text:
Unrelated videos are being shared linking them to the Iran's recent attack on Israel - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 17, 2024
Update (17 April 2024)
Video-3:
Another video (here, here, & here) claiming to be related to Iran’s attack on Israel is being widely shared across social media platforms. In the viral video, we can see massive destruction on the roads and several cars on fire. The claim accompanying this video suggests that it shows the visuals of the destruction that occurred in Israel due to Iran’s recent attack on Israel in April 2024. Let’s verify the authenticity of the video.
To verify the authenticity of the viral claim, we conducted a Google reverse image search using the key frames of the viral video. This search led us to a post (archived link) by the news outlet ‘France 24’ on X (Twitter) on 10 October 2023, which featured a video with similar visuals to the viral video. According to the description of this post, the video shows the visuals of the destruction caused by an attack by Hamas in the Israeli cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon.
🔴🇮🇱 "We hear bombardments all the time," #Israeli civilians in #Ashdod and #Ashkelon told the FRANCE 24 @Observers. #Hamas attacked the southern city of Ashkelon on Tuesday, after the militant group warned residents to leave. pic.twitter.com/4KhWo34Xeu
Saudi Arabian media outlet ‘Al-Hadath’ and ‘Sky News’ also reported on this incident, featuring similar visuals as in the viral video. These reports also mentioned that the visuals depict a Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023. From this information, it is evident that the viral video shows the visuals of the devastation that occurred in Israel due to a Hamas attack in October 2023.
Video-4:
A video (here, here, & here) allegedly claiming to depict Yemen’s recent attack on Israel is being widely shared across social media platforms. This video shows a series of rockets being fired into the sky. Let’s verify the authenticity of the video.
To verify the authenticity of the viral claim, we conducted a Google reverse image search using the keyframes of the viral video. This search led us to a video (archived link) published in November 2014, claiming to show a GRAD missile attack on the Donbass region by the Ukrainian army.
Furthermore, we found another video (archived link) showing the same visuals of rockets firing into the sky on YouTube dated 03 December 2014, with a title that read, “Powerful night salvo from hail” (translated from Russian to English).
We also found a post (archived link) on X (Twitter) by Conflict News, dated 01 December 2014, featuring a keyframe from the same viral video. The post reads: “Massive Ukrainian Grad barrage against #NAF positions in eastern #Ukraine.” All this information indicates that the viral video has been on the internet since 2014. Hence, we can confirm that this video is not related to the recent attacks on Israel by Iran and Yemen.
Massive Ukrainian Grad barrage against #NAF positions in eastern #Ukraine.https://t.co/DY5G0gRFtZ pic.twitter.com/qAuk9H8fta
Published (15 April 2024)
Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles targeting Israel on 13 April 2024, in response to an alleged Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria’s Damascus on 01 April 2024. Amidst this tension between Iran and Israel, several posts (here, here, here, and here) accompanied by multiple videos claiming to be related to Iran’s attack on Israel are being widely shared across social media platforms. In one of the viral videos, we can see a massive crowd gathered on the streets. The claim accompanying this video suggests that it shows terrified Israelis gathering in Tel Aviv after the country was attacked by Iran. Another video shows a series of rocket launches allegedly depicting Iran’s attack on Israel. In this article, let’s fact-check the claims made in the posts.
Claim: Videos depicting Iran’s recent attack on Israel.
Fact: The viral videos are not related to Iran’s recent attack on Israel. The first viral video depicts the visuals of singer-songwriter Louis Tomlinson’s fans gathered outside the Four Seasons Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, during his recent tour in Argentina in the first week of April 2024. The second viral video has been on the internet since 2020, long before Iran’s attack on Israel in April 2024. However, we were unable to independently verify the exact date when these videos were captured. Hence, the claims made in these posts are FALSE.
Video-1:
We found posts of several X users (here, here, and here) who stated that this viral footage shows singer-songwriter Louis Tomlinson’s fans outside the Four Seasons Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina in the first week of April 2024 (archived link here, here & here).
This video, posted by Jackson Hinkle and others and viewed nearly 5 million times, claims to show "Israelis panicking" as Iran's missiles and drones reach Israel.
in fact, it shows Louis Tomlinson fans near Four Seasons Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina last week; verified by… pic.twitter.com/11tX9bL0sh
Taking a cue from this, we then ran a relevant keyword search to find news reports related to this and came across an article published by the Argentinian news outlet ‘Infobae’ on 06 April 2024. The report mentioned that the ex-member of the band One Direction stayed at the Four Seasons hotel during his tour in Argentina and interacted with fans in the vicinity of the hotel. Additionally, one such video of Tomlinson interacting with fans in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was also posted by the official X(Twitter) account of the musician’s team.
We geolocated the area of the Four Seasons hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Upon comparing the visuals shown in the viral video with the geolocation of the Four Seasons hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Google Street View, it is evident that the video was captured outside the hotel. However, we were unable to independently verify the exact date when the video was captured.
Video-2:
To authenticate the viral video, we conducted a Google reverse image search using the keyframes from the video. This search led us to a longer version of the viral video (archived link) posted on the YouTube channel named ‘Telegraph – channel’ on 03 February 2020, with the title: “Syria. War in Syria. Surface-to-surface missiles destroy Turkish militias west of Aleppo” (translated from Russian to English).
Another YouTube channel also published a video (archived link) featuring similar visuals on 28 February 2020, under the title: “It was not calm in Syria this night. 02/28/2020.” The change in camera angle in the videos posted on YouTube matches the change in camera angle at the 14th second in the viral video circulating on social media. From this information, it is evident that the video has been on the internet since 2020, long before Iran’s attack on Israel in April 2024. However, we were unable to independently verify the exact date when the video was captured.
To sum up, unrelated videos are being shared linking them to Iran’s recent attack on Israel.


text:
Unrelated videos are compared and shared as hypocrisy of UP Government on firecrackers ban - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 16, 2020
A post with a video collage comparing videos of  UP police arresting a firecrackers vendor for selling crackers despite a ban and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath lighting crackers is being shared with the claim that it shows the hypocrisy of the UP government. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Yogi Adityanath’s government arrested vendors selling crackers while Yogi himself was found lighting crackers during Diwali.
Fact: Video showing Yogi Adityanath lighting crackers is actually from Deepostav organized on 04 August 2020 to commemorate Bhoomi Puja at Ayodhya Ram Temple. However, in a separate incident, police arrested a vendor for selling crackers in Bulandshahr despite a ban. But both these are unrelated events and cannot be compared to claim the hypocrisy of the government regarding the ban on crackers. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
The video in which police were seen forcefully arresting a firecracker vendor for selling crackers despite resistance from her daughter by banging her head to the police vehicle refers to an incident which took place in Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh on 13 November 2020. However, when the video went viral, UP CM Yogi Adityanath ordered for the release of the vendor and he sent sweets & gifts to the young girl.
Further Google search with relevant keywords led us to a news article dated 04 August 2020 which carried an image similar to the visuals of the video in the post where the UP CM can be seen lighting firecrackers. According to the article, the image shows Yogi lighting firecrackers as part of Deepotsav which was celebrated on 04 & 05 August 2020 in order to commemorate the Bhoomi Puja for the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
Video showing UP CM lighting firecrackers ahead of the Bhoomi Puja at Ayodhya is shared by a news agency on their Twitter account. Few more news articles reporting the same can be read here and here. With this, we can say that the video showing the UP CM lighting crackers is not related to Diwali and hence both the videos cannot be compared.
#WATCH Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath lights a firecracker at his official residence in Lucknow as part of 'deepotsav', ahead of the foundation stone laying ceremony of #RamTemple in Ayodhya tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/YUogsmwXGd
In the light of the UP government’s decision to ban the sale and use of fireworks in few districts till 30 November 2020 in order to check air pollution, posts like these are being circulated on social media with misleading claims.
To sum it up, video showing UP CM Yogi Adityanath lighting crackers is related to the deepostav organized ahead of bhoomi puja for the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

