In the early hours after midnight on April 4, President Trump announced that the other crew member of the downed F-15E fighter jet had been rescued. Despite this, Chinese official media continued to cite Iranian reports claiming that the U.S. military rescue mission for the pilot was a “failure,” attempting to bomb the pilot, leading to strong criticism from netizens.
On April 3, a U.S. F-15E fighter jet was shot down in Iranian airspace, with two crew members ejecting to safety. While one pilot was rescued on the same day, the other crew member went missing, prompting immediate search and rescue efforts by the U.S. military.
After midnight on the 4th, President Trump took to the Truth Social platform to announce, “We got him out! My fellow Americans, in the past few hours, the U.S. military carried out one of the most heroic rescue operations in U.S. history, successfully retrieving one of our outstanding military officers, a highly respected colonel.”
However, at 14:33 Beijing time on April 5, China’s official Xinhua News Agency continued to report a story titled “Iranian Military: U.S. Rescue of Pilot ‘Mission Failed’, Multiple Aircraft Shot Down,” citing that Iranian media on the 5th claimed that the Iranian military spokesperson stated that the U.S. military rescue mission was a failure, with two “Black Hawk” helicopters and a C-130 transport plane being shot down.
In the afternoon, numerous Chinese media outlets reported that according to CCTV News, on April 5 local time, Iran had announced in the early morning that the U.S. military had failed in the search and rescue of the downed fighter jet pilot, attempting to bomb potential hiding spots in Iran to kill him.
According to a source within the Iranian military, from the night of the 4th to the early morning of the 5th, the U.S. military deployed fighter jets to bomb several areas adjacent to the Kojolu-e Boyeh Ahmadi province of Khuzestan, with the U.S. side expressing despair in finding their “second pilot.”
This move by Chinese official media sparked widespread backlash online, with Chinese netizens on social media platforms condemning the Chinese Communist Party as “shameless” and questioning their intelligence and morality.
Users like “Dr. Bo@BoDiplo” and “Writer Cui Chenghao@cuichenghao” expressed outrage, questioning the integrity of mainstream Chinese media for spreading unreliable information and fabrications regarding the rescue mission.
Another user, “Professor Tigris who teaches classes @tig88411109,” criticized the military leadership and propaganda machinery in China, highlighting the lack of compassion and responsibility shown towards soldiers in distress.
These reactions reflect a strong sentiment among Chinese netizens regarding the conflicting reports and propaganda surrounding the incident, emphasizing the importance of transparency and ethical journalism in times of crisis.