Short Summary: A viral video falsely claimed a deadly explosion occurred near the BRICS summit in New Delhi in September 2026. AFP verification shows the clip reused a BBC report from 10 November 2025 about a separate blast that killed at least 12 and wounded about 30. An AFP reporter at the summit confirmed no explosion occurred near the venue, and the viral post combined unrelated footage to create a misleading narrative.
Viral Video Falsely Links 2025 New Delhi Blast To 2026 BRICS Summit — AFP Verification
Screenshot of false X post marked with a red cross by AFP
Social media users circulated a doctored video after the BRICS summit in New Delhi (Sept 12–13, 2026) that falsely claimed a bomb explosion had occurred near the summit venue. AFP verification found the clip reused a BBC report about a November 2025 blast in Delhi and combined it with footage of BRICS leaders, creating a misleading narrative that no explosion had been reported.
What Was Shared
On Sept. 14, 2026, a widely shared post on X (formerly Twitter) alleged a "MASSIVE SECURITY FAILURE" and claimed "a massive explosion near the BRICS Summit venue in New Delhi killed 8 people and injured several others." The altered video mixed a BBC breaking-news segment about a past explosion with shots from the BRICS summit and drew more than 31,000 views.
Screenshot of the BBC video from November 2025
Original Footage And Verification
A reverse-image search using frames from the viral video located a BBC YouTube report published on 10 November 2025 titled "Fatalities confirmed by police after blast near Red Fort area of Delhi." That original coverage reported a powerful car blast in central Delhi that hospital officials said killed at least 12 people and wounded about 30. AFP found that elements of the 2025 BBC report were repurposed and overlaid with BRICS summit footage from September 2026.
Key finding: The explosion footage in the viral clip is from November 2025. The BRICS summit footage was added later to suggest the events were linked — they were not.
On-the-Ground Confirmation
An AFP reporter covering the BRICS summit in New Delhi confirmed there were no credible reports of any explosion near the summit venue during the event. AFP has also debunked other false claims circulating around the BRICS meetings.
Screenshot of the BBC video, captured on September 28, 2026
Why This Matters
Misinformation that blends footage from different events can quickly distort the facts and inflame public concern. This case highlights the importance of source-checking and reverse-image verification before sharing alarming claims online.
Bottom line: The viral clip falsely linked a November 2025 BBC report about a deadly Delhi blast to the 2026 BRICS summit. The explosion footage predates the summit, and there were no reports of an explosion at the BRICS venue.
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