Skip to main content
NOPE
Medium reported severity Investigation Opened

India: police in Ujjain said AI-made videos falsely showing the whole Shahi Masjid being demolished helped draw a crowd that clashed with police on 28 September 2026; 15 people were taken into custody and influencers were booked

On 28 September 2026, as part of Ujjain's Shahi Masjid was being removed for a road-widening project, a crowd clashed with police; stones were allegedly thrown at security personnel and police used tear gas and a lathi charge. Ujjain Superintendent of Police Pradeep Sharma said videos made with AI, showing the entire mosque being demolished, and other provocative posts on social media had helped gather the crowd. Police said 15 people were taken into custody and reports put the total at eight FIRs at three police stations; social media influencers were booked for spreading the videos, and police said more than 100 pieces of content were taken down. Reports conflict on injuries: one outlet reported police saying six policemen were hurt, another reported the SP saying no one was injured.

AI system
Unidentified image and video tool
Occurred
28 Sept 2026
Reported
28 September 2026
Event location
India
What the AI did
Relation unknown
Reported harm
Loss of LibertyLegal HarmPhysical Injury
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Justice · Everyday life
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 8 sources, 6 underlying accounts
5 claims: 1 disputed, 4 reported. 4 open questions
People reported harmed
Not reliably quantifiable from the sources

AI system as recorded: Videos (and, per one report, photos) that Ujjain police say were made with AI, showing the whole Shahi Masjid being demolished by a JCB, shared on Instagram and Facebook; the tool and its user are not identified

What Happened

Background. The road from Kanthal crossing to Gopal Mandir in Ujjain is being widened ahead of the Simhastha 2028 gathering, and part of the Shahi Masjid falls within the alignment (The New Indian Express; Jagran; The Indian Express). The mosque committee had reportedly agreed overnight on 27-28 September to remove the affected portion itself (The New Indian Express).

The clash. On the morning of 28 September a crowd clashed with police near the mosque. Stones were allegedly thrown at security personnel, and police used tear gas and a lathi charge (The Indian Express; The New Indian Express).

The videos. Police said fake videos showing the whole mosque being demolished, and other provocative posts, spread on social media and helped draw the crowd (Aaj Tak, citing SP Pradeep Sharma). Live Hindustan reports the police saying photos and videos of a bulldozer at the mosque were made with AI and that a JCB had been added to images by editing. The Free Press Journal, relaying The Indian Express, reports police saying a faction of the mosque committee and some younger members were allegedly misled by the videos. The police also attribute the mobilisation to other posts and to that faction.

Police action. Police said 15 people had been taken into custody and that social media content creators were among those named in an FIR (The Indian Express). Reports put the total at eight FIRs at three police stations. Influencers were booked for spreading the videos, and police said more than 100 pieces of content were taken down (Live Hindustan).

Injuries. The Free Press Journal reported police saying six policemen were injured and given primary treatment. The New Indian Express reported an inspector injured in the hand but also reported the SP saying no one was injured.

Limits. The videos were not inspected for this review. The AI attribution comes from the police, and no outlet explains how it was made or names a tool. Counts of arrests, accused and booked influencers differ between reports.

Reported harm

A crowd that Ujjain police say was drawn partly by AI-made videos of the mosque being demolished clashed with police; 15 people were taken into custody and FIRs registered, and police officers were reported injured, though the SP was also reported saying no one was hurt (Aaj Tak; The Indian Express; The New Indian Express; Free Press Journal).

Outcome

Ongoing

Police said 15 people were taken into custody and registered FIRs; The Indian Express and Aaj Tak report eight FIRs at three police stations (Aaj Tak: 20 accused; Jagran: more than 30). Social media influencers were booked for spreading the videos (five per The Indian Express and Live Hindustan; Jagran counts four youths, in a case over AI-fabricated videos registered separately from the eight clash cases, and the accounts it names overlap with Live Hindustan's five). Police said more than 100 pieces of content were taken down and that they were tracing where the videos were made and spread. No charge sheet or court ruling is reported.