source: news-factly

created: November 16, 2020

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


text:
సంబంధంలేని వీడియోలను ప్రస్తుతం జరుగుతున్న రైతుల నిరసనలకు ముడిపెడుతూ షేర్ చేస్తున్నారు. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 16, 2024
ప్రస్తుతం ఢిల్లీలో జరుగుతున్న రైతు అందోళనల నేపథ్యంలో ఈ నిరసన కార్యక్రమాలలో పాల్గొనేందుకు వెళ్తున్న రైతులకి సంబంధించిన దృశ్యాలను చూపిస్తున్న వీడియోలు (ఇక్కడ & ఇక్కడ) అంటూ కొన్ని పోస్టులు సోషల్ మీడియాలో వైరల్ అవుతున్నాయి. ఈ కథనం ద్వారా అందులో ఎంత నిజముందో చూద్దాం.
క్లెయిమ్: ఫిబ్రవరి 2024లో ఢిల్లీలో జరుగుతున్న రైతుల అందోళనలకు సంబంధించిన దృశ్యాలను చూపిస్తున్న  వీడియోలు.
ఫాక్ట్(నిజం): ఈ వైరల్ వీడియోలకు ఫిబ్రవరి 2024లో ఢిల్లీలో జరుగుతున్న రైతుల నిరసనలకు ఎటువంటి సంబంధం లేదు. మొదటి వైరల్ వీడియోలోని దృశ్యాలు 03 ఫిబ్రవరి 2024న సామాజిక కార్యకర్త భానా సిద్ధూపై పోలీసులు నమోదు చేసిన కేసులకి వ్యతిరేకంగా నిరసన వ్యక్తం చేస్తూ వందలాది మంది యువకులు ట్రాక్టర్లతో బారికేడ్లను తొలగించుకుంటూ సంగ్రూర్‌లోని ముఖ్యమంత్రి భగవంత్ మాన్ నివాసం వద్దకు ర్యాలీగా వెళ్లడాన్ని చూపిస్తున్నాయి. అలాగే రెండో వీడియో 17 జనవరి 2024 నుండే, అంటే 13 ఫిబ్రవరి 2024న ఢిల్లీలో రైతుల నిరసనలు ప్రారంభం కాకముందు నుండే ఇంటర్నెట్‌లో ఉంది. కావున పోస్టు ద్వారా చెప్పేది తప్పు.
పంటలకు కనీస మద్దతు ధర (ఎంఎస్ పి) కల్పించే చట్టం, స్వామినాథన్ కమిషన్ సిఫార్సుల అమలు, రైతులు, రైతు కూలీలకు పింఛన్లు, వ్యవసాయ రుణాల మాఫీ, ఇంతకు ముందు జరిగిన రైతు నిరసనలో నమోదు చేసిన పోలీసు కేసుల ఉపసంహరణ, లఖింపూర్ ఖేరీ బాధితులకు న్యాయం చేయాలని డిమాండ్ చేస్తూ 13 ఫిబ్రవరి 2024న ‘ఢిల్లీ చలో’ రైతు నిరసన ర్యాలీకి పలు రైతు సంఘాలు పిలుపునిచ్చాయి.ఇదే విషయాన్ని రిపోర్ట్ చేస్తున్న మీడియా కథనాలు ఇక్కడ & ఇక్కడ చూడవచ్చు.
రైతు నిరసన ర్యాలీని అడ్డుకోవడానికి మరియు ఎలాంటి అవాంఛనీయ సంఘటనలు చోటు చేసుకోకుండా పోలీసులు బారికేడ్లను ఏర్పాటు చేస్తున్నట్లు పలు రిపోర్ట్స్ (ఇక్కడ & ఇక్కడ) ఉన్నాయి. ఈ నేపథ్యంలోనే నిరసన కార్యక్రమాలలో పాల్గొనేందుకు వెళ్తున్న రైతులకి సంబంధించిన వీడియోలు అంటూ కొన్ని వీడియోలు సోషల్ మీడియాలో వైరల్ అవుతున్నాయి.
ముందుగా మొదటి వైరల్ వీడియో యొక్క స్క్రీన్ షాట్లని రివర్స్ ఇమేజ్ సెర్చ్ చేసి వెతికితే, ఇవే దృశ్యాలు కలిగిన వీడియోని Gemm TV  అనే ఫేస్‌బుక్ పేజీలో 3 ఫిబ్రవరి 2024న షేర్ చేసినట్లు తెలిసింది. వీడియో వివరణలో భానా సిద్ధూకు మద్దతుగా నిరసనలో పాల్గొనేందుకు యువకులు ట్రాక్టర్లతో  వచ్చారు, బారికేడ్లు తొలగించి ముందుకు సాగడం ప్రారంభించారు. ఈ పరిస్థితి రైతుల ఉద్యమాన్ని తలపిస్తోంది’ అని పంజాబీలో రాశారు.
తదుపరి ఈ సమాచారం ఆధారంగా ఈ సంఘటనకు సంబంధించిన మరింత సమాచారం కోసం తగిన కీవర్డ్స్ ఉపయోగించి ఇంటర్నెట్‌లో వెతకితే, 03 ఫిబ్రవరి 2024న బీబీసీ పంజాబీ ప్రచురించిన వార్త కథనం లభించింది. ఈ కథనం ప్రకారం సామాజిక కార్యకర్త భానా సిద్ధూపై పోలీసులు నమోదు చేసిన కేసులకి వ్యతిరేకంగా నిరసన  వ్యక్తం చేస్తూ వందలాది మంది యువకులు సంగ్రూర్‌లోని ముఖ్యమంత్రి భగవంత్ మాన్ నివాసం వద్దకు ర్యాలీగా వచ్చారు. అదేవిధంగా, వైరల్ వీడియోలోని దృశ్యాలను కలిగిన వీడియోని ప్రో పంజాబ్ టీవీ కెనడా అనే యూట్యూబ్  ఛానల్ కూడా షేర్ చేసినట్లు తెలిసింది. పలు రిపోర్ట్స్ ప్రకారం (ఇక్కడ & ఇక్కడ), సామాజిక కార్యకర్త మరియు వ్లాగర్ అయిన భగవాన్ సింగ్ అలియాస్ భానా సిద్ధూ, లూథియానా ఆధారిత ఇమ్మిగ్రేషన్ ఏజెంట్‌ను బలవంతంగా దోపిడీ చేశాడనే ఆరోపణలపై జనవరిలో అరెస్టు చేశారు. 12 ఫిబ్రవరి 2024న మొహాలీ కోర్టు అతనికి బెయిల్ మంజూరు చేసింది.
అలాగే అతర్వాత రెండో వైరల్ వీడియో యొక్క స్క్రీన్ షాట్లని రివర్స్ ఇమేజ్ సెర్చ్ చేసి వెతికితే, ఇవే దృశ్యాలు కలిగిన వీడియో యూట్యూబ్‌లో 17 జనవరి 2024 షేర్ అయినట్లు తెలిసింది.అయితే ఈ వీడియో ఏ సందర్భంలో తీసిందో తెలియలేదు, కానీ ఈ వీడియో ఇటీవల ఢిల్లీలో మొదలయిన రైతు నిరసనల కన్నా ముందే నుంచే సోషల్ మీడియాలో ఉంది . దీన్ని బట్టి ఈ వీడియోకి ఢిల్లీలో జరుగుతున్న రైతు నిరసనలకు ఎలాంటి సంబంధం లేదని నిర్థారించవచ్చు.
చివరగా, రైతు నిరసనలతో సంబంధంలేని వీడియోలను ప్రస్తుతం జరుగుతున్న రైతు నిరసనలకు ముడిపెడుతూ షేర్ చేస్తున్నారు.

created: February 16, 2024


text:
Unrelated videos are shared on social media, linking them to the ongoing riots in France - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 6, 2023
As violent protests over the killing of a teenager named Nahel M (here and here) by police intensified across France, videos claiming to be from the country are being circulated on social media. Let’s verify these through this fact-checking article.
Claim: Videos related to the recent violence that erupted in France.
Fact: All these videos are unrelated to the current riots & violent protests in France. Hence, the claims made in the posts sharing these videos are False.
Update (06 July 2023):
Video 4:
This video shows a group of people sitting on chairs, seemingly careless about something burning on the road behind them. A post sharing this video has a caption that reads, “The Taliban are governing Afghanistan better than Macron is governing France.”
To learn more context about the video, we searched the internet with relevant keywords, leading us to a YouTube video uploaded by ABC News on 27 March 2023. The title of this video says, “French diners enjoy wine as fire lit by protesters burns nearby | ABC News.” In the description of this video, ABC News mentioned that this occurred in the French City of Bordeaux, where demonstrators protesting about the pension reforms lit a fire. More details about this incident can be read here. Clearly, a video that predates the current France protests is being falsely attributed to it.
Video 5:
A video showing a sea of people holding candles while singing a song is shared on social media through a post claiming that it shows Catholics who are frightened of illegal Muslim immigrants singing Ave Maria at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes.
A reverse image search on a few of the keywords of this video led us to a few social media posts (here and here) from August 2022, much before the current unrest in France. According to these posts, this video was filmed when Catholics sang Ave Maria at the Sanctuary of Lourdes in France on the eve of the feast of the assumption of the blessed virgin Mary.
Video 6:
This video shows a building engulfed in a blazing fire, which the post describes as the largest library in France, Alcazar Library, located in Marseille.
However, through a reverse image search on the video’s keyframes, we found that the video shows the main post office in the Philippine capital, Manila, which was demolished by a massive fire that broke out in May 2023 (here and here).
Video 7:
This video allegedly shows a sniper spotted on a rooftop in France. The post attributes the video to recent riots in France and states that there is a civil war-like situation now in France.
A reverse image search on a few keyframes of this viral video led us to a tweet that posted the same video in March 2023. The description of this video in French translates to “The city sniper with the position and all, lookout well with his sniper rifle firearm gun, monitor stalk camper call of duty.” A further search led us to another tweet from 2022 that contained the same video. Since this video existed on the internet before the ongoing unrest in France, it is safe to conclude that the viral claim is false.
Sniper de la cité pic.twitter.com/mvsrJiH7z9
Video 8:
A video that shows people gathered atop and around the historic Republic Square (Place de la République) in Paris is being shared on social media with a claim that it shows muslim refugees of France.
A reverse image search using a few keyframes of this video led us to photos (here and here) and videos (here, here, and here) from 2019 that match with visuals identical to the viral video. Reportedly, in 2019, French-Algerians protested against then-President Abdelaziz Bouteflika for the fifth time as president. However, we could not find the exact source of this viral video, scenes from the pictures and videos related to the 2019 protest match with the scenes in the viral video. Moreover, we did not find any credible sources to support the claim that such a protest holding the Algerian flags was held at Republic Square during the ongoing France protests.
Published (03 July 2023):
Video 1:
A video is being shared as the visuals of the funeral procession of the teenager Nahel who was killed by the police. A huge rally of motorcycles can be seen in the clip.  Research revealed that this video is old and unrelated to the recent incident.
Performing a reverse image search using a few keyframes of the viral video led us to a TikTok video posted four years ago, which contained the same visuals as the viral video. This had a hashtag mentioned with the video #Kingzempache.
Taking this as a hint, we performed a keyword search on the internet, which led us to several news reports (here, here, and here) related to the incident linked with the video(also watch).
Reportedly, a man named Dimitri Zami, nicknamed Zempache was killed during an armed robbery that occurred at his home in Le Gosier, Guadeloupe, in March 2019. The visuals seen in the viral video belong to Zami’s funeral procession. A further search about this incident led us to another video of this procession filmed from a different angle. The visuals of the funeral procession of Nahel can be found in this report by Associated Press.
Video 2:
In this video, we can see a woman posing with the Eiffel Tower, and moments later, it gets bombed. A few other visuals in the same video also show bombing around the Eiffel Tower.
A thorough check on this video revealed that this video is old and actually made using CGI. A keyword search to learn more details about the viral video led us to several news reports (here, here, and here) that contained this video.
Reportedly, Ukraine released a mock-up video showing Paris being hit by bombs. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense posted this video on Twitter, tagging NATO with a message that read ‘close the sky over Ukraine.’
#ifwefallyoufall ❗@NATO close the sky over Ukraine! pic.twitter.com/kRWIQlU9Pn
Video 3:
A video in which a bunch of cars falls out of a building is linked to the France riots. In our research, we found that this is an old video and was filmed during the shoot of Fast and Furious 8.
A reverse image search using a few keyframes of the viral video led us to a few news reports (here and here) about the incident from 2016.
Reportedly, this video shows the filming of a stunt scene for the movie Fast and Furious 8 in Cleveland, Ohio, in the USA.
To sum up, unrelated videos are shared, linking them to the ongoing riots in France.


