#FactCheck - Old Video Misleadingly Claimed as Footage of Iranian President Before Crash
Executive Summary:
A video that circulated on social media to show Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi inside a helicopter moments before the tragic crash on May 20, 2024, has equally been proven to be fake. The validation of information leaves no doubt, that the video was shot in January 2024, which showed Raisi’s visiting Nemroud Reservoir Dam project. As a means of verifying the origin of the video, the CyberPeace Research Team conducted reverse image search and analyzed the information obtained from the Islamic Republic News Agency, Mehran News, and the Iranian Students’ News Agency. Further, the associated press pointed out inconsistencies between the part in the video that went viral and the segment that was shown by Iranian state television. The original video is old and it is not related to the tragic crash as there is incongruence between the snowy background and the green landscape with a river presented in the clip.
Claims:
A video circulating on social media claims to show Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi inside a helicopter an hour before his fatal crash.
Fact Check:
Upon receiving the posts, in some of the social media posts we found some similar watermarks of the IRNA News agency and Nouk-e-Qalam News.
Taking a cue from this, we performed a keyword search to find any credible source of the shared video, but we found no such video uploaded by the IRNA News agency on their website. Recently, they haven’t uploaded any video regarding the viral news.
We closely analyzed the video, it can be seen that President Ebrahim Raisi was watching outside the snow-covered mountain, but in the internet-available footage regarding the accident, there were no such snow-covered mountains that could be seen but green forest.
We then checked for any social media posts uploaded by IRNA News Agency and found that they had uploaded the same video on X on January 18, 2024. The post clearly indicates the President’s aerial visit to Nemroud Dam.
The viral video is old and does not contain scenes that appear before the tragic chopper crash involving President Raisi.
Conclusion:
The viral clip is not related to the fatal crash of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's helicopter and is actually from a January 2024 visit to the Nemroud Reservoir Dam project. The claim that the video shows visuals before the crash is false and misleading.
- Claim: Viral Video of Iranian President Raisi was shot before fatal chopper crash.
- Claimed on: X (Formerly known as Twitter), YouTube, Instagram
- Fact Check: Fake & Misleading
Related Blogs
Executive Summary
A video is being widely shared on social media showing soldiers carrying coffins with full military honours. Users are claiming that the footage shows the bodies of American soldiers who were killed in the war with Iran being brought back to the United States.
However, research by the CyberPeacefound the viral claim to be misleading. Our research revealed that the video has no connection to the recent Iran-Israel conflict. The footage actually dates back to December 2025, when an Islamic State gunman in Syria killed two US soldiers and a US civilian.
Following that incident, the bodies of the victims were transported with military honours, and the ceremony was recorded in the viral video. The clip is now being circulated online with a false claim.
Claim
On March 1, 2026, an Instagram user shared the viral video claiming that it shows the bodies of American soldiers returning to the US after being killed in the war against Iran. The caption of the post reads: “Bodies of American soldiers martyred against Iran are returning to the United States. War always brings destruction, which we are now witnessing.”
The link to the post and its archived version can be seen below.
Fact check
To verify the claim, we extracted key frames from the viral video and performed a reverse image search using Google Lens. During the search, we found the full version of the video in a report published by BBC on December 18, 2025. This confirms that the footage predates the current developments.
According to the BBC report, US President Donald Trump attended a dignified transfer ceremony for two members of the US National Guard and a US civilian who were killed in Syria. The somber ceremony took place at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, United States. The US Central Command (Centcom) stated that the two soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed in an ambush carried out by an Islamic State (IS) gunman in Syria. The US Army identified the two soldiers as Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar (25) of Des Moines and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard (29) of Marshalltown. A US civilian interpreter, Ayad Mansoor Sakat, was also killed in the attack. Officials said that three other service members were injured during the attack, and the gunman was engaged and killed. Syria’s state media also reported that two Syrian security personnel were injured in the incident.
Further research led us to a report published on the News Nation YouTube channel on December 18, 2025, which also featured the same footage related to the incident.
Conclusion
Our research found that the viral video is not related to the recent Iran-Israel conflict. The footage dates back to December 2025, when two US soldiers and a US civilian were killed in an Islamic State attack in Syria. The video shows the dignified transfer of their remains and is now being shared on social media with a misleading claim.
Executive Summary
A video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being widely shared on social media with the claim that he warned about rising sugar prices, stating that if the supply crisis worsens, sugar prices could reach ₹130 per kg. In the viral clip, PM Modi can allegedly be heard speaking about the increase in sugar prices. However, a research done by the research wing of the CyberPeace revealed that the claim made with the viral video is false. The research found that the viral video is AI-generated and has been edited to spread misleading information on social media.
