AI-Generated Video of Drone Show Over Puri Jagannath Temple Goes Viral as Real

We found out that the video is AI-generated.

A video has been going viral on the internet, falsely claiming to show a drone show over the Jagannath Temple in Puri as the Rath Yatra begins. 

(Source: Facebook/Altered by The Quint)

A video has been going viral on the internet, claiming to show a drone show at the Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha, ahead of Rath Yatra 2026 celebrations.

An archived version of this claim can be found here. 

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

(Archived versions of similar claims can be found here, here, and here)

Is it true?: No, the video is AI-generated and does not show actual footage of a drone show from the Jagannath Temple

How did we find out?: We ran a reverse image search on the video using Google Lens and could not find any credible sources that shared it.

• Following this, we ran the video through Hive Moderation, an AI detection tool.

• The tool gave results that the video is more than 88 percent likely to be AI-generated.

Here is the result given by Hive Moderation.

(Source: Hive Moderation/Screenshot)

• Upon close observation, the watermark for Gemini, a generative artificial intelligence chatbot, is visible.

Gemini's watermark is visible in the video. 

(Source: Instagram/Screenshot)

• We ran the image through SynthID, which concluded that both the audio and the visuals in the video contain signals indicating that they were edited or generated using Google AI.

• We found news reports stating that the Puri district administration declared a 'No Flying Zone' for drones from 16 to 27 July to ensure public safety and order during the annual Rath Yatra.

• This disproves the claim that the video shows a drone show.

News report by The New Indian Express. 

(Source: The New Indian Express/Screenshot)

Conclusion: The video is AI-generated and does not show actual footage of a drone show at the Jagannath Temple in Puri.

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