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An old poster of Nitish Kumar ('Nitish sabke hai') is shared as a recent one with a misleading claim - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 11, 2022
On 9 August 2022, JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar resigned as chief minister of Bihar and ended his party’s alliance with the BJP, announcing that his party had re-joined the Mahagathbandhan. He again took oath as Chief Minister of Bihar for the eighth time on 10 August 2022, this time backed by RJD and other opposition parties including the Congress & Communist parties. Against this backdrop, an image of Nitish Kumar’s Poster is being widely shared on social media. The poster contains the picture of Nitish Kumar along with the line ‘नीतीश सबके है’ (Nitish belongs to all).  The post says that Nitish Kumar joins hands with any party that fulfills his ambitions. Several media outlets claim this as a recent poster (here, here, and here). Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: A poster saying ‘Nitish sabke hai’ (Nitish belongs to all) was put up after Nitish Kumar’s resignation on 09 August 2022 & the termination of his party’s ties with the BJP.
Fact: This poster was installed around October 2020 outside the JD(U) head office in Patna. Also, the same photo was shared by several social media users in October 2020. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
We did a reverse image search of the viral picture and found a Facebook post from 08 October 2020 sharing the same poster.
Taking a cue from this, we searched for a more credible sources and found a tweet made by Chitra Tripathi, Editor and Anchor of Aajtak, on 06 October 2020 which contains the same image of Nitish Kumar’s poster.
जब नीतीश सबके हैं,
तो PM की फ़ोटो सबके लिये क्यों नहीं हो सकती?
LJP को पोस्टर में PM की फ़ोटो इस्तेमाल करने से मना किया गया तो नेता जी लोग बोल पड़े कि
“PM तो सबके हैं” #BiharElections pic.twitter.com/cMSeWjpl7Z
By comparing the two images, it is evident that the image shared in the post is the same as the viral image.
Upon further investigation, we found that the same image was used by BBC Marathi in a November 2020 article. According to the article, JD(U) used the slogan of ‘Nitish sabke hai’ in the 2020 elections.
ABP Bihar Uploaded a video on its official YouTube channel on 02 October 2020 regarding the posters outside JD(U) head office in Patna. This video also shows the visuals of the ‘नितीश सबके हैं’ (‘Nitish sabke hai’) poster. Though we couldn’t find out the exact date of the poster’s installation, it can be concluded that it is not placed after Nitish’s resignation this year in 2022.
To sum it up, the poster ‘Nitish sabke hai’ is not a recent one. It is a poster from October 2020 or earlier.


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An old protest video falsely shared as ‘Situation in the old city (Hyderabad) today’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 27, 2020
A video is being widely shared on social media with a claim that it shows the situation in the old city (Hyderabad) today during the lockdown (27 March 2020). The video is being shared to show that Muslims have disobeyed the lockdown orders and gathered in large numbers in old city. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Situation in the old city (Hyderabad) today despite the lockdown.
Fact: The video is an old one. It was not taken during the current lockdown. Also, today’s Friday prayer at Mecca Masjid was conducted with only a few members. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the screenshots of the video were run through the Google Reverse Image Search, a similar video was found in the search results. The video was uploaded on 20 December 2019 and had the title – ‘Protests against #CAA_#NRC near Charminar, Makkah Masjid, Hyderabad after Juma prayer’. So, the video was not taken during the current lockdown.
Also, no such protest was held in the old city today. Today’s Friday prayer at Mecca Masjid was conducted with only a few members to avoid the spread of COVID-19. People were asked to offer prayers from their respective homes. The videos related to today’s situation in the old city can be watched here and here.
To sum it up, an old protest video falsely shared as ‘Situation in the old city (Hyderabad) today’.
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source: news-factly

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

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


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An old satirical newspaper clipping about a man not passing stool for 25 years is now being shared as authentic news - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 9, 2023
A newspaper clipping about a man who hasn’t been to the toilet for 25 years is being circulated on social media platforms. The news clip identifies the person as Deepak Goyal, who works for the same news organisation and even published the image of the person. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Newspaper clipping about a man not passing stool for 25 years.
Fact: The viral clipping was first released by the local newspaper ‘Kashi Vaarta’ in Varanasi. This news article was originally published in 2017, specifically for entertainment purposes on the occasion of Holi, and it does not depict any real incident. Further, according to experts it is not possible to live without having a bowel movement for so many years.  Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
There is no such disease called Luteo Cristo Diphallia:
The widely circulated newspaper clipping claims that a man did not pass stool for 25 years due to a condition called Luteo Cristo Diphallia. However,  internet search did not yield any results or information regarding such a disease.
Diphallia is a rare genetic condition that occurs when a male baby is born with a duplication of the penis. According to the Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center (GARD), Diphallia or penile duplication is a rare congenital variant with an estimated frequency of 1 per 5 to 6 million live births. Further, Diphallia has nothing to do with digestive health (passage of stool), as mentioned in the viral clipping.
Moreover, according to experts, it is probably not possible to live without having bowel movements for so many days. Thus, the lack of supporting evidence suggests that the viral story may not be based facts.
The viral clip is a satirical piece:
Further search led us to a news report that debunked the viral clip. As per this report, this viral clip originated from a local news agency in Varanasi known as ‘Kashi Vaarta’. The editor of this news agency has provided clarification, stating that the viral clip was initially published in 2017, on Holi and explicitly mentioned that the news was not factual, but rather intended for entertainment purposes.
In addition, the report includes an interview with Jaya Prakash, the individual featured in the viral news clip, who is employed at ‘Kashi Vaarta’. During the interview, he clarified that he does not suffer from any such ailment and emphasised that his image was used solely for entertainment purposes.
To sum it up, an old satirical newspaper clipping that was originally published for entertainment purposes is now being shared as a genuine one.


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An old speech of a Bangladeshi Muslim scholar targeting Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati is falsely linked to Indian elections - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 2, 2024
A video (here, here and here) of a man appearing to be asking Hindus to accept Islam is being shared across social media with a caption in Hindi that translates to ‘ If Congress comes to power, we will go to the doorsteps of the Hindus and give them an invitation to Islam.’ We fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: The video shows a Muslim man saying that he would convert Hindus to Islam if the Congress party comes to power.
Fact: This is an old video from Bangladesh; it has nothing to do with the ongoing 2024 general elections. The person in the video is a muslim scholar named ‘Syed Irshad Ahmed Al Bhukari.’ He said this in Dinajpur, Bangladesh, in 2021, in response to India’s Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati’s comments on Islam. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
A Google reverse image search using screenshots to find more details about the viral video led us to a post (archive link) made by a social media user in May 2021.
Friendly message from Bangladesh:
-Corona pandemic and the many deaths and cremations in India is because of 'blasphemy' by Narsinghanand
-Hindus, do tauba otherwise your dead bodies won't be cremated but eaten by cheel-kawwe
-Ae pandit Narsinghanand, accept our Islam pic.twitter.com/CWwa75pLab
This video is longer than the video in the viral post. At the beginning of this video, the same man featured in the viral video holding a microphone can be seen saying that he is speaking from Dinajpur, Bangladesh.
Taking this as a hint, we searched the internet with relevant keywords to learn more about this person and found his Facebook profile and YouTube channel. His name is ‘Syed Irshad Ahmed Al Bukhari,’ and according to his Facebook ‘intro’ page, he is from Dinajpur, Bangladesh and is an International Islamic scholar.  You can see the full version of the viral video uploaded on his YouTube channel here(archive link)(also here). The title of the video is ‘Dr Syed Irshad Bukhari gave Mubahila Challenge to Vile Narsinghanand Saraswati from Bangladesh,’ and was uploaded to YouTube on 30 April 2021.
In the video, Saeed Irshad responded to India’s Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati’s alleged comments on Islam.
The lines he spoke in the viral video can be seen at 1:35 and  7:00 marks, respectively. He made this speech in Dinajpur, Bangladesh, not in India. Nowhere in this video did he speak about Congress or the Indian elections. Interestingly, even in the viral video, he did not speak about the Congress party or make the alleged statement.
To sum up, the person in the viral video made the speech in Dinajpur, Bangladesh, in 2021, not in India. This video has nothing to do with the ongoing 2024 elections.