Claim:
On August 22, 2026, a video was shared on the social media platform Facebook with the caption: “Can sugar prices reach ₹120-₹130? Know what the government report says and the main reasons behind it. What is your opinion?”
https://www.facebook.com/reel/4384024895144864
FactCheck
To verify the truth behind the viral claim, a keyword search was conducted on Google. No reliable news reports or official announcements were found confirming that PM Modi made any such statement regarding sugar prices. Keyframes extracted from the viral clip were subjected to a reverse image search using Google Lens. This led to the original video uploaded on the official YouTube channel of PMO India on August 15, 2026. In the nearly 1-hour and 39-minute long Independence Day address, PM Modi did not mention sugar prices anywhere during his speech.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDHjd3GUU7Y
To further verify the authenticity of the video, it was scanned using the AI detection tool HIVE Moderation. The results indicated a 94% probability that PM Modi's speech in the video is AI-generated.
The audio of the viral video was analyzed using Resemble AI. The tool's analysis confirmed that the audio was AI-generated, indicating that the original voice track had been manipulated/cloned.
Conclusion:
Our research confirms that the claim associated with the viral video is false. The video has been created using AI tools and edited to mislead the public.
Introduction
India has been a nation where technology penetration has been a little slower in the previous decades; however, that has changed now. Cyberspace has influenced and touched every country and has significantly diminished the gap between developing nations, developed nations, and underdeveloped nations. This has also been substantiated and strengthened during the Covid-19 pandemic as the world went into lockdown and the cyberspace was the only medium of communication and information. India witnessed a rise of 61% in terms of internet users, and a significant part of this number represented rural India.
New Standards
These standards have been released in threefold aspects covering – Digital Television Receivers, USB Type-C chargers, and Video Surveillance Systems, thus streamlining the use of gadgets and reduction of e-waste for the country.
1. Digital Television Receivers
The Indian standard IS 18112:2022 specification for digital television, and this standard would enable reception of free-to-air TV and radio channels just by connecting a dish antenna with LNB mounted on a suitable area with good signal reception. This will help in the transmission of knowledge about government initiatives and schemes, the educational content of Doordarshan, and the repository of Indian cultural programs. Doordarshan is in the process of phasing out analog transmission, and free-to-air channels will continue to be broadcast using digital satellite transmission. The keen aspects of educational and awareness programs run by the Govt and CSOs will impact more Indians than before as the Ministry of Information and Broadcast intends to increase their free channels of Doordarshan from 55 to 200 by the end of this year, which shows the importance of developments in the mass media industry.
2. USB Type C
Standard (IS/IEC 62680-1-3:2022) for USB Type-C receptacles, plugs, and cables adopting the existing global standard IEC 62680-1-3:2022. This standard provides for the requirements for USB type C ports and cables for use in various electronic devices like laptops, mobile phones, and other gadgets. This standard is similar to the new European standard, which is also aimed at the reduction of carbon emissions and e-waste; this move will result in ease for the industry and the end users. This will also contribute towards the strengthening of the cyber security aspects and prevent threats like ‘Juice Jacking’ to a massive extent.
3. Video Surveillance System
IS 16190, this standard provides a detailed outline of the aspects of a video surveillance system, such as requirements for its components like camera devices, interfaces, system requirements, and tests to ascertain the camera’s image quality on different devices. This series of standards would assist customers, installers, and users in establishing their requirements and determining the appropriate equipment required for their intended application and also provide means of evaluating the performance of the VSS objectively. This will also help in the improvement of surveillance by the individuals, and this will also help in the better investigation by Law enforcement agencies and faster apprehension of criminals, thus contributing to an overall safe society.
The Advantages
These standards are in power with the Internationally prevalent standards, thus taking the safety factors to the global aspect. This will also allow the Indian industry to create world-class products which can be shared all across the globe. This will open India to various opportunities and job avenues, thus opening the world to invest in India. The aspect of Atma Nirbhar Bharat and Digital India will be strengthened to a new level as the nation will be able to deliver products in power with quality in developed countries. The end Indian consumer will benefit the most from these upgraded standards in terms of Digital Televisions, Type ‘C’ USB chargers, and Video surveillance systems, as these impacts the consumers’ daily activities in terms of security and access to information.
- Reduction in Carbon Emission
- Production of World Class components and devices
- Boost to the economy and Atmanirbhar Bharat
- New avenues and opportunities for startups and MSMEs
- Better transmission of Knowledge
- Boosting FDI
- Improved quality of products for the end consumer
- New innovation hubs and exposure to global talents
This government move simply shows how India is working toward securing the Sustainable development Goals (SDG) by United Nations. This clearly shares the message to the world that India is ready for the future and will also be a helping hand to various developing and underdeveloped nations in the times to come.
Conclusion
These standards will significantly contribute towards the reduction of E-Waste and unnecessary accessories for daily use gadgets. This strengthens the reduction in carbon emissions and thus contributes towards the perseverance of the environment and working towards sustainable development goals. Such standards will lead the future towards securing the netizens and their new and evolving digital habits. In the current phase of cyberspace, the most essential aspect of establishing Critical Infrastructure as the same will act as a shield against the threats of cyberspace.
