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| - Fact Check: Viral video of plane stunt NOT from 2023 Indian Independence Day, it's from Italy
The viral video was falsely attributed to India. it's actually from the centenary celebration of the Italian Air Force.
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India Today Fact Check
The video actually shows an aerial performance by the Italian Air Force during centenary celebrations at the Mario de Bernardi military airport in Pomezia, Italy.
India marked its 77th Independence Day on August 15 with fervent celebrations across the nation. Amid the festivities, a video gained traction on social media, claiming to showcase an Indian Air Force performance on this year's Independence Day.
The viral video shows a formation of jets soaring through the sky, leaving trails of coloured smoke that resembled the Indian flag – presumably saffron, white, and green. A Facebook user shared the video with the comment, "Wonderful performance by Indian Air Force pilots on Independence Day."
We conducted keyword searches and found the same video, filmed from the same perspective, on an Instagram account under the username We_are_Italians. The caption for the June 24 post noted that it showed the centenary celebrations of the Italian Air Force. Another account, Italianexplorer_, also shared the video on June 18, mentioning that it was filmed during the Italian Air Force's centenary celebrations at Mario De Bernardi military airport in Pratica di Mare.
India Today reached out to admins for both accounts, who turned out to be the same person. They confirmed the video's Italian origin, adding that the aircraft and flag formation seen in the viral video were indeed Italian. We also identified the background audio as "Turandot", an opera piece composed by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini and sung by Luciano Pavarotti.
We also found news reports that contained more photos of the performance of the Italian Frecce Tricolori aerobatic squad during a media preview of an airshow celebrating the centenary of the Italian Air Force in Pratica di Mare on June 16.
Geolocation
We found the Mario De Bernardi military airport near Pomezia, Lazio, southwest of Rome. Using Google Earth, we found the three buildings near the airport that we observed in the viral video. A visual comparison of the viral video with Google Street View showed the resemblance between the buildings and elements.
No air shows
Contrary to the claim, India doesn't feature such spectacular aerial performances on Independence Day. Such displays generally take place during Republic Day celebrations on January 26. A press note issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, dated August 9, 2023, listed the events and ceremonies comprising the Independence Day celebrations.
The only event involving the Indian Air Force mentioned was the showering of flower petals from helicopters on Red Fort during the unfurling of the Tricolour, the video of which can be seen here.
Thus, it is evident that the viral video had nothing to do with the Independence Day celebrations in India.
(With inputs from Ashish Kumar)
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