Fact-Check: This Video Doesn’t Show Chandrayaan-3 Orbiting Moon, It Is VFX!

The video has been digitally-edited to portray the live footage of the Chandrayaan-3.

The video has been shared as live footage of the ISRO's Chandrayaan-3. 

(Source: Altered by The Quint) 

Days after Indian Space Research Centre's (ISRO) successful Chandrayaan-3 mission, a video claiming to show the "live footage" of the rocket orbiting the moon went viral on social media.

An archive of the post can be found here. 

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

(Archives of similar claims can be found here, here and here.)

What is the truth?:  The viral video has been digitally created by Kerala-based visual effects artist Akhil VS and is not real.

How did we find out?: We zoomed into the video and found a name stamp in the bottom.

• We found "@akhil.vs" name stamped in the bottom left corner of the video

Here is a close-up of the name stamp. 

(Source: Altered by The Quint)

• We searched for the video on the user's X account and found that it was posted on 15 August in celebration of India's Independence Day.

• The user share it with the caption to celebrate the auspicious day and tagged ISRO and NASA.

An archive of the post can be found here. 

(Source: X/Screenshot)

• Further, several users on the internet shared this video with the caption stating that it was edited.

These are a few examples of the comments under the viral video. 

One user gave credits to the original creator.

People praised the editing in the video.

• We found the user's account on Instagram, where the same video was uploaded on 15 August.

• According to his Instagram bio, Akhil is a visual effects (VFX) and computer generated imagery (CGI) artist based in Alappuzha, Kerala.

The artist had uploaded a tutorial showing how the viral video has been edited. 

(Source: Instagram/Screenshot) 

• On 25 August, Akhil shared a video showing the process behind the video's creation with the hashtag 'Blender'.

• Blender is a 3D computer graphics software tool, used to make animations, visuals effects, motion graphics, etc.

The Quint has reached out to the creator for his inputs and will update the article as and when we get a response.

ISRO's Pragyan Rover: After Pragyan rover rolled onto the lunar surface on 25 August, ISRO released footage of it traveling a few metres away from the Vikram lander on 26 August.

• At the time of writing this article, this video was the only official footage of rover's movements which ISRO had released.

Conclusion: The viral video is not actual footage of the Chandrayaan-3 landing on the moon. It has been digitally edited.

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