New Delhi: A video was recently shared on social media with users claiming that it showed Microsoft co-founder and former CEO Bill Gates visiting the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi. In its investigation, the PTI Fact Check Desk found that the person in the video, claimed to be Gates, was actually a foreign tourist. The social media posts were shared with a false claim.
Claim An X (formerly Twitter) user shared on January 14 a video claiming it showed Microsoft co-founder and former CEO Bill Gates visiting the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi. Here is the link and archive link to the post, and below is a screenshot of the same. The Desk ran the video through the InVid Tool Search and found a few keyframes.
On running one of the keyframes through Google Lens, the Desk found that the same video was shared by several other users with similar claims. Two such posts can be seen here and here , and their archive versions can be found here and here , respectively. Some users had also shared the video (viral since December 2024), claiming it to be from Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj.
Here is a link to one such post. The Desk then conducted a customised keyword search on Google but didn't find any substantial report, corroborating the viral claim. Had gates visited India, the news would have grabbed the headlines.
The Desk also scanned the social media handles of the former Microsoft CEO, but did not find anything about him visiting India recently. The last time Gates posted anyt.
