AFP has refuted a 25-second video falsely claimed to show CJP protesters dancing at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. The clip was geolocated to Kitsilano Beach in Vancouver and first appeared on Instagram on July 14, 2026. Distinctive background features in the footage matched Google Street View for the Vancouver location, confirming the footage is not from the Indian protests that led to Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation on July 25.
Viral 'Chaiyya Chaiyya' Dance Clip Misattributed to New Delhi Protests — Geolocated to Vancouver Beach
Screenshot of the false post captured on July 20, 2026, with a red X added by AFP
AFP has debunked a viral 25-second video that was shared online as footage of protesters dancing at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. The clip was geolocated to Kitsilano Beach in Vancouver, Canada, and was originally posted to Instagram on July 14, 2026.
Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared clip (L) and Instagram post taken on July 24
What Was Shared
An Instagram post circulated on July 20, 2026 with a Hindi caption mocking demonstrators and claiming the footage showed members of the social-media-driven group calling itself the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) dancing in New Delhi. The 25-second clip features a large group dancing to the Bollywood song "Chaiyya Chaiyya" with superimposed text asking: "A sit-down gathering?" Similar posts spread on Facebook, Instagram and X as thousands gathered in central New Delhi to demand the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (L) and Google Street View imagery, with corresponding element highlighted by AFP
How AFP Verified the Clip
A reverse-image search using key frames from the viral clip led AFP to an Instagram video posted on July 14, 2026 that identified the event as taking place at Kitsilano Beach in Vancouver. The same footage was shared by the local page Vancouver Mehfil, which hosts outdoor cultural gatherings and open-mic sessions at the site.
Frame-by-frame analysis revealed background details — notably a house with distinctive windows seen behind the dancers — that matched Google Street View imagery of the Kitsilano Beach area. Those visual matches, together with the earlier Instagram posts, confirmed the clip’s Canadian origin and showed that the footage was unrelated to the New Delhi demonstrations.
Context
Weeks of protests driven in part by the CJP called for education reform and culminated with the resignation of India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on July 25, 2026. Demonstrations broadened into wider grievances over unemployment and opportunities for young people, and critics have raised concerns about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing style. Amid this unrest, misleading and fabricated posts circulated widely online, including the misattributed dance clip.
Response And Notes
AFP contacted the Vancouver Mehfil page but had not received a reply at the time of publication. AFP has also fact-checked other false or misleading claims related to the CJP-led protests.
Bottom line: The dancing video circulating as evidence of New Delhi protesters was filmed at Kitsilano Beach in Vancouver and is unrelated to the demonstrations in India.
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