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An old speech of Geert Wilders is falsely shared as visuals of him warning Muslims in his first speech after the 2023 election. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 28, 2023
A speech of Netherlands’ Party for Freedom or Freedom Party (PVV) leader Geert Wilders is being shared on social media with a claim that it his is first speech after he was elected as the Prime Minister of Netherlands. It is being claimed that he was warning Muslims when he said “If you want sharia law and don’t respect our law and freedom of expression go to any Islamic country.” Let’s fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: Netherlands’ newly elected PM Geert Wilders warned Muslims in his first public speech.
Fact: This is an old video from November 2020. Geert Wilders’ political party Party for Freedom or Freedom Party (PVV) won in the Netherlands General Election 2023, but he was not elected as the Prime Minister since his party won only 24% of seats in the 150-seat Dutch parliament and it needs support from other parties to form a government. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
Firstly, a keyword search on the internet revealed (here, here, and here) that Geert Wilders had not been elected as the Prime Minister of the Netherlands. Although his party PVV won the General election, they have to get support from other parties to form a government as they won only 24% of seats in the Netherlands Parliament. His party PVV won 37 seats of the total 150 seats in the parliament.
To learn more details about the viral video, we performed a reverse image search on a few of its keyframes which led us to the original version of the viral video which is actually Geert Wilders’ speech given in the Dutch parliament. This video available on a verified YouTube channel named PVVpers was uploaded on 12 November 2020 with a title in Duch that translates to “Input from Geert Wilder’s terror debate (12-11-2020)”
The viral video has been clipped from this 16:44 seconds clip and the viral portion can be seen from  2:50. From the translation of the Auto-Generated subtitles on YouTube, we understood that Geert Wilder was speaking about the murder of the French teacher Samuel Paty, which happened in October 2020. Later in the speech, he goes on to speak about Muslims and Islam and makes a few proposals that are also seen in the viral video.
A further search also revealed that a translation for this speech was uploaded in November 2020 by an Investigative Journalist named Amy Mek on X, which seems like the video that has gone viral now.
Although, Factly could not independently verify the authenticity of the translation for his speech in this video (we relied on the translate feature on YouTube to understand the context of his speech), since the video predates the current election and contradicts the claim that this video shows Wilders’ first public speech after the election, it is safe to say that the viral claim is False.
To sum up,  Geert Wilders has not been elected as the Prime Minister of the Netherlands yet. This video claiming to be his first speech after the 22 November 2023 election is actually from November 2020..

created: November 28, 2023


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An Old stone-pelting video falsely shared as that of recent communal violence at Telinipara in West Bengal - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 18, 2020
A video is being shared on social media claiming that it shows the recent violence at Telinipara in the Hooghly district of West Bengal. In Telinipara region of the Hooghly district in West Bengal, violence erupted between Muslims & Hindus  over a dispute regarding the usage of a public toilet during the lockdown. But, FACTLY has found that the posted video is an old one. It is not related to the recent communal violence at Telinipara. It was found to exist on the internet at least since December 2019. Several YouTube news channels have suggested that the video is of an incident during the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests in West Bengal. But FACTLY could not independently verify that claim.
Sources:
Claim – Facebook post (archived)
Fact –
1. Earlier source – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-NmM8Sxo_8
2. Earlier source – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7yOeM1yaL0
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An old stone-pelting video taken after the killing of Dawood Salafi is being shared as the current situation in J&K - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 21, 2019
A stone-pelting video is being shared on social media with a claim that it is the current real situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Video of the current real situation (stone-pelting) in Kashmir.
Fact: The video in the post is an old video. The clashes shown in the video took place in Srinagar in June-2018 after the killing of Dawood Salafi by the security forces in a gunfight in Anantnag. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When the screenshots of the video were run through Google Reverse Image Search, it was found that the same video was uploaded by ‘RT Arabic’ on June 22, 2019. So, it is an old video. When looked for any news on this incident, an article published by ‘Greater Kashmir’ on this issue can be found in the search results. The title of the article reads, “Massive clashes erupt in HMT Srinagar after killing of ISJK chief in Anantnag gunfight”. More photos from these clashes can be seen here and further information on the  Anantnag gunfight can be read here.
To sum it up, an old stone-pelting video taken after the killing of Dawood Salafi is being shared as the current situation in J&K.
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An old TV commercial of a smoking dog is falsely attributed to the Maharaja of Rewa. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 21, 2024
A video of a dog appearing to smoke a cigarette has been spreading across social media sites, with a claim that the dog belongs to the royal residence of Raja Prabal Pratap Pritam of Rewa State, Madhya Pradesh. Through this fact-check article, we will explore the facts behind these claims.
Claim: The viral video of a smoking dog is from the royal residence of Raja Prabal Pratap Pritam of Rewa State of Madhya Pradesh.
Fact: The video is an old television commercial from an Anti-smoking campaign by ydoyouthink.com. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
To investigate the claim, a reverse image search was performed using keyframes from the viral video. This search led us to several old YouTube posts (here and here), some as old as 17 years old, that feature the original version of the video.
In this original version, the dog’s owner calls the dog, named Bennet, for dinner. Instead of responding, Bennet takes a puff of the cigarette and states, “Hey, I am a dog, what’s your excuse?” The video concludes with a voiceover asking, “Can anybody tell us why smoking isn’t stupid?” and a text reference to the website ydoyouthink.com.
Further search led us to more commercials from ydoyouthink.com posted on YouTube (here, here, and here), all seemingly part of an anti-smoking campaign.
This presumption was confirmed by a forum post on cursedcommercials.fandom.com, which refers to the smoking dog video as “A funny television PSA from the anti-smoking organisation YDoUThink.”
Moreover, the Maharaja of Rewa State, Maharaja Pushpraj Singh, denied the claim in an interview with vishvasnews.com, firmly establishing that the smoking dog video has no connection to the royal residence of Raja Prabal Pratap Pritam of Rewa State, Madhya Pradesh.
To sum up, the dog in the viral video does not belong to the royal residence of Raja Prabal Pratap Pritam of Rewa State, Madhya Pradesh, but is instead featured in an old ad for an anti-smoking campaign by ydoyouthink.com.

