Video From Mexico Falsely Shared As Crowd At Rahul Gandhi's Pune Event

An old video showing a massive crowd cheering and celebrating is being shared on social media with the false claim that it shows people gathered for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s student interaction event, Chhatron Ki Goonj, in Pune, Maharashtra.

BOOM found that the video was recorded at Mexico’s Zócalo, where fans were celebrating their national team’s goal against Ecuador during the FIFA World Cup on July 1, 2026.

On August 22, Rahul Gandhi held a youth interaction programme in Pune, where he launched a sharp attack on the ruling BJP. The BJP labelled the event "Paise Ki Goonj" and alleged that the Congress had paid social media influencers to mobilise crowds for the programme. The opposition dismissed the charge, saying the BJP was concerned about Gandhi's growing popularity among Gen-Z.

The Claim

The video is being shared with the caption, "Modi can't sleep tonight... SWAG OF Next PM Rahul Gandhi at Chatro Ki Goonj, Pune."

Click here to view the post and here for an archive.

What We Found: Video Shows Fans Celebrating Mexico’s Goal At FIFA World Cup

1. Old video from Mexico: We ran a reverse image search and found that the same video was posted by Telemundo Sports presenter Carlota Vizmanos on July 1, 2026. Vizmanos shared the video with a Spanish caption that translates to, “Madness in the Zócalo with Mexico’s second goal.”

Click here to view an archive of the post.

It is worth noting that Mexico beat Ecuador 2-0 on July 1, 2026, in a FIFA World Cup group-stage match.

2. Geolocation of the video: Taking a cue, we were also able to identify the same flagpole at Zócalo, an iconic landmark designated by FIFA as a World Cup fan experience venue. The flagpole, which can be seen in the video, also appears on Google Street View with the Mexican flag hoisted on it.

News reports from the same location, showing crowds gathering for the Mexico-Ecuador match, can be seen below.