Fact Check: Did a drone show light up Jagannath Temple before Rath Yatra? It's AI
The Puri temple has also been a "no-fly zone" since October 2025.
India Today Fact Check
The viral video is AI-generated. Puri Jagannath Temple has been a DGCA-declared no-fly zone since October 2025.
As Odisha’s Puri gears up to celebrate the state’s most auspicious occasion, the Rath Yatra, a video of a drone light display over the Jagannath Temple has gone viral.
The video shows drones forming the shapes of Lord Jagannath, Subhadra, and Balaram, along with the chariots used to carry them. The drones also formed the Hindi words, “Jay Jagannath, Puri Dham, Rath Yatra,” as hundreds of devotees captured the moment on their phones.
India Today Fact Check found that the video is AI-generated. The Puri Jagannath Temple has been a “no-fly zone” since October 2025.
OUR PROBE
A search using Odia keywords yielded no results for any recent drone light show above the Puri Jagannath Temple.
A reverse image search of frames from the viral video led us to an Instagram post featuring the clip. Its caption clearly states that the video was created using AI tools. The Google Gemini watermark is also visible in the video, partially obscured by a different watermark.
Google's AI detection tool, SynthID, concluded the video was generated using Google's AI tools. Another AI detection tool, Hive Moderation, also gave a 92.9 per cent likelihood of it being synthetic media.
Puri City SP Prateek Singh, speaking to India Today Fact Check, confirmed that the video was synthetic, as the administration had never allowed any flying object over the temple premises. He said that flights, too, avoid the airspace over the temple out of respect, and that the district administration had separately imposed a five-kilometre no-drone radius around Puri town from July 16 to July 27, in view of the Rath Yatra.
Additionally, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation declared the Jagannath Temple a “Red Zone”, a permanent no-fly zone, in October 2025, citing security concerns. This came into effect on September 26, 2025 and will remain in force till September 25, 2028. Violators can face legal action and a penalty of up to Rs 1 lakh.
Therefore, it is clear that the viral clip does not show a real event.
As Odisha’s Puri gears up to celebrate the state’s most auspicious occasion, the Rath Yatra, a video of a drone light display over the Jagannath Temple has gone viral.
The video shows drones forming the shapes of Lord Jagannath, Subhadra, and Balaram, along with the chariots used to carry them. The drones also formed the Hindi words, “Jay Jagannath, Puri Dham, Rath Yatra,” as hundreds of devotees captured the moment on their phones.
India Today Fact Check found that the video is AI-generated. The Puri Jagannath Temple has been a “no-fly zone” since October 2025.
OUR PROBE
A search using Odia keywords yielded no results for any recent drone light show above the Puri Jagannath Temple.
A reverse image search of frames from the viral video led us to an Instagram post featuring the clip. Its caption clearly states that the video was created using AI tools. The Google Gemini watermark is also visible in the video, partially obscured by a different watermark.
Google's AI detection tool, SynthID, concluded the video was generated using Google's AI tools. Another AI detection tool, Hive Moderation, also gave a 92.9 per cent likelihood of it being synthetic media.
Puri City SP Prateek Singh, speaking to India Today Fact Check, confirmed that the video was synthetic, as the administration had never allowed any flying object over the temple premises. He said that flights, too, avoid the airspace over the temple out of respect, and that the district administration had separately imposed a five-kilometre no-drone radius around Puri town from July 16 to July 27, in view of the Rath Yatra.
Additionally, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation declared the Jagannath Temple a “Red Zone”, a permanent no-fly zone, in October 2025, citing security concerns. This came into effect on September 26, 2025 and will remain in force till September 25, 2028. Violators can face legal action and a penalty of up to Rs 1 lakh.
Therefore, it is clear that the viral clip does not show a real event.