created: February 21, 2024


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An old unrelated hospitalization image is falsely shared as that of Karnal doctor who ate cow dung - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 16, 2021
A post with a photo is being widely shared on social media claiming that the person lying on the hospital bed is a doctor from Karnal who ate cow dung. Recently, in a viral video, a person who has been identified as Dr. Manoj Mittal from Karnal, Haryana was seen eating cow dung. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo showing the Karnal doctor who ate cow dung being admitted to a hospital.
Fact: The person on the hospital bed is Bidhan Thapa who passed away in the US due to a very critical health condition. When Dr. Manoj Mittal, who was seen eating cow dung was asked about the viral post, he said that he is completely healthy and had not been hospitalised. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When reverse image search is done on the image of the person on the hospital bed, a GoFundMe page with the same photo was found. The page had been created on 10 July 2017. According to its description, the person on the bed is Bidhan Thapa who passed away in John Hopkins Hospital in the USA due to a “very critical” health condition. The fundraiser was created to help the dead person’s wife to transfer the mortal remains to their home country, Nepal.
Recently, in a viral video, a person who has been identified as Dr. Manoj Mittal from Karnal, Haryana was seen eating cow dung. However, according to this video report, the person is not in an ICU hospital bed as claimed. When Dr. Manoj Mittal was asked about the viral post, he said that he was healthy and had not been hospitalized.
When the same photo of the person on the bed was shared with a claim that the person in the photo is Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, AFP had written a fact-check article in February 2021 debunking it.
To sum it up, an old unrelated image is falsely shared as that of Karnal doctor who ate cow dung being admitted to a hospital.

created: December 16, 2021


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An Old & Unrelated image is shared as ‘toddler injured during the CAB protests by Muslims in West Bengal’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 18, 2019
A post with an image is being widely shared on Facebook with the claim that it shows a toddler travelling by train injured during the CAB protests by Muslims in West Bengal. Let’s analyze the authenticity of the claim in the post.
Image of a toddler travelling by train injured during the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) protests by Muslims in West Bengal.
Fact: On social media, the image in the post is making rounds from at least November 2016. So, it has nothing to do with the recent Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 protests in West Bengal. Hence, the claim is FALSE.
Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) seeks to provide Indian citizenship to specific religious groups facing religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. The bill has been passed by both the houses in Parliament and has become the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019.
When the image in the post is subjected to reverse image search technique, many search results of it were obtained. From those search results, it was found that the image was making rounds on social media with various versions at least since 14 November 2016. Those versions can be seen here, here and here. But information from no credible source was found that authenticates any of those versions. As the image was found to exist on social media platforms at least since 14 November 2016, it can be ascertained that it has nothing to do with the recent Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 protests in West Bengal.
Earlier, when another post went viral claiming a child to have been injured during the CAB protests in West Bengal, ‘FACTLY’ has debunked it and the article can be read here.
To conclude, an old image is being shared as a ‘toddler injured during the CAB protests by Muslims in West Bengal’.
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created: December 18, 2019


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An old, unrelated photo is being shared as visuals of Manohar Lal Khattar vacating his official residence after his resignation - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 21, 2024
A photograph (here and here) allegedly depicting former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar vacating his official residence has been increasingly shared on various social media platforms. The claim is that this photograph was captured when Khattar packed his belongings to leave his official residence soon after his resignation. We fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: The viral image shows former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar vacating his official residence carrying minimum luggage.
Fact: The image in question is an old one, which has been available on the internet since 2019, long before Khattar’s resignation as the Chief Minister on 12 March 2024. Thus, the claim attached to the post is False.
To verify the authenticity of the viral claim, we performed a reverse image search. This led us to several old posts (here, here, and here) on social media, dating back to 2019 and 2020, that featured the same image but attached to different contexts, such as the farm bills of 2020.
This evidence confirms that the image predates Khattar’s resignation as the Chief Minister, which took place on 12 March 2024 (here and here). Hence, it could not possibly be a photograph of Khattar vacating his official residence post-resignation.
Additionally, a thorough search through recent news reports and Manohar Lal Khattar’s official social media handles did not yield any posts or information about him leaving his official residence carrying minimum luggage.
A careful comparison of the viral image with photos of Manohar Lal Khattar raises doubts if the person in the viral image is indeed Khattar. However, we could not independently verify the identity of the person in the viral image and the context. Its availability on the internet way before Manohar Lal Khattar’s resignation proves that it has nothing to with what is being claimed in the viral post.
To sum up, the photograph in the viral claim predates Manohar Lal Khattar’s resignation and does not depict him vacating his official residence after resignation.


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An old & unrelated video is being falsely shared as ‘Muslims spreading Coronavirus disease by applying saliva to plates and spoons’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 31, 2020
A video is being widely shared on Facebook with the claim that Muslims are spreading coronavirus disease by applying their saliva to plates and spoons. Let’s check the authenticity of the claim made in the post.
Video of Muslims applying their saliva to plates and spoons to spread the coronavirus disease.
Fact: The first Coronavirus case in the world was registered in December 2019. But the video is found to exist on social media at least since July 2018. So, the video is an old one and the claim is FALSE.
The first Coronavirus case in the world was registered in China in December 2019.
Through reverse image search, the video was found to have existed on the internet at least since July 2018. The video was first posted on Twitter and it was found that the Muslims in the video belonged to ‘Bohra’ community and they were doing so in the video to not waste food. When searched on Google with specific keywords, the same video was found on ‘Vimeo’. The description in this video also had the same information about that video.
Bohras eat together in a big “thaal”. This one is from a jamatkhana where on several occasions there is food served. What’s happening here is taking not wasting food at an extreme level. 🤣🤣 https://t.co/irxJePHlZ3
When searched for more information about the ‘Bohra’ community, an article of news agency – ‘The National’ was found. As per this video, the entire Bohra family eats in a single plate ‘Thaal’ and they have ‘no-wastage’ policy. So, they do not leave a single grain of rice on their plate when it is taken away. Also, Bohra men are easy to identify as they put white topis (head caps) with golden embroidery.
When the head caps of the persons in the video are compared with the head caps worn by Bohra Muslims, they were found to be similar. So, the Muslims in the video belong to Bohra Community and they are licking plates and spoons to not waste food.
To sum it up, an old video of Bohra Muslims licking plates and spoons to have the leftover food is being shared as ‘Muslims spreading coronavirus disease’.
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An old video depicting a man throwing ink and chanting slogans against EVMs in Thane is shared as a recent incident - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 24, 2024
After phase 1 of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections concluded in some states, a video surfaced on social media (here, here, and here), claiming that “In Nagpur, a man threw ink on an EVM machine and raised slogans against EVM machines.” Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: In Nagpur, this man threw ink on EVM machines and raised slogans against EVMs during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Fact: This video is old and is from an incident that occured during the Maharashtra Assembly elections in 2019. Five years ago, during the Thane voting, BSP leader Sunil Khambe threw ink on the EVM and protested against the machines. This has no connection with the 2024 polls. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
On performing a reverse image search using the keyframes of the viral video, we found the same video published by ABP News on 21 October 2019 with the title, ‘BSP leader throws ink on EVM and chants EVM murdabad slogans.’ As per the description of the video, in Thane, a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader, Sunil Khambe threw ink on the EVM at a polling booth while voting for Maharashtra Assembly Polls.
On further research, we found news reports about the same incident (here and here). While sharing the viral video, these reports mentioned that ‘A Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) worker on Monday threw ink on an electronic voting machine (EVM) at a polling booth in Maharashtra’s Thane district. As he was being bundled away by the police, he shouted slogans against EVMs, demanding they be replaced by ballot papers.’ This video is not from Nagpur and has no connection with the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
To sum up, an old video depicting a man throwing ink and chanting slogans against EVMs in Thane in 2019 is shared as a recent incident.


