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Unrelated photos falsely shared as mysterious tunnels in Dwaraka - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 9, 2021
A collage with a couple of images is being shared on social media claiming it as the pictures of mysterious tunnels in Dwaraka. This post claims that an English author named John Wood published a book about the mysterious tunnels in Dwaraka. Let’s verify the claims made in the post.
Claim: Photos of the mysterious tunnels in Dwaraka.
Fact: The first photo in the post shows a digitally created image, designed by a graphic designer named Batkya. The second photo shows a pedestrian tunnel constructed between Kamenovo beach and Rafailovici village in Montenegro. It is nowhere reported that an English author named John Wood, published a book on the Dwaraka Tunnels. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Photo-1:
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo was found in an art community website ‘DeviantArt’. It is mentioned as a digitally created image designed by a graphic designer named Batkya. Batkya published this image on the ‘Behance’ image sharing website.
Batkya (actual name Sergey Likhachev), is a graphic designer from Moscow city in Russia. He created this image as part of his ‘Lost City’ album. Batkya shared the making process of this image on his YouTube channel. ‘Creative Media’ also shared this video on their YouTube channel. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the photo shared in the post is a digitally created image.
Photo-2:
On the reverse image search, a similar photo was found in an article published by the ‘Total Montenegro News’ website. According to the article, this photo shows a pedestrian tunnel constructed between Kamenovo beach and Rafailovici village in Montenegro. Reporting the same, another news website published a similar image in their article.
‘Trip Advisor’ website also mentioned it as a tunnel constructed between Kamenovo beach and Rafailovici village. Similar images of this tunnel can be found on Alamy, Shutter Stock websites. A similar image of the tunnel is also available in Google Maps. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the photo shared in the post shows a pedestrian tunnel in Montenegro country.
We could not find any reports on English author John Wood publishing the ‘Unsolved and Dangerous Mysteries’ book about the mysterious tunnels in Dwaraka.
To sum it up, unrelated photos falsely shared as the mysterious tunnels in Dwaraka.


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Unrelated photos falsely shared as those of ‘Special Frontier Force (SFF)’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 3, 2020
A couple of images are being shared on social media with the claim that they are related to ‘Special Frontier Force (SFF)’. It was reported by multiple news agencies that the SFF has played a crucial role in the recent clash between India and China in Eastern Ladakh. Let’s fact-check whether the images are related to SFF.
Photos of ‘Special Frontier Force (SFF)’.
Fact: Both the images are not related to ‘Special Frontier Force (SFF)’. While one of the photos is related to National Security Guard (NSG) commandos marching in the 2017 Republic Day Parade, the other photo shows Indo-Tibetan Border Force (ITBP). Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Photo 1: (Archived)
When the image was run through Google Reverse Image Search, the same photo was found in the ‘Hindustan Times’ article. The article was published in January 2017. The photo has the following description – “NSG commandos march for the first time at the Republic Day parade in New Delhi on Thursday (Mohd Zakir/ HT Photo)”. So, when searched with the related keywords, we found other related photos clicked by the same photographer on the ‘Getty Images’ website. In one photo, it can be clearly seen that it is written ‘NSG’ on the uniform. Information regarding the NSG can be found here.
Photo 2: (Archived)
When the image was run through Google Reverse Image Search, the same photo was found to be uploaded by the official Twitter handle of ‘Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)’. The photo was taken in Ladakh on the occasion of Independence Day in 2020. The personnel in the photo belongs to ITBP.
जय मां भारती!
ITBP salutes the Nation on #IndependenceDayIndia.#IndependenceDay2020#Himveers#Ladakh pic.twitter.com/0133BhRzYw
The Special Frontier Force (SFF) was formed post Indo-China war of 1962 as an elite guerrilla force composed mainly of Tibetan refugees. Its main goal was to conduct covert operations behind Chinese lines in the event of another Indo-China war.
To sum it up, unrelated photos are being falsely shared as the photos of ‘Special Frontier Force (SFF)’.
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source: news-factly

created: September 3, 2020

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

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


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Unrelated photos falsely shared as wealth left behind by the dead Kuwait billionaire Nasser Al-Kharafi - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 6, 2021
Some photos are being shared on social media with a claim that they show the wealth left behind by the Kuwait billionaire Nasser Al-Kharafi after his death. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photos of wealth left behind by the Kuwait billionaire Nasser Al-Kharafi after his death.
Fact: The photos of wealth in the post are not related to Nasser Al-Kharafi, a billionaire belonging to Kuwait. He died in April 2011. FACTLY could not find any credible evidence to confirm about the tomb photo of Nasser Al-Kharafi. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched on the internet about the Kuwait billionaire mentioned in the post, it was found that there was a Kuwait billionaire with the name – ‘Nasser Al-Kharafi’. He died in April 2011. According to ‘Forbes’, Nasser Al-Kharafi & family had a net worth of $10.4 billion in 2011.
Let’s check if the photos in the post are related to him.
Photo 1:
The photo was found to be related to the Bank of England in London. Similar visuals can be seen in a video published by ‘BBC News’ on the Bank of England’s gold vaults.
Photo 2:
The same photo can be found on the official website of ‘U.S. Customs and Border Protection’ with the description – ‘$3M in illicit currency seized by Border Patrol agents’. The news article published on the incident can be read here.
Photo 3:
A cropped version of the photo can be found on the ‘National Geographic’ website. The description of the photo reads – ‘Stacks of gold bars fill a bank vault, Pretoria, South Africa.’ Also, the same picture can be found to be uploaded by a user in an album – ‘National Geographic Magazine scans’, on ‘Flickr’.
Photo 4:
The picture was posted by a user on ‘Flickr’ with the description – ‘Swarovski Crystal Staircases on the MSC Fantasia’. The EXIF data of the picture can be also seen on the website. ‘MSC Fantasia is a Fantasia-class cruise ship owned and operated by MSC Cruises’. More details about the MSC Cruises can be read here.
Photo 5:
The golden-colour yacht in one of the photos is ‘Khalilah’. It was built after the death of Nasser Al-Kharafi. So, it is not related to him. More details regarding the yacht can be read here and here.
Photo 6:
The golden-colour car photo was posted by ‘West Coast Customs’ on Facebook in 2015. In one of their posts, ‘West Coast Customs’ has written – ‘this Gold Rolls we built in 2015 for The Gumball 3000’. So, this photo was taken after the death of Nasser Al-Kharafi.
While we could not find credible details regarding some photos in the post, the details regarding other photos can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
The exact details regarding the tomb photo were not available.  Nasser Al-Kharafi’s funeral photos can be seen here.
In the article, it is written that the funeral took place at the Sulaibikhat Cemetery, Kuwait. The Google Street View of the cemetery can be seen here. We could not find the pictures of Nasser Al-Kharafi’s tomb.
To sum it up, unrelated photos are falsely shared as wealth left behind by the dead Kuwait billionaire Nasser Al-Kharafi.


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Unrelated photos of Abdul Kalam & Ram Nath Kovind are being compared with a misleading narrative - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 12, 2021
A post is being shared on social media claiming that President Abdul Kalam travelled in a general coach, whereas President Ram Nath Kovind is travelling in a First-Class AC coach. Photos of APJ Abdul Kalam and Ram Nath Kovind exiting trains is being compared with the heading ‘The Difference is Clear’ alluding to the difference between the two. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Abdul Kalam and Ram Nath Kovind’s train travel pictures show the preferential treatment the latter received.
Fact: This photo of Abdul Kalam was taken in 2010 when he was no more the President of India. Abdul Kalam was President from 2002 to 2007 only. The photo of President Ram Nath Kovind was taken on 28 June 2021 when he arrived in Lucknow on a special Presidential train. APJ Abdul Kalam did travel in the special Presidential train when he was the President of India. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When reverse image search is done on the Abdul Kalam photo, the same photo was found in a photo collage of The New Indian Express. The photo caption is read as ‘Former President Abdul Kalam arrives at Rourkela by train in 2010’. Describing this incident, the Times of India reported “In January 2010, when bad weather threatened to stall his visit to the National Institute of Technology at Rourkela in Odisha, Dr ARJ Abdul Kalam, ignoring security risks, decide to take a train to Rourkela. He did not want to keep students waiting”. Srijan Pal Singh, Kalam’s long-time associate, has also mentioned this photo in his Facebook post. Therefore, this photo of Abdul Kalam is taken in 2010, and not when he was President of India, which was from 2002 to 2007.
When reverse image search is done on President Ram Nath Kovind photo, a Hindustan Times news article with the same photo was found. President Ram Nath Kovind had to lay the foundation stone of Dr Ambedkar Cultural Centre the next day and he arrived in Lucknow the previous day on 28 June 2021. The President’s official Twitter handle tweeted the pictures of the train arrival in Lucknow. Later, the President did lay the foundation stone for Bharat Ratna Dr. Ambedkar Cultural Centre in Lucknow. Articles about the event can be seen here and here.
Prior to laying of the stone, President embarked on a journey to visit his native village Paraunkh on a special Presidential train on 25 June 2021. ‘It would be after a gap of 15 years that an incumbent President will make a train journey. The last time a President travelled by train was in 2006 when Dr APJ Abdul Kalam boarded a special train from Delhi to Dehradun to attend a passing out parade of cadets at the Indian Military Academy (IMA),’ according to a press release of the Government.
Even APJ Abdul Kalam travelled in such special Presidential trains several times when he was the President of India. He travelled from Harnot to Patna in 2003. In 2004, Abdul Kalam travelled in this Special Train from Chandigarh to Delhi. In 2006, he travelled from Delhi to Dehradun on this train.
Not only President Ram Nath Kovind and Abdul Kalam, but several other Presidents have also used this Presidential Train service when they were holding the office of the President. The official Twitter account of Rashtrapati Bhavan Archives tweeted the pictures, ‘Revisiting the train journeys of the former Presidents of India!’. Former President APJ Abdul Kalam’s photo on 05 January 2004 where he was de-boarding the special train can also be seen in the tweets.
January 5, 2004: President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam de-boarding the special Presidential train after his journey from Chandigarh to New Delhi. pic.twitter.com/rnguAKac7h
To sum it up, unrelated photos of Abdul Kalam and Ram Nath Kovind are being compared with a false narrative.


