Fact-Check: Old Video Passed Off as Recent Visuals of Chandrayaan-3 Launch

After Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) historic and successful launch of Chandrayaan-3, a video is going viral on the internet with a claim that it shows the footage of the launch as viewed from a flight.

What are users claiming?: Those sharing the video have claimed that several IndiGo passengers witnessed the event while flying from Chennai to Dhaka.

We received a query about the video on our WhatsApp tipline.

(Archives of similar claims can be found here, here, and here.)

Are these claims true?: Neither is the video recent nor does it show the launch of Chandrayaan-3. It could be traced back to at least December 2022 and reportedly shows the launch of SpaceX Falcon 9.

What led us to the truth?: We performed a Google Lens search on the keyframes of the viral video and came across a Facebook page named 'NasaNet'.

• It carried the same video and was uploaded on 24 December 2022.

• The caption of the video when translated to English said, "The coincidence of going on a plane just when the SpaceX Falcon 9 is being launched at Cape Canaveral."

News reports: A report published in The Independent in December 2022 carried similar visuals and was headlined, "Passengers see SpaceX rocket launch from plane window."

• It said that passengers on a plane that was flying past Florida witnessed the launch of a SpaceX rocket.

• The report mentioned that the video was shared by a TikTok user.

Conclusion: While we could not independently verify when and where the video was recorded, it is clear that it predates the launch of Chandrayaan-3.

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