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An old video depicting the crowd raising pro-Modi slogans upon Rahul Gandhi's appearance in Jharkhand is being shared as recent - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 7, 2024
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination papers from Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli constituency for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on 3 May 2024. In this context, a video of the crowd raising pro-Modi slogans as Rahul Gandhi arrived at a public place is being shared on social media (here, here, and here) claiming that “Following the filing of his candidature from Rae Bareli, Rahul Gandhi visits Ayodhya, where he is greeted by the crowd by chanting pro-Modi slogans.” Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Following the filing of his candidature from Rae Bareli, Rahul Gandhi visited Ayodhya, where he was greeted by the crowd with Pro-Modi slogans.
Fact: Modi-Modi slogans were chanted in front of Rahul Gandhi at Baba Baidyanath Dham in Deoghar in Jharkhand, during his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in February 2024. This video is not related to the filing of his nomination papers from Rae Bareli. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
We conducted a reverse image search on the video’s keyframes, which directed us to an Instagram reel posted by BJP Gujarat’s official account on 3 February 2024. The reel mentioned that “Modi-Modi slogans were chanted in front of Rahul Gandhi at Sanatan’s Dham Deoghar, Baba Vaidyanath Dham.”
Further, a relevant keyword search yielded several news articles (here, here, and here)  from February 2024 reporting on Gandhi’s visit to Baba Baidyanath Dham in Deoghar, Jharkhand, during his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.
The Times of India report featuring the same video on 3 February 2024, states that “Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra reached Jharkhand on February 02. Dressed in a Pink Dhoti and Sandalwood powdered forehead, Rahul Gandhi offered prayers at Baba Baidyanath Dham on 3 Feb 2024. As soon as Rahul Gandhi entered the famous jyotirlinga in Jharkhand’s Deoghar, loud sloganeering began. Public in large numbers raised ‘Rahul Gandhi Zindabad’ slogans, but suddenly it turned into ‘Modi-Modi’ chants”. This confirms that the viral video is not from Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Ayodhya after filing his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha elections in Rae Bareli.
Media reported Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination papers from Rae Bareli accompanied by the Party members and INDIA bloc partners on 3 May 2024 (here, here, and here).
To sum up, an old video depicting the crowd raising pro-Modi slogans upon Rahul Gandhi’s appearance in Jharkhand is being circulated as recent.


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An old video falsely accusing the BJP of using the army to obtain proxy votes is shared as recent - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 8, 2024
A video of a man accusing army men of forcing people to vote for the BJP candidate is being shared on social media (here, here, and here). Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: The video shows the BJP using the Indian army personnel to cast fake votes in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Fact: This incident took place in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh in 2019. On 29 April 2019, soldiers and their spouses from the Grenadiers Regimental Centre went to vote at booth number 146, Swami Vivekananda Higher Secondary School, Katanga, Jabalpur, for the 2019 Parliamentary elections. Some people forcibly took their voter identity cards and tried to stop them from voting and shared videos with these false claims. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
After conducting a reverse image search using keyframes from the viral video, it was discovered that the video has been circulating since 2019 (here and here). Further investigation was conducted based on the booth number (146) and location details provided in the video, namely Cantonment Vidhan Sabha 6 in Rajiv Gandhi Nagar. This led to the identification of the location of the booth as Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.
On further keyword search based on this clue, we found a report published by ANI (here and here) around the same time in 2019 with the same details as mentioned in the viral video. As per this report, Army officials in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, have reported an incident stating that “On 29 April 2019, during the Parliament Elections voting day, soldiers and their spouses from The Grenadiers Regimental Centre went to vote using an Army vehicle at Booth No 146, Swamy Vivekananda Higher Secondary School, Katanga, Jabalpur. Unidentified individuals attempted to take away voter ID cards from regular voters, disrupted Army personnel who were stationed in the Cantonment area, and shared videos to tarnish the reputation of the Army on 29 April 2019.”
Army officials in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, have filed a complaint against unidentified miscreants for trying to snatch voter ID cards of general voters, obstructing Army voters posted in Cantonment there and circulating videos to malign Army image, on April 29. pic.twitter.com/ByXwNR4EHz
Multiple news agencies also published reports about this incident in 2019 (here and here).
As per section 20(1) of Army Rules 1954 under Army Act 1950, “No person subject to the Act shall attend, address, or take part in any meeting or demonstration held for a party or any political purposes, or belong to or join or subscribe in the aid of, any political association or movement.” According to section 20(2) of the army rules, “No person subject to the Act shall issue an address to electors or in any other manner publicly announce himself or allow himself to be publicly announced as a candidate or as a prospective candidate for election to Parliament, the legislature of a State or a local authority, or any public body or act as a member of a candidate’s election committee, or in any way actively promote or prosecute a candidate’s interests.”
To sum up, an old video falsely accusing the BJP of using the army to obtain proxy votes is shared as recent.


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An old video falsely shared as ‘Bhim Army Chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad beaten in Rajasthan today’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 19, 2020
A video is being shared widely on social media with a claim that it shows Chandra Shekhar Aazad, the Chief of Bhim Army, being admitted into a hospital as he was beaten up in Rajasthan today. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Video of Bhim Army Chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad being admitted in a hospital as he was beaten up in Rajasthan today.
Fact: The video is an old one. Chandra Shekhar Aazad was admitted in a hospital in Meerut, on 12 March 2019,  after he was detained by the UP Police for organising an alleged illegal procession and subsequently fell ill. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The same video was found to be uploaded on YouTube in March 2019. So, when searched for any news regarding Aazad’s hospitalization in March 2019, it was found that he was admitted in a hospital in Meerut on 12 March 2019. In the NDTV article, published in March 2019, it can be read that ‘Azad was arrested at Deoband in Saharanpur but had to be admitted in a hospital in Meerut after he was taken ill’. The news about his illness was also tweeted from his official Twitter account. More about the incident can be read here and here. So, the incident happened last year and it is not related to Rajasthan.
To sum it up, an old video falsely shared as ‘Bhim Army Chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad beaten in Rajasthan today’.
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created: February 19, 2020


