POSTS THAT WERE shared on social media last week claimed that an Israeli pilot was captured in Iran, but contained untrue information which relied on an image of a different woman. 

The image shows a woman in uniform with her arms crossed and standing in front of what appears to be a military plane.

It has been shared widely across social media platforms, alongside posts that claim that it shows an Israeli pilot who was captured by Iran.

For example, one post on Facebook from 14 June features the image shared the caption:

“Israeli female pilot, Sarah Ahronot, has been captured in Iran. Israeli version of Shivangi.”

This post received around 3.6 thousand reactions and 1.5 thousand comments, and was shared on Facebook more than 200 times.

“Shivangi” refers to the Indian Air Force officer Shivangi Singh, who was the subject of online posts claiming that she had been captured by Pakistan during those countries’ exchanges with one another earlier this year (though the Indian Government has disputed those claims).

Israel-Iran war

Iran and Israel have been engaged in a mutual bombing campaign since Israel launched a surprise military attack on Iran on Friday 13 June.

Hundreds of Iranians have been killed and thousands have been injured during Israeli air strikes in Iran, while Israel has also suffered (more minor) casualties from Iranian strikes on its territory. 

The US entered the fray on Saturday 21 June and destroyed a number of Iran’s nuclear sites, prompting threats against the US by Iran and an attack on a US military base in Qatar on Monday 23 June.

However, the image that was shared as part of posts claiming that Iran had captured an Israeli pilot do not actually show an Israeli pilot, as claimed.

Instead, it shows an image of Chile’s first female Navy pilot, Daniela Figueroa Scholz.

The image featured in a Q&A with Figueroa from 2021, in the online military magazine Dialogó Americas, published by the US Southern Command.

It is also clear from the image that Figueroa’s uniform bears her last name, and not “Ahronot” – the second name of the pilot who online posts claim was captured by Iran.

There have been no credible news reports of an Israeli pilot named ‘Sarah Ahronot’ being captured in Iran either.

Israel Defence Forces spokesperson Nadav Shoshani also posted on X on 14 June - around the time that the claim was circulating – that Iran had not shot down any Israeli fighter jets.

Ultimately, there is no basis for the claim.

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