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Unrelated photos of PM Modi with Nita Ambani & Tulsi Gowda are being compared with a misleading narrative - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 10, 2021
A post is being widely shared on social media claiming that one needs to be rich and famous to get equal respect from PM Modi. Photos of Modi greeting Nita Ambani and Tulsi Gowda are being compared with the heading ‘Difference is Clear’ alluding to the difference between the two. Tulsi Gowda is an Environmentalist from Karnataka who was among the 119 Padma award recipients for the year 2020. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: PM Modi’s pictures with Nita Ambani and Tulsi Gowda show the preferential treatment the rich get from Modi.
Fact: The photo of PM Modi greeting Nita Ambani was taken when Modi was being welcomed by Nita Ambani and Mukesh Ambani for the inauguration of HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in 2014. The photo of PM Modi with Tulsi Gowda was taken during the Padma Award ceremony held on 08 November 2021. Modi did greet Tulsi Gowda personally in the same award ceremony on 08 November 2021. The photograph of Modi greeting Tulsi Gowda personally is similar to the one where Modi was greeting Nita Ambani in 2014. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When reverse image search is done on the photo of PM Modi with Nita Ambani, the same photo was found in the photo gallery of Outlook India. The photo was taken when Narendra Modi was being welcomed by Nita Ambani and Mukesh Ambani on his arrival for the inauguration of HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in Mumbai. This photo is from 25 October 2014, and it can also be seen in a video live-streamed from Modi’s official YouTube channel.
When reverse image search is done on the second Modi photo, the same photo was found in an Instagram post by PM Narendra Modi. The Instagram photo was posted on 09 November 2021 saying that the photo was part of the Padma Awards ceremony held on 08 November 2021. The photo shows Tulsi Gowda, an environmentalist from Karnataka, greeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries at the ceremony. The moment can also be seen in the YouTube video uploaded on the President of India’s official YouTube channel.
However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi did greet Tulsi Gowda personally in the same award ceremony on 08 November 2021. A photograph of Modi greeting Tulsi Gowda personally can be seen here, and this photograph is like the one where PM Modi was greeting Nita Ambani in 2014.
To sum it up, unrelated photos of PM Modi with Nita Ambani and Tulsi Gowda are being compared with a misleading narrative.

created: November 10, 2021


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Unrelated photos shared as pictures of unaccounted money and jewellery seized by ED at Lalu Prasad Yadav’s home - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 13, 2023
A collage of images is being shared on social media claiming them as pictures of money, jewellery and unaccounted documents seized during the recent raid on Lalu Prasad Yadav’s residence. The post claims that the officials recovered illegal assets worth Rs. 600 crores during their search operations in premises allegedly associated with Lalu Yadav’s family. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Pictures showing the illegal money, unaccounted ornaments and documents seized during the raid on Lalu Prasad Yadav’s house.
Fact: The first picture shared in the post shows an old photo from the ED raid that was conducted at an e-gaming firm in Kolkata in September 2022. Another two pictures shared in the post show the unaccounted jewellery seized by the ED during the raid on Ponzi scheme operators in Nagpur and Mumbai. The other two images show the pictures of unaccounted cash, documents and jewellery recovered by ED during the raids on Lalu Prasad Yadav’s family and close associates in connection with the railways land-for-job scam. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
The post shared a collage of five images. Let’s find the details of each image one by one.
Image 1:
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, the same photo was found in an article published by the ‘Telangana Today’ news website on 11 September 2022. Sharing the photo, the news website reported that the Enforcement Directorate had recovered over Rs. 17 crores of unaccounted cash during a raid on an e-gaming firm businessman in Kolkata. Reporting the same, several news websites published articles and videos in September 2022.
Image 2 & Image 5:
On reverse image search of these photos, the same photos were found in articles published by the ‘Hindustan Times’ and ‘Indian Express’ news websites on 08 March 2023. They can be seen here and here. Sharing these photos, the news websites reported that ED had recovered unaccounted jewellery worth Rs 5.51 crore and cash worth Rs 1.21 crore during the raid at the premises of Ponzi scam operators in Nagpur and Mumbai. The photos do not show the pictures from the ED raids at the premises of Lalu Prasad Yadav’s family, related to the railways land-for-Job scam.
Image 3 and Image 4:
On reverse image search, the same photos were found in a tweet published by ANI on 11 March 2023. ANI published these images reporting the ED statement on raids conducted at 24 locations allegedly associated to Lalu Prasad Yadav’s family in connection with the investigation in the railways land-for-Job scam. ED in the statement stated that they had recovered unaccounted cash of Rs 1 crore, foreign currency including US$ 1900, 500 gms gold bullion and more than 1.5kg of gold jewellery during their raids conducted in connection to the land-for-job money laundering scam.
ED conducted searches at 24 locations in the Railways Land for Job Scam, resulting in the recovery of unaccounted cash of Rs 1 Crore, foreign currency including US$ 1900, 540 gms gold bullion and more than 1.5 kg of gold jewellery: ED pic.twitter.com/fkPLmUpgPA
The ED on 10 March 2023 conducted nationwide search operations on at least 24 premises allegedly associated with Lalu Prasad Yadav’s family in connection with the investigation in the railways land-for-job money laundering case. ED released a statement on 11 March 2023 stating that they had detected the proceeds of crime amounting to approximately Rs 600 crore during their search operation.
Searches resulted in detection of Proceeds of Crime amounting to Rs 600 Crore approximately at this point of time .
To sum it up, unrelated pictures are being shared as the pictures of unaccounted money and jewellery seized by ED at Lalu Prasad Yadav’s house in connection to the railways land-for-job scam.


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Unrelated picture shared as that of Jhansi Rani Lakshmibai - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 6, 2021
A post is being widely shared on social media claiming that the photo in the post is the real photo of Jhansi ki Rani and that the photo was taken 159 years ago by a British photographer named Hoffman. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Real photograph of Jhansi Rani Lakshmibai taken 159 years ago.
Fact: A blog post says that the photograph is not that of Jhansi Ki Rani. It is also substantiated through various videos and several news articles. Though there is a dispute regarding the presence of an actual photograph of Jhansi Ki Rani and various theories are questioned by historians, the photo in the post seems to be a modern picture and does not belong to Jhansi Rani Lakshmibai who lived in the 1850s. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When reverse image search was performed on the photo present in the post, we found a Blogpost that claims the photo to be fake. Although photography studios were present in India even in 1840 and perhaps before as well, but the photograph is just too ‘modern’ to be that of the widowed Queen of Jhansi, claims the blog. At that time, such poses by Indian women were a farfetched thought; let alone an erstwhile Queen would allow for such a photo shoot, says the blogpost. The blog post even claims that the actual photograph taken by ‘Hoffman’ in 1850 was a different one. The blogpost also cautions that he had not verified the veracity of the real photograph of Jhansi Ki Rani Lakshmibai.
Taking a cue from the above Blog post, we looked for any news articles or videos that refer to  Jhansi Ki Rani’s real photo by ‘Hoffman’. We found a YouTube video uploaded by ABP news titled ‘Picture of “Jhansi Ki Rani” clicked by Hoffman found’. The video claims that Vaman Thakre, a photographer from Bhopal exhibited the photo in a photography exhibition. Vaman Thakre says that he got the photograph from his friend Ameet Ambalal who bought the photo for a sum of 1,50,000 rupees. The back of the photo has the name of Jhansi Ki Rani in Devanagiri and Urdu, says the video.
However, according to news articles published in the year 2010, there were certain doubts about the original photograph of Jhansi Ki Rani. A news article says that a controversy surrounded this picture when a website named Gyandotcom claimed it to be her only ‘original’ photograph; and that it was clicked in 1850 by British photographer Hoffman. Amaresh Misra, author of ‘The War of 1857’ said he neither saw the photograph nor heard of it during the research for his book and he had never come across any reference about Hoffman, according to the article. Another news article says that the website had deleted the blogpost. Historian Mahmood Farooqui says Photography wasn’t the norm in the 1850s. But Pramod Kumar, co-curator of three photo exhibitions of the revolt of 1857, disagreed. “There were photography studios in India in 1840. There is no reason why the Rani couldn’t have been photographed”, he insisted. The article also gives a rare account of her looks given by contemporary Australian novelist and journalist John Lang who got a fleeting glimpse of her in 1854, he wrote an article in his paper, ‘The Mofussilite’ about Rani Lakshmibai.
But Rare Book Society of India in an article posted on 02 October 2011 says that the mystery of the Jhansi Rani Photograph has been solved. The article says the alleged actual photo had surfaced elsewhere as well. Photographer designer Ram Rahman came across a print in 2002, in the fourth underground edition of V.D.Savarkar’s Book, The Indian War of Independence, housed in the Teen Murti Library. The alleged actual photo was a reproduction of a postcard image believed to be that of the rebel queen.
Many facts and pictures related to history keep going viral on social media, but the illusion of them being right always remains, says a BBC news article. There were several controversies over the ‘picture’ of Jhansi Ki Rani Lakshmibai. One such was a Twitter post on 15 October 2017 which claimed that a picture is the only picture of Jhansi Ki Rani; the source of this image on the Twitter handle had been given to the National Army Museum located in Chelsea, London and a link had been given to it. Historians questioned the claims made in the Twitter post, according to the news article.
To sum it up, an unrelated picture is shared as the real photograph of Jhansi Rani Lakshmibai


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Unrelated pictures shared as showing PM Narendra Modi's late mother, Heeraben Modi - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 2, 2023
A social media post with a few images allegedly of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mother is being shared in the context of her demise. Let’s see fact-check this post through this article.
Claim: Pictures of PM Narendra Modi’s late mother Heeraben Modi at different ages.
Fact: Although a few pictures in the post belong to Heeraben Modi, the first three photos do now show her. Those three images belong to three different people. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Photo 1:
Factly had already debunked this photo when the picture went viral a few years ago, claiming the woman in the picture was the mother of PM Narendra Modi. The full photo of this cropped version used in the viral post has the family members of a Facebook user named Maryala Srinivas. According to one of his Facebook posts, the woman in the picture is his mother.
Photo 2:
We searched the internet with relevant keywords to know if this is a picture of Heenaben Modi. This led us to a news article published by the Navbharat Times about the family tree of Narendra Modi. This article contains the same picture, and according to the article, the person in this picture is Vasanthiben Modi, sister of Narendra Modi. You can also see her photos in these articles, here and here.
Photo 3:
A reverse image search of this photo on Google led us to an article published by NDTV. This article was from 2020, when NDTV interviewed film journalist Bhawana Somaaya. The viral post incorrectly attributes her picture to late Heeraben Modi.
To sum up, unrelated pictures are being attributed to PM Narendra Modi’s late mother, Heeraben Modi.

