Communal violence in Nagpur, Maharashtra, triggered a surge of misinformation across social media platforms, making it the most fact-checked topic in March. BOOM published 8 fact-checks specifically addressing false claims around these incidents, from unrelated communal imagery to misquoted politician statements, accounting for 9 per cent of all our fact-checks from last month.
In March 2025, BOOM published 89 fact-checks in English, Hindi, Bangla and Tamil.
A comparative analysis of our data from January to March—exemplified by the rapid shift in focus of misleading and false claims from Maha Kumbh and Delhi elections in January and February to Nagpur violence in March—highlights a swift adaptation of misinformation narratives to exploit emerging events.
In addition to misinformation about the Nagpur violence, Islamophobic claims spread widely, with the Muslim community remaining the primary target of misinformation (15.7 per cent). Additionally, two of the claims around Nagpur violence targeted the Muslim community.
BOOM also busted false information related to the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 followed by mis/disinformation around NASA’s Sunita Williams’ journey back to Earth.
We published 10 AI-related fact-checks during this period, which included four deepfakes, three AI-generated images, two audios and one AI-generated video. Topics of AI misinformation included investment scams, ICC Champions Trophy and the Myanmar earthquake.
Around 44 per cent of the total fact-checks were peddled using old and unrelated videos and 32.5 per cent of all fact-checks addressed claims that were shared by verified accounts on X.
Theme Assessment
Nagpur communal violence
The communal unrest in Nagpur erupted following rumors of religious content being burned during protests led by right-wing groups like Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, who were demanding the removal of Aurangzeb’s tomb. The situation escalated into widespread arson, stone-pelting, and attacks on police personnel, leaving 33 officers injured.
Following the violence in the city, a video of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut was shared with a misleading claim that he praised Aurangzeb and called his tomb a symbol of his bravery.
BOOM found that the viral posts misrepresented Raut’s words, which referred to the tomb as a symbol of the bravery and success of Maratha king Shivaji, who fought against Aurangzeb. We also did not find any public statement made by Raut in praise or in support of Aurangzeb.
The viral video is from Raut's press conference on March 17, 2025 and the complete press conference can be seen in a YouTube video uploaded by ABP Majha.
In another claim, a viral photo showing a Chennai Super Kings (CSK) supporter holding a placard with abuses against Aurangzeb widely circulated on social media.
However, BOOM found that the original image depicted a CSK fan holding a placard in support of former team captain MS Dhoni. The placard read, "The Man, The Myth, The Mahi!" with no mention of Aurangzeb or any abusive language.
Similarly, a claim related to the violence falsely linked a video of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Indresh Kumar attending an Iftar (breaking of the Ramzan fast) party in Delhi on March 15, 2025, to the communal violence in Nagpur on March 17, 2025.
The claim falsely stated that Kumar attended the event hours after the violence broke out.
BOOM found that the video was from March 15, 2025, when Kumar attended an Iftar party in New Delhi. He had also posted the event invitation and streamed a Facebook Live from the event, addressing the guests. The live video was shared at 6:12 pm on March 15, 2025, two days before the violence in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
Sunita Williams’ return from space
NASA’s Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams returned to Earth on March 18, 2025, after a challenging and rigorous nine-month mission in space. Her return generated a wave of misinformation regarding her religious practices and journey back to Earth.
For instance, a viral video claimed that Williams had taken Ganesh idols, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Upanishads with her into space. However, we found that while she did mention this, the video was actually from her visit to India in April 2013, during a press conference at the National Science Centre in Delhi, and was not recent.
Similarly, a video showing an object resembling a rocket landing from the sky went viral on social media, with users claiming it was footage of Williams returning to Earth.
BOOM found that the video originally showed a successful test conducted by SpaceX with the Starship rocket in October 2024. It was the first time robotic arms were used to capture the giant booster before it hit the ground, making it reusable.
Further, unrelated photos of the Maha Kumbh were falsely linked to Williams, claiming she captured them from space. The viral claims featured three aerial photos of the Maha Kumbh with the text "Kumbh From Space." The first showed a massive gathering from above, the second was a satellite view of the Kumbh, and the third depicted multiple bridges over a river with large crowds gathered around them.
However, BOOM found that while these photos showed aerial views of the Kumbh, they did not represent what the event looked like from space. Moreover, these images were already available online through news and government websites.
Medium, Intent & Type of Deception
80 per cent of the 89 fact-checks were shared via videos containing texts, followed by images and text (18 per cent), and only images (1.1 per cent).
Regarding the intent behind spreading mis/disinformation, 98.9 per cent of the total fact-checks were under the “Sensationalist” category. This was followed by “Satire” (1.1 per cent).
68.5 per cent of the total fact-checks consisted of false content, followed by misleading content (14.6 per cent), fabricated content (11.2 per cent) and manipulated content (5.6 per cent).