BRICS Summit: Viral Lies, Old Videos and AI Fakes
AI-generated images and old videos were passed off as real visuals from the 18th BRICS Summit. Here’s what the viral claims got wrong.
As world leaders and diplomats attend the 18th BRICS Summit, a distorted version of the event is already circulating online. Within hours of the summit’s opening, several social media accounts began sharing out-of-context video clips, recycled event footage, and AI-generated videos. From viral group selfies to controversies over summit food arrangements, the wave of misinformation around this year’s summit shows how quickly major geopolitical meetings become battlegrounds for rampant disinformation.
OBC identified that these viral posts are misleading.
The viral claims
The 2026 BRICS selfie
On 13 September, the X (formerly Twitter) account @shaziailmi, the official handle of Shazia Ilmi, the national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party, shared a now-deleted viral group selfie featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi alongside world leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
The picture was captioned, ‘This pic says it all!’ What say @RahulGandhi @PChidambaram_IN At a loss for words …?,’
We analysed the viral post and conducted a detailed search of official records or credible news reports to verify the existence of such a group selfie.
We also closely inspected the photo and found numerous discrepancies. The picture features the presidents of Brazil, Turkey, and the UAE, who are not attending the 2026 BRICS Summit. Instead, Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira represents Brazil, while Crown Prince Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan represents the UAE. Similarly, the image includes former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May 2024.
Additionally, our analysis found that the viral image was AI-generated. The selfie of world leaders at the 2026 BRICS Summit is not real.
PM Modi gifting Chinese President
A video showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifting Chinese President Xi Jinping a portrait went viral on social media, amid claims that the footage was from the 18th BRICS Summit. On 12 September, an X user, The India Voice (@The_india_voice), shared the video with the caption, ‘Modi gifts Xi his own portrait 😭💀 Self-love: PMO Edition 😤🤣’.
As of 15 September, the post had garnered more than 43k views and 506 likes.
Many users in the comments accused the post of peddling fake narratives and spreading misinformation. One comment read: “Shame on you guys for creating fake narratives again – crazy how u guys twist facts !!. Another user stated that the post was AI-generated.
We analysed keyframes from the viral video and conducted a reverse image search, which led us to articles published by The Times of India and NDTV on October 12, 2019.
These reports describe a meeting between Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, during Xi Jinping’s official visit to India in 2019. During the meeting, a porcelain plate made of traditional bone China and featuring a portrait of Modi was presented to the Prime Minister. This evidence confirms that the video circulated is not from the 18th BRICS Summit.
In addition, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) shared the same photographs of the two leaders from their meeting on the summit’s final day.
Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping serving soods
On 13 September, an X user, Rakesh Kalotra (@Rakeshkalotra), shared the video with a caption, ‘Putin and Xi Jinping Put Politics Aside and Cooked Together in a Rare Candid Moment 👀🔥.’
The video shows the two leaders cooking food together. As of 15 September, the post has received 574k views and 4.5k likes.
One of the comments on the post read, “This is archival footage from a prior Eastern Economic Forum event in Vladivostok, not a new occurrence tied to the September 2026 BRICS Summit in India.”
Another user mocked the quality of the food served at the summit, commenting, “This is after the shite veg food Modi served them.”
We investigated the viral claim and found no credible news reports or official reports from the BRICS Summit corroborating it as a recent event. We also analysed the keyframes of the viral video. We found that Business Insider and ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation published the same visuals in their news articles dated back to September 2018.
According to the article, on September 11, 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping prepared traditional Russian blini pancakes together during a cultural exhibition held alongside the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia.
This proves that the viral video claiming that it was from the 18th BRICS summit is false.
Our analysis found that the posts claiming to show recent footage from the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi are misleading. The viral posts recycle visuals from past events, misrepresenting them as current summit visuals. Several social media accounts are attempting to distort both the timeline and context to spread misinformation.
