Monsoon has intensified across several states in India, and Delhi has also witnessed heavy rainfall in recent days, resulting in waterlogging in many parts of the city. Meanwhile, a video has gone viral on social media claiming to show a monitor lizard attacking a young man in a narrow lane in Delhi. In the video, the man is seen using his mobile phone when a giant monitor lizard suddenly attacks him. Startled by the attack, he throws the reptile away and runs, while the monitor lizard appears to chase him. Many social media users are sharing the clip, claiming that it is a real incident from Delhi.
A user named Shivansh shared the video on X (formerly Twitter) with the caption: “A monitor lizard was spotted in the narrow lanes of Delhi, leaving locals both surprised and curious.🦎 A massive monitor lizard was spotted in the narrow lanes of Delhi, causing a stir in the area. 🦎😲 Everyone is left astonished when a visitor from the wild finds its way into city streets.”
Similarly, Facebook user Narayan Singh Rawat shared the viral video and wrote: “Shocking video: A massive monitor lizard spotted in the narrow lanes of Delhi caused a stir in the area. 🦎😲 A guest from the wild in the city.”
Apart from these, several other social media users have also shared the same video while claiming that it shows a real monitor lizard attack in Delhi.
Fact Check:
The Times Headline investigation found that the viral video does not depict a real incident of a monitor lizard attacking a young man in Delhi. Instead, the video has been generated using Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI expert Mayank Sharma, after analyzing the footage, also confirmed that it is AI-generated.
During the investigation, our team carefully examined the viral video frame by frame. We observed that around the 2nd and 3rd second, the young man is clearly holding a mobile phone. However, as soon as he bends down toward the monitor lizard, the phone suddenly disappears from his hand. There is no scene showing the phone falling or being dropped during that sequence. Such visual inconsistencies are commonly found in AI-generated videos.
Another noticeable indicator appears in the way the incident has been filmed. The video presents the event through multiple camera angles, including close-up shots and long shots, making it look as though the entire sequence had been professionally planned and recorded in advance. Such cinematic coverage is highly unusual for an unexpected real-life incident.
To further verify the claim, Times Headline searched Google using the keywords “Monitor Lizard Delhi” and reviewed the News section. No recent news reports were found about any monitor lizard attacking a person in Delhi.
The search did, however, lead to a News18 Hindi report dated September 6, 2025, which reported the discovery of a rare African monitor lizard at Mayur Vihar-1 Metro Station. A report by Navbharat Times covered the same incident. In addition, reports published by ETV Bharat on September 12, 2024, and Amar Ujala on August 11, 2018, discussed unrelated incidents involving monitor lizards. None of these reports matched the viral claim or the video being circulated online.
The viral video was also examined using AI detection tools, including Hive Moderation, Detectvideo.ai, and DeepFake-O-Meter.
The analysis produced the following results:
Hive Moderation identified the video as 99.2% AI-generated.
DeepFake-O-Meter’s AVSRDD tool classified the video as 100% AI-generated.
Detectvideo.ai reported:
Face Signals: 48%
Motion Signals: 92%
Texture Signals: 66%
Source Signals: 78%
Compression Signals: 60%
For a more detailed assessment, the Times Headline team also consulted AI expert Mayank Sharma. According to him, the viral video contains several indicators that strongly suggest it was created using Artificial Intelligence.
He explained that the use of multiple camera angles, close-up shots, long shots, and cinematic transitions is highly unusual in the case of a sudden real-life incident. He also pointed out that the movements of both the monitor lizard and the young man appear unnatural. Their speed, motion, and interaction do not accurately reflect real-world physical behavior, which is a common characteristic of AI-generated videos.
Conclusion:
The Times Headline fact check clearly establishes that the viral video claiming to show a monitor lizard attacking a young man in Delhi is not a real incident. The footage has been generated using Artificial Intelligence (AI). Therefore, the claim that the video depicts an actual incident from Delhi is false and misleading.