created: January 2, 2023


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Unrelated protest video from Melbourne is shared as PM Modi’s motorcade attacked by farmers in the US - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 4, 2021
A video accompanied by a post is being widely shared on social media claiming that PM Modi’s motorcade was attacked by farmers in the United States during his recent visit there. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of PM Modi’s motorcade being attacked by farmers in the United States.
Fact: The video is of protesters who were being filmed when they were attacking police vehicles in Melbourne during anti-COVID lockdown protests. These protests were happening in Melbourne since the authorities shut construction sites, saying workers frequent movement was spreading coronavirus. In around late September, protesters dressed as construction workers clashed and attacked police vehicles in Melbourne. PM Modi concluded his three-day official visit to the United States on 25 September 2021, but there were no news reports of his motorcade being attacked by farmers in the US. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When reverse image search is done on the screenshots of the video with relevant keywords, a news video report with similar visuals was found. The report was published on 21 September 2021 with the title, ‘Protesters filmed kicking, smashing windows of police vehicles in Melbourne’s CBD’. Though the footage shows people rushing several police vehicles, these were protesters in Melbourne’s Central Business District (CBD) who were filmed attacking police vehicles. Lengtheir videos with similar visuals can also be seen in the tweets by journalists here and here, which say these incidents were from Melbourne and not the United States.
These violent scenes are from protests in Melbourne. Anti-COVID lockdown protests were happening in Melbourne since the authorities shut construction sites, saying workers frequent movement was spreading coronavirus. In around late September, protesters dressed as construction workers clashed and attacked police vehicles in Melbourne. Protesters were initially opposing compulsory vaccinations. Recently, protesters again took to the streets after the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirements given by the state government.
PM Modi concluded his three-day official visit to the United States on 25 September 2021, but there were no news reports of his motorcade being attacked by farmers in the US.
To sum it up, video of protesters attacking police vehicles in Melbourne is shared as PM Modi’s motorcade attacked by farmers in the US.

created: October 4, 2021


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Unrelated simulated fireworks video shared as the fireworks prepared for ‘TOKYO 2020’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 21, 2020
A Video of spectacular synchronized fireworks is being shared on social media claiming that Japan displayed the fireworks prepared for 2020 Olympic games near Mount Fuji in Japan. 2020 Summer Olympics, also famously called ‘TOKYO 2020’ was scheduled to start on ‘24 July 2020’ in Japan. Because of COVID-19, this event got postponed to 2021. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Japan displayed the fireworks prepared for  2020 Summer Olympics ‘TOKYO 2020’ near Mount Fuji.
Fact: Video shows the simulated version of fireworks created by a YouTube channel user ‘hiramu55bocaboca’. He created this photo in ‘FWsim’ fireworks simulator website and posted on his YouTube channel in 2015. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of screenshots in the video, Similar visuals were found in the video posted by a Youtube channel named ‘hiramu55bocaboca’on ‘1 December 2015’. It is posted on Youtube with the title ‘FWsim Mount Fuji synchronized fireworks show2’. ‘FWsim’ is an online platform, where one can create a simulated version of fireworks. A glimpse of this fireworks video was also found in  ‘gfycat’ website with the same title. Few social media users shared this video on Facebook crediting it to ‘hiramu55bocaboca’. They can be seen here and here.
‘TOKYO 2020’ was scheduled to start on ‘24 July 2020’ in Japan. Because of the COVID-19, this event got postponed to 2021. On ‘24 July 2020’, to mark the day the 2020 Olympics should have begun, synchronized fireworks were displayed at major cities in Japan. Article and video related to this event can be seen here and here.
To sum it up, an unrelated simulated version of synchronized fireworks is falsely shared as the display of fireworks prepared for ‘TOKYO 2020’.
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Unrelated video attributed to an incident of woman’s dead body in a suitcase is shared with false communal narrative - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 24, 2022
A post sharing a couple of video clips is being widely circulated on social media claiming it to be an old video of the Hindu girl who was allegedly murdered and was packed in a suitcase by her Muslim boyfriend. The first video shows a girl confronting a few social media comments opposing her love for a Muslim boy. In the video, the girl says that she doesn’t care about the opinions in the comments and that she has a tattoo of her boyfriend’s name. The other video shows the visuals of police recovering a woman’s dead body packed in a suitcase on a road. The post claims that the body is of the woman who was talking about her muslim boy friend. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of the Hindu girl who was allegedly murdered and was packed in a suitcase by her Muslim boyfriend.
Fact: The second clip shared in the post shows police recovering a woman’s dead body found packed in a suitcase near the IFFCO Chowk in Gurugram on 17 October 2022. The deceased Priyanka was killed by her husband Rahul over a demand to purchase TV, mobile phone, and other accessories. The girl in the first video clip is not the deceased woman Priyanka, and the accused in the case is not a Muslim. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the screenshots of the first video clip shared in the post, we could not find any reliable sources about the girl speaking in the video clip. On reverse image search of the screenshots of the second video clip, a video showing similar visuals was found published by the ‘News 24’ news channel on 17 October 2022. This news website reported that the Gurugram police have recovered a woman’s naked dead body packed in a suitcase and thrown away near the IFFCO Chowk road in Gurugram, Haryana. Several news websites published articles and videos reporting this information on 17 October 2022.
When we searched for further details of this murder case in Gurugram, we found that on 19 October 2022, the Gurugram Police arrested the deceased woman’s husband accusing him of committing the murder. According to the news reports, Rahul, a man working as a helper at a private company in Gurugram, killed his wife Priyanka after a heated argument over her demands for TV, mobile and others. After the murder, Rahul packed his wife’s dead body in a suitcase and dumped it in the bushes near the IFFCO Chowk on 17 October 2022. To hide his identity, Rahul reportedly cut a part of his wife’s right forearm skin on which his name was tattooed. The accused disclosed the crime details during the initial interrogation of the police. A video of Gurugram police revealing the details of this case to the media can be seen here. The FIR of this case can be seen here.
Reporting the details of this case, several news websites published articles in October 2022. They can be seen here, here and here. On comparing the deceased woman’s picture shared in the ‘Amar Ujala’ news website with that of the girl shown in the video clip, it can be confirmed that the girl speaking in the video clip is not Priyanka, the deceased woman whose dead body was found packed in a suitcase in Gurugram. Also, the accused in the case is Rahul, not Abdul as claimed in the post.
To sum it up, a video unrelated to the woman’s dead body found in a suitcase incident in Gurugram is shared with a communal narrative.

created: November 24, 2022


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Unrelated video clips falsely shared as ‘Medicine-Jihad’ against the Hindus in India - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 4, 2021
A video is being shared on social media with a claim that it shows the ‘Medicine-Jihad’ against the Hindus in India. In the video, nails are seen coming out when a medicine capsule is opened. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: ‘Medicine-Jihad’ against the Hindus in the country by putting nails in the medicine capsules.
Fact: Both the clips in the posted video are not related to India. While one clip shows a medicine manufactured & sold in Pakistan, the other video clip shows a medicine manufactured by a company based in Bosnia and Herzegovina. FACTLY could not independently confirm the authenticity of the video clips. However, the video does not show ‘Medicine-Jihad’ against the Hindus in India and these medicines are not sold in India. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
There are two different clips with two different medicines in the posted video. Let’s try to debunk them separately.
Clip 1:
When we searched with the keywords, a better-quality video of the same clip was found on YouTube. On observing closely at the names on the packet, the following words can be seen – ‘Esoral 20 mg capsules’, ‘Manufactured by: City Pharmaceutical Laboratories…. Sector 5…. Karachi’. Also, the words in Urdu can be seen on the packet.
A Facebook page with the name – ‘City Pharmaceutical Lbaoratories’ was found on the internet. An image posted on that page matches the logo on the medicine packet. In the ‘About’ section of the page, a website address (http://www.citypharma.com.pk/) with the ‘.pk’ (Pakistan) domain can be seen. Also, a similar photo of ‘Esoral 40 mg’ with the ‘CP’ logo was found on the internet.
Also, in another photo on the ‘City Pharmaceutical Lbaoratories’ page, an employee – ‘Muhammad Nadeem’ is tagged. In his ‘About’ section, it is written that he is working as ‘Import Manager at City Pharmaceutical Laboratories – Karachi, Pakistan’.
The same company name with the same address can be found listed in the ‘Approved Renewal of Drug Manufacturing Licenses to 07 (seven) companies’ list on the Pakistan Government website. So, it can be concluded that the medicine packet shown in the video is related to Pakistan, not India.
‘Esoral’ is actually a product of Eskayef Pharmaceuticals Ltd, a Pharmaceutical company headquartered in Dhaka (Bangladesh). But the logo on the medicine in the posted video is not of Eskayef Pharmaceuticals Ltd. The ‘Esoral 20 mg’ medicine packet design in the posted video is quite different from Eskayef’s ‘Esoral 20 mg’ packet sold in Bangladesh. Also, the manufacturing facilities of Eskayef Pharmaceuticals are not in Pakistan. So, it is possible that the Pakistani company is manufacturing the same medicine under the same name.
Clip 2:
An extended version of the same clip was found on YouTube.
When the screenshots of the video were run through Google Reverse Image Search, it was found that the medicine in the video is ‘Enterofuryl 200 mg’. ‘Enterofuryl 200 mg’ and it is a product of Bosnalijek, a Bosnian pharmaceutical company headquartered in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The words (‘Энтерофурил’) written on the packet are in Russian.
Also, a fact-checking website in Kazakhstan (‘Stop Fake’) has reported regarding the response of Kazakhstan authorities on the viral video. It can be read below: (translated from Kazakh)
While FACTLY could not independently confirm the authenticity of the video clips, it can be concluded that the videos are not related to India and these medicines are not manufactured & sold in India.
To sum it up, unrelated video clips falsely shared as ‘Medicine-Jihad’ against the Hindus in India.


