Video of Somnath Temple Passed Off as Kashi Vishwanath Temple Post Renovation

The temple seen in the video is Somnath temple, Gujarat and the viral visuals have been in circulation since March.

Video of Somnath Temple in Gujarat was used to falsely claim that it showed the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Uttar Pradesh after renovation.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A video of an illuminated temple is being shared on social media with the claim that it shows the first glimpse of the Kashi Vishwanath temple situated in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh after renovation.

However, we found out that the temple seen in the video is the Somnath temple located in Gujarat and the viral visuals have been in circulation since March.

The Kashi Vishwanath Temple has undergone renovation and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the Kashi Vishwanath temple Corridor project on 13 December.

CLAIM

The video is being shared with the caption: "Here is the Kashi Viswanath temple. First glimpse after renovation भव्य काशी विष्वनाथ मंदिर की सौंदर्यकरण के बाद पहली झलकी..मोदी जी,योगी जी का धन्यवाद हर हर महादेव"

[Translation: The first glimpse of the grand Kashi Vishwanath temple after renovation. Thanks to Modi Ji and Yogi Ji.]

An archive of the tweet can be found here.

(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

The video has been shared by many social media users on Twitter and Facebook with the same claim. The archived versions of the posts can be seen here, here, and here.

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

Using InVID, we fragmented the video into several keyframes and conducted a reverse image search on them. This search led us to a Facebook post shared on 30 March carrying the viral visuals and suggested that it is from the Somnath temple.

We found a Facebook post carrying the viral visuals in March.

(Source: Facebook/ Screenshot)

We found that several users had shared the viral video in March suggesting that it shows the Somnath temple in Gujarat. The posts can be viewed here, here, and here.

Further, we found the image of the said temple on its website and compared it with the viral visuals. Several similar elements can be seen in the two.

Left: Viral video. Right: Somnath temple.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Meanwhile, the official Twitter handle of Somnath temple had tweeted visuals on the occasion of Diwali on 4 November. One can see that the temple looks similar to the one seen in the viral video.

Also, the structure of the said temple in Gujarat available on Google Earth showed several similarities with the one seen in the viral video, indicating that the temple in the latter is Somnath temple.

Left: Viral video. Right: Somnath temple as viewed on Google Earth.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Meanwhile, an article published on 4 September by ThePrint, who had visited the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi, carried a visual of the undergoing construction work at the site.

Earlier in August, Associated Press had also captured a glimpse of the construction work of the said temple in Varanasi. (Note: Swipe right to see the images.)

Image of under-construction Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi.

Image of under-construction Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi.

Clearly, a video of Somnath Temple in Gujarat is being shared to falsely claim that it shows the first glimpse of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Uttar Pradesh after renovation.

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