A car blast in the heart of India’s capital, Delhi, killed at least eight people and injured more than a dozen when flames spread through several vehicles on November 10, 2025. But purported images of the explosion that circulated widely online are unrelated. One image is from a road accident in April, while another shows a deadly car bomb in Lebanon more than a decade ago.
“After the explosion, a maximum alert was triggered in the capital,” read an Instagram post shared immediately after the explosion.
“This tragic and inhumane incident comes as a deep shock to the entire nation. I strongly condemn this horrific attack in Delhi,” read another article written in Hindi.
Both articles featured images showing thick plumes of smoke rising from burning vehicles.
Screenshots of the fake posts, with red Xs added by AFP
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the blast a “conspiracy”, promising that those responsible will be brought to justice (archived link).
Police are yet to give exact details about what led to the incident near the historic Red Fort, one of India’s best-known monuments and the venue of the prime minister’s annual Independence Day address.
It was the first major security incident since a shooting in late April left 26 people, mostly Hindus, dead at the tourist site of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, sparking clashes with Pakistan.
Similar articles on X and Threads also shared the old images.
A reverse image search on Google revealed that the first image matches the visuals of ETV Bharat TV channel published on April 3, 2025 (archived link).
The report, which also included a video of the burning vehicle, said the car caught fire and then exploded on a Delhi road. The driver saved his life by jumping.
The report added that the incident took place in the capital’s Khanpur area, around 19 kilometers from the Red Fort, the site of the recent blast.
Screenshot comparison of the image in the fake posts (L) and the photo from the ETV Bharat report in April
Additionally, the second photo was published by the British newspaper The Guardian on January 2, 2014 (archived link). The report said a deadly car bomb exploded near a Hezbollah security zone in southern Beirut, the Lebanese capital.
The photo is credited to AFP and can be viewed in the agency’s archives.
“Flames rise from burning cars at the site of a car bomb that targeted Haret Hreik, a southern suburb of Beirut, on January 2, 2014,” read the caption.
Comparison of screenshots between the image in the fake messages (L) and the photo from the AFP archives
AFP has debunked more misinformation distorting explosion visuals here and here.