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Unrelated video falsely shared as PM Modi celebrating his birthday with industrialists - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 21, 2020
A video is being shared on social media with a claim that it shows PM Modi celebrating his birthday with industrialists. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Video of PM Modi celebrating his birthday with industrialists.
Fact: The video is not related to PM Modi’s birthday. It was taken in 2017 when Modi visited Israel. The video shows Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu and PM Modi drinking water which was filtered by a mobile water filtration plant in Israel. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When searched on the internet with some keywords, a similar video was found to be uploaded by ‘ANI News Official’ on their YouTube channel in July 2017. In the description of the video, the following text can be read – ‘Prime Minister Narendra Modi was given a demonstration of a mobile water filtration plant at the Dor beach in Israel’s Haifa on Thursday. PM Modi was also accompanied by his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and they both were seen drinking the filtered water at the plant’. The photos of the event were also posted by ‘ANI’ on their official Twitter account.
Also, a similar video was tweeted by Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu on 6 July 2017. The birthday of PM Modi is in September whereas the video was taken in July 2017. So, the video is not related to his birthday.
נסעתי עם רה״מ מודי ברכב מיוחד להתפלת מים, שמסוגל לספק מי שתייה ל-22,000 איש ביום. ישראל מובילה בעולם במחזור מים. נשתף פעולה עם הודו בתחום זה pic.twitter.com/EJG361FZX4
To sum it up, an unrelated video falsely shared as PM Modi celebrating his birthday with industrialists. The video was taken in Israel in July 2017.

created: September 21, 2020


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Unrelated video from Bangladesh is shared as an incident of caste discrimination in India - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 6, 2023
A video of a bodybuilder kicking his prize at a winner announcement ceremony is being widely shared on social media claiming he behaved thus as he was discriminated on the basis of caste. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of an Indian bodybuilder’s unruly behaviour as he was discriminated on the basis of caste at an award ceremony.
Fact: This incident happened in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 23 December 2022. A body builder named Jahid Hasan Shuvo was awarded second prize at the annual body building competition. He alleged that there was corruption and irregularities in the competition. He also said that he became furious as he was forced to leave the stage without the opportunity to talk. He later apologized for his rude behaviour. However, Bangladesh Bodybuilding Federation imposed a lifetime ban on him. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
Internet search using the relevant keywords revealed that the person in the viral video is Bangladeshi bodybuilder ‘Jahid Hasan Shuvo’. Hasan shared this video on his Facebook Page. Full video of this event shared by Bangladesh Bodybuilding Federation (BABBF) can be seen here. This incident took place at the prize distribution ceremony of annual body building competition held in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 23 December 2022 organised by Bangladesh Bodybuilding Federation (BABBF). Hasan stood second in Men’s body physique category.
In the viral video, after being presented with a medal and a blender machine, he was asked to get down the stage. Talking to BBC Bangla, Hasan alleged that the he was not allowed to be the winner due to irregularities and corruption in the competition and he was forced to get down the stage when he asked for the mic after receiving the prize. He further said that this insult by the organisers has made him to behave in such unruly manner. However, Hasan apologised for his rude behaviour later.
Following this incident, BABBF and IFBB imposed a life time ban for his unacceptable behaviour at stage and obscene gestures.
To sum it up, unrelated video from Bangladesh is shared as an incident of caste discrimination against a bodybuilder in India.

created: January 6, 2023


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Unrelated video from Coimbatore shared as attack on North Indian workers in Tami Nadu's Tiruppur - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 3, 2023
A video containing a series of clips is being shared on social media. In the first clip of the series of three, a man can be seen attacked by a person with a machete. In the second one, a man is seen drenched in blood. In the third video clip, a woman can be seen saying Hindi people should leave their land as Tamils need jobs. The incident in the video clip claimed to be from Tamil Nadu’s Tiruppur happened on 22 February 2023. Let’s fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: Video shows an attack on North Indian workers in Tami Nadu’s Tiruppur.
Fact: Although there have been reports of attacks on North Indians in Tiruppur, the clip in the beginning of the viral post in which a man is seen attacking another person with a machete has no connection with the Tiruppur incident. The clips shows a fight that erupted between two gangs in Coimbatore in February 2023. Hence the claim made in the post is Misleading.
Some of the comments made by Facebook users under the viral video pointed out that the video is of an incident in Coimbatore. We took this as a hint and performed a keyword search on Google, which led us to a few news articles containing the first clip from the series of video clips the viral video contains.
Times of India reported that ‘two men were brutally attacked with machetes in broad daylight in Coimbatore. The victims were attacked by a gang of five people. One of the victims died on the spot while other one was seriously injured in the incident.‘  News articles about this incident can be found here and here. The viral post misquotes this as an incident that occurred in Tiruppur.
We could not find the details of the second lip in which a man is seen lying on the road drenched with blood getting help from two men. The last clip is from a news report published by Jaya Plus. According to this report, women workers in Tiruppur performed a sit-in protest in the context of the clash between North Indian workers and a few locals (here and here). Although we could not gather the details about the second clip of the viral post, from the remaining evidence, it is pretty clear that the post has used a series of unrelated videos to attribute them to the Tiruppur incident and claim these as videos taken in Tamil Nadu Tiruppur on 22 Feb 2023.
To sum up, video clip of a gang fight in Coimbatore is shared as attack on North Indian workers in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruppur.


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Unrelated video from Haryana’s Faridabad shared as the visuals of Ram Mandir officials thrashing a Dalit boy in Ayodhya - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 28, 2023
A video is being shared on social media claiming it shows visuals of a Dalit boy being brutally assaulted by the organizers for throwing flowers during the Ram temple function in Ayodhya. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Visuals of Ram Mandir officials assaulting a Dalit boy in Ayodhya.
Fact: The video shows an incident that took place in Haryana’s Faridabad. The video shows teachers thrashing a student for allegedly throwing flowers at female students during the two-day Geeta Jayanthi celebrations organized in Faridabad. Ayodhya Police through a tweet clarified that the video is from Faridabad, not from Ayodhya. The video has nothing to do with the officials of Ayodhya Ram Mandir. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
On reverse image search of the screenshots of the video, similar visuals were found in a video published by ‘News 24’ on 24 December 2023. The news channel reported it as the visuals of teachers brutally thrashing a student during Geeta Jayanthi celebrations in Faridabad, Haryana.
When we searched for further sources using relevant keywords, we found that several news agencies reported about the incident. They can be seen here, here, and here. As per the reports, teachers thrashed a high-school student for allegedly throwing flowers at female students during the two-day Geeta Jayanthi celebrations organized in Faridabad.
According to the article by Dainik Bhaskar, the incident took place on 22 December 2023 and an FIR was filed against teachers for assaulting the boy. The case was filed at the Faridabad Central police station, but the FIR was still not uploaded online on the Haryana Police website. We will update the article once the FIR becomes available online on the Haryana Police website. However, not a single news report identified the assaulted boy as a Dalit.
On the other hand, the Ayodhya Police published a tweet clarifying that the viral video is from Haryana’s Faridabad, not from Ayodhya. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the video shared in the post had nothing to do with the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
https://t.co/ijCwoo0gUU
To sum it up, an unrelated video from Haryana’s Faridabad is shared as the visuals of Ram Mandir officials thrashing a Dalit boy in Ayodhya.

created: December 28, 2023


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Unrelated video from Iraq shared as the recent visuals of Israeli citizens being forcibly expelled during a protest rally - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 15, 2023
A video is being shared on social media claiming it is the recent visuals of the stampede caused during a demonstration held by Israeli citizens. The post alleges that Israeli citizens were being forcibly expelled during a protest. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of Israeli citizens being forcibly expelled from a demonstration site.
Fact: The video shows the visuals from the ‘Tuwairij run’ event that took place in the city of Karbala, Iraq. The video does not show Israeli citizens being forcibly expelled amidst a protest and the video has nothing to do with the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
On reverse image search of the screenshots of the video, a video showing similar visuals was found published by a YouTube channel on 10 August 2022. This YouTube channel published the video describing it as the visuals from the ‘Tuwairij run’ event held in the holy city of Karbala in Iraq.
The paintings on the road divider and the flags carried by pilgrims closely resemble the visuals featured in the video shared in the post.
A few other videos showing the visuals from the ‘Tuwairij run’ events held in the Iraqi holy city of Karbala can be seen here, here, here, and here. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the video shared in the post is from Iraq and is not related to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.
To sum it up, an unrelated video from Iraq is shared as the visuals of Israeli citizens being forcibly driven away during a demonstration within Israel.

created: November 15, 2023


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Unrelated video from Pakistan is shared linking it to the Delhi IAS couple transfer issue - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 2, 2022
In light of the recent transfer of a Delhi IAS couple, who walked their dog at Delhi Thyagaraja stadium, a social media post accompanying a video of an enraged woman lashing out at someone is being widely circulated linking it to Delhi incident. The post claims the visuals show reaction of the IAS after receiving the transfer order. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Reaction of Delhi IAS officer, who walked their dog at Delhi stadium, after receiving the transfer order.
Fact: The visuals are from Pakistan. The visuals show the reaction of an unidentified woman, when media asked her reaction over Imran Khan’s comments about Mariam Nawaz. She spoke the exact words in the context of recent police raid on of former Justice Nasira Iqbal, the daughter-in-law of Pakistan’s national poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal. Further, there are no reports of the woman IAS officer speaking to media following the transfer.  Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
These visuals do not show Rinku Dugga , wife of the Sanjeev Khirwar, the Delhi IAS couple who were recently transferred for closing the sporting events earlier than usual for walking their dog in a stadium.
The viral visuals are actually from Pakistan, and they show reaction of an unidentified woman, when a media person asked her opinion over Imran Khan’s recent comments on Mariam Nawaz.
The viral visuals carry a logo which reads ‘Native Media PK’, taking a cue from this, YouTube search with relevant keywords yielded a full length video of the viral video. At 1:53 timestamp of this video, we can hear the woman uttering the same words as in the viral video.
According to the full length video, when a media person asked the woman for her opinion over Imran Khan’s comments on Mariam Nawaz, the woman responded praising Imran Khan and criticising the current government. In this context, the woman uttered these words referring to the police raid on former Justice Nasira Iqbal, the daughter-in-law of Pakistan’s national poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal.
Thus, from the original full length video, it is evident that the viral visuals have nothing to do with the Delhi IAS couple transfer issue. Further, there are no reports of Rinku Dugga speaking to media following the incident.
To sum it up, unrelated video from Pakistan is being shared linking it to the Delhi IAS couple transfer issue.


