Video of Diver From Gujarat Falsely Peddled as Indian Navy With Hanuman Flag

The video showing a diver underwater is from Gujarat and is unrelated to the Indian Navy.

Fact-check: A false claim about a member of the Indian Navy diving underwater with a saffron flag has gone viral on social media.

(Photo: The Quint)

A video showing a diver swimming underwater with a flag of Hindu deity, Hanuman, is going viral on social media.

The claim states that it shows a member of the Indian Navy following the consecration ceremony on Ram Temple in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya.

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(source: Facebook/Screenshot)

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What's the truth?: This video is unrelated to the Indian Navy.

• It reportedly shows Karan Chamadiya, a diver from Gujarat, swimming underwater on Shivrajpur beach.

• Chamadiya confirmed the WebQoof team that it shows him in the viral video and he is not related to the Indian Navy.

How did we find out the truth?: We performed a reverse image search on some of the keyframes of the video which led us to a post shared by news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) on X (formerly Twitter).

• This was shared on 19 January, and it carried the same viral video.

• The caption did not specify anything about the man being a member of the Indian Navy.

• Instead, it stated that the clip shows a scuba diver raising a saffron flag underwater at Shivrajpur Beach in Gujarat.

• Taking a clue, we performed a relevant keyword search, leading us to a Gujarati news report shared by Gujarati Jagran.

• The report mentioned the diver's name to be Karamanbha Chamdiya and it nowhere mentioned about him being a member of the Indian Navy.

We reached out to the diver: Taking a cue, we found Karan Chamadiya, a professional scuba diver's Instagram account.

• He confirmed to us that the viral video shows him diving underwater with a saffron flag near Shivrajpur beach.

• "These claims are not true, I am not associated with the Indian Navy. This video was recorded on 19 January 2024," he added.

The Indian Navy's PRO also confirmed to us that this viral video does not show a member of the Navy underwater.

Conclusion: A false claim about a member of the Indian Navy diving underwater with a saffron flag has gone viral on social media.

Note: The story has been updated to add Navy PRO's quote.

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