text:
Unrelated videos are viral as the visuals of Ocean Gate's Titan Submersible that imploded recently - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 28, 2023
A few videos (here and here) allegedly showing the Titan Submersible that suffered a catastrophic implosion with five people onboard are being shared on social media. Let’s verify the truthfulness behind these videos through this article.
Claim: Visuals of the Ocean Gate’s Titan Submersible.
Fact: There are no videos of the Titan Submersible near the Titanic wreckage site from credible sources available online. Hence, the claim made in these posts is False.
Firstly, we made a thorough search on the internet to find if any credible and reputed media organisations shared videos of the Titan Submersible near the Titanic wreckage site. This search did not lead us to any such videos.
Then we visited the official website of Ocean Gate, the company to which this Submersible belonged, to see whether they had uploaded any such videos.
On their website, we found an introductory video of their Titanic expedition, in which the Titan Submersible and the wreckage site can be seen, but not together. They are separate shots of them in the water. Except for these, as seen in the viral videos, no videos show the whole Titan submersible as a unit traversing near the Titanic Wreckage.
Furthermore, we looked at some of the life-sized scans of the sunken Titanic, which do not show a flag at the ship’s bow, as seen in one of these videos.
To sum up, unrelated videos are shared online as the visuals of Ocean Gate’s Titan Submersible that imploded recently.


text:
Unrelated videos falsely shared as ‘RSS and BJP terrorism against Muslims in India’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 24, 2020
A lot of videos are being shared on social media with a claim that they show how Muslims are being killed by RSS and BJP in India. Let’s  analyze the claim made in the post.
Videos of Muslims being beaten up and killed by RSS and BJP in India.
Fact: The posted videos are not related to any communal violence. Also, in one video, the victim is not a Muslim. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Video 1 (archived):
When the screenshots of the video were run through Yandex Reverse Image Search, it was found that the video is related to a mob lynching incident in Madhya Pradesh in February 2020. In ‘The Week’ article, it can be read that a farmer and his associates were attacked by a group of villagers on the suspicion that they are child kidnappers when they came to collect money taken by labourers from Khirakia village. The video of a victim narrating the sequence of events can be watched here. So, it is a financial dispute which led to mob lynching due to child-lifting rumours. The man lynched by the mob is Ganesh Khasi and the other victims are Jagdish Sharma, Narendra Sharma, Vinod Mukati, and Ravi. So, it is not a communal incident and the man lynched in the video is not a Muslim.
Video 2 (archived):
When the same video went viral last year with the same claim, FACTLY had written a fact-check article, which can read here. The man being beaten by the mob is Sahil Raiyan and he was attacked when he tried to escape after shooting Madhav Singh in a land-related dispute. The Police have clarified that there is no communal angle to the incident.
Video 3 (archived):
When the screenshots of the video were run through Yandex Reverse Image Search, a similar video uploaded by ‘Chanchal News’ was found in the search results. The title of the video reads – ‘The teenager was hit by a motorbike on his way to join the procession of the Prophet’s birthday’ (English translation). Various news blog articles can be found regarding the accident. The news articles can be read here, here and here.  FACTLY could not independently verify the details of the incident.
To sum it up, unrelated videos falsely shared as ‘RSS and BJP terrorism against Muslims in India’.
Did you watch our new video?


text:
Unrelated videos of a Maharashtra policeman shared as dance videos of Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 4, 2022
Multiple videos are being shared on social media claiming it as recent visuals of Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut dancing while celebrating the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Recent dance videos of Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut while celebrating the collapse of the MVA government in Maharashtra.
Fact: The person dancing in these videos is Laxman Bhadarge, a Head constable working in the Parbhani police station in Maharashtra. These videos have nothing to do with Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Video 1:
When we searched for this video using relevant keywords on the internet, we found that several social media users have posted the same video with a similar description in 2019. A few other such social media posts can be seen here and here. On 05 December 2019, the ‘Sarkarnama’ news website published this video on their Facebook page and reported that a dancing video of Parbhani policeman Laxman Bhadarge was falsely going viral as the dance visuals of Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut.
Reporting the complete details of this dancing video, several news websites published articles in 2019. They can be seen here, here and here. All these news reports confirmed that the man dancing in the video is Laxman Bhadarge, a police constable who had a striking resemblance to the Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut.
The Quint fact-check team contacted Laxman Bhadarge for more clarification about this video in 2020. Speaking to the ‘Quint’ fact-check team, Laxman Bhadarge said, “The video is from November 2019. I was attending my friend’s son’s wedding. Even earlier, the video had gone viral with the false claim that it shows Sanjay Raut”. Also, Laxman Bhadarge sent a video explanation regarding his dancing video to ‘Fact Crescedo’.
Video 2:
On reverse image search of the screenshots of the video, a video with similar visuals was found to be tweeted by a few news portals recently. These news portals reported it as the dancing video of Sanjay Raut’s duplicate. Also, when you observe the video carefully, one could see that the man was performing similar dance steps as shown in the above video. Though we could not confirm when this video was shot, from all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the man dancing in the video is not Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut.
#સંજય રાઉતના ડુપ્લીકેટનો #વિડીયો થયો વાયરલ.. જોરદાર ઠુમકા લગાવી રહ્યો છે. તમે પણ જુઓ….#MaharashtraPolitcalCrisis #shivsena #Sanjay_Raut #dance pic.twitter.com/kOOnUgv35L
Videos showing Sanjay Raut dancing along with the NCP leader Supriya Sole at his daughter’s wedding can be seen here, here and here.
To sum it up, unrelated videos of a Maharashtra policeman are being shared as the dance videos of Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut.


text:
Unrelated videos of donation boxes are shared as visuals of Ayodhya Ram Mandir’s donation boxes. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 6, 2024
A set of videos (here & here) showing donation boxes (Hundi) in temples are widely shared across social media platforms, with the claim that these visuals are from Ayodhya Ram Mandir. Through this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: These viral videos depict the visuals of donation boxes in Ayodhya Ram Mandir.
Fact: These viral videos surfaced on the internet well before the opening of Ayodhya Ram Mandir on 22 January 2024. According to reports, one video was recorded at Sree Guruvayurappan Temple in Kerala in September 2022, and the other video was captured at Rajasthan’s Sanwariya Seth temple in September 2023. These viral videos have no connection to Ayodhya Ram Mandir.  Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Video-1:
To learn more about the viral clip, we performed a reverse image search on the internet using a few of its keyframes, which led us to a video with similar visuals in an article published by ‘Kalayanthanikazhchakal’ news website on 29 September 2022. This news website reported it as the visuals of priests collecting money from the Bhandara or the donation boxes of the Sree Guruvayurappan temple in Kerala. Reporting the same, a few other news websites and Facebook pages published the same video. They can be seen here, here, and here. Based on this information, it is evident that the viral video is associated with the Sree Guruvayurappan Temple in Kerala.
Video-2:
Performing a reverse image search on the internet using keyframes from the viral video led us to several social media posts (here, here & here) featuring the same video, uploaded in September 2023. According to these posts, the video originated from Rajasthan’s Shri Sanwalia Mandir, where a woman allegedly donated Rs 10 lakh in cash.
Taking a cue from these posts, we searched for further sources on the internet. This led us to a photo showing similar visuals of woman contributing money into a donation box in an article published by Asianetnews on 11 September 2023. According to this article, the video was shot at the Shri Sanwalia Seth Prakatya Mandir in the Chittorgarh district of Rajasthan. The woman in the video reportedly donated Rs 10 lakh on Janmashtami, celebrated on 07 September 2023.
Based on this information, it is clear that the viral video does not pertain to Ayodhya Ram Mandir; instead, it is from a temple in Rajasthan. Factly previously debunked similar claim related to donation box( Hundi) in Ayodhya Ram Mandir can be seen here.
To sum it up, unrelated videos of donation boxes are being shared, falsely claiming that they depict the donation boxes of Ayodhya Ram Mandir.

created: February 6, 2024


text:
Unrelated videos shared as the visuals of an explosion at a factory in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad district - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 13, 2022
A video is being shared on social media claiming it as the recent visuals of an explosion that had taken place at a factory in Dasna of Ghaziabad district in Uttar Pradesh. This post claims that 40 people lost their lives during the explosion. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video showing the explosion at a factory in Dasna, Uttar Pradesh.
Fact: The video shared in the post shows the recent visuals of a huge explosion that took place at a chemical factory in Vadodara, Gujarat. On 02 June 2022, a huge explosion, followed by fire, occurred at Deepak Nitrite Company in Nandesari GIDC in Vadodara. According to the reports, at least eight workers were injured in this incident. But there were no casualties reported in this accident. The video does not show an explosion in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad district. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the screenshots in the video, similar visuals were found in a video published by the ‘NDTV’ news channel on 03 June 2022. ‘NDTV’ reported it as the visuals of a huge explosion that had taken place at a chemical factory in Vadodara, Gujarat. The description of the video stated that a huge explosion, followed by fire, occurred at Deepak Nitrite Company in Nandesari GIDC in Vadodara.
This accident reportedly took place on 02 June 2022 evening. Reporting the complete details of this explosion, several news websites have published tweets and articles. A few of them can be seen here, here and here.  According to the reports, at least 8 people were injured in this explosion at Deepak Nitrite Company in Vadodara. But there are no casualties reported in the accident.
Another video that shows an explosion is being shared with a similar claim on social media. But these visuals show the explosion that recently took place at a factory in Hupur, Uttar Pradesh. On 04 June 2022, a massive explosion took place at a factory in Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur. A few other videos showing the massive explosion at Hapur factory can be seen here and here. 13 people reportedly died during this explosion.
Though there have been reports of a fire accident in a factory in Ghaziabad’s Dasna, no injuries were reported in this incident. Visuals of the incident can been seen here.
Fire breaks out at factory in #Ghaziabad's Dasna, reports ANI pic.twitter.com/JN8DRXWCqK
To sum it up, unrelated videos are shared as the visuals of an explosion at a factory in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad district.
Update (07 JULY 2022):
The same viral video is now being falsely shared as a video of a blast in Bengaluru. As debunked above, the video is not related to Karnataka. Also, we could not find any recent reports of such a huge explosion in Bengaluru.