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Unrelated video from Pakistan is shared as a protest rally in Mumbai against Tripura violence - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 18, 2021
A video accompanied by a post is being widely shared on social media claiming that the visuals are from a rally in Mumbai protesting the Tripura violence. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of protest rally in Mumbai against Tripura violence.
Fact: The video is from Lahore in Pakistan and not from Mumbai. The visuals are from Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi’s Chehlum held on 03 January 2021. Chehlum is a religious observance in Islam held 40 days after the death of the person. Though protests & bandh were held against Tripura violence in five districts of Maharashtra including some parts of Mumbai, this video has nothing to do with Maharashtra or Mumbai. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When reverse image search is done on the screenshots of the video, the same video was found on YouTube. The YouTube video was uploaded on 04 January 2021 with the title, “Allama Khadim Hussain Rizvi Chehlum I TLP Chehlum 2021”. Chehlum is a religious observance in Islam held 40 days after the death of a person.
On 19 November 2021, the chief of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), Khadim Hussain Rizvi passed away at the age of 54. His Chehlum (which is the religious observance) was observed on 03 January 2021 near Mosque Rehmatul Lil Alameen at Multan Road’s Battery Stop in Lahore. The visuals seen in the viral video are from this Chehlum where it was attended by thousands of people in Pakistan.
Protests were held against Tripura violence in five districts in Maharashtra. Some parts of Mumbai also observed a bandh. On 13 November 2021, parts of Amravati, Malegaon, Nanded in Maharashtra were marked by violence after marches held by Muslims and Hindus in relation to the Tripura violence that happened recently.
To sum it up, an unrelated video from Pakistan is falsely shared as a protest rally in Mumbai against Tripura violence.

created: November 18, 2021


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Unrelated video from Telangana shared as the visuals of an elected MLA threatening a police officer in Karnataka - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 18, 2023
A video is being shared on social media claiming it is the recent visuals of an elected Karnataka MLA threatening a police officer to just follow his instructions during his term in the constituency. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Recent video of an elected Karnataka MLA threatening a police officer at his house.
Fact: The video shared in the post shows Jaffar Hussain Meraj, an elected MLA from Nampally constituency in Telangana, speaking to the Police Superintendent in Jagtial over the row of Jagtial Rural Sub-Inspector Anil Kumar’s alleged assault of Muslim women for refusing a seat to his wife in a TSRTC bus. The man speaking to the police officer in the video is not a MLA from Karnataka and the video has nothing to do with the 2023 Karnataka Assembly Elections. Hence, the claim made in the post is False
When one observes the video carefully, one could see the text-“Jaffar Hussain Meraj Sb (MLA Nampally) in Jagtial” at the bottom of the video. Also, one could see the logo of All India Majlis-E-ittehadul muslimeen (AIMIM) at the top-right of the video. When we searched for the sources of the video using relevant keywords, a photo showing a similar visual in the video was found in an article published by the Deccan Chronicle news website on 11 May 2023. The description of the photo states, “MIM leaders meet Police Superintendent A. Bhaskar in his office regarding the attack on a student and her mother in an RTC bus”.
AIMIM’s official Facebook page published the same video on 11 May 2023, describing it as the visuals of AIMIM MLA and the AIMIM team in Jagtial.
As per the news reports, AIMIM Nampally MLA Jaffar Hussain Meraj along with Jagtial district unit president Younus Nadeem and other members of the party visited the house of the postgraduate student who was allegedly assaulted by the Jagtial Rural SI A. Anil Kumar for refusing a seat to his wife in a TSRTC bus. Reporting the complete details of the incident, several other news websites published articles. They can be seen here and here.
AIMIM MLA Jaffar Hussain Meraj tweeted the pictures of his conversation with the victim’s family in Jagtial. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the man speaking to a police officer in the video is not an MLA from Karnataka and that the video has nothing to do with the recently held 2023 Karnataka Assembly Elections.
On the guidance of #AIMIM President @asadowaisi & Floor Leader @imAkbarOwaisi.
After the Bus Incident of Jagtial Sub-Inspector, I reached Jagtial and met with the victims family and assured them that we'll demand immediate Suspension and strict action against the Sub-Inspector. pic.twitter.com/kXqrU7EiuW
To sum it up, an unrelated video from Telangana is shared as the recent visuals of an elected MLA threatening a police officer in Karnataka.


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Unrelated videos falsely shared as visuals of Nupur Sharma getting arrested - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 27, 2022
A video is being shared widely on social media with a claim that it shows the visuals of Nupur Sharma getting arrested. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Visuals of Nupur Sharma getting arrested.
Fact: The woman in the video is not Nupur Sharma. She is Bhumi Birmi, who is a farmer leader from Rajasthan. The incident in the video is related to a farmers’ protest in Churu (Rajasthan). Also, there are no reports of Nupur Sharma getting arrested. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the screenshots of the video were run through Google Reverse Image Search, no proper information regarding the video was found in the search results. However, on searching with some keywords, a post with some relevant information was found on Facebook. A user clarified in a post that the woman in the viral video is Bhumi Birmi, not Nupur Sharma. Another user has also written the same.
On looking through the Facebook profile of Bhumi Birmi, the extended version of the viral video was found. In the ‘Intro’ section, it can be read that she is “District President, Women Wing, Bhartiya Kisan Union(Non-political), Churu”. Her other posts related to the incident in the video can be seen here, here, here, here, and here.
Also, there are no reports of Nupur Sharma getting arrested. On 20 June 2022, ‘India Today’ reported – “Suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma has asked for a four-week extension to appear before the Kolkata Police owing to alleged threats against her life over her controversial remarks about Muhammad the Prophet”.
To sum it up, an unrelated video is being falsely shared as the visuals of Nupur Sharma getting arrested.
Update (27 JUNE 2022):
Another video is being shared on social media with the same claim that it shows Nupur Sharma being arrested by the police. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
When the screenshots of the video were run through Google Reverse Image Search, a similar video was found to be uploaded on YouTube with the following title – “Bts of pyar deewangi hai”. On searching with keywords, another video showing the shooting of the same scene was found on YouTube.
‘Pyar Deewangi Hai’ is a drama serial that can be watched on ARY Digital (a Pakistani television network). The same scene can also be seen in the teaser of ‘Pyar Deewangi Hai’ posted by the ‘ARY Digital HD’ YouTube channel. So, the posted video is not related to Nupur Sharma but to a serial.


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Unrelated video is falsely shared as goons attacking Muslims after watching ‘The Kashmir Files’ movie - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 25, 2022
A video is being shared on social media with a claim that it shows goons attacking Muslims after watching ‘The Kashmir Files’ movie. The video is being shared in the context of a section of people alleging that the movie is propaganda against Muslims. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video shows goons attacking Muslims after watching ‘The Kashmir Files’ movie.
Fact: The incident in the video happened in Surat and is not related to ‘The Kashmir Files’ movie. Most of the accused in the incident are Muslims. So, there is no communal angle to the incident. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the screenshots of the video were run through Google Reverse Image Search, similar visuals were found to be published by some news portals. They can be seen here and here. In the ‘News18 – Gujarati’ article, it can be read that the incident happened in the Salabatpura Police Station area of Surat. The violence reportedly happened due to a conflict between the shopkeeper and the attackers.
The FIR filed on the incident can be seen here. If one looks at the names of the accused in the FIR, it can be found that most of them are Muslims. So, there is no communal angle to the incident. The same has been confirmed to ‘India Today’ by the Surat Police. Also, the incident is not related to ‘The Kashmir Files’ movie.
To sum it up, an unrelated video from Surat is being shared as goons attacking Muslims after watching ‘The Kashmir Files’ movie.


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Unrelated video is passed off as a pro Khalistan rally on the day of Prime Minister’s visit to Punjab - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 7, 2022
In light of the recent reports of an abrupt end to Prime Minister Modi’s Punjab visit due to a security lapse, a social media post accompanying a video of group of Sikhs on motorcycles raising pro Khalistan slogans is being shared widely. The post claims the video shows an incident on the day of Prime Minister’s visit. Let’s find out the truth about the video and fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Sikhs raising pro Khalistan slogans on the day of Prime Minister’s visit to Punjab.
Fact: The video is available on the internet much before PM’s visit to Punjab. The video is being shared in the context of  Shaheedi Jodh Mela, event marking the martyrdom of  two sons of Guru Gobind Singh. This video has nothing to do with PM’s Punjab visit. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The video is available on internet much before PM’s visit to Punjab. Reverse image search of the screenshots of the viral video led us to a YouTube video which carried similar visuals. This particular video was uploaded on YouTube on 27 December 2021 whereas the PM’s Punjab visit which abruptly ended due to security issues was on 05 January 2022.
As per the description accompanying the video, the visuals show Punjab youth organising Kesari march on the occasion of Shahidi Jodh Mela on 26 December 2021. Taking a cue from the YouTube video, Google search with ‘Shaheedi Jodh Mela’ as a keyword yielded multiple news articles (here and here) which reported the event. As per these articles, ‘the event marks the martyrdom of the two sons of Guru Gobind Singh (Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh) who were bricked alive by the Mughals in 1705.’
Few other social media posts shared the same video much before PM’s visit, with the same description as above can be seen here and here.
Fact check: They are not carrying sword in their hands, but it’s a walking stick for the needy. They are chanting Khalistan (empty space) for the parking lot they hv purchased… pic.twitter.com/oLK9gOWO9E
Although we could not independently verify the occasion and location of the video, the presence of the video on the internet makes it evident that the video has nothing to do with the recent incident of Modi’s visit to Punjab.
To sum it up, unrelated video is passed off as a pro Khalistan rally on the day of Prime Minister’s visit to Punjab.

