo: Facebook/Alamy/SCMP composite

A screenshot of a frame from the video (left) and satellite imagery (right), with similar features highlighted by SCMP. Photo: Facebook/Google/SCMP Composite

News

Hong Kong

Society

SCMP Fact-Check

Video of ‘firefighters in Hong Kong’ actually shows blaze in Chile in 2024

Screenshot of the misleading Facebook reel with lines drawn through by the Post. Photo: Facebook/SCMP Composite

Screenshot of the Facebook reel with lines drawn through by the Post. Photo: Facebook/SCMP Composite

A composite image showing scenes from the Facebook reel (left) and the one uploaded by GoPro (right). Photo: Facebook/GoPro/SCMP Composite

AI-generated scenes ‘from France’s 2025 Louvre heist’ circulate in Hong Kong

A screenshot of different points in the Facebook reel showing the two fabricated videos of the heist. Photo: Facebook/SCMP Composite

Instances of morphed hands (left) and a disappearing crowbar (right) highlighted in the two fabricated videos. Photo: Facebook/Composite via AI Forensics

Instances of the Sora watermarks in both videos. Photo: Facebook/Composite via AI Forensics

A comparison of the entrance of the gallery in the fabricated video (left) with an image of the genuine Apollo Gallery (right). Photo: Facebook/Louvre/SCMP Composite

A comparison of the roof structure and artwork from the fabricated video (left) and the genuine Louvre gallery (right). Photo: Facebook/Louvre/SCMP Composite

This video does not show Hongkonger knocked over during Super Typhoon Ragasa

A screenshot from a video inaccurately linked to Super Typhoon Ragasa in Hong Kong. Photo: Facebook/SCMP composite

A screenshot of the reel with lines drawn through by the Post. Photo: Facebook/SCMP composite

A composite image comparing a key frame from the Facebook reel (left) with the video from ViralBear (right), with similar scenes highlighted by the Post. Photo: Facebook/ViralBear/SCMP composite

‘Videos from Hong Kong’s 2025 rainstorm’ actually show downpour in 2023

A screenshot of the two reels side by side with lines drawn by the Post. Photo: Facebook/SCMP Composite

Pedestrians brave the rain under a black rainstorm warning at Hill Road in Hong Kong’s Shek Tong Tsui, August 14, 2025. Photo: Karma Lo

A screenshot of the footage in the misleading posts (left) with the CNS video (right), with similar features highlighted by the Post. Photo: Facebook/SCMP Composite

A Post photograph of the engulfed Chai Wan street on September 8, 2023. Photo: Dickson Lee

A screenshot showing the video in the misleading posts (left) with the one from 2023 (right), with similar features highlighted by the Post. Photo: Facebook/Daily Express US/SCMP Composite

‘SCMP report’ claiming Hongkongers ‘will receive income from taxes’ is fake

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, pictured during an interview on June 20, 2025. Photo: Jonathan Wong

A screenshot of the article crossed through by the Post. Photo: Handout/SCMP composite

Image showing smoke billowing from plane was used in recent reports by India, Hong Kong media outlets


Image showing smoke billowing from plane was used in recent reports by India, Hong Kong media outlets.


India

Pakistan

Oman

Fact-Check

Fact-Check | Photo from 2022 shared online as depicting July fire on Air India plane leaving Hong Kong

Image showing smoke billowing from plane was used in recent reports by India, Hong Kong media outlets