text:
Unrelated videos shared as the visuals of police interrogating Seema Haider in connection to her alleged plans to return to Pakistan - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 27, 2023
A video circulating on social media claims that Seema Haider, a Pakistani woman who illegally entered India to live with her PUBG lover Sachin Meena, was arrested by police while she was attempting to go back to Pakistan from India. According to the video, Seema Haider intends to depart from India and return to Pakistan upon learning about her ex-husband Gulam Haider’s remarriage. The post claims that the visuals show police interrogating Seema Haider after her arrest at the airport. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of police interrogating Seema Haider in connection with her alleged intentions to return to Pakistan.
Fact: The visuals of police questioning a burkha-clad woman in the video are related to an old sex racket bust by the Durg district police of Chhattisgarh. The burqa-clad woman in the video is not Seema Haider. Visuals from an old interview video of Seema Haider were also displayed in the video to falsely portray the burqa-clad woman interrogated by the police as Seema Haider. Lately, there have been no news reports about Seema Haider’s arrest or the remarriage of Seema Haider’s ex-husband Gulam Haider. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
On reverse image search of the screenshots of the video, we could not find any credible sources related to the video. On observing the video carefully, we could identify that the logo behind the police was of the Chhatisgarh police. Upon searching for further details, we found the same visuals in a video posted by a journalist on 24 April 2023. The journalist reported it as the visuals of Durg SP Abhishek Pallav interrogating the boys and girls caught in a sex racket at the Surya mall in Bhilai.
The Durg police published the same video on their official Facebook handle on 18 April 2023. The Durg police through a Facebook post informed people that they had conducted a raid on Essence Spa Center, running a prostitution racket, in Surya Mall in Bhilai. The police informed that they had arrested the spa center director Shariq Khan and rescued 8 women from the sex racket.
Reporting the sex racket bust at the spa center in Bhilai’s Surya Mall, several media outlets published articles in April 2023. They can be seen here and here. The burqa-clad woman in the video is not Seema Haider as mentioned in the post. Visuals from an old interview video of Seema Haider with ‘TV9 Bharatvarsh’ were also displayed in the video to falsely portray the burqa-clad woman interrogated by the police as Seema Haider.
Lately, there have been no news reports about Seema Haider’s intentions to return to Pakistan or about the remarriage of Seema Haider’s ex-husband Gulam Haider.
To sum it up, unrelated videos are shared as the visuals of police interrogating Seema Haider in connection to her alleged plans to return to Pakistan.

created: December 27, 2023


text:
Unrelated visuals and scripted videos are being shared with false child kidnapping rumours - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 26, 2022
Update (26 September 2022):
Another video is being shared on social media claiming it as visuals of kidnappers abducting a school  going girl from a bus stop in broad daylight. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of Kidnappers abducting a school going girl from a bus stop.
Fact: The video shared in the post is a scripted one. The video was created by Naveen Jangra, a YouTuber who creates scripted and prank videos. The video was made for entertainment and awareness purposes. The video does not show a recent incident. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the screenshots of the video, an extended version of the video was found published by a digital creator named Dayashankar Yadav on 27 July 2022. When a user in the comment section doubted it as a scripted video, this Facebook user acknowledged it as a scripted video created for educational and awareness purposes. On observing the extended video carefully, we could find that the person thrashing kidnappers towards the end of the video is Naveen Jangra, a YouTuber who publishes scripted and prank videos on his YouTube and other social media handles.
In a few other scripted videos published on Naveen Jangra YouTube channel, Naveen Jangra was seen on the same yellow t-shirt as seen in the viral video. The video shared in the post is now not available on Naveen Jangra’s Facebook or other social media handles. But a disclaimer provided on a few of his scripted videos clearly stated that the videos on his channel are created for entertainment and educational purposes. A few similar scripted videos published by Naveen Jangra can be seen here and here. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be confirmed that the video shared in the post is scripted.
Update (19 September 2022):
Video 1:
A video is being shared on social media claiming it as visuals of a child kidnapper being brutally assaulted by the public in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of a child kidnapper being brutally assaulted by the public in Amethi.
Fact: The video shared in the post shows an old incident from 2019 of a mob attacking labourers on suspicion of being child kidnappers in Amethi, UP. Amethi Police through a tweet confirmed that the injured victims are labourers brought for electricity works in the district. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the screenshots of the video, a video with similar visuals was found IN ‘Zee Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand’ news channel report published on 02 September 2019. It is reported that a mob attacked 9 innocent labourers on a suspicion of child theft in Amethi, UP. Reporting the same, several news websites published articles in September 2019. Amethi police through a tweet clarified that the victims are innocent labourers brought for electricity work in the village. So, it can be confirmed that the video is old and the victim assaulted by the public is not a child kidnapper.
Video 2:
Another video is being shared on social media claiming it as recent visuals of kidnapped children who were left dead after transplanting kidneys and other organs from their bodies. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Recent video showing dead bodies of kidnapped children.
Fact: A politician from the Nagore district in Rajasthan shared the images showing similar visuals in July 2022, and stated it as pictures of four children who succumbed after drowning in the garbage pits made by the Nagore Municipal Corporation in Nagore. Medical practitioners informed that the Y-shaped central incisions visible on the children’s bodies would be made for postmortem, not for the kidney transplantations as claimed in the post. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the screenshots of the video, we could not find any reliable sources related to the video. When we searched for other sources using relevant keywords, pictures showing similar visuals of dead children were found in a post made by a politician named  Sahadev Kaswan, on 17 July 2022. Sahadev Kaswan posted these pictures stating that four children succumbed after falling into the drainage pits made by the Nagore Municipal Corporation in Nagore, Rajasthan. Several news websites published articles and videos reporting this information. But we could not find the same visuals in these articles and videos.
Alt News contacted medical practitioners and confirmed that the Y-shaped central incisions visible on the children’s body would be made for post-mortem, not for the kidney transplantations as claimed in the post. Though we could not ascertain the exact details of the video, it can be confirmed that the video shared in the post is old,  and. is not a recent incident of child kidnapping.
Published (13 September 2022):
Quite a few photos and videos are being shared on social media with the claim that they show people kidnapping children and illegally harvesting their organs. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the posts.
Post 1:
When we searched with some related keywords, the same visuals were found in a video posted by ‘Singer Raunak Navin’. On watching the full video, it can be found that it is a scripted video. At the end of the video, the actor says that the video was made for the purpose of awareness.
Post 2:
The extended version of the same video was found to be uploaded by the ‘Social Message’ YouTube channel, which regularly posts such scripted videos. Also, on the posted video, one can observe a disclaimer saying – “This video is a complete fiction all the events in the video are scripted and made for awareness purpose only….”
Post 3:
We searched the internet with relevant keywords and found two Facebook posts (here and here) with an extended version of the video from the viral post. In the extended version, a person secretly records what seems like a gang carrying kids that they abducted into the woods.  But these videos are marked with two disclaimers, one that appears at 0:29 and the other at 1:27 timestamp. They state that the video is completely fictional. Hence, we can confirm that this is not an actual incident.
Post 4:
According to Varanasi Rural Police, on 01 September 2022, some sadhus were brought to the police station and interrogated after the villagers suspected them while asking for alms by roaming in the Barangoan area of UP. All their names and address were verified, and no criminal history was found against them. Later, they were released. The viral video is from the Beera Patti area under Barangoan Police station, not Varanasi Rural. ‘Dainik Bhaskar’ also published this news on its website.
Post 5:
There are two different photos in the post. The first photo was found in a video published by a YouTube channel named Praveen Kumar SM on 15 December 2018. A disclaimer mentioned below the video states, “Please don’t go out of your way to or hate on anyone I talk about in my videos, this channel is to entertain people and I usually focus on joking about what the people are doing not the individual themselves, please don’t go spreading hate it’s all for laughs”. So, it can be confirmed that the photo shared in the post shows a screenshot from a scripted drama.
The second photo was found as the thumbnail image of a scripted comedy video published by the ‘Comedy Plus with Neetuarya’ YouTube channel. ‘Comedy Plus with Neetuarya’ is an entertainment channel that publishes scripted comedy dramas in Hindi and Bhojpuri. This YouTube channel published the video describing it as visuals of how kidney organ thieves kidnap children.
Post 6:
We found the same video published on a Facebook page named ‘Sonu Chaudhary Films’. Sonu Choudhary is a video creator who publishes pranks and scripted videos on social media. At 0:40 minutes of the video, there is a disclaimer saying, “The content made in this video should be considered for entertainment purpose only, information contained herein is not intended to be source of advice or credit analysis with respect to the information presented, any action you take inspiring from this video is strictly at your own risk and we will not be liable for any losses and damages in connection with the use of information available in this video”.
Other posts:
Previously, when similar scripted and other unrelated visuals were shared as real kidnapping incidents, FACTLY debunked those posts and published fact-check articles, which can be read below:
The police have also appealed to people to not share such kidnapping rumours and report to them if they find anybody suspicious. Some of the tweets made by the police can be seen here, here, and here.
To sum it up, unrelated visuals and scripted videos are being falsely shared with child kidnapping rumours.