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An old video falsely shared as ‘Brahma Kamal flowers bloom after many years due to less pollution during the lockdown’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 29, 2020
A video is being shared widely on social media with a claim that it shows the Brahma Kamal flowers which finally bloomed after many years due to less pollution during the lockdown. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Brahma Kamal flowers bloom after many years due to less pollution during the lockdown.
Fact: It is an old video. It was found to be on the internet at least since December 2017. Also, Brahma Kamal flowers usually bloom every year during June – September, and the flowers can be seen till mid-October. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When searched with the keywords, the same video was found in the search results. The video was found to be uploaded on YouTube in December 2017. So, the video was taken before the lockdown came into effect.
Brahma Kamal (or Saussurea obvallata) is the State flower of Uttarakhand. On the ‘ENVIS Centre on Floral Diversity’ website, it can be read that ‘it occurs in alpine meadows of the Himalayas, extending from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh. It is also distributed in Bhutan, China, Nepal and Pakistan, at altitudes between 3700 and 4600 m’. The Brahma Kamal flowers usually bloom every year during June – September. So, it is not true that the video shows flowers blooming after many years. More information regarding the flower can be read here, here and here.
To sum it up, an old video falsely shared as ‘Brahma Kamal flowers bloom after many years due to less pollution during the lockdown’.
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An old video falsely shared as ‘Goats affected by Coronavirus’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 19, 2020
A video is being shared widely on social media with a claim that Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 – the latest Coronavirus) was found in goats. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Video of goats affected by Coronavirus.
Fact: The video is an old one. It was taken before the recent Coronavirus outbreak. Also, the Minister for Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries has clarified that there is no evidence to show that eating mutton can transmit Coronavirus. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the screenshots of the video were run through the Yandex Reverse Image Search, the same video was found in the search results. The video was found to be uploaded on YouTube on 12 December 2019. But the recent Coronavirus epidemic was reported to have begun in the last week of December 2019. So, the video is not related to the recent ‘SARS-CoV-2’ Coronavirus.
When a similar video went viral in UAE, their government has clarified that ‘the footage is old’.
Also, the Minister for Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Shandilya Giriraj Singh has tweeted that the consumption of chicken, mutton, fish, and eggs doesn’t cause the transmission of Coronavirus.
भ्रांतियों से सावधान:-
मटन ,चिकन अण्डा और मछली खाने से कोरोना वाइरस का संक्रमण नहीं होता है! pic.twitter.com/Ai9S75AZO5
Previously, when the message that chicken consumption causes coronavirus went viral, FACTLY debunked it as Fake news and the article can be read here.
To sum it up, an old video falsely shared as ‘goats affected by Coronavirus’.
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An old video falsely shared as ‘people shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ in Europe after the Coronavirus outbreak’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 20, 2020
A video is being shared widely on social media with a claim that people came on to the streets in Europe, read ‘Kalma’ (Islamic text) and raised slogans of ‘Allahu Akbar’ after the Coronavirus outbreak. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
People shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ in Europe after the Coronavirus outbreak.
Fact: The video is not related to COVID-19 outbreak in Europe. The video was found to be on the internet since 13 January 2020, whereas the first COVID-19 case in Europe was reported on 24 January 2020. The video was taken in Germany, where the first COVID-19 case was reported on 28 January 2020. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the screenshots of the video were run through the Yandex Reverse Image Search, the same video was found in the search results. The video was found to be uploaded on YouTube on 13 January 2020. It has the description that the video was taken in Hamburg (Germany). But, the first COVID-19 case was reported in Germany on 28 January 2020 (first COVID-19 case in Europe was reported on 24 January 2020). So, it was not taken after the outbreak of Coronavirus in Europe.
When searched about the procession in Hamburg in January, some pictures with similar visuals were found on the ‘Getty Images’ website. On the website, it can be read that people in Hamburg demonstrated, on 11 January 2020, against the oppression of the Uyghur Muslim minority in China. While the location of the demonstration looks the same from the pictures, it cannot be concluded that the video is related to the same demonstration. But the video was definitely taken before the Coronavirus outbreak.
To sum it up, an old video falsely shared as ‘people shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ in Europe after the Coronavirus outbreak’.
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An old video falsely shared as ‘Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra Gandhi breaking ‘lockdown’ regulations’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 7, 2020
A video is being shared across social media with the claim that it shows Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra Gandhi breaking ‘lockdown’ regulations. In the video, the vehicle of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra Gandhi is stopped by Police and they are asked to go back as prohibitory orders and Section 144 are in place. FACTLY has found the video to be three months old. In December 2019, when Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra Gandhi tried to meet the families of the persons who died in the violence during the anti-CAA protests in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh Police have stopped them and sent them back.
Sources:
Claim – Facebook post (archived)
Fact – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vYxToAaVlY
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/rahul-priyanka-stopped-from-entering-meerut-caa-violence-6183564/
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An old video falsely shared as recent Ram Navami celebrations in Akbarpur block (UP) during lockdown - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 21, 2020
A video is being shared widely on social media with a claim that it shows this year Ram Navami celebrations in Akbarpur block (UP) despite the lockdown in the country. FACTLY has found that the same video is on the internet at least since April 2019 and is from Akbarpur of Bihar. So, the video is not related to any recent event and was taken much before the lockdown.
Sources:
Claim – Facebook post (archived)
Fact –
1. 2019 Facebook Post – https://www.facebook.com/akbarpurblock/videos/1190031804508960/?v=1190031804508960
2. YouTube Video – https://youtu.be/0Hxj7U7OuR8?t=268
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An old video falsely shared as the attack on Muslims in France in response to the recent incidents. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 2, 2020
A video of a man assaulting a Muslim woman and children is being shared on social media claiming it as the reaction from the people of France for the recent attack in Nice. In October 2020, a teacher in Paris was beheaded for showing the cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammed. President Emmanuel Macron took a stance against radical Islam and made a statement that they are not going to give up their cartoons. Following this statements, a knife attacker killed three people inside a church in the city of Nice. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video a man attacking a Muslim woman in France following the attack in Nice.
Fact: The video shared in the post is an old one. In July 2020, a misogynist attacked a Muslim mother with children at a park in Nizhnekamsk, Republic of Tatarstan. He attacked five women including a pregnant woman with the motive of a hostile attitude towards the women. This video has nothing to do with the recent attack in the city of Nice. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of screenshots in the video, similar visuals were found in a video shared by the ‘Documenting Oppression Against Muslims (DOAM)’ organization on their Twitter handle on 08 July 2020. In the tweet, they mentioned that a Muslim mother was brutally attacked by a man at a park in Nizhnekamsk, Republic of Tatarstan. Five women including a pregnant woman were reportedly got attacked by this man in the park.  A hostile attitude towards women is the prime motive of the accused.
On searching for other sources using the keywords, a similar visual was found in an article published by a Russian news website on 07 July 2020. In the article, it is mentioned that a man was detained under the act of hooliganism for beating girls at a park in Nizhnekamsk. It is mentioned in the article that a previously convicted resident attacked five women in a park with a motive of his hostile attitude towards girls.
Reporting the same information, few users shared this video on their Twitter handles and YouTube channels. They can be seen here and here. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the video shared in the post is old and not related to the recent attack in the city of Nice, France.
To sum it up, an old video is falsely shared as the attack on Muslims in response to the recent attack in Nice (France).