created: January 7, 2022


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Unrelated video is shared as crowd singing a song related to the Lord Ram during the recent T20I match at Hyderabad - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 26, 2022
A video is being shared widely on social media with a claim that it shows a crowd singing a song related to the Lord Ram (“Bharat ka baccha baccha jai shri ram bolega”) during the third T20 match between India and Australia on 25 September 2022 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video shows a crowd singing a song related to the Lord Ram during the T20 cricket match between India and Australia on 25 September 2022 in Hyderabad.
Fact: The posted video is not related to the T20 match between India and Australia held at Hyderabad on 25 September 2022. The video was shot at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur. We could not confirm the authenticity of the audio in the posted video. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the screenshots of the video were run through Google Reverse Image Search, the same video was found to be posted by multiple people with the description that the video is related to Nagpur. The second T20 match between India and Australia took place at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur on 23 September 2022. The visuals in the video match with the Nagpur stadium (where stands are mostly covered), not Hyderabad stadium (where stands are mostly not covered).
Also, the same video is on the internet at least from 24 September 2022 (tweet archived) whereas the match in Hyderabad was held on on 25 September 2022.
In 2ndT20 Nagpur #jai Jai sri ram bolega 🚩🚩🚩 pic.twitter.com/G2wdiU9uA7
Another old video with the same audio can be seen here. Most probably the audio from this video might have been picked and added to the current viral video. Hence, we could not confirm the authenticity of the audio in the posted video even though it is from Nagpur. However, we can confirm that the video is not related to Hyderabad.
To sum it up, an unrelated video is being shared as a crowd singing a song related to the Lord Ram during the recent T20I match at Hyderabad.

created: September 26, 2022


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Unrelated video shared as ISRO scientists dancing after the success of Chandrayaan-3 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 25, 2023
A video of ISRO chief S. Somanath dancing in a party setup is going viral on social media, claiming that these visuals show Dr. Somanath and other ISRO scientists celebrating the success of Chandrayaan-3. Let’s fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: Visuals of ISRO scientists dancing after the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the moon.
Fact: This video was shot in July 2023 during the G20 space economy leaders’ meeting cultural night event. Wion News correspondent Sidharth MP, who was present at the event, filmed this video and uploaded it on Twitter after the Chandrayaan-3 soft landing, congratulating the ISRO team for the success of Chandrayaan-3. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
To learn more about the viral clip, we performed a keyword search online, which led us to a tweet from Journalist Sidharth MP, who works for Wion News. He posted this video congratulating team ISRO for the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission.
Dr. S. Somanath & team #isro…
Celebrate and dance your hearts out tonight ❤❤🇮🇳🇮🇳🚀🚀🌕🌕
How many ppl in the world have the power & knowledge to make 1.4+bn hearts swell with pride & joy! #Chandrayaan3 #Chandrayaan3Landing #Chandrayaan3Mission #india #space #tech pic.twitter.com/gyIOgZaqbs
Under the same tweet, he made another post in which he mentioned that this video was from an old event to which he had formal access and emphasised that the video was not from yesterday.
PTI Fact Check contacted Sidharth, who said, “This (Video) is from an event in July 2023 in Bengaluru. It was the G20 space economy leaders’ meeting (here) cultural night event.” We also contacted Sidharth and await his response, after which this article will be updated with more information.
PTI Fact Check: Video of ISRO chief dancing not related to Chandrayaan-3’s soft landing on Moon; Social media posts shared with false claim
READ: https://t.co/uMrquZCYth#Chandrayaan3 #Chandrayaan3Landing #Chandrayaan_3 #PTIFactCheck pic.twitter.com/iYtyhECEBQ
To sum up, an unrelated video is shared as visuals of ISRO scientists dancing after Chandrayaan-3’s soft landing on the moon.”


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Unrelated video shared as the visuals of gymnastics competition at the Tokyo Olympics - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 26, 2021
A video is being shared on social media with a claim that it shows the ‘utterly insane level of competition in Gymnastics at the Tokyo Olympic games this year’. Let’s fact-check whether the posted video is related to the Tokyo Olympics.
Claim: Video shows the gymnastics competition at the Tokyo Olympics this year.
Fact: The video is an old one. The visuals in the video are not related to the Tokyo Olympics. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When the screenshots of the video were run through Google Reverse Image Search, the same video was found being shared on the internet at least since June 2020. So, the video is not related to the Tokyo Olympics which began in July 2021. Also, many other videos with similar visuals were found on the internet. One of those videos was posted in 2018 and has the title – ‘2018 Trampoline Gymnastics | Tumbling | Moments’.
The visuals in the posted video can be also found in the videos related to the ‘2018 Trampoline Gymnastics World Championships’. However, the posted video has multiple clips from different events.
To sum it up, an unrelated video is shared as the visuals of gymnastics competition at the Tokyo Olympics.


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Unrelated video shared as visuals of Bhim Army rally seeking justice for Indra Meghwal - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 20, 2022
A video is being shared on social media claiming it as visuals of hundreds of Bhim Army supporters rallying, seeking the release of their president Chandra Shekhar Azad and justice for Indra Meghwal, a nine-year-old boy who allegedly died after being beaten up by a schoolteacher in Jalore. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of hundreds of Bhim Army supporters rally seeking justice for Indra Meghwal.
Fact: The video shared in the post shows a huge crowd following Shihab Chottur in Rajasthan. Shihab Chottur is a 29-year-old Kerala man who is to offer Haj by travelling to Mecca on foot. The video shared in the post has nothing to do with Bhim Army or Indra Meghwal’s death. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the screenshots in the video, we could not find any reliable information related to the video. On observing the video carefully, one could see a group of Muslims with a skull cap following a man who is being guarded by police. The man was looking similar to Shihab Chottur, a 29-year-old Kerala man who is on a journey to offer Haj by travelling to Mecca on foot. When we searched for the video using relevant keywords, a video with similar visuals is found in a Facebook post uploaded on 18 August 2022. This Facebook user described it as visuals of a huge crowd welcoming Shihab Chottur at the Parabatsar town in Rajasthan.
The clearer visuals in the video show Shihab Chottur walking on a highway with a huge crowd and police following him. This user mentioned that the video was shot on 17 August 2022. Several other social media users have also shared videos of people welcoming Shihab Chottur on the way to Parabatsar. A few of such videos can be seen here and here. Shihab Chottur uploaded the video of his dream journey in Rajasthan on 17 August 2022. All these indicate that the video shared in the post has nothing to do with the Bhim Army and Indra Meghwal’s death.
Bhim Army Chief Chandra Shekhar Azad was detained at the Jodhpur Airport while he was on the way to meet the family of the nine-year-old Dalit boy who allegedly died after being beaten up by a schoolteacher in Jalore. Demanding the release of Chandra Shekhar Azad, Bhim Army workers demonstrated protests at the Bharatpur Collectorate and blocked highways leading to Jalore.
To sum it up, a video related to Shihab Chottur’s Mecca travel is shared as visuals of the Bhim Army rally seeking justice for Indra Meghwal.


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Unrelated video shared as visuals of child kidnappers caught in Varanasi - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 8, 2022
Video of a group of men in saffron clothes is being widely shared claiming that this video shows the group of 28 sadhus who were caught red-handed while kidnapping the children and removing their kidneys in Varanasi. Similar posts can be seen here, here and here. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of 28 sadhus who were caught red handed while kidnapping children and removing their kidneys in Varanasi.
Fact: 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 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 Beera patti area under Barangoan Police station, not Varanasi Rural. Dainik Bhaskar also published this news in its website. Hence the claim made in the video is FALSE.
The description of the post mentions ‘@UPpolice’, which is the official Twitter handle of Uttar Pradesh police department. Taking a cue from this, we ran an advanced search on Twitter and found a tweet made by Varanasi Rural Police on 06 September 2022, replying to a Twitter user who posted the viral video. The post shows a video byte of Varanasi Rural SP Surya Kanth Tripathi along with a precautionary notice issued by Varanasi Police Social Media cell. The official Twitter account of UP Police also retweeted this post.
कतिपय सोशल मीडिया प्लेटफॉर्म पर वायरल हो रहे वीडियो को भ्रामक रूप से वाराणसी ग्रामीण में साधुओं द्वारा बच्चा चोरी से सम्बंधित बताया जा रहा है। उक्त भ्रामक वीडियो के खण्डन से संबंधित पुलिस अधीक्षक #Varanasirural की बाइट। @Uppolice @UPPViralCheck https://t.co/VoKVInH5x5 pic.twitter.com/3KcyreNPYy
According to the police statement, “a video is going viral on social media platforms with a false claim that some sadhus were caught removing the kidneys of children in Varanasi rural area. But this news is false. 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 Barangoan area. All their names and address were verified, and no criminal history was found against them.” The viral video is not of Varanasi Rural police station. In an interview with BOOM Live, the SHO of Barangoan police station confirmed that the visuals in the viral video are from Beera Patti area and the police constable seen in the video is his staff. He also added that, the sadhus seen in the video were asking for alms in the area, during which some people had assaulted the sadhus alleging child theft. When the police got information about this, the police reached the spot and saved those people from the crowd. A news report by Dainik Bhaskar regarding the same issue can be seen here.
To sum it up, an unrelated video is being shared with a claim that they 28 sadhus were caught while removing the kidneys of children in Varanasi.

