Recently, a video is doing rounds on social media showing two foreigners chanting Vedic shlokas in the White House with a claim the White House holding a recital of Hindu shlokas for Joe Biden, the US President-elect, on his first day of office.

A Facebook user named Jitendra shared the video with a caption saying, "White House first day before entering the New American PRESIDENT, How they perform Indian Slocas invoking Almighty of the UNIVERS for the GOOD happening of the Countrymen."

A user named Venkatesha Rao also shared the video caption with the same caption. 

Many Twitter users are also sharing the 3-minute video claiming the same. 

The truth behind the claim 

In our investigation, we found this claim to be false. The video actually shows Vedic chanting which was organized as part of the annual conference by Hindu American Seva Communities in the White House back in 2014 to celebrate the 145th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi,. 

With the help of a relevant keyword search on Google, we found a different video of the same event uploaded on youtube carrying visuals similar to the one in the viral post. The text on this video reads ‘Hindu American Seva Communities Conference @ White House Oct 2, 2014’. This video has been recorded from a different angle and was uploaded on October 15, 2014. 

On further checking the website of Hindu American Seva Communities (HASC). According to the information available on the website, HASC has been organizing a conference every year in the first week of October at the White House since 2011

We further found a press statement released by the organization after the event which said, "The Erhard Family of Colorado began the conference with an invocation of prayers appreciated by Mahatma Gandhi." The organizations hold the annual event every year at the White House, as part of an outreach program.

Moreover, US President-elect Joe Biden is yet to officially start work at the White House. Biden who won the recently concluded US Elections, defeating Donald Trump, will be able to do so only after the official swearing-in ceremony scheduled to be held on January 20, 2021.

In conclusion, an old video from 2015 showing Vedic chants as part of an event by a Hindu-American organization is being shared with a false claim that the White House held a recital of Hindu shlokas for Joe Biden on his first day of office.