created: November 2, 2020


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An old video falsely shared as the latest video of people flouting lockdown rules in West Bengal. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 15, 2020
A video is being shared widely on social media with a claim that it shows people flouting lockdown rules in West Bengal. But, FACTLY has found that the video is an old one. The same video was posted by a user on Twitter in April 2019 with a description that it was taken at Vidyasagar Setu in West Bengal. The location in the posted video has similarities with the other videos of the bridge. So, it can be confirmed that the video was taken in West Bengal. But it was taken much before the current lockdown.
Sources:
Claim –
1. Facebook post (archived)
Fact –
1. Old video – https://twitter.com/Joydeep4Bharat/status/1119912708118212609
Rules for Vidyasagar Setu (commonly known as 2nd Hooghly bridge) in Kolkata:
1 No alighting
2 No Parking
3 No cycling
But on Sab E Barat it's a HANGOUT place for a particular community, no Police and no Rules…..Amazing!! pic.twitter.com/BP33mDjMuY
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An old video from 2013 falsely shared as 'Train carrying trucks with essential goods during the current lockdown' - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 3, 2020
A video of a train carrying trucks is being shared widely on social media with a claim that it shows the brilliant idea of the Prime Minister Modi’s government to transport essential goods in such a way during the current lockdown. FACTLY has found that the video is an old one and is being circulated on the internet at least since 2013. Also, it was found that a similar service (Roll on – Roll off (RORO)) is being offered by the Konkan Railway from many years.
Sources:
Claim – Facebook post (archived)
Fact – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA0imqy8W5k http://www.konkanrailway.com/department/viewdept/roll_on_roll_off_services/
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An old video from Ahmedabad falsely shared as ‘stone-pelting on police by the protestors in Delhi’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 27, 2020
A video is being shared widely on social media with a claim that it shows protestors attacking the police in Delhi. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Video of stone-pelting on police by the protestors in Delhi.
Fact: The video is an old one. It was taken in Ahmedabad in December 2019. 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 on YouTube with the title: ‘Angry Protesters Throwing Stones on Police Jeep at Ahmedabad’. The video was uploaded on YouTube in December 2019. So, when searched with the keywords, a similar video was found to be uploaded by ‘TV9 Gujarati’, on 19 December 2019, with the title: ‘Anti-CAA protest in Shah-e-Alam area, Protesters pelted stones on Police van | Ahmedabad’. More videos related to the incident can be watched here and here.
To sum it up, an old video from Ahmedabad falsely shared as ‘stone pelting on police by the protestors in Delhi’.
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created: February 27, 2020


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An old video from Amethi depicting a young Dalit girl allegedly being beaten for mobile theft is now shared with a misleading claim - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 16, 2024
Several posts (here, here, and here) featuring a video of a few people brutally beating a young girl are being widely shared across social media platforms. In the video, a man can be seen hitting the girl with a stick and pulling her hair mercilessly. The claim accompanying the video suggests that the video depicts an 8-year-old girl from the Dalit community being beaten by Thakurs for drinking water from a temple without permission in Uttar Pradesh. In this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in these posts.
Claim: Video depicting an 8-year-old Dalit girl  being beaten by upper caste men for drinking water from a temple without permission in Uttar Pradesh.
Fact: The Amethi Police clarified on X(Twitter) that the video is from the year 2021, and all the accused in this incident were arrested and sent to jail. According to reports, the viral video shows a young Dalit girl allegedly being beaten for mobile theft in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, in 2021. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
After this video went viral on social media, the Amethi police responded to a post on X(Twitter) on 16 April 2024, clarifying that the video is from the year 2021. The tweet (archived link) from the Amethi police reads: “The video is from 2021, and a case was registered under relevant sections at the Amethi police station. All three accused involved in the assault incident were arrested and sent to jail. Please do not spread misleading news”.
संदर्भित वायरल वीडियो वर्ष 2021 का है, जिसके संबंध में थाना अमेठी पर सुसंगत धाराओं में अभियोग पंजीकृत कर मारपीट की घटना में शामिल तीनों अभियुक्तों को गिरफ्तार कर जेल भेजा गया था। कृपया भ्रामक खबर न फैलाएं ।
To learn more about this incident, we conducted a relevant keyword search which led us to several news reports featuring screenshots from the viral video in the year 2021. According to a report from ‘Times Now Navbharat’, “the incident occurred in Raipur Phulwari village in Amethi. Two mobile phones belonging to village resident Suraj Soni were stolen. The girl, who was later beaten, was caught stealing one of the phones in CCTV footage. Instead of reporting the matter to the police, Soni and a friend apprehended the girl and took her to Soni’s house.”
According to a report from ‘The Times of India’, “Arpit Kapoor, the Police Circle officer in Amethi, informed TOI that an FIR was lodged in this case upon receiving a complaint from the father of the victim girl on 27 December 2021. The girl’s father informed the police that his daughter is mentally unstable and entered the accused’s house after losing her way. The accused mistook her for a thief and assaulted her. A case has been registered against the accused under relevant sections of the POCSO and SC/ST Act. The three accused, Shubham Gupta, Rahul Soni, and Suraj Soni have been arrested.” Additional news reports regarding this incident can be found here, here, and here. From all this information, it is evident that the viral video dates back to 2021 and depicts an assault on a young Dalit girl, allegedly for mobile theft.
The Amethi Police also shared information about this incident on X(Twitter) in 2021. The posts can be seen here and here (archived links here and here).
थानाक्षेत्र अमेठी के कस्बा अमेठी में नाबालिक लड़की को मारने पीटने वाले अभियुक्त की गिरफ्तारी के संबंध में क्षेत्राधिकारी अमेठी श्री अर्पित कपूर द्वारा दी गई बाइट pic.twitter.com/g2QhNovgxA
To sum up, an old video from Amethi depicting a young Dalit girl allegedly being beaten for mobile theft is now being shared with misleading a claim.