created: September 8, 2022


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Unrelated video shared as visuals of Israel army eliminating Hezbollah snipers at the Israel-Lebanon border - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 9, 2023
A video is being shared on social media claiming it to be of the Israeli army eliminating two Hezbollah snipers with explosives at the Israel-Lebanon border. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of Israel army eliminating two Hezbollah snipers at the Israel-Lebanon border.
Fact: The video shared in the post was posted by an Instagram user Jake from the North Idaho region in the U. S. state of Idaho. Jake, a cinematographer and a military enthusiast, published many similar videos showcasing battlefield scenes while donning army camouflage. The video has nothing to do with the ongoing fight between the Israeli army and Hezbollah militants amid the Israel-Palestine conflict. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
On reverse image search of the screenshots of the video, we found a tweet made by an ‘X’ user related to this viral video. The ‘X’ user informed that the video was created by a military enthusiast who posts videos portraying war scenarios and battlefield scenes. Sharing the URL link of the ‘thepicturetaker’ Instagram account that posted the video, the ‘X’ user clarified that the video does not show the killing of Hezbollah militants in the context of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
İnternette gördüğünüz herşeye neden inanmamanız gerektiğine dair güzel bir örnek. Videodaki adam ne asker, ne Hizbullah militanı ne de başka bir şey. Dümdüz sivil ve biraz eğlenceli bir herif. Gerçek hayatta savaş senaryoları kurtuluyor, Battle Field sahneleri falanda var
Hesabı: https://t.co/hJ6SRb1siv
‘thepicturetaker’ Instagram page published the video on 02 November 2023 with the description, “He learned his lesson at properly employing cover & concealment.” The Instagram page is administered by Jake, a cinematographer and a military enthusiast, from the North Idaho region in the U. S. state of Idaho.
Replying to a user’s appreciation for his video, Jake admitted that the video was created by him using visual effects. Jake published many similar videos showcasing battlefield scenes while donning army camouflage. A few of those videos can be seen here, here, and here. We reached out to Jake for further clarification regarding the video. We will update the article once we receive further clarification regarding the video.
To sum it up, an unrelated video is shared as recent visuals of the Israeli army eliminating Hezbollah snipers at the Israel-Lebanon border.

created: November 9, 2023


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Unrelated video shared as visuals of Muslims protesting in Rajasthan - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 18, 2023
A video of a huge gathering is being shared on social media with a claim that it allegedly shows a protest held by Muslims in Rajasthan. This is being shared in the context of the protests held by the Muslim community in Jaipur against the killing of Asgar Abbas Ali, who lost his life in the Jaipur Express train killings. Let’s verify this claim through this post.
Claim: This video shows a recent protest held by Muslims in Rajasthan.
Fact: This video has existed on the internet atleast since June 2023, before the recent (August 2023) protests in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Hence the claim made in the post is False.
We performed a reverse image search on some of the viral video’s keyframes to learn more about it. This search led us to a tweet from 11 June 2023 made by a user named Asaad Fakharuddin. The post’s description in Urdu translates to ‘…Today, after 10 years, Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh got permission for Open Gathering. …It seems that the whole of Dhaka has come alive today. 🩶 This is not just a video but scenes after decades of sacrifices Allahu Akbar.’
سچ کہتے ہیں نظریہ کبھی نہیں مرتا ، قربانیوں ، جیلوں، تختہ دار کے بعد اگر استقامت دکھائی جائے تو یہ مناظر نظر آتے ہیں
آج پورے 10 سال بعد جماعت اسلامی بنگلہ دیش کو Open Gathering کی اجازت مل گئی۔ امیر جماعت اسلامی بنگلہ دیش ڈاکٹر شفیق الرحمن 2022 سے بغیر کسی مقدمہ کے سلاخوں کے… pic.twitter.com/NmgFE4qRKa
A quick Google search revealed that Jamaat-e-Islami is a Bangladeshi political party that was banned from contesting in elections in 2013. Reportedly, the party held a rally in Dakha (also said in Asaad Fakharuddin’s tweet) after taking permission from Dakha Metropolitan Police(DMP).
None of the news reports (here and here) that covered this contains the viral video, which is being claimed as a video that shows a recent protest (here and here) held in Rajasthan against the death of Asgar Abbas Ali in the Mumbai-Jaipur Superfast Express train. The killing incident took place on 31 July 2023,  and the protests were held this month, i.e. August 2023.
Though we could not independently verify the location and the context behind the viral video, since it has existed on the Internet at least since June 2023, it can be concluded that the viral video is not related to these protests.
To sum up, this video is being misquoted on social media as the visuals of the recent Rajasthan protests.


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Unrelated video shared as visuals of Ukraine President Zelensky singing ‘Endless Love’ along with his wife - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 10, 2022
A video is being shared on social media claiming it as visuals of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife singing the ‘Endless Love’ song. Amid the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict, this video is going viral on social media. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky singing ‘Endless Love’ song along with his wife.
Fact: The video shared in the post shows Boyce Avenue and Connie Talbot’s acoustic cover of the famous ‘Endless Love’ song originally sung by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross in 1981. This video shows English Singer Connie Talbot singing the ‘Endless Love’ song along with Alejandro Manzano, a musician and one of the founding members of the America-based ‘Boyce Avenue’ cover band group. This video does not show President Volodymyr Zelensky singing along with his wife Olena Zelenska. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the screenshots in the video, a video with similar visuals was found published on the Boyce Avenue YouTube channel on 20 February 2022. The description of the video states, “Boyce Avenue and Connie Talbot’s acoustic cover of “Endless Love” by Lionel Richie ft. Diana Ross”. According to the description of the video, this video shows English Singer Connie Talbot singing ‘Endless Love’ song along with Alejandro Manzano, a musician and one of the founding members of ‘Boyce Avenue’ band group. ‘Boyce Avenue’ is an American cover band formed in 2004 by brothers Alejandro Luis Manzano, Daniel Enrique Manzano, and Fabian Rafael Manzano.
Connie Talbot shared the same video on her YouTube channel on 14 February 2022. A few other videos of Connie Talbot singing with Alejandro Manzano can be seen here and here.
Olena Zelenska, the First Lady of Ukraine, is a screenwriter by profession and one of the founding members of the ‘Studio Kvartal 95’ production house. Pictures of Olena Zelenska with her husband Volodymyr Zelensky can be seen here and here. Lately, Olena Zelenska released an open letter to international media condemning the Russian invasion of her country.
To sum it up, an unrelated video is shared as visuals of Ukraine President Zelensky singing the ‘Endless Love’ song along with his wife.


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Unrelated video shared to create a false narrative surrounding the BPSC Teacher vacancies - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 4, 2023
A video that shows an overcrowded train being shared on social media claims that job aspirants from various states are flocking to Bihar in trains to apply for the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) School teacher vacancies. Let’s Fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: Visuals show job aspirants from various states flocking to Bihar in overcrowded trains.
Fact: There are no news reports to validate this claim. According to the notification released by BPSC, the mode of application is online. This video is an edited version uploaded by YouTuber Dharmendra Kumar, which shows the overcrowded Patna-Gaya passenger train. Nowhere in this video does Dharmendra Kumar mention that the passengers are job aspirants from other states. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
Our search to check if any credible media outlets have published news related to the claim that job aspirants from other states are travelling to Bihar to apply for the School Teacher Jobs released by the BPSC did not yield any positive results.
Moreover, in the notification that BPSC released on 30 June 2023, the mode of application for the School Teacher posts was mentioned as online, which negates the need for applicants to travel from other states to Bihar to fill out the form offline.
To learn the origins of the viral clip, we performed a keyword search on YouTube, leading us to its original version. This video was uploaded on a Youtube channel named Dharmendra Kumar, where train and road travel videos are uploaded. Many of the uploads on his channel featured overcrowded trains.
According to the person who speaks in the video, it was filmed at Parsa Bazaar railway station in Patna District, Bihar. This passenger train runs between Patna and Gaya, which is within the Bihar state and does not cover other states.
Moreover, nowhere in the video does Dharmendra mention that the passengers on the train are from other states travelling to Bihar to apply for the BPSC School Teacher posts. He says in the video that this train is generally overcrowded, and people will not get a place to sit.
We also found similar videos on the internet which feature an overcrowded Patna-Gaya passenger train (here, here, and here), which indicates that this is a common sight on this route. We also contacted Dharmendra Kumar for more context about the video; this article will be updated once he responds.
To sum up, a random video is shared to create a false narrative surrounding the BPSC Teacher vacancies.


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Unrelated videos and protest rally visuals are shared as Hindus evacuating Muslims after Kishan Bharwad’s murder - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 2, 2022
A post with three videos is being shared on social media with a claim that these show Hindus getting united after the murder of Kishan Bharwad and evacuating the Muslims from the village. Kishan Bharwad was killed in Dhandhuka by a group of men over a social media post. The accused in the murder case are Muslims. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Videos show Hindus reacting to the murder of Kishan Bharwad and evacuating the Muslims from the village.
Fact: Two of the three videos in the post are not related to the Kishan Bharwad murder incident. They are related to the Pirana village dargah incident. The third video shows people in Palitana protesting the murder of Kishan Bharwad. No evacuation or attack on Muslims happened during or after the protest rally shown in the Palitana video. SDM Palitana has confirmed the same to FACTLY. However, the protest rallies in some other places, like Rajkot, have turned violent. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
In the post, there are three videos. So, let us check the context of each video separately.
Video 1:
When we searched for the video on the internet, many similar videos with the same gate and structure in the background were found in the search results. They are related to the Pirana village dargah incident, not Kishan Bharwad’s murder. Few other news articles related to the Pirana incident can be read here, here, here, and here.
Video 2:
This video is also related to the Pirana village dargah incident. Similar videos from Pirana can be seen here, here, and here.
Video 3:
This video shows people in Palitana protesting the murder of Kishan Bharwad. Other videos with similar visuals can be seen here, here, and here. The news articles related to that rally can be read here and here.
People from various organisations in Palitana have conducted a rally to protest the murder of Kishan Bharwad and gave a representation to the SDM – Palitana (Prant Officer). When FACTLY spoke to SDM – Palitana, he confirmed that no evacuation or attack on Muslims, as claimed in the post, happened during or after the protest rally in Palitana. Also, no such incident was reported in Palitana by any news agency. However, the protest rallies in some other places, like Rajkot, have turned violent. The news reports regarding those incidents can be read here, here, and here.
To sum it up, unrelated videos and protest rally visuals are being falsely shared as Hindus evacuating the Muslims after Kishan Bharwad’s murder.
UPDATE (FEBRUARY 07, 2021):
Another video related to the Pirana village dargah incident is being falsely shared as related to Kishan Bharwad’s murder. The man in the video is Nasir Sheik. In the video, he was alleging a Muslim exodus in Pirana village following the attack of 200-300 RSS men. However, later in another video, Nasir Sheik clarified that the earlier video he shared is actually of Muslim protesters of Pirana village marching towards the Collectorate in order to complain about the construction of the wall. He further clarified that the video does not show any Muslim exodus in Pirana as he claimed earlier. FACTLY debunked false claims related to Pirana dargah incident in another fact-check article, which can be read here.