What remains unknown

  • Who made the videos, with what tool, and when they were first posted.
  • How the police established that the videos were made with AI.
  • How many people were injured, given the conflicting reports.
  • Whether any of the people detained made or shared the videos, and the outcome of the FIRs.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. Ujjain SP Pradeep Sharma said videos made with AI, showing the whole Shahi Masjid being demolished by a JCB, circulated on social media and helped gather the crowd (Aaj Tak; Live Hindustan, which also reports photos; The Indian Express via the Free Press Journal). Live Hindustan's direct quotation of the SP speaks of morphed photos and a JCB added by editing, and its summary of his remarks attributes the added JCB to AI or editing. Jagran reports a police case over videos fabricated with AI. All of this is police attribution: the videos were not inspected for this review, no outlet describes how the AI attribution was made, and no tool is named. The videos depicted a building, and the people harmed (those detained and the officers reported injured) were not depicted, addressed or decided about by an AI system, so no listed person relation fits (unknown).

5 claims: 1 disputed, 4 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported On 28 September 2026, as a portion of the Shahi Masjid in Ujjain was being removed for a road-widening project, a crowd clashed with police; stones were allegedly thrown at security personnel, and police used tear gas and a lathi charge to disperse the crowd.

Causal attribution. Police accounts of the clash as reported by the outlets.

  • indianexpress.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Police and security personnel deployed around the mosque faced stone-pelting, following which tear gas shells and a lathi charge were used to disperse the crowd'
  • newindianexpress.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'police used tear gas and mild force to disperse protesters who allegedly hurled stones'
Reported Ujjain police said that videos made with AI, showing the whole mosque being demolished, and other provocative posts circulated on social media and helped draw the large crowd that later clashed with police; only part of the mosque was being removed.

Causal attribution. Police attribution, carried by several outlets that all rely on the police account. The videos were not inspected for this review and no outlet reports how the AI attribution was made; the police also blame other posts and a faction of the mosque committee for mobilising the crowd.

  • aajtak.in(opens in new tab) supports · Hindi
    'पुलिस का कहना है कि इन फर्जी वीडियो में मस्जिद को पूरी तरह गिराते हुए दिखाया गया'; 'उज्जैन एसपी प्रदीप शर्मा के मुताबिक, सोशल मीडिया पर AI से बनाए गए वीडियो और भड़काऊ पोस्ट ने बड़ी भीड़ जुटाने में भूमिका निभाई'; 'इन वीडियो और दूसरे भड़काऊ पोस्ट के फैलने के बाद बड़ी भीड़ मस्जिद के बाहर जुटी और बाद में पुलिस के साथ झड़प हो गई'
  • livehindustan.com(opens in new tab) supports · Hindi
    'खुलासा किया है कि मस्जिद के पास बुलडोजर होने वाले फोटो-वीडियो एआई से बनाए गए थे'; 'ऐसे कई फोटो-वीडियो मिले हैं, जिनमें जेसीबी को एड किया गया है'
  • freepressjournal.in(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'AI-generated videos showing the entire Shahi Masjid in Ujjain being demolished helped fuel rumours and mobilise a crowd before clashes broke out at the site on September 28'; 'One of the clips reportedly showed a JCB demolishing the entire mosque'
Reported Police said 15 people had been taken into custody after the clash and that social media content creators were among those named in an FIR; reports put the total at eight FIRs at three police stations. Aaj Tak and The New Indian Express report that some further people were arrested in addition to the 15, without giving a number.

Causal attribution. Police figures; the counts of accused differ between outlets (20 in Aaj Tak, more than 30 in Jagran).

  • indianexpress.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'So far, 15 people have been taken into custody and an FIR has been registered against seven people. Social media content creators are also among them'
  • indianexpress.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The police arrested 15 persons and filed eight FIRs across three police stations'
  • aajtak.in(opens in new tab) supports · Hindi
    'पुलिस ने अब तक 15 लोगों को हिरासत में लिया है, जबकि कुछ लोगों की गिरफ्तारी भी हुई है'; 'पुलिस ने तीन थानों में 8 FIR दर्ज की हैं, जिनमें 20 लोगों को आरोपी बनाया गया है'
  • jagran.com(opens in new tab) supports · Hindi
    'पुलिस ने आठ केस दर्ज किए हैं'; '15 आरोपितों को पुलिस ने हिरासत में लिया है'
  • newindianexpress.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Some people have been arrested and 15 others detained, while a case has been registered against seven people'
Reported Police registered a case against social media influencers accused of making or circulating the fabricated videos (five influencers according to Live Hindustan and The Indian Express, Jagran counts four youths, in a case registered separately from the eight cases over the clash, and the accounts it names overlap with Live Hindustan's five), and said more than 100 pieces of content had been taken down.

