Video of Drone Show In Texas Falsely Shared As Kumbh Mela

The viral video shows thousands of drones forming the shape of Santa Claus riding a sleigh in the sky. This display, created by Sky Elements Drone Shows set a new Guinness World Record with 5,000 drones.

Sharing this video on Facebook, a user wrote, 'Prayagraj Mahakumbh, city of stars, grand drone and light show, heritage of religion and culture.'

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Fact Check: Viral video from a drone show in Texas, United States

BOOM conducted a reverse image search of the key frames from the viral video and found it posted on Instagram by Sky Elements Drones on December 6, 2024. The caption explained that the Santa Claus figure in the video was created using about 5,000 drones. Besides, a display of Santa Claus would be unusual at the Maha Kumbh Mela, one of the largest religious festivals in India.

We also checked Sky Elements Drones’ official website, which confirmed that the event took place in Mansfield, Texas. The article stated: “The drone show flew high above Mansfield, just in time for Thanksgiving, ringing in the holiday festivities with a spectacular display. Alongside UVify, a world leader in swarm light show drone development and manufacturing, the drone show broke the Guinness World Record for “largest aerial display of a gingerbread village made out of drones.”

Sky Elements Drones, a U.S.-based company known for its drone shows, regularly shares similar light displays on its Instagram account.

A longer version of this particular video can also be found on the company’s YouTube channel. According to the video description, Sky Elements teamed up with UVify, a leader in drone swarm technology, to create the largest drone show in U.S. history and set a new Guinness World Record.

The Texas drone event was also covered by news agencies such as Times of India, Hindustan Times and NDTV.