created: February 2, 2022


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Unrelated videos are being falsely shared as people attacking UP Energy Minister Shrikant Sharma - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 8, 2022
A couple of videos are being shared widely on social media with a claim that they show Uttar Pradesh Energy Minister Shrikant Sharma being attacked and chased away by the people. The videos are being shared in the context of the upcoming 2022 Assembly elections in UP. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Videos show UP Energy Minister Shrikant Sharma being attacked and chased away by the people.
Fact: Both the videos are neither related to UP Energy Minister Shrikant Sharma nor Uttar Pradesh. The first video was taken in April 2021, in the context of the Bengal Assembly elections, when BJP candidate Anirban Ganguly’s vehicle was attacked. The second video shows a recent attack on former Jharkhand BJP President Ravindra Rai in Bokaro by protesters, who are agitating against the exclusion of Bhojpuri and Magahi from the regional language list of the State’s newly made recruitment policy. Also, there are no news reports about any recent attack on Minister Shrikant Sharma. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the screenshots of the first video were run through Google Reverse Image Search, no specific information regarding the video was found. However, on searching with keywords on YouTube, the same video was found to be uploaded by ‘Nandighosha TV’ in April 2021. In the title, it can be read that the video shows a BJP candidate being chased away by villagers in West Bengal.
According to ‘Sangbad Pratidin’, the man being chased away in the video is Anirban Ganguly, the BJP candidate from Bolpur in the West Bengal Assembly Elections – 2021. Anirban Ganguly had reacted through a tweet on the incident which can be seen here. More information regarding the incident can be read here and here.
The second video has been previously debunked by FACTLY when it was shared with a similar claim. The video shows a recent attack on former Jharkhand BJP President Ravindra Rai in Bokaro by protesters, who are agitating against the exclusion of Bhojpuri and Magahi from the regional language list of the State’s newly made recruitment policy. The detailed fact-check article can be read here. Also, there are no news reports about any recent attack on Minister Shrikant Sharma.
To sum it up, the videos in the post are neither related to UP Energy Minister Shrikant Sharma nor Uttar Pradesh. They are being falsely shared as visuals of people attacking UP Energy Minister Shrikant Sharma.

created: February 8, 2022


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Unrelated videos are being passed off as those of recent protests in France. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 28, 2020
A post (archived) with a video of protests is being widely shared with the claim that the video is of recent protests in France. Another post (archived) with another protest video is also being shared on social media with the same claim. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Videos of recent protests in France.
Fact: Video of a police vehicle being attacked is actually from Italy where protesters vandalized a police vehicle. The other video is on the internet at least since January 2020 and evidence suggests this video is of a demonstration observed in Hamburg, Germany against the oppression of Uighurs in China. It is clear that these videos have nothing to do with recent protests in France. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
VIDEO 1:
Reverse image search of the screenshots of the video in the post led us to a YouTube video which carried similar visuals. This video is uploaded on YouTube on 13 January 2020 and the description of the video reads ‘The German city of Hamburg yesterday’. From the date of upload,  we can say that the video is old and not related to the recent protests in France.
Further Google search with relevant keywords led us to a few images on ‘Getty Images’ website. According to the description provided beside these images, it can be inferred that these images are of a demonstration organized in Hamburg, Germany on 11 January 2020 against the oppression of Uighurs in China. In the video on social media and these images, we can see similar background locations. Also, by the date of upload of these images on the website, we can confirm that these images are not of recent protests in France.
VIDEO 2:
Reverse image search of the screen shots of the video led us to a news video on YouTube which was uploaded on 24 October 2020. The description of the video reads ‘Police Cars Attacked During Protest in Italy’.
Taking a cue from the video, Google search with relevant keywords led us to a news article dated 23 October 2020 which carried a similar video as well as other images of a protest. According to the article, the video is of a protest demonstration in Naples, Italy against the imposition of curfew to curb the spread of coronavirus. With all this, we conclude that the video in the post is not of recent protests in France.
In the wake of the outrage raised by Muslim countries against the statements by French President Emmanuel Macron regarding Islam, posts similar to the one in the post are being widely circulated across social media platforms with misleading claims.
To sum it up, these videos have nothing to do with recent protests in France.

created: October 28, 2020


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Unrelated videos are being shared as recent visuals of flooded streets in Jodhpur - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 29, 2022
A video showing multiple different video clips of vehicles, houses and persons drowning in the floodwaters is being shared on social media claiming it as the recent visuals of flooded streets in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. In the wake of the recent heavy floods in Jodhpur, this post is being shared on social media. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Recent video showing vehicles, houses and men getting washed away in the flooded streets of Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
Fact: Most of the video clips shared in the post do not show the visuals of the flooded streets in Jodhpur. The video shared in the post shows different video clips of flooded streets and houses in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and other parts of Rajasthan. A video clip shared in the post shows a group of cows being washed away in Mexico. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The video shared in the post contains multiple video clips. Let’s verify the details of each video clip one by one.
Video Clip 1:
This video clip shared in the post shows old visuals of vehicles being washed away in a flooded street in the Kote Gate area of Bikaner, Rajasthan. A video showing similar visuals of vehicles being washed away in a flooded street was found published on 01 August 2019 by the ‘Rajasthan Tak’ YouTube channel. Earlier, when the same video was being shared as the flood visuals from Mumbai, FACTLY published a fact-check article debunking that claim.
Video Clip 2:
The video shared in the post shows a group of cows being washed away in the floodwaters in Nayarit, Mexico. Earlier, when the same video was being shared as the visuals of cattle swept away in the floodwater in Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas, FACTLY published a fact-check article debunking that claim. This incident is not related to the recent floods in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
Video Clip 3:
This video clip shows a truck drowning inside a flooded drain. On reverse image search, a video with similar visuals was found in an article published by the ‘Times of India’ news website on 19 July 2022. This article reported it as the visuals of a milk tanker drowning inside a flooded drain in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh. A ‘Republic TV’ journalist also tweeted this video confirming that the incident is from Dhar.
Video Clip 4:
This video clip shows a house filled with rainwater. On reverse image search, a video with similar visuals was found in an article published by the ‘Times of India’ news website on 12 July 2022. This article reported it as the visuals of a house that turned into a pool after heavy rains in Gujarat. Several other news portals have published this video describing it as a recent incident that took place in Ahmedabad city of Gujarat.
Video Clip 5:
A watermark on this video clip claims it as the visuals of people getting washed away in the flooded streets of the Ghanta Ghar area in Jodhpur. On reverse image search, we found that the same video was being circulated on social media at least since August 2019. Many social media users have shared this video in 2019 describing it as the visuals from the Ghanta Ghar area in Jodhpur. While a few users mentioned it as the visuals from Kolhapur city in Maharashtra, we could not ascertain the exact location of this incident. However, it can be concluded that the video shared in the post is old and not related to the recent floods in Jodhpur.
Video Clip 6:
This video clip shows a few men rescuing people floating in a flooded street. On reverse image search of the screenshots in the video, a video with similar visuals was found tweeted by the ‘News 18’ news channel in August 2020. ‘News 18’ reported it as the visuals from the flooded streets of Jaipur city in Rajasthan.
#WATCH – Parts of Jaipur experienced flood-like situation after heavy rains. pic.twitter.com/hP87tljdmA
To sum it up, unrelated videos are being shared as visuals of the flooded streets in Jodhpur.


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Unrelated videos are being shared as visuals of Palestinians faking injuries - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 14, 2023
A series of photos have been circulating on social media where a little girl appears to be getting fake injury makeup, after which she is seen taken on a stretcher by medics. These photos are claimed to depict Palestinians faking injuries to mislead international media and public opinion. This is being shared in the context of the ongoing Hamas-Israel conflict.  Let’s fact-check this claim.
Claim: The photos show Palestinians faking injuries to mislead international media and public opinion.
Fact: The photos are actually behind-the-scenes footage of a Lebanese short film called “The Reality.” Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
The initial investigation into the claim began by tracing the source of the photos in question. These photos seemed to be screengrabs from a video posted by a user named Ofir Gendelman, which we found on his social media platform X. Gendelman, as stated in his bio, is an Israeli PM’s spokesperson.
نفضح الأكاذيب الفلسطينية:
الغزيون يحاولون تضليل الرأي العام العالمي والعربي ووسائل الإعلام من خلال فبركة إصابات في صفوف الأطفال والمدنيين بغزة.
شاهدوا كيف يتم وضع ميك اب على الطفلة التي لم تصب بأذى وكيف يتم "تقديم العلاج" لمدنيبن لم يتعرصوا لأي إصابة، أمام الكاميرات!
افشلنا… pic.twitter.com/Uq4Xn8mDQp
Upon finding and watching the video, it became clear that the video is actually behind-the-scenes footage from a Lebanese short film titled “The Reality.”
Another search was conducted online for more information about this short film. This search led to the Instagram account of a film director named Mahmoudramzi, who uploaded the short film on 28 October 2023, in which we can identify the same people featured in the viral screenshots.
Moreover, a further search led to the Instagram accounts of a few actors featured in the viral clip, who shared the short film on their Instagram handles (here and here). One particular user, rami.jardali, posted behind-the-scenes footage of the film on 29 October 2023, and tagged the film’s director, Mahmoudramzi, along with fellow actor Omar. The description under this post, written in Arabic, translates to “Backstage, Backstage 🇱🇧🇵🇸Reality🇵🇸🇱🇧.”
Other post
In the past, too, Factly debunked similar claims about certain videos showing Palestinians faking injuries. You can find those articles below.
Old and unrelated video misrepresented as Gazans faking deaths amid Israel-Palestine conflict
Unrelated visuals are shared as Palestinians faking injuries and death amid the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict
Unrelated old video shared as Palestinian people misleading the world with fake injuries
To sum up, the viral photos claimed to show Palestinians faking injuries are actually from a Lebanese short film called “The Reality.”

created: November 14, 2023