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An old video from Bangladesh is being circulated in India with a communal narrative - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 28, 2019
On Facebook, many users are posting a video of a man being attacked by a Muslim mob and are alleging that this incident has taken place in India and that the man who is beaten by Muslims is a Hindu. Let’s try to analyze the claims made in the post.
ideo of Hindu man from India being attacked by Muslim mob.
Fact: The video is from an incident that took place in Bangladesh in 2017. And also, it is not related to any mob lynching activity. Hence, the claims made in the post stands FALSE.
When the video in the post is run through InVid plugin, several keyframes of it are obtained. On using these keyframes in Google Reverse Image Search, a certain keyframe shows  the same video uploaded by a user on YouTube.
When Googled with the information available in the description of this video, several newspaper articles about the incident were found. This incident has taken place near Gomti Bridge in Gouripur Bazar of Upazila in Bangladesh. The man being beaten by the mob was Abu Sayyed, an accused in the murder case of a Union Parishad Chairman Monir Hossain Sarkar. Monir Hossain, an Awami League leader was murdered by Abu Sayyed along with Mohammed Ali in Comilla of Bangladesh in 2016.
To summarize, an old video from Bangladesh is being circulated in India with a communal claim.
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An old video from Bangladesh is being falsely shared as ‘Indian Police brutality on Muslims’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 3, 2020
A video is being shared widely on social media with a claim that it shows the brutality of the Indian police at a Madrasa in Uttar Pradesh. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Video of Indian Police brutality at a madrassa in Uttar Pradesh.
Fact: The incident in the video took place Bangladesh in 2013. It is not related to India. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the screenshots of the video were through the Google Reverse Image Search, many similar videos were found in the search results. A user has uploaded the same video on YouTube in 2013 with the following description: ‘On 5/6th May 2013 BD Police, BGB & RAB attacked in Hefajote Islam’s meeting at mid-night nearly 2.00/2.20 AM, many men injured and death on spot by police’s gun…’. Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh is an Islamic fundamentalist organization in Bangladesh.
At 1min:45secs in the video, the letters ‘RAB’ can be seen on the riot gear of the police. ‘RAB’ stands for ‘Rapid Action Battalion’ (Bangladesh).
Also, in a fact-finding report released in June-2013 on the Hefazat-e-Islam incident, similar visuals can be seen.
To sum it up, an old video from Bangladesh is being falsely shared as ‘Indian Police brutality on Muslims’.
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created: January 3, 2020


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An old video from Bengal falsely shared as attack on BJP supporters campaigning for votes in Gujarat - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 12, 2024
A video showing a group of people attacking BJP supporters is viral on social media and being linked to the upcoming 2024 elections (here, here & here). It is being shared with the assertion that individuals campaigning for BJP in Dwarka, Gujarat, were assaulted by the general public. In this article, we verify the claim associated with the video.
Claim: Video depicting common citizens attacking individuals campaigning for BJP in Dwarka, Gujarat before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Fact: The footage shows a clash that occurred in Hooghly in August 2022 between TMC MLA Asit Majumdar, his supporters, and BJP supporters. Multiple news agencies have reported the visuals back then. The video is unrelated to Gujarat or the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
As the 2024 general elections approach, Gujarat is scheduled to vote in a single phase on 01 May 2024. Although the video being shared does show BJP supporters being attacked, the incident is not recent. It was reported in 2022. Further, the incident did not take place in Gujarat and is unrelated to the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
A search with relevant keywords led us to news reports from August 2022 that showed the same footage. According to these reports, the visuals depict an altercation between TMC and BJP supporters in Hooghly, West Bengal. TMC MLA Asit Majumdar and his supporters allegedly attacked BJP workers after they reportedly harassed him and tried to block his car.
A few other reports from the time, which can be found here, here, here, and here, also covered the incident. All these confirm that the visuals have no connection to Gujarat or the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Previously, when the same video circulated with a different claim, Factly debunked it, and the fact-check article can be viewed here.
To sum it up, an old video from Bengal is falsely shared as an attack on BJP supporters campaigning for votes in Gujarat for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.


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An old video from Jharkhand is being falsely shared as ‘Assam/MP police beating Women’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 4, 2023
Update (04 October 2023):
The same video is being circulated, purporting to depict an incident of a policeman in the BJP Government in Madhya Pradesh thrashing a female protester. However, it has been previously debunked that the video is actually from an incident in Jharkhand, showing the police lathi-charging Anganwadi workers in 2019.
Published (13 December 2019):
A video is being shared widely on social media with a claim that it shows women being beaten up by the Police in Assam. The video is being shared in the context of the recent protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Video of women being beaten up by the Police in Assam.
Fact: The video is related to a lathi-charge on Anganwadi workers by the Police in Jharkhand. It is not related to Assam and the recent protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the screenshots of the video were run through the Yandex Reverse Image Search, a video of ‘The Times of India’ with similar visuals was found in the search results. The video uploaded by ‘The Times of India’ had the following title: ‘On cam: Brutal lathicharge on Anganwadi workers in Jharkhand’ and was uploaded on 25 September 2019. The same video can be also found in an article by ‘Dainik Bhaskar’ regarding the lathi-charge by the Jharkhand Police on Anganwadi workers. So, the video is in no way related to Assam and the recent protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.
To sum it up, an old video from Jharkhand is being falsely shared as‘Assam police beating women’.
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created: October 4, 2023


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An old video from Karachi (Pakistan) is being falsely shared as women escaping quarantine in Bangalore - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 8, 2020
A video of burqa-clad women escaping from a house is being shared on social media with a claim that they are escaping from quarantine in Shivaji Nagar, Bangalore. But FACTLY found that the same video was found to be uploaded on YouTube and Facebook in 2015 with the title: ‘Sex workers fleeing after FIA raid at a brothel in Karachi’. So, it can be concluded that it is an old video and not related to the current lockdown. More information about the incident in the video can be read in an article debunked by FACTLY earlier.
Sources:
Claim – Facebook post (archived)
Fact –
1. YouTube video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLnuLKPaamI
2. Facebook video – https://www.facebook.com/122141554534802/videos/868678486547768/
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An old video from Kerala, related to Farmer's protests is being shared linking it to the Wrestlers' protests - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 10, 2023
A video showing a rally of a large number of tractors is being shared with a claim that the visuals show these tractors marching towards Jantar Mantar in support of the protesting wrestlers. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Visuals of tractors marching towards Jantar Mantar in support of  protesting wrestlers.
Fact: The video is from Kerala, and was taken when Youth Congress leaders took out a tractor rally in support of the farmers protesting the three farm laws in January 2021.  Multiple news agencies reported the visuals back then. Meanwhile, farmers unions from various states have announced their support to the protesting wrestlers and have also joined them at Jantar Mantar. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
Recently, farmer unions have announced their support to the protesting wrestlers and farmers from various states have joined the wrestlers protesting over sexual harassment allegations against the national wrestling federation chief. As per the reports, farmers have barged through the barricades put up by the Delhi police, to reach protest sites.
However, the viral video showing the tractor rally is not related to the ongoing wrestlers’ protest but is from 2021, when Youth Congress in Kerala took out a tractor rally against the now withdrawn agricultural laws.
As the viral video carries a logo of Manorama News, a search on the internet with relevant keywords yielded a video on Manorama New’s official Facebook page, which carried similar visuals. The video is shared on 03 January 2021, with a caption that reads ‘Kisan March by Youth Congress in support of farmers strike’.
Further search yielded multiple news reports, which reported this tractor rally. The article published images similar to the visuals of the viral video. As per these reports, the Youth Congress organized the Jai Kisan March in solidarity with farmers protesting the new farm laws. The march took place from Kuzhalmandam to Palakkad Kottamaidanam. These reports can be viewed here, here & here.
All these establish that the viral video is not related to the ongoing wrestlers’ protest, but is from Kerala, related to the farmers’ protest.
To sum it up, an old video from Kerala, related to farmers’ protests is being shared linking it to the wrestlers’ protests.


