📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Gannu03
Religion
Police label Varanasi temple dance video as AI‑fabricated, claim smear campaign
✍️ The Times of India
🗓 30 Sep 2026, 04:38 AM
👁 12
Uttar Pradesh police have declared a recently viral video showing a dance performance at a Varanasi temple to be AI‑generated, alleging it was intended to damage the shrine’s reputation.
Uttar Pradesh police have publicly stated that a video circulating on social media, which depicts a dance performance inside a Varanasi temple, was created using artificial intelligence. The statement was issued after the clip gained widespread attention online and was shared across multiple platforms.
According to the police, the video was engineered to appear as a genuine recording of a ritual dance, but forensic analysis revealed digital manipulation consistent with AI‑generated content. Officials emphasized that the clip does not represent any actual event that took place at the temple.
Authorities contend that the fabricated video is part of a deliberate effort to tarnish the image of the historic shrine. They have opened an investigation to trace the source of the content and to determine whether any laws related to defamation or digital fraud have been breached.
The temple administration has not released an official comment, but police have warned that further dissemination of the false video could attract legal action under existing cyber‑crime provisions.
According to the police, the video was engineered to appear as a genuine recording of a ritual dance, but forensic analysis revealed digital manipulation consistent with AI‑generated content. Officials emphasized that the clip does not represent any actual event that took place at the temple.
Authorities contend that the fabricated video is part of a deliberate effort to tarnish the image of the historic shrine. They have opened an investigation to trace the source of the content and to determine whether any laws related to defamation or digital fraud have been breached.
The temple administration has not released an official comment, but police have warned that further dissemination of the false video could attract legal action under existing cyber‑crime provisions.