created: September 26, 2022


text:
Unrelated visuals are falsely linked to Asaduddin Owaisi’s campaign for upcoming UP elections - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 20, 2021
With Assembly Elections in Uttar Pradesh scheduled to be held early next year (2022), a couple of photos are being shared on social media as related to the election campaign. Let us fact-check the claim made in the posts.
Photo 1: (archived)
Claim 1: Photo of crowd welcoming Asaduddin Owaisi in UP.
Fact: This photo is from a religious procession from Chittagong, Bangladesh taken in November 2019. AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi had begun preparations for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, and he visited Sambhal and Moradabad districts of western UP. But this photo is not related to Owaisi being welcomed in UP. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When a reverse image search was done on the photo, a YouTube video with similar visuals was found. This video was uploaded on 13 November 2019 with the title, ‘Celebration procession Chittagong’. Similar visuals of the procession van could be seen in the video.
Taking a cue that this video is from Chittagong, Bangladesh; we searched for videos with relevant keywords and found several YouTube videos of religious procession in Chittagong, Bangladesh in 2019 (the videos can be seen here, here and here). This Jashne Juluse Eid-E-Miladunnabi was observed in Chittagong, Bangladesh in 2019; according to an article, ‘the holy Eid-e-Miladunnabi is the day of birth and demise of Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PHUH), was observed in the country with due religious solemnity.’ A Facebook post published on 15 November 2019 had a video with the same visual as in the post. So, the posted photo is not related to Owaisi being welcomed in UP.
According to ABP news article, AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi had started preparations for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections and he visited Sambhal and Moradabad districts of western UP.
Photo 2: (archived)
Claim 2: Photo of Asaduddin Owaisi meeting Amit Shah in relation to upcoming UP elections.
Fact: This photo is morphed and made using two different images. Amit Shah’s image had been edited from a photo taken when Capt. Amarinder Singh met him in relation to farmer’s issues. Owaisi’s image had been edited out from that when Owaisi along with his brother Akbaruddin Owaisi met Principal Secretary MA&UD Mr. Arvind Kumar and GHMC Commissioner Janardhan Reddy; Owaisi gave a memorandum for construction of new bridges adjacent to Nayapul. There are no recent news articles which say that Amit Shah and Owaisi met each other. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched for images of Asaduddin Owaisi meeting Amit Shah, we could not find any images of them together on the internet. When individual images of Owaisi and Amit Shah are cropped and reverse image searched, we found that the photo in the post was made using two different images. Amit Shah’s image had been edited out from an image when Capt. Amarinder Singh met with Amit Shah in 2020 to resolve farmers’ issues. Owaisi’s image had been edited out from the image, when Owaisi along with his brother Akbaruddin Owaisi met Principal Secretary MA&UD Mr. Arvind Kumar and GHMC Commissioner Janardhan Reddy. Owaisi gave a memorandum for the construction of new bridges adjacent to Nayapul.
Asaduddin Owaisi meeting Amit Shah is usually revived whenever elections are around the corner. An ex-BJP MLA had claimed that Amit Shah and Asaduddin Owaisi struck a secret deal for Bihar polls. This claim was made in 2016. However, there are no recent news articles that say that Amit Shah and Owaisi met each other in relation to striking a political deal.
To sum it up, old and edited photos are being falsely shared in the context of Asaduddin Owaisi’s campaign for the upcoming UP elections.


text:
Unrelated visuals are falsely shared as Pakistani jets used on resistance forces in Panjshir - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 7, 2021
With the Taliban claiming victory over opposition forces in the Panjshir valley, a video and a couple of photos are being shared on social media as Pakistani jets’ presence amidst the ongoing fight between resistance forces in Panjshir and the Taliban. Let us fact-check the claims made in the posts.
Video: (archived)
Claim 1: Video of Pakistani Jet used on resistance forces in Panjshir recently.
Fact: The video is of an F-15 fighter aircraft from Mach Loop, Wales in the United Kingdom. Mach Loop is notable for its use as low-level training area for fast jet aircraft. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When looking into the video, a Twitter user’s reply was that the jet was an F-15 and that the Pakistan Airforce doesn’t have any F-15s.
When reverse image search is done on the screenshots of the video with relevant keywords (taking the cue that this jet is an F-15), we found a similar YouTube video with the same terrain. The YouTube video is of an F-15 flying in the Mach Loop, which is in Wales, United Kingdom.
The terrain in both the videos looks the same. The curves of the roads are visible in the background of viral video and in the F-15 jet video flying at the Mach Loop.
The trees raised on the side of the mountain are visible in both videos. These are similar raised positions.
A Twitter user shared the location of the viral video in one of its tweets. He too says in the tweet that the alleged Pakistan fighter jet inside Panjshir valley is actually from Mach Loop, Wales.
There are many videos from Mach Loop, Wales which is notable for its use as low-level training area for fast jet aircraft. The videos can be seen here, here, and here.
Photos: (archived)
Claim 2: Photos of Pakistan’s helicopter and fighter jet downed in Panjshir recently.
Fact: The first photo is from a Wikimedia commons file dated 09 August 2002. It is a Pakistan Army helicopter at the Skardu Airport in Northern areas, Pakistan. The second photo is of an F-16 crash at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, United States of America in April 2018. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Photo 1:
When reverse image search is done on the photo, a Wikimedia commons file was found with the same image. According to the summary of the file, the helicopter in the image is a Pakistan Army helicopter at the Skardu Airport in the Northern areas, Pakistan. The date mentioned is 09 August 2002. The photo can be confirmed to be old as the same image was used in several articles written prior to the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan (here and here).
Photo 2:
When reverse image search is done on the photo, a news article published on 24 April 2018 with the same image was found. The photo is of an F-16 crash at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, United States of America. News reports about the incident can be seen here and here.
On 06 September 2021, the Taliban claimed victory over the Panjshir valley, a stronghold of the resistance forces. The Taliban declared the complete takeover of Afghanistan and promised to announce a government soon. However, the resistance forces have denied claims by the Taliban that they have completely captured Panjshir. The National Resistance Front (NRF) leader Ahmad Massoud called for a ‘national uprising’ against the Taliban after their claims.
Though Pakistan denies supporting the Taliban, it is well known that there is a close affiliation between Pakistan and the Taliban which gives credence to the claims about Pakistan’s support to the Taliban taking over Panjshir. However, these photos and videos are not related to the recent resistance in Afghanistan.
To sum it up, unrelated photos and videos are falsely shared as Pakistani jets used on resistance forces in Panjshir.

created: September 7, 2021


text:
Unrelated visuals are shared as Palestinians faking injuries and death amid the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 18, 2023
In light of the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, a widely circulated video alleges Palestinians are faking injuries to garner sympathy. Additionally, another video depicts a group of young men seemingly orchestrating a funeral procession with similar implications. Through this article let’s fact-check the authenticity of these videos.
Claim: Visuals showing Palestinians faking injuries and orchestrating a funeral procession amid the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.
Fact: These visuals are unrelated to the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. While one of the videos shows Palestinian makeup artist creating injuries on actors as part of film project, another video, which dates back to 2020, shows few young Jordanian men attempting to circumvent the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in their country by pretending to hold a funeral. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Video 1:
The visuals in this video are set in Palestine. However, they do not depict Palestinians faking injuries for the purpose of eliciting sympathy, as suggested in the post. Instead, the footage showcases Mariam Salah, a Palestinian makeup artist, applying makeup as part of a film production.
Performing a reverse image search on the screenshots from the viral video led us to a news report carrying identical visuals. The news story published in March 2017 highlights the journey of a Palestinian female makeup artist in a predominantly male-dominated industry. According to the report, the visuals capture Mariam Salah skillfully creating unsettling injuries on actors involved in a project undertaken by the French charity called ‘Doctors of the World’.
Hence, these reports establish that the viral visuals are not related to the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.
Video 2:
The footage depicting young men staging a funeral dates back to 2020. In reality, it portrays a small group of young Jordanian men attempting to circumvent the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in their country by pretending to hold a funeral.
A reverse image search of the screenshots of the viral video yielded multiple news reports that reported the same visuals (here, here & here). These reports described the procession as a “fake funeral” by a few young Jordanian men who were trying to evade the country’s COVID-19 lockdown rules.
طرائف #كورونا.. شبان أردنيون ابتدعوا حيلة للخروج من المنزل فأقاموا جنازة وهمية لصديقهم.. وهذا ما حدث معهم فور سماعهم صافرات إنذار #حظر_التجول #حظر_كامل #الأردن #الاردن_كورونا #غرائب #StayAtHome #StayAtHomeSaveLives #حول_العالم #فيروس_كورونا_المستجدّ pic.twitter.com/zgynhTOZHS
Thus, these reports establish that the visuals have nothing to do with the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.
To sum it up, unrelated visuals are being shared attributing them to the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.

created: October 18, 2023


text:
Unrelated visuals are shared as purported evidence of aliens and strange objects on cosmic bodies like the Moon and Mars - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 12, 2023
In an era where various space agencies from multiple nations are launching space missions, a wealth of information has surfaced about alien encounters and the discovery of strange objects on celestial bodies such as the Moon, Mars, etc. In this article, let’s verify the claims made in each respective video.
Video 1:
This video claims that the Chandrayaan-3’s Pragyaan rover has sent a video of an Alien roaming on the lunar surface to ISRO. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
We searched through the official website and social media handles of ISRO and found no such footage shared by the Pragyaan rover or Vikram Lander. Also, ISRO did not confirm the presence of aliens on the moon. A reverse image search of the viral video reveals it has been used for many years to spread conspiracy theories about alleged alien sightings on the moon. NASA did not release this video and no credible media outlet confirms it, which makes it clear this is an edited footage and not a real one.
Video 2:
Another video is being shared claiming that NASA’s perseverance and the Curiosity rover have found strange objects on the surface of the moon. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
The video suggests that NASA’s rovers spotted a snake among Mars’ rocks. However, NASA never confirmed this. Experts believe it could be Pareidolia, where people see specific images in random patterns. NASA asserts they haven’t found life on Mars yet. Also, the video shows random images it labels as a wheel & axle, coffin, etc., but neither NASA nor scientists have confirmed these claims. An article that explains the strange images captured by NASA’s rovers can be read here.

