Fact Check: Viral Video of Nuclear Test Falsely Attributed to Bareilly
Vishvas News’ investigation revealed that the viral claim about a nuclear test in Bareilly, UP, is misleading. The video, credited to the US Department of Energy, has been online for at least 17 years.
- By: Pallavi Mishra
- Published: Mar 10, 2025 at 07:03 PM
New Delhi (Vishvas News). A video is going viral on social media, featuring a huge crater forming after what seems like an underground blast. Some users are claiming that this video is from Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, where a nuclear test was allegedly conducted.
Vishvas News investigated the viral video and found the claim to be misleading. The video has been circulating online for the past 17 years, and is credited to the US Department of Energy.
What is going viral?
On March 8, 2025, Instagram user ‘aslibareilly’ shared the viral video with the caption, “Underground Nuclear Bomb Test At Rithora, Bareilly.”
Investigation
To verify the viral video, we captured several screenshots and searched them through Google Lens. We found this video uploaded on the YouTube channel MyEarbot, uploaded on April 12, 2007. The user credited the video to the US Department of Energy. The description stated: “Subsidence Crater Formation, Historic underground nuclear test causes the surface to subside which forms a crater – seven such craters are used as disposal cells at the Area 3 Radioactive Waste Management Site. Provided by the US Department of Energy under Public Domain rules.”
We also found this video uploaded on another YouTube channel ‘Nuclear Vault‘, on June 7, 2010. This video also credited the U.S. Department of Energy, carrying a brief description: “Historic underground nuclear test causes the surface to subside which forms a crater – seven such craters are used as disposal cells at the Area 3 Radioactive Waste Management Site.”
As per a PIB press release from September 24, 2009, “India conducted nuclear tests at Pokhran, Rajasthan in 1974 (Smiling Buddha) and again in 1998 (Pokhran-II), with all tests taking place at the Pokhran Test Range in the Rajasthan Desert.”
Comparing the Pokhran test site with the viral video, reveals a noticeable difference. The Pokhran test site lacks concrete roads near the test area, while the viral footage shows well-built roads close to the site, confirming that the video is not from Pokhran either.
We also conducted a keyword search to discover if any such test was conducted in Bareilly but found no credible reports.
While searching about the Pokhran tests, we came across many reports confirming that nuclear tests, especially underground ones, can cause long-lasting tremors, dust clouds, and even lead to cracks in buildings.
To further verify the claim, we spoke to Ashok Kumar, correspondent Dainik Jagran, Bareilly. He confirmed that there were no reports of long-lasting tremors, dust clouds, or cracks in buildings in the area.
Nuclear tests are typically classified operations, and governments do not issue advance public announcements. However, India’s past nuclear tests reveal that once a test is conducted, the Indian government officially announces them post-detonation. For instance, the Indian government publicly acknowledged its nuclear tests, such as the Smiling Buddha test in 1974 and the Pokhran-II tests in 1998 after conducting them. However, no such announcement has been made about any recent test in Bareilly or elsewhere in India.
Finally, we scanned the Instagram account ‘aslibareilly’, which shared the video with a fake claim and found that the page has around 3000 followers.
Conclusion: Vishvas News’ investigation revealed that the viral claim about a nuclear test in Bareilly, UP, is misleading. The video, credited to the US Department of Energy, has been online for at least 17 years.
- Claim Review : this video is from Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, where a nuclear test was allegedly conducted.
- Claimed By : Instagram user ‘aslibareilly’
- Fact Check : False
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