An image purportedly showing Russian President Vladimir Putin taking a selfie with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other world leaders at the BRICS Summit 2026 in Delhi is being shared on social media. Users sharing the image claim that it captures the leaders together during the summit.
The above post can be seen here. (Archive)
NM VERIFIED
NewsMobile verified the claim and found that the image is AI-generated.
The NM team initiated its verification by running the viral image through a reverse image search. However, the search did not yield any similar image on government or official open-source websites.
Further examination of the image revealed several discrepancies. Former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is visible in the purported selfie, despite his death in a helicopter crash in May 2024. The image also shows Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Neither attended the BRICS Summit in Delhi. Brazil was represented by Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, while the UAE was represented by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also visible in the image, although Turkey was not among the countries participating in the summit. These inconsistencies raise questions about the authenticity of the purported gathering.
The NM team then analysed the image using Hive Moderation’s AI-detection tool. The tool assessed the image as AI-generated. The analysis further supports the finding that the image is not an authentic photograph from the BRICS Summit.
Hence, it is evident that the viral image purportedly showing Vladimir Putin taking a selfie with PM Modi and other world leaders at the BRICS Summit 2026 is AI-generated.
