A video showing military exercises and drills being conducted is going viral on the internet with a claim that it shows recent visuals of China starting massive military build-up near Arunachal Pradesh.
What did the viral post say?: An X (formerly Twitter) premium user named '@RavinderKapur2' shared the clip with a caption that said, "BREAKING. Why is Narendra Modi and the MEA quiet. China has started a massive military build-up near Arunachal Pradesh."
What's the truth?: The video could be traced back to November and shows the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) 78th Group Army performing military exercises in northern China. This meant that the claim was false.
How did we find that out?: On conducting a simple Google Lens search on the keyframes of the video, we found the same visuals uploaded on the official YouTube channel of CGTN Europe.
The video was uploaded on 13 November and was titled, "PLA ground force conducts live-fire drills featuring high-tech drones, robotic dogs."
About the 78th Group Army: As per reports, the 78th Group Army is affiliated to the Northern Theater Command of the Chinese PLA. It should be noted that the Northern Theater Command covers five provinces and shares borders with Mongolia, Russia, and North Korea.
PIB debunks the claim: The fact-checking wing of the Press Information Bureau (PIB), on its official X account, clarified that the claim is fake.
The post shared on 14 December said, "The video shared shows a military exercise conducted by a brigade of the PLA’s 78th Group Army, which is part of the Northern Theatre Command, headquartered in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province."
Conclusion: It is evident that the viral video dates back to November and is being shared with an incorrect claim.
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