Causal attribution. Police allegations against the accused; no court has ruled.

  • livehindustan.com(opens in new tab) supports · Hindi
    'इस तरह की अफवाहें फैलाने वाले 5 इन्फ्लुएंसरों के खिलाफ FIR भी दर्ज की है'; 'कुल 100 से ज्यादा कंटेंट को डाउन कराया है'
  • jagran.com(opens in new tab) supports · Hindi
    'एआई की मदद से मनगढ़ंत वीडियो और आपत्तिजनक कंटेंट तैयार कर प्रसारित करने पर भी चार युवकों पर अलग से केस दर्ज किया है'
  • indianexpress.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Five social media influencers, all residents of Ujjain, have been booked by the police'
Disputed Reports conflict on whether police officers were injured in the clash: the Free Press Journal reported police saying six policemen were injured and given primary treatment, and The New Indian Express reported an inspector injured in the hand, but also reported the SP saying no one was injured.

Causal attribution. Conflicting reports; injuries arose from the clash, and the reported link to the videos is the police attribution in c2.

Sources

8 sources inspected, from 6 underlying accounts. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read in Hindi on 2026-10-04 (HTTP 200). Researcher translation. Reports remarks by Ujjain SP Pradeep Sharma; the remarks themselves were not heard. Applies to s1.

Read in Hindi on 2026-10-04 (HTTP 200). Researcher translation. Quotes SP Pradeep Sharma speaking to the media. Applies to s2.

Read in Hindi on 2026-10-04 (HTTP 200). Researcher translation. Attributes the FIR details to police. Applies to s3.

Read in English on 2026-10-04 from an Internet Archive capture (direct fetch HTTP 403). Article dated 29 September 2026; relays police statements and the FIR. Applies to s4.

Read in English on 2026-10-04 from an Internet Archive capture (direct fetch HTTP 403). Article dated 28 September 2026; quotes SP Pradeep Sharma. Applies to s5.

Read in English on 2026-10-04 (HTTP 200). Explicitly relays The Indian Express, so it shares that independence group. Applies to s6.

Read in English on 2026-10-04 (HTTP 200). Bhopal-datelined report of 28 September 2026. Applies to s7.

Read in English on 2026-10-04 (HTTP 200). Attributes the injury figure to police; cites the Hindustan Times for background. Applies to s8.

Event countries: India. Affected-person countries: India. Court countries: Unknown.

The clash, detentions and FIRs took place in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India (all sources). Where the videos were made is not reported. No court proceeding over the clash is reported; the High Court proceedings concerned the road widening.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-04: Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a case in which police attribute a crowd mobilisation and clash, followed by detentions and FIRs, partly to AI-made videos falsely showing a mosque being demolished. The AI link rests on police statements carried by several outlets. Private accused persons are not named.

People described

People taken into custody after a clash in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, and police officers reported injured in it; none is named here

People reported harmed in this case

Not reliably quantifiable from the sources

Police say 15 people were taken into custody after the clash (The Indian Express; Aaj Tak; Jagran; The New Indian Express), and Jagran describes them as accused in the eight cases over stone-pelting, obstruction of government work, inciting the crowd, threats and disturbing public order. They are clash suspects; no source links any of them to making, sharing or seeing the AI videos, so they are not counted as people harmed by the videos. Some further unnumbered arrests are reported (Aaj Tak; The New Indian Express). Police officers reported injured are not counted because reports conflict (six per the Free Press Journal; none per the SP as reported by The New Indian Express). No reliable count of people harmed by the videos exists. Unquantified, numeric placeholders 0.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#ai-generated-video#misinformation#communal-tension#police#detentions#india#madhya-pradesh#hindi-language

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). India: police in Ujjain said AI-made videos falsely showing the whole Shahi Masjid being demolished helped draw a crowd that clashed with police on 28 September 2026; 15 people were taken into custody and influencers were booked. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-ujjain-shahi-masjid-ai-demolition-videos-crowd-clash-detentions