created: September 12, 2023


text:
Unrelated visuals falsely shared as Delhi’s Jama Masjid Imam Ahmad Bukhari joining BJP - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 16, 2023
A video is being shared on social media claiming that Ahmad Bukhari, the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid in Delhi, had joined BJP in fear of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and IT raids from the BJP government. The video shows Ahmad Bukhari being felicitated with a garland in the presence of BJP leader Dr. Harsh Vardhan. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video showing Delhi’s Jama Masjid Imam Ahmad Bukhari joining BJP in the presence of Harsh Vardhan and other BJP leaders.
Fact: The video shows the visuals from a foundation stone laying event of a toilet near Gate number 1 of Delhi’s Jama Masjid. Jama Masjid Imam Ahmad Bukhari, former BJP Minority Morcha President Abdul Rashid and a few other leaders from BJP attended this event organised by Dr. Harsh Vardhan. The video does not show Jama Masjid Imam Ahmad Bukhari joining BJP. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
When we searched for the video using relevant keywords on the internet, a video with similar visuals was found published by a Facebook user saying that the video is from an event organised for laying the foundation stone of a toilet near the Jama Masjid in Delhi. When we searched for further details, we found several tweets related to this event on the official Twitter handle of Dr. Harsh Vardhan. Harsh Vardhan in a tweet stated that the visuals are from an event of laying the foundation stone of a toilet to be built from his MP funds.
#SwachhBharat के तहत शौचालयों का निर्माण गरिमा के साथ सभी के लिए जबरदस्त स्वास्थ्य लाभ लेकर आया है खासतौर से महिलाओं के लिए।
इसी क्रम में आज मैंने अपने सांसद निधि से दिल्ली की 'जामा मस्जिद' के गेट नंबर 01 के पास एक शौचालय का शिलान्यास किया।@swachhbharat @BJP4Delhi #JamaMasjid pic.twitter.com/jfTss4oaBm
Harsh Vardhan said he had laid the foundation stone of a toilet near Gate 01 of Jama Masjid in the presence of Jama Masjid Imam Ahmad Bukhari, former BJP Minority Morcha President Abdul Rashid and a few other leaders from BJP. Harsh Vardhan tweeted another video of Ahmad Bukhari’s addressing during the event. A few more images from this event can be seen here.
आदरणीय शाही इमाम बुखारी साहब, आपके ये शब्द मेरे लिए किसी आशीर्वाद से कम नहीं।
आपके इन्हीं शब्दों से मुझे क्षेत्रवासियों की अविरत सेवा करने का बल मिलता है।
जामा मस्जिद का क्षेत्र तो मेरे मन में रचा-बसा है। इसके आस-पास ही मेरा बचपन बीता है। @BJP4Delhi #JamaMasjid pic.twitter.com/EtMDqe8sCG
Several news websites have reported that Jama Masjid Imam Ahmad Bukhari had condemned these social media rumours about him joining BJP.
To sum it up, a video from a foundation stone laying event of a toilet outside Jama Masjid is falsely shared as visuals of Jama Masjid Imam Ahmad Bukhari joining BJP in presence of BJP leaders.


text:
Unrelated visuals of a brawl at an supermarket under fire in UK shared with false communal narrative - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 13, 2022
A video of group of people involved in a brawl in the street infront of a supermarket which was ablaze is being widely shared on social media. It is being claimed that Muslim radicals have burnt down a Hindu Temple in Birmingham and are openly attacking the Hindus, and that the video related to that incident. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Visuals of Muslims attacking Hindus in Birmingham, UK after setting fire to a Hindu Temple.
Fact: According to the West Midlands Police and media reports, the video shows a fire at Birmingham on 19 September which was caused accidentally when a rubbish fire spread to the building. Also, the fight was related to a parking issue near the supermarket and was an isolated incident. Moreover, there were no temples at the site of fire accident. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
We searched the internet with the relevant keywords and found news reports by BBC, DailyMail, BirminghamMail.
According to these reports, a fire broke out at Zeenat Supermarket in Alum Rock Road on 19 September 2022. Fire engines were called to douse the fire. Meanwhile, some people started to fight in the street in front of the store. The fight reportedly broke when a driver refused to move his car as the fire broke.
As the rumours about Hindu temple being burnt went viral, West Midlands Police clarified that the video shows the fire at a supermarket in Birmingham on 19 September 2022, which was caused accidentally when a rubbish fire spread to the building. The fight was connected to a parking issue, and it was an isolated incident. The tweets can be seen here and here.
This is false. The video shows a fire at a supermarket in Birmingham on 19 September which was caused accidentally when a rubbish fire spread to the building.
We believe the fight was connected to an issue with the parking of some cars and that it was an isolated incident.
The west Midlands Fire department also reported the same.  Moreover, there were no temples surrounding the fire accident spot.
To sum it up, an unrelated isolated incident at Birmingham is shared with a false communal narrative.

created: October 13, 2022


text:
Unrelated visuals shared as footage captured by Chandrayaan-3 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 6, 2023
After the successful soft landing of Chandrayaan-3’s Lander Module on the lunar surface on 23 August 2023, and the subsequent deployment of the Pragyan rover, several visuals claiming to be from Chandrayaan-3 have been extensively circulated on social media. This article aims to verify each of these visuals.
Update (06 September 2023):
Another video is being shared as the footage of the moon captured by the Chandrayaan-3. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
A reverse image search of the viral video directed us to identical visuals present on NASA’s official website. The rover featured in the video is none other than “Curiosity,” which NASA launched to Mars in 2011. The website disclosed that this image was made by combining numerous photos captured by the rover’s handheld camera during the period between April and May 2014. Footage released by ISRO following the landing of Chandrayaan-3 can be seen here.
Update (29 August 2023):
Another image is circulating widely on social media, claiming to depict the view of the Earth captured by Chandrayaan-3 from the lunar surface. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Conducting a reverse image search on the viral image led us to a news report published by Wion News on 23 August 2023 around 11 a.m., just a few hours prior to the Chandrayaan-3 Vikram Lander’s lunar surface landing. The report further indicated that the image is an AI-generated representation depicting how Earth might appear from the Moon. However, as of the time of writing this article, ISRO has not yet released the images captured by Chandrayaan-3 post-landing. An image of the Earth, captured by the Lander Imager camera aboard Chandrayaan-3 on 14 July 2023 – the day of its launch – can be seen here.
Update (28 August 2023):
Visual 1:
Another video depicting the scenery of an unidentified location is being widely shared on social media, with claims that it showcases visuals from the Chandrayaan-3. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Upon close examination, we noticed a watermark reading “Tavi Technical Space” on the viral video. Additionally, at the 27-second mark, there is a subtitle that reads, ‘The scene was captured with the Curiosity Rover…‘. Based on these clues, we conducted further investigation and successfully located the original video. This video, presented in colour, aligns with the visuals showcased in the viral video. The original video was uploaded to the YouTube channel ‘Tavi Technical Space’ on 08 August 2023. Both the title and the description of the video confirm that it was captured by the Curiosity rover’s onboard Mast cams on Mars, specifically on the 3899th Martain Day or Sol. For more comprehensive details regarding the visuals of the viral video, one can refer to the NASA official website.
Visual 2:
Another image, which presents a close-up view of a rock, is being shared on social media claiming that the picture was taken by Chandrayaan-3. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Conducting a reverse image search on the viral video directed us to the primary video released on the YouTube Channel titled “Infinity” on 20 August 2023. Nonetheless, the video attributes the content to be recorded by NASA’s Curiosity rover on Mars during Sol 3921. Based on this information, we proceeded to search for the image on the NASA website, confirming its authenticity.
Visual 3:
Another video is being widely shared on social media claiming to show the Visuals of the Lunar South Pole sent by the Chandrayaan-3. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Upon investigation, we discovered that the video comprises several segments, and by conducting a reverse image search for each individual frame, we were able to trace them back to their original sources. The initial segment showcases an image taken by NASA’s Curiosity rover on Mars during Sol 2667. Subsequently, the following section features a compilation of images depicting the rock that was drilled by the Perseverance rover on Mars during Sol 850.
Visual 4:
Another video, which presents a close-up view of a rock, is being shared on social media claiming that the picture was taken by Chandrayaan-3. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Conducting a reverse image search on the viral visuals, we traced their origin to the original video uploaded on the YouTube channel ‘Som ET’ on 25 July 2023. The video labels the image as one captured by the MAST_RIGHT camera aboard NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 837. Taking a cue from this information, we proceeded to compare the visuals available on the NASA website for the same date, confirming their authenticity.
Published (25 August 2023):
Visual 1:
A video claiming to show the planet Earth from the surface of the moon is being shared as the recording from the Chandrayaan-3. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Reverse image search of the keyframes extracted from the viral video led us to the original video posted by a user named Mithilesh Keshari on X (formerly Twitter) on 20 August 2023. However, he clarified that the video was AI-generated and not real footage from Chandrayaan-3. Furthermore, the Earth footage (here & here) captured by Chandrayaan-3 and released by ISRO does not align with the visuals depicted in the viral video.
It’s AI generated and people should use common sense that no one reached with such HD camera to shoot Video. 😂
Visual 2:
Another photo is being shared on social media, with the claim that it depicts visuals of Mars captured by Chandrayaan-3 against the lunar horizon. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
A reverse image search of the viral image has led us to the original photo published on NASA’s website on 15 August 2020. According to the description, the image was taken from Earth using a space telescope. The photograph, captured by Sergio Scauso from Argentina, features the moon in the foreground and Mars in the background.

created: September 6, 2023


text:
Unrelated photos shared as that of Ukraine’s first female pilot killed during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 12, 2022
A video is being shared on social media claiming that Ukraine’s first female fighter pilot, Natasha Perakov, died at the age of 28 during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. This post shared a video of a lady pilot operating a jet plane and a picture of a woman dressed in a camouflage outfit. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of Natasha Perokov, the Ukraine’s first female fighter pilot who died during the war with Russia.
Fact: Neither the Ukrainian military nor the Ukrainian authorities have mentioned anything about the death of a female pilot during the ongoing war with Russia. Ukraine’s first female combat pilot was Nadiya Savchenko and she is still alive. While the video shared in the post shows a female pilot demonstrating the operation of Air Combat Command F-35A Lightning, the photo shows a model dressed in a fake military outfit. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Video:
On reverse image search of the screenshots in the video, a video with similar visuals was found published by the ‘spencerhughes2255’ YouTube channel on 20 September 2021. The description of the video stated it as visuals of Major Kristin Beo Wolfe performing the Air Combat Command F-35A Lightning II demonstration
Photo:
On reverse image search of the photo, we found that the ‘Ukraine War News 24’ channel has tweeted the same photo mentioning her as the first female fighter Natasha Perakov. A journalist named Nga Pham has responded to this tweet and clarified that the picture was taken from a website that sells fake military outfits. Nga Pham through another tweet provided the sources from which he had found the image. This photo of a woman in a military camouflage was available on different e-commerce websites. They can be seen here and here.
When we searched with relevant keywords, we found the details of Ukraine’s first female pilot in an article published by the ‘Los Angels Times’. This article mentioned Ukraine’s first female pilot’s name as Nadiya Savchenko. According to the details provided in the article, Nadiya Savchenko was captured by pro-Russian separatist militants in June 2014 amid a conflict in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in southeastern Ukraine. Russian Court sentenced Nadiya Savchenko to 22 years in jail in connection with the deaths of two Russian journalists. After spending two years in jail, Nadiya Savchenko was freed in a prisoner exchange with Russia. Lately, Nadiya Savchenko shared multiple videos and photos on her social media handles. They can be seen here and here. Neither the Ukrainian military nor the Ukrainian authorities have mentioned anything about the death of a female pilot named Natasha Perokov.
To sum it up, unrelated visuals are shared as that of Ukraine’s first female pilot killed during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.


