Fact-check: Viral video claiming Indian Army bike stunt failures at Republic Day parade is AI generated
Viral clips showing soldiers falling during gravity-defying bike stunts were digitally created and did not occur at India’s 77th Republic Day celebrations
Claim :
Indian Army personnel failing to perform high-risk motorcycle stunts during the Republic Day parade in New Delhi.Fact :
The claim is false. The viral video is AI-generated and does not depict any real event from the Republic Day celebrations.
India marked its 77th Republic Day on January 26 with a grand ceremonial parade at Kartavya Path in New Delhi, highlighting its military capabilities through the display of missiles, fighter aircraft, newly raised units, and weapon systems deployed during Operation Sindoor. The event was attended by the President of the European Council, António Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, as chief guests. Amid extensive media coverage of the celebrations, a short video comprising three clips is circulating on social media. The video allegedly shows Indian Army personnel attempting gravity-defying motorcycle stunts, such as riding off ramps, performing wheelies, and forming mid-air formations, during the parade. In each clip, however, the attempts appear unsuccessful, with the riders failing to complete the stunts and falling off their motorcycles.
An X user shared the video with the caption: “Indian Army’s parade: Bikes flying high like Bollywood heroes defying gravity. Reality check: Their defence strategy jumps more loopholes than ramps!”
Here's the screenshot of the claim
The viral claim is archived here.
Fact Check:
The claim is false. The viral video is AI-generated and does not depict real stunts from the Republic Day celebrations.
To verify the claim, we conducted a keyword search and reviewed official live broadcasts and reports from credible media organisations, but found no evidence to support it. Real-time coverage by DD News provided continuous, uninterrupted footage of the entire Republic Day parade. A careful review of this broadcast shows no visuals of any incidents involving riders falling or losing control, clearly indicating that the alleged scenes were not part of the official parade proceedings.
While the parade did feature the traditional motorcycle daredevil display by joint teams of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), the stunts seen in the viral video did not appear at any point in the official broadcast, confirming that the footage is not authentic.
A closer visual examination of the viral video reveals several anomalies consistent with synthetic generation. The motorcycles and riders appear to hover unnaturally in mid-air and lack realistic shadows, indicating digital manipulation. To further verify these observations, the clip was analysed using different AI detection tools including Hive Moderation and Deepfake o Meter which flagged the video as AI-generated.
Therefore, the viral footage claiming to show Indian Army motorcycle stunt failures during the Republic Day parade is not authentic. It is an AI-generated video and does not depict any real or officially recorded moment from India’s 77th Republic Day celebrations.