BibTeX

@misc{2026_ujjain_shahi_masjid_ai_demolition_videos_crowd_clash_detentions,
  title = {India: police in Ujjain said AI-made videos falsely showing the whole Shahi Masjid being demolished helped draw a crowd that clashed with police on 28 September 2026; 15 people were taken into custody and influencers were booked},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-ujjain-shahi-masjid-ai-demolition-videos-crowd-clash-detentions}
}

Related cases

Medium Unidentified facial recognition system

Reno, Nevada: a casino's facial recognition system wrongly matched a patron to a barred man in September 2023, and police arrested him and held him for about eleven hours until fingerprints confirmed his identity and he was released, his federal lawsuit alleges

Jason Killinger, a UPS truck driver, alleges in a federal civil-rights complaint filed in July 2025 that on 17 September 2023 the Peppermill Casino in Reno reported to police that its AI facial recognition software had identified him as a man barred from the casino months earlier. According to the complaint, casino security handcuffed him, and the responding Reno police officer, told the system had found a 100 percent match, did not examine his other identification and took him to jail as an unidentified person, where fingerprints confirmed who he was. The complaint says he was handcuffed for about four hours, starting in the casino security office, spent about eleven hours in police and jail custody, and was treated the next day for bruised wrists. According to the complaint, he was then charged with trespassing, and a prosecutor dismissed the charge without prejudice at the bench trial. Casino.org reports that he settled a suit against the casino. In March 2026 the court let him add the City of Reno and a municipal liability claim over facial recognition policies, but refused a new wrongful arrest claim against the officer on qualified immunity grounds. In September 2026 the ACLU, the ACLU of Nevada and the Innocence Project filed a proposed amicus brief supporting him. The case is ongoing.

Critical ChatGPT

Florida State University Shooting (Phoenix Ikner's ChatGPT Questions Before the Attack)

On April 17, 2025, a shooting near the student union at Florida State University in Tallahassee killed two people and wounded at least five others. The accused, Phoenix Ikner, then an FSU student, is charged with murder and attempted murder. ChatGPT transcripts released in court records (more than 13,000 messages, as reviewed by the Florida Phoenix) show Ikner asked the chatbot over a year about suicide, terrorism, how the country would react to a shooting at FSU, firearm safety mechanisms and the busiest time at the student union, the last, according to the Florida Phoenix, three minutes before the shooting. Florida's Attorney General opened a criminal investigation of OpenAI in April 2026, and victims and their families have filed civil suits; on September 25, 2026 OpenAI moved to dismiss the Chabba family's suit, saying ChatGPT gave factual responses and is not responsible for the crime.

High Flock Safety license plate readers

Toledo, Ohio: police stopped a man's pickup at gunpoint in April 2024 after a Flock license-plate camera misread his plate as stolen, released a police dog that bit him, and charged him; prosecutors dropped the charges and he later settled a lawsuit for $35,000

On 11 April 2024 Toledo police officers stopped a pickup truck after a Flock license-plate camera alerted them to a stolen plate. According to the police report and body-camera footage reported by 13abc and ABC News, the camera had misread the plate, which was not stolen. Officers drew their guns, ordered the driver out and to the ground, and a K-9 handler released a police dog as he began to kneel. The driver told ABC News he was bitten seven times on his forearm and elbow, was traumatized and could not work; he was arrested and charged with obstruction, resisting arrest and, later, failure to comply. Prosecutors dropped all charges in August 2024. The department found the dog deployment within policy and reprimanded the officer who made the stop for failing to visually verify the plate against the reader's information. Business Insider reported in March 2026 that police records show the camera read a 7 on the plate as a 2, that the man lost feeling in his fingers, gave up his lawn-care business and forklift work, sold his truck and was evicted, and that he had sued the officer and the city and settled in October for $35,000.

Critical ChatGPT

Finland Pirkkala School Stabbing (ChatGPT Manifesto)

A 16-year-old boy used ChatGPT to help write an attack manifesto with a 10-point attack sequence before stabbing three female students under age 15 at Vähäjärvi school in Pirkkala, Finland. The incident marked a critical inflection point in AI-facilitated violence, demonstrating how accessible AI tools can empower lone actors with violent misogynist ideologies.

If you or someone you know is struggling, free and confidential support is available. Find a helpline near you at Signpost.

Back to all incidents