The clashes between India and Pakistan on May 6 gave rise to a wave of anti-Rafale smears from China, following the news of the alleged destruction of at least one French fighter jet. An entire Chinese media and digital ecosystem was mobilised to attack the aircraft’s reputation, employing humourous sketches, fake videos from video games and distorted information.Rafale bashing. From May 6–10, India launched Operation Sindoor, a series of bombings against Pakistan in retaliation for a deadly attack on tourists in Indian Kashmir. During the attack, three Rafales, the Indian air force’s most modern aircraft, were shot down by Pakistani fighters, according to Pakistan.Experts are more cautious and estimate, without certainty, that at least one Rafale fighter jet, a French aircraft built by Dassault Aviation, may have been destroyed.
As soon as it was revealed, the incident – the exact scale of which has yet to be confirmed – triggered a Chinese propaganda campaign against the Rafale.
In fact, the Pakistani combat aircraft used against India are made from Chinese JF-17 and J-10C aircraft. For a whole media ecosystem – composed of media affiliated or not to the Chinese Communist Party, influencers and ordinary internet users – denigrating the French aircraft was an opportunity to promote Chinese aircraft at its expense. en
The clashes between India and Pakistan on May 6 gave rise to a wave of anti-Rafale smears from China, following the news of the alleged destruction of at least one French fighter jet. An entire Chinese media and digital ecosystem was mobilised to attack the aircraft’s reputation, employing humourous sketches, fake videos from video games and distorted inform
Since May 7, 2025, the Rafale has been the target of a smear campaign from China.
Since May 7, 2025, the Rafale has been the target of a smear campaign from China. © X
Rafale bashing. From May 6–10, India launched Operation Sindoor, a series of bombings against Pakistan in retaliation for a deadly attack on tourists in Indian Kashmir. During the attack, three Rafales, the Indian air force’s most modern aircraft, were shot down by Pakistani fighters, according to Pakistan.
Experts are more cautious and estimate, without certainty, that at least one Rafale fighter jet, a French aircraft built by Dassault Aviation, may have been destroyed.
As soon as it was revealed, the incident – the exact scale of which has yet to be confirmed – triggered a Chinese propaganda campaign against the Rafale.
In fact, the Pakistani combat aircraft used against India are made from Chinese JF-17 and J-10C aircraft. For a whole media ecosystem – composed of media affiliated or not to the Chinese Communist Party, influencers and ordinary internet users – denigrating the French aircraft was an opportunity to promote Chinese aircraft at its expense.
Usurping the identity of an Egyptian media outlet to spread fake news
On May 7, the day after the first night of clashes between India and Pakistan, a screenshot of a supposed publication by Qnews, an English-language media outlet based in Egypt, was shared on social networks and the Chinese news portal sina.cn.
According to the publication, the French government had requested that India “immediately” ground its Rafale fighter jets. “This follows the downing of three Rafale jets by the Pakistani air Force last night, prompting France to urge India to cease using Rafale jets in operations against Pakistan,” reads the shared post.
The alleged Qnews post was also shared outside Chinese social networks. ShanghaiPanda, an influencer with positions close to the Chinese Communist Party, shared the same screenshot on X with a message in English on May 7.
However, this post is false, and the identity of the Qnews media outlet had been stolen. When contacted, Qnews stated that the shared post was “entirely fabricated” and confirmed that it had not been published on “any of the media’s official platforms”. A search of the Qnews Facebook page and Instagram account produced no results. “The claim being circulated about the French government and Rafale aircraft is false, and Qnews has no connection with this content,” the media outlet also said.
Usurping the identity of a foreign media outlet to disseminate false information is a modus operandi reminiscent of the disinformation strategy employed by Russia in Operation Doppelganger, which involved imitating newspaper headlines and traditional media publications.
