Maha Kumbh Mela is scheduled from January 13 to February 26 in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.
Ahead of the event, a video of the preparation and execution of a drone show has gone viral on social media claiming that it was organised during the massive religious event in Prayagraj. The video is being shared with a Hindi song praising Prayagraj.
A social media user shared the video and wrote, “Amazing Prayagraj Kumbh.” (Translated from Hindi) (Archive)
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The video is from North Texas, US, where a drone show was performed during a holiday.
We closely observed the video and found that in the end, the footage showed the formation of a Santa’s image using drones. This seemed unlikely, given that Kumbh Mela is a Hindu religious event.
Taking the hint, we searched with relevant keywords and found the same video uploaded by a YouTube channel, Sky Elements Drone Shows, on December 6, 2024. The video was shared with the title, ‘5,000 drone Santa.’
The About Us section of the channel stated that it is a drone light show company based in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, which performs drone light shows all over the United States. We also found videos of other drone light shows on the channel. Some of them can be seen here and here.
We also found a screenshot of the viral video shared by NDTV on December 9, 2024. The report stated that the video showed one of the largest drone shows by a US-based drone company where 5,000 UAVs were flown over a field in Mansfield, Texas, ahead of Christmas.
Therefore, we conclude that the viral claim is false.
