A video, claiming to show the Taj Mahal on fire, has gone viral on social media. In the video, the monument appears to be engulfed in flames, with thick black clouds of smoke rising above it, while several people can be seen filming the scene.
The video has been shared with a caption: “Taj Mahal mein aag lag gayi” (Taj Mahal is on fire).
The above post can be seen here. (Archive)
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the claim and found it to be Misleading.
Searching with relevant keywords to find credible news over the incident, the NM team failed to get any information. If such an incident had actually occurred, it would have been widely covered by national/global media outlets. Moreover, multiple media organisations, including Hindustan Live and Amar Ujala, have already clarified that the viral clip is AI-generated.
Notably, a small fire did break out near the Taj Mahal’s western gate, as reported by India TV News in April 2024. The fire was caused by a short circuit in a nearby security booth and was quickly doused. The monument itself was not affected.
Analysing further the viral clip closely, we found several inconsistencies like people walking casually past the burning monument, unrealistic flames, and visuals looking different in the same clip, which indicated a clear AI manipulation
Additionally, running the video through Hive Moderation, an AI detection tool, the NM team found the video to be 99% AI-generated.
Hence, it is clear that the viral video claiming to show Taj Mahal on fire is not real but AI-generated.
