The FIFA World Cup 2026 has begun. FIFA’s first opening ceremony was held at Mexico City’s iconic Estadio Azteca stadium. During the opening ceremony, Colombian singer and dancer Shakira and Nigerian superstar Burna Boy sang ‘Dai Dai’, the official song of the FIFA World Cup 2026. The Mexican pop band ‘Maná’ also performed at the ceremony. Meanwhile, a video of the FIFA opening ceremony is going viral on social media, showing fireworks and an incredible light show.
Sharing this video, a user wrote a caption in English, the Hindi translation of which is, ‘FIFA World Cup 2026 Opening Ceremony.’
Helle another user also shared the video and wrote, ‘Watch the spectacular opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup. This wonderful celebration of football has begun. Which is your favourite team?’
Fact Check:
We found in our investigation that the viral video is not from the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup 2026, but is an AI-generated video. We checked FIFA’s official YouTube channel for the highly viral video. We did not find any such video uploaded there. We found that a video of Shakira and Burna Boy’s performance is uploaded there instead.
In addition, a video of Danny Ocean performing ‘Partidazo‘ and Andrea Bocelli, David Guetta, and EJAE presenting the official anthem ‘DNA‘ at the FIFA World Cup 2026 opening match has also been uploaded to FIFA’s YouTube channel. However, no such video of a fireworks or light show is uploaded here. Meanwhile, we found a Navbharat Times report regarding fireworks at the FIFA opening ceremony, which features a picture of the fireworks. However, this fireworks image is completely different from the viral video.
Meanwhile, we analyzed the viral video using AI-detector tools Hive Moderation and detectvideo.ai. Our investigation revealed that the viral video is AI-generated.
For further investigation, our team contacted AI expert Kumar Aniket. After analyzing the video, Aniket stated that the crowd, fireworks, and stadium scenes in the video appear excessively smooth and artificial. In some places, inconsistencies in the shapes and sizes of hands were also observed, which are common in AI-generated content. During the analysis, it was also noted that the light, color intensity, and smoke effects in the video remained unnaturally uniform. The crowd movements and camera movements also show artificial patterns compared to real videos, clarifying that this video is AI-generated content.
Conclusion:
DFRAC’s fact-check confirms that the viral video is not from the FIFA World Cup 2026 opening ceremony. Instead, it is AI-generated content. No such video matching the viral clip has been uploaded to FIFA’s official YouTube channel.
