A video of a dog appearing to be in distress and seemingly weeping on a grave is being widely shared on social media. Many users claim that it is late industrialist Ratan Tata’s dog ‘Goa’ mourning at his grave.
The caption accompanying the post reads: The poor dog keeps crying for its owner, Ratan Tata.
Similar claims can be seen here and here. (Archive link)
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the claim, and found it to be false.
Analysing the viral video minutely, the NM team discovered that Ratan Tata’s image had been edited. Running Reverse Image Search of the viral video keyframes, we found a similar YouTube video, dated October 1, 2024, showing an identical dog without Ratan Tata’s photo.
A thorough examination of the YouTube video revealed odd details in the dog’s movements and the video, suggesting it might be AI-generated. However, after running the video through multiple AI detection tools, we were unable to confirm this.
According to other reports, Ratan Tata passed away at the age of 86 on October 9, 2024. In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the nation’s industrial development, Maharashtra honoured him with a state funeral on October 10. Although he was part of the Parsi community, he was not laid to rest at the Tower of Silence. Instead, his final rites were performed at an electric crematorium.
This suggests that Ratan Tata does not have a grave, as he was cremated at an electric crematorium. Hence, it is confirmed that the viral video is digitally manipulated.