text:
Unrelated visuals shared as visuals of attacks on Biharis in Tamil Nadu - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 10, 2023
The alleged attacks on Biharis in Tamil Nadu, as depicted in several videos circulating on social media, have raised concerns about their authenticity. This article aims to verify the accuracy and context of these videos to prevent the spread of misinformation and confusion among the public.
Update (10 March 2023):
In wake of the recent spread of misinformation about alleged attacks on Bihari migrant labourers in Tamil Nadu, another video of a crowded train, wherein passengers can be seen clinging onto the doors is being widely shared. The video is being shared with a caption ‘Tamil Nadu to Bihar’, implying that the visuals show fleeing migrant labourers from Tamil Nadu.
However, the visuals do not show any Tamilnadu bound train. Upon carful observation we can spot the name of the train at one timestamp of the video. Further, using some digital image editing tools we found the name of the train as ‘PALAMU EXPRESS’.
According to the Indian railwyas, Palamu Express plies between Patna Junction in Bihar and Barkakana Junction in Jharkhand Which implies these visuals do not show any train plying from Tamil Nadu.
Also, we came across few social media posts which shared the same visuals in January 2023 (here & here), much earlier than the recent spread of misinformation alleging attacks on migrant labourers in Bihar. Hence, these visuals have nothing to do with the Tamil Nadu/Bihar migrants.
Update (09 March 2023):
Lately another video, which claims to show attack on Bihari migrant workers in Tamil Nadu is being circulated widely.
These visuals have been circulating on Arabic social media circles, in February 2023, much before than the recent events of misinformation about attack on migrant workers in Tamil Nadu came to light. Reverse image search of these visuals yielded multiple Arabic news reports which reported the same visuals (here, here & here).
Multiple Saudi based Arabic news articles, dating back to February 2023 reported these visuals as fight between construction workers on the roof of a building under construction. Although these articles did not provide the details about the specific location and context of the quarrel, the availability of these visuals on internet establishes the fact that they have nothing to do with Bihari migrant workers in Tamil Nadu.
Further, we could not find any news reports of migrant’s workers attacked in an under construction building in Tamil Nadu, which further confirms that these visuals have nothing to do with Tamil Nadu.
Update (08 March 2023):
Another video which claims to show attack on Bihari migrant workers in Tamil Nadu is being circulated on social media platforms.
However, these visuals do not show any attack on Bihari migrant labours in Tamil Nadu. These visuals are related to post-poll violence that broke out between Tripa Motha & BJP supporters in Tripura, earlier this month.
Few local news agencies reported the same visuals attributing them to the post-poll violence between Tripa Motha and BJP supporters (here, here & here).
Further, multiple mainstream news agencies reported this post-poll violence, which broke out recently in Tripura. These reports can be viewed here & here.
Update (06 March 2023):
Another video claiming to show attacks on Biharis in Tamil Nadu has been widely circulated on social media, purportedly showing locals attacking Biharis in the region. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Upon reverse image search, we found the name ‘BAYTUR’ written on the jackets of the people running in the video. We learnt that is a construction company in Saudi Arabia. We then searched TikTok using relevant hashtags and found that the same video was uploaded a few days ago with the title, “duty time #saudiarabia🇸🇦 #saudiarabia🇸🇦 #duet #WARK #BAYTUR #KSA”. The account also posts several similar videos related to construction workers. Some of them can be seen here, here, and here.
Another video claiming to show attacks on Biharis in Tamil Nadu has been widely circulated on social media. The video purportedly shows locals attacking Biharis in the region. Let’s verify the veracity of the video.
A reverse image search of the visuals from the viral video has revealed that the video is not related to the alleged incident. Instead, the video is from the Nigerian city of Abeokuta and has been widely circulated on social media in Nigeria. Several activists and local media reports have already reported on these visuals (here, here, and here). The context of the video is that the Nigerian government recently announced demonetisation. This caused long queues at banks for exchanging old notes and getting new ones, as well as difficulties in buying essential goods. Violent demonstrations broke out in many cities of Nigeria due to these factors.
Another video claiming to show attacks on Biharis in Tamil Nadu has been widely circulated on social media, purportedly showing locals attacking Biharis in the region. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
A reverse image search of the viral video claiming to show the alleged attack on Biharis in Tamil Nadu revealed that the video is at least five years old and, therefore, does not depict any recent incidents. The video has been circulating on social media platforms for several years and has been misattributed to different incidents.
Another video claiming to show attacks on Biharis in Tamil Nadu has been widely circulated on social media, purportedly showing locals attacking Biharis in the region. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
After conducting an internet search with relevant keywords, we found news reports by ETV Bharat and News18 on the same issue. According to these reports, the incident occurred in Gujarat’s Surendranagar in July 2022. Two groups of people clashed over a wild boar, resulting in injuries to four people who were later shifted to a nearby hospital.
Published (03 March 2023):
In the wake of reports of alleged attacks on North Indians in Tamil Nadu, Two disturbing visuals of assailants assaulting a person are being widely shared with a claim that visuals show an attack on Biharis in Tamil Nadu for speaking in Hindi.  Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Visuals showing attack on Biharis in Tamil Nadu for speaking Hindi.
Fact: These visuals are related to two different incidents of murder, reportedly in Hyderabad and Coimbatore. While the Hyderabad incident is attributed to financial disputes, the Coimbatore incident is reportedly an act of retaliation of a gang war. These visuals have nothing to do with Biharis. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
First Clip
These visuals of a man being assaulted are from Hyderabad and this incident has nothing to do with speaking in Hindi.
Reverse image search of the viral visuals yielded multiple news reports which reported the same visuals. As per these reports, the incident took place on 22 January 2023 in Hyderabad’s Jiyaguda, wherein three assailants, armed with machetes, chased, and attacked the victim on Jiyaguda bypass road.
As the incident happened in a broad daylight on a road, the incident was captured by commuters. And thus, several journalists shared these visuals on twitter, a few of which can be seen here and here.
Earlier in February 2023, police arrested the culprits and presented them in front of the media. As per the police, the victim is identified as Sainath, a resident of Esamia Bazar in Koti. As per the police, financial disputes led to the murder of the victim.
Second Clip:
These visuals are related to an incident of gang war that led to murder of a young man in Coimbatore. The incident is reported in February 2023.
Reverse image search of these visuals yielded multiple news reports which carried these visuals. As per these reports, two men were attacked by a five-member gang, when the two had come to court to attend a hearing.
The police had identified the victims as Gokul and Manoj. While Gokul is reportedly dead, Manoj escaped with injuries. As per the police, Gokul is one of the accused involved in the murder of 22 year old youth in Coimbatore in December 2021. The police also said that the attack on Gokul could be an act of retaliation by the opposite gang.
Multiple news agencies reported the incident (here, here & here), however, none of these reports claimed that the incident as an attack on Biharis for speaking in Hindi.
To sum it up, unrelated visuals are being shared as visuals showing attacks on Biharis in Tamil Nadu.


text:
UP Government did not notify a ‘special exam’ for 10th and 12th class students aspiring for government jobs - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 12, 2021
A post with the screengrab of a News18 report is being widely shared on social media claiming that the Yogi Adithyanath government in Uttar Pradesh is going to conduct special exams for 10 and 12 class students. The post even claims through the screengrab that the students who were promoted in 10 and 12 must give a special exam if one is aspiring for a government job. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: UP Government notified a ‘special exam’ for 10 and 12 class students aspiring for government jobs.
Fact: UP Government had not notified a ‘special exam’ for 10 and 12 class students aspiring for government jobs. A notification was released by the Assam government that no student would be able to apply for a state government post if he/she doesn’t apply for the ‘special exam’. However, it was decided on 08 July 2021 that this ‘special exam’ would be removed, after opposition from various student organisations. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
We searched for news articles about the claim made in the post and found the original News18 report published on 07 July 2021. The article talks about a notification released by the Assam government and not the UP government.
Due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, state governments across the country had cancelled the board examinations of class 10 and class 12 students. So, a notification was released by the Assam government notifying a special exam. As per the then notification released by the Assam government, no student would be able to apply for a state government post if he/she doesn’t apply for this special exam.
However, this idea of a special exam was opposed by various student organisations. Subsequently, Chief Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma held a meeting with the representatives of AASU (All Assam Students’ Union), ABSU (All Bodo Students’ Union) and AJYCP (Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad) to discuss the alternative method of evaluation necessitated by the cancellation of 10 and 12 exams. Hence, it was decided on 08 July 2021 that this ‘special exam’ (alternative evaluation formula according to clause 5 of government notification) would be removed.
It is decided that clause 5 of the govt notification issued regarding alternative evaluation formula on the basis of expert committee report would be removed. The certificates & mark sheets provided under the formula would be valid in applying for higher education, jobs etc. 2/3 pic.twitter.com/gnYyYxhFdo
There are no news reports about the UP government notifying a ‘special exam’ for 10 and 12 class students aspiring for government jobs.
To sum it up, UP Government did not notify a ‘special exam’ for 10 and 12 class students aspiring for government jobs.


text:
UP government introduced GST on Church offerings? No, it’s an edited newspaper clipping - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 21, 2021
A newspaper clipping is being shared on social media with a claim that the Uttar Pradesh BJP government introduced 6% Goods and Services Tax (GST) on Sunday Church Mass offertory money. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Newspaper clipping about UP BJP government introducing 6% GST on Sunday Church Mass offertory money.
Fact: It is an edited newspaper clipping. The original newspaper was published on 11 January 2010 i.e. much before the government started imposing GST in the country. Also, no information was found regarding the UP BJP government introducing 6% GST on Sunday Church Mass offertory money. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the photo was run through Google Reverse Image Search, the complete image of the same newspaper clipping was found in the search results. But the headline mentioned in the social media post is not on this page.  The original headline reads – ‘Ex-PM Gowda spews abuse at K’taka CM’, an incident which took place in January 2010. Also, in the posted newspaper clipping, it can be seen that the headline of the UP article is not centrally aligned (all other major headlines in the newspaper are centrally aligned) and the photo of H D Deve Gowda can be seen.
The newspaper image was found on the ‘Kisko’ website. It mentions that the newspaper was published on 11 January 2010. Some of the articles mentioned in the newspaper image can be found published on the website of ‘The Times of India’ on 11 January 2010. Also, Zaheer Khan photo was published in the 11 January 2010 newspaper because he won the ‘Man of the Match’ for his performance in India vs Sri Lanka match at Dhaka on 10 January 2010.  However, GST came into effect on 01 July 2017. So, it can be concluded that the posted newspaper clipping is edited. Also, no information was found regarding the UP BJP government introducing 6% GST on Sunday Church Mass offertory money.
To sum it up, edited newspaper clipping is being shared to falsely claim that the UP BJP government introduced GST on Sunday Church Mass offertory money.

