Old images shared to show international monuments lit up in tricolour on 73rd I-Day

After the conclusion of India’s 73rd independence day, Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor tweeted images of famous international monuments lit up in the colour of the Indian flag. A fact-check, however, reveals that each of these images is old.

Image 1 – Niagara Falls

A reverse-image search on Google revealed that this photograph is five years old. While the same image has been used across the years – 2015, 2017, 2018 – we found its earliest appearance in an August 28, 2014 article on the website Asian Tribune. 

Recently, several social media users also shared a video showing the Niagara Falls lit up in the tricolour.

Niagara Falls lit up in tricolour to wish India an Independence Day. #UNSC #PKMKB #ProudIndian #TotalPakBan pic.twitter.com/VL85Ot4UZV

— UrbanPandit (@ErrPandit) August 17, 2019

This video was found to be two years old. Alt News traced the same clip uploaded on YouTube on August 16, 2017.

Image 2 – Empire State Building

This image was tweeted by the official handle of the Empire State Building on August 15, 2018.

Happy India Day from New York City! Together with the Federation of Indian Association, we’re honoring India’s Independence Day by recreating the Indian flag in lights tonight. 🇮🇳

📷: @nyclovesnyc pic.twitter.com/PBnLzXuLBs

— Empire State Bldg (@EmpireStateBldg) August 15, 2018

While the image shared by Kapoor is old, the official Twitter handle of the Consulate General of India had posted a video showing the Empire State Building lit up on the 73rd Independence Day.

Empire State Building resplendent in the Indian Tricolor on the occasion of India’s 73rd Independence Day.@EmpireStateBldg @IndianDiplomacy pic.twitter.com/iY3swekFxe

— India in New York (@IndiainNewYork) August 16, 2019

Image 3 – Burj Khalifa

The photograph of tricolour-lit Burj Khalifa was traced back to 2017. Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan was among those who had shared the image two years ago.

Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed shall be our guest of honor on #RepublicDay
And here’s our Tricolour on the Burj Khalifa, to mark the occasion.🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/un9ynplMC5

— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) January 25, 2017

Although the photograph shared by Rishi Kapoor is unrelated to this year’s I-Day celebrations, the tallest building in the world was indeed lit up in the colours of the Indian flag on the 73rd independence day.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Burj Khalifa illuminated in colours of the Tricolour, to mark #IndiaIndependenceDay pic.twitter.com/A88ZZhenBQ

— ANI (@ANI) August 16, 2019

In January this year, digitally created photographs of several international monuments, like the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Statue of Liberty, lit up in the colours of the Indian flag were viral.