A photo circulating online that appears to show Russian President Vladimir Putin holding the Bhagavad Gita, aboard an aircraft is not real and has been created using artificial intelligence.
BOOM tested the image using Google’s AI detection tool, which concluded with high confidence that it contains AI generated content produced by Google’s image generator. The tool was able to detect the SynthID watermark embedded in the image.
The synthetic image is viral across social media platforms after Prime Minister Narendra Modi used his official handles to post an image of him gifting Putin a copy of the Bhagavad Gita in Russian, on December 4, 2025. Putin concluded his two-day state visit to India on December 5 after attending an annual summit held by both countries.
The Claim
Verified X handle Hindutva Knight (@HPhobiaWatch) posted the photo with the caption, "Tough time ahead for Ukraine"
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
BOOM had previously debunked multiple misleading claims spread by the X handle Hindutva Knight. Read here, here and here.
What We Found: Viral Photo Is AI Generated
1. No Credible Source Found: We first tried to look for credible news reports to corroborate the photo but found none. Although the claim links the picture to Putin’s aircraft during a foreign visit, we did not find it in any visuals released by the Russian President’s official website or social media handles.
2. SynthID Confirms Use Of Google AI: We then ran the photo through SynthID, Google's tool for watermarking and identifying AI generated content. The tool analysed the picture and concluded with high confidence that the picture contains elements produced with Google AI.
BOOM had earlier reported with visual examples about Nano Banana that show how Google's AI image generator can be used to create political disinformation. The article can be read here.