created: January 21, 2021


text:
UP government’s directive regarding screening of police personnel who have completed 50 years, is falsely linked to other departments - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 16, 2021
A post accompanying the screenshot of a Hindi news article the title of which loosely translates to ‘UP government will retire employees who have crossed the age of 50, instructions given to all departments’ is being shared widely across all social media platforms. Let’s fact-check the veracity of the claim.
Claim: UP government will retire employees who have crossed the age of 50, instructions given to all departments.
Fact: Uttar Pradesh’s ADG has recently issued a directive seeking screening of personnel who have completed 50 years of age. Similar orders have been issued concerning all the government departments back in 2017 & 2018. However the recent directive is strictly confined to police department and no such recent orders are issued regarding other departments. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
The screenshot shared is in the post is of a news article published by Avadhbhumi news. The article claims that ‘UP government will retire employees who have crossed the age of 50, and instructions have been given to all departments in this regard’.
50 साल की उम्र पार कर चुके कर्मचारियों को रिटायर करेगी यूपी सरकार, सभी विभागों को दिया गया निर्देश https://t.co/418Dx6MKN9
However, Google search with keywords yielded us multiple news articles (here & here) which reported UP ADG’s directive for screening of police personnel who have completed 50 years of age by 31 March 2021, in order to ‘weed out incompetent, undisciplined and corrupt cops across the state and give them compulsory retirement’.
It is true that the UP government has issued similar orders back in 2017 & 2018 seeking review of the employees above 50 in all departments and recommending retirement to those who were found incompetent in performing his/her duties (here & here). However, this recent directive is strictly confined to police department and there is no information about recent issuance of similar directives concerning other government departments as claimed in the post.
Hence, from the above information we can infer that UP government’s recent directive regarding screening of personnel who completed 50 years in police department is wrongly linked to all other government departments.
To sum it up, the UP government’s directive regarding screening of police personnel who have completed 50 years, is wrongly linked to other departments.

created: September 16, 2021


text:
UP Govt asked for data on Brahmins with arms licenses in August 2020 but retracted the request later - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 23, 2022
A post is being widely shared on social media claiming that the UP Government has ordered to count the arms licenses held by Brahmins in the state. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: UP Government has ordered to count the arms licenses held by the Brahmins in the state
Fact: On August 2020, BJP MLA Devmani Dwivedi sent a note to UP Assembly Principal Secretary Pradeep Dubey seeking information on security plans for Brahmins in the state. Regarding this, the Home Department sent a letter to the district magistrates on 18 August 2020 to send the data on the number of arms licenses issued to Brahmins. However, this request was retracted shortly later. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
We searched the internet with relevant keywords and found reports by Indian Express, BBC, and Aaj Tak on 31 August 2020.
As per the reports, on 16 August 2020, Devmani Dwivedi, a BJP member of the legislative assembly from Sultanpur, sent a note to Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Principal Secretary Pradeep Dubey, seeking information on: How many Brahmins have been killed in the present regime? How many killers have been arrested? What are the security plans for Brahmins? Will the government provide them with weapon licenses on priority?
Following this, the State Home Department sent a letter to the District Magistrates on 18 August 2020 and sought details of the same. “How many Brahmins applied for arms licenses and how many were issued,” the letter read – “Please provide this information pointwise with supplementary material by August 21, 2020, on e-mail.” When ‘Indian Express‘ contacted them, Pradeep Dubey said: “We did not seek any such information from the government and no such question was accepted.” Dwivedi replied, “I have no information about it, and I am out of touch”. However, a senior official signalled backtracking by the government and said the details “are no longer being pursued.”
Several opposition leaders had then attacked the Adityanath government for its perceived neglect of the Brahmin community. This gained momentum after the police action against Vikas Dubey, a gangster in Kanpur, and his associates, who were brahmins.
To sum it up, the UP government asked for data on Brahmins with arms licenses in August 2020 but retracted the request immediately after.

created: December 23, 2022


text:
UP Police thrashed the person in this video over charges of theft, not for saying ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 21, 2022
A video through a post is being widely shared on social media claiming that Uttar Pradesh Police were thrashing a person after ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans were raised. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of UP Police thrashing a person for saying ‘Pakistan Zindabad’.
Fact: The incident is from Chandauli district of UP, where policemen had brutally beat up children as they were caught over charges of theft in a mobile shop; not because the person had said ‘Pakistan Zindabad’. According to Chandauli Police, the video is more than a year old, where both the policemen involved were suspended after the incident. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When reverse image search is done on the screenshots of the video, videos (here and here) with similar visuals were found on social media at least since May 2021, with the claim that police were beating the people because of theft charges. The posts claim that the incident was from Mathela village in Chandauli district of UP, where policemen brutally beat up children on the charges of theft. Nowhere in these older posts does it say that the police have beaten the person because he said ‘Pakistan Zindabad’.
यूपी के चंदौली जिले के बलुआ थाना क्षेत्र के मथेला गांव का बताया जा रहा है जहां कैलावर चौकी प्रभारी शिवानन्द वर्मा द्वारा चोरी के आरोप में नाबालिग बच्चों की बेरहमी से पिटाई की
यह वही पुलिस है जो @LambaAlka जी को जान से मारने की धमकी देने वाले को और नरसिंह को आज तक पकड़ नही पाई! pic.twitter.com/1LuoxkgYAq
When we searched in google with relevant keywords, news reports which reported about the incident were found. A similar video posted by Times of India shows the policeman beating some persons over allegations of mobile theft. It has been reported that the police personnel beat up children as they were caught over charges of theft in a mobile shop. After the video of the incident went viral, SP Amit Kumar had suspended Kailawar outpost in-charge Shivanand Verma and head constable Dilip Kumar of the Balua Police Station (in Chandauli district of UP).
The official Twitter handle of Chandauli Police had tweeted on 20 March 2022, saying that the viral video is more than a year old and that both the policemen involved in the incident were suspended after the incident. In the same tweet, the Chandauli Police have appealed to people to not circulate such information without full facts and clear information.
प्रकरण एक वर्ष से अधिक पुराना है जिसमें बच्चे के साथ किए गए अमानवीय व्यवहार के कारण तत्समय दोनों पुलिसकर्मियों को निलंबित करते हुए विभागीय कार्रवाई की जा चुकी है। कृपया पूर्ण तथ्य एवं स्पष्ट जानकारी के बिना किसी चीज़ को प्रसारित करने से बचें।@UPPViralCheck https://t.co/7Tx0ncnOOg pic.twitter.com/CointCNYZY
To sum it up, an old video of UP Police beating up people over charges of theft is falsely shared as UP Police thrashing a person for saying ‘Pakistan Zindabad’.


text:
UP topped the states in crime against women, while the rate of crime against women speaks otherwise - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 6, 2020
A post with an image which states that UP stands in the first position in various aspects of crime like crimes against women, children etc. is doing rounds on social media. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: UP stands in first position among other states with respect to various aspects of crimes, like crime against women, children etc.
Fact: According to the Crime in India 2019 report released by the NCRB, Uttar Pradesh has reported the highest number of cases of crime against women and crime under the POCSO Act. As far as other aspects of crime mentioned in the claim, Uttar Pradesh is among the top three states. However, UP being the most populous state in the country, the total number of crimes against women will usually be more. The data related to the crime rate shows that Uttar Pradesh has reported 55.4 crimes per lakh population whereas the national average stood at 62.4. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has recently released Crime in India 2019 report in three volumes which talks at length about the crime profile of India. Let’s analyse each claim made in the post with the help of the report.
Crime against women:
According to the report, for three consecutive years i.e. 2017-19, Uttar Pradesh has topped in the number of crimes reported against women. For the year 2019, UP has reported 59,853 incidents of crime against women, the highest among the states, followed by Rajasthan with 41,550 incidents. Maharashtra with 37,144 incidents stood at third position.
Rape cases:
As per the report, Rajasthan with 5,997 incidents has registered the highest number of rape cases in the country followed by Uttar Pradesh with 3,065 registered rape cases. With 2,485 registered rape cases, Madhya Pradesh stood third.
Crime against the girl child:
NCRB did not distinguish the crime against the girl child in its report. However, as per the report for the year 2019, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are the top three states with 19,592, 19,028 and 18,943 registered cases of crime against children.
Crime under POCSO Act:
NCRB data reveals that with 3,383 registered cases under POCSO Act, Uttar Pradesh stood first in the country as far as crime against children under POCSO Act is considered. Madhya Pradesh with 3,349 cases stood next, whereas Maharashtra followed suit with 3,161 registered cases.
Crime against Women (Metropolitan City wise):
For the year 2019, Delhi has reported the highest number of cases under crime against women among the major metropolitan cities. Delhi has 12,902 registered cases followed by Mumbai with 6,519 cases.  Bengaluru with 3,486 registered cases of crime against women stood next to Delhi and Mumbai. Whereas, Lucknow with 2,425 cases stood sixth in the list.
Crime against women (District wise):
NCRB did not provide data on crime against women district wise. However, the report has enumerated the crime against women in major cities. Faridabad, Bhopal and Gwalior are the top three major cities which reported the greatest number of cases of crime against women.
However, the total incidents of crime do not actually reflect the true picture as the population is not uniform across all the states. Uttar Pradesh being the most populous state, the total number of cases of crime against women will usually be more. Data related to the crime rate against women speaks otherwise. Assam being a small state has recorded the highest rate of crime against women with 177.8 crimes per lakh population, followed by Rajasthan (110.4) and Haryana (108.5).
Though Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of crimes against women, it stood at eleventh position as far as rate of crime among states is considered with 55.4 per lakh reported crimes against women, whereas the national average stood at 61.3.
To sum it up, as far as various aspects of crime is considered UP is among the top three states., but the rate of crime of UP is not among the top ten.

created: October 6, 2020