Clips from G20 Summit shared as foreign leaders arriving for Ayodhya Ram temple inauguration

By: Ishita Goel
January 25 2024

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Social media posts claim that the attached video shows foreign delegates arriving for the Ayodhya Ram temple inauguration.(Source: Facebook/YouTube/Modified by Logically Facts)

What is the claim?

Several old and unrelated videos inundated social media after the Ram temple inauguration in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, on January 22. 

One such 47-second-long video, comprising clips of several foreign dignitaries and leaders of states— including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S. President Joe Biden, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, UAE crown prince and President Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and several others— disembarking from flights is circulating online with the claim that they arrived in India for the inauguration event. The video carried inlaid text that read, "Guest County welcome to Ram Ayodhya (sic)," with the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust ( the trust set up for the construction of the Ayodhya Ram temple) logo. Facebook and YouTube users shared the video (archived here) with captions that claimed that the video captured the welcome accorded to foreign guests on the occasion of the temple inauguration. 

Screenshots of the viral posts on social media. (Source: Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the viral video has been created by stitching together several separate clips, all of which are old and unrelated to the inauguration of the Ram temple. 

What are the facts?

We found that all the videos are from the G20 Summit held in India in September 2023. The videos, shared by news outlets on their YouTube channels or websites, show the foreign dignitaries arriving at an airport in Delhi on September 8 for the summit, which was held between September 9 and 10. 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (0:01)

Media outlets India Today and The Times of India had published a longer version of the same viral footage in September and reported that Trudeau had arrived with his son Xavier at New Delhi's Palam Air Base for the G20 Summit and was received by Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar. 

U.S. President Joe Biden (0:06)

Similarly, India Today and Hindustan Times had shared the same footage of Biden arriving at Delhi's Palam airport for the G20 summit ahead of a scheduled bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

U.K. PM Rishi Sunak (0:11)

India Today and The Print had shared the footage of Rishi Sunak with his wife, Akshata Murty, arriving at Delhi's Palam Airport for the G20 summit. The reports said they were welcomed by the Union Minister of State of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution, Ashwini Kumar Choubey. 

Screenshots from video reports of Sunak (top), Trudeau (left), and Biden (right) shared by news outlets. (Source: India Today/YouTube/The Times of India/Modified by Logically Facts)

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan (0:17)

The video of Bin Zayed Al Nahyan disembarking from the flight was shared by India Today and news agency ANI. The clip showed the president of the United Arab Emirates being welcomed at Delhi for the G20 summit by Nityanand Rai, Minister of State for Home Affairs of India.

Australian PM Anthony Albanese (0:22)

Albanese was accompanied by his wife Jodie Haydon at the G20 summit, reported The Times of India and ANI News, which shared the footage from the airport that matched the viral video. They were welcomed by the Union Minister for Electronics & Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (0:29)

The footage of Turkey's president walking down the stairs with his wife, Emine Erdogan, was published by The Times of India and The Quint. The outlets reported that the couple arrived in Delhi for the G20 Summit. 

President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva (0:34)

Lula Da Silva arrived for the G20 summit with his wife, Rosângela da Silva, reported ANI News and D.D. News. The news outlets had shared the footage of the Brazilian president being welcomed at the airport. 

Chinese Premier Li Qiang (0:41)

Qiang was welcomed by Union Minister of State of Road Transport and Highways, Vijay Kumar Singh, at Palam Airbase, reported The Times of India and ANI News, sharing the video of him disembarking from the flight, as seen in the viral video.

Screenshots from video reports of Silva (top), Qiang (left), and Erdogran (right) shared by news outlets. (Source: ANI/The Times of India/DD News/YouTube/Modified by Logically Facts)

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (0:45)

D.D. News and India Today shared the video of el-Sisi arriving in Delhi. The reports said that it showed him arriving for the G20 summit.

Media reports from December said that the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust would invite nearly 7,000 representatives from 50 countries. On January 20, The Time of India reported that 100 delegates from across 54 countries had confirmed their presence for the ceremony. However, there are no reports to confirm which foreign dignitaries attend the event.

The verdict

The viral video, consisting of clips of world leaders arriving in India, is from the G20 summit held in September. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.