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An old video from Libya is falsely shared as a recent Hamas attack - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 1, 2023
A video is going viral on social media platforms showing armed people shooting down a vehicle. The claim being made is that this video depicts Hamas fighters in the act of shooting. This article aims to fact-check the claim.
Claim: The video shows Hamas fighters shooting down a vehicle.
Fact: The video, in reality, is from 2020 and depicts an incident in Libya’s capital city, Tripoli. It has no connection with the ongoing Palestine-Israel conflict or Hamas fighters. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
To fact-check the claim, a reverse image search on the internet was conducted using keyframes from the video. This search led to several articles dating back to 2020. These articles, from sources like Alhurra, Piter TV, and Lenta.Ru, shared (also here) the same video in June 2020, stating that it captured an ambush incident in Libya’s capital city, Tripoli. It was reported that the ambush was an action by the Government of National Accord forces against the Libyan National Army.
This evidence conclusively proves that the video circulating with a claim of showing Hamas fighters in action is wrong. It is an old video from a different geopolitical situation.
Thus, the claim is false, and the video has nothing to do with Hamas or the ongoing Palestine-Israel conflict.
This video from Tripoli, #Libya shows the effectiveness of a well-planned ambush and the destructive aftermath. The ambushed LNA soldiers have little chance. In the Russian mercenaries chat channels, the video is described as ”one of the most violent ambush videos recently”. pic.twitter.com/hnTAcEkyzL
To sum up, the viral video being shared with a claim that it shows Hamas fighters shooting is false.

created: November 1, 2023


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An old video from Pakistan is falsely shared as a video of BJP leader groping a female party worker during a rally - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 16, 2024
Several posts (here, here, and here) featuring a video of a man inappropriately touching a woman at a rally are being widely shared across social media platforms. The viral clip shows a woman in a pink salwar kameez participating in a rally, with chants of ‘Jai Shree Ram’ audible in the background. A man standing beside her is seen touching her inappropriately as they move along the rally route. The claim accompanying the video suggests that it depicts a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader publicly groping a female party worker during the rally. In this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in these posts.
Claim: Video depicting a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader groping a female party worker during a rally.
Fact: The viral video is not associated with the BJP. It dates back to 2007 and originates from Pakistan. The audio of the original video has been altered to include ‘Jai Shree Ram’ slogans and is being shared to spread misinformation. According to reports, the individuals in the footage are identified as Yousaf Raza Gilani and Sherry Rehman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and the incident took place during a rally in 2007.Therefore, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
To learn more about the viral video, we conducted a Google reverse image search using keyframes from the footage. This search led us to a video (archived link) posted on YouTube on 16 May 2007, titled ‘Sherry Rehman, Yousaf Raza Gilani, PPP Rally’.
During this search, we also discovered other videos on YouTube (here, here, and here) that were identical to the viral clip. These videos also identified the man in the footage as Yousaf Raza Gilani and the woman as Sherry Rehman, stating that the incident occurred during a PPP rally in 2007. In these videos, we can clearly hear that people are not chanting ‘Jai Shree Ram’ slogans. This indicates that the audio of the video has been altered to include ‘Jai Shree Ram’ slogans and is being shared to spread misinformation.
PPP refers to the Pakistan People’s Party and the video shows Rehman and former PM Gilani at a rally. Taking cues from this, we conducted a relevant keyword search on the internet to learn more about this incident. Our search led us to a story published by ‘The Guardian’ on 05 September 2008, which discussed this protest in Pakistan. The article referenced ‘prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani’s infamous apparent grope of information minister Sherry Rehman at a political rally in 2007.’ Additionally, an article from Dainik Bhaskar discussing this incident can be found here. However, we could not independently verify the exact date and location of the video. Nevertheless, all this information makes it evident that the viral video dates back to 2007 and originates from Pakistan.
To sum it up, an old video from Pakistan is being falsely shared as a video showing a BJP leader groping a female party worker during a rally.


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Old video from Pakistan shared as visuals of a Cow meat shop in front of the Jama Masjid in Delhi - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 31, 2023
A video clip is being shared on social media claiming it is the visuals of a cow meat shop near the Jama Masjid in Delhi. The video shows a beheaded cow with head and leg limbs separated from the body. Sharing the video clip, the man in the video alleges that Muslims were selling beef by slaughtering cows ruthlessly in front of the Jama Masjid in Delhi. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video clip showing the cow meat shop near the Jama Masjid in Delhi.
Fact: The video clip shared in the post was published by a Pakistani TikTok user in December 2022. The TikTok user owns a beef shop in Pakistan and said that he will upload more such videos as part of the promotion of his beef shop. The video is from Pakistan and has nothing to do with any shop near the Jama Masjid in Delhi.  Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
On reverse image search of the screenshots of the video clip shared in the post, a video with similar visuals was tweeted recently by many users on social media. A few users in the comment section responded to these tweets and stated that the video is from Pakistan. When we searched for further sources, a video with similar visuals was found posted by a Pakistani TikTok user named Faheem on 09 December 2022.
Responding to a user’s comment to the post, Faheem confirmed it is Halal meat and said that he made Nihari with the 3kgs fresh beef meat on that day. Faheem thanked TikTok followers for liking and giving love to his video and said that he recently opened a beef shop in Pakistan and promised that he will upload similar videos soon on his TikTok handle. Faheem in another comment stated that he is uploading these videos as part of the promotion for his beef shop. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the video clip shared in the post is from Pakistan, not from any beef shop in front of the Jama Masjid in Delhi.
To sum it up, an old video from Pakistan is shared as the visuals of a cow meat shop in front of the Jama Masjid in Delhi.


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An old video from the 2014 Kashmir floods is falsely shared as recent - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 1, 2024
A video (here and here) allegedly from Kashmir, which shows flooded streets and people being rescued, has gone viral on social media. It is being claimed that these visuals are from the recent Kashmir floods (here and here). We fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: This video shows the visuals of flood-affected Kashmir from 2024.
Fact: This video is from 2014 when Kashmir was affected by floods. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
To check the veracity of the viral claim, we performed a keyword search on the internet. This search did not yield any credible information linking this video to the 2024 Kashmir floods.
However, we found a YouTube video uploaded to the official verified channel of the Associated Press, which is the original version of the viral video.
This video titled ‘Raw: Deadly Flooding in India’ was uploaded on 4 September 2014. According to the description of the video, the visuals show devastating floods that hit Kashmir in 2014 caused by heavy rains. You can see news reports on the ‘Worst floods in 22 years’ that hit Kashmir in September 2014 here, here and here.
Additionally, Livemint reported on 30 April 2024 that ‘the threat of floods in Kashmir subsided on Tuesday.’
To sum up, a decade-old video of the Kashmir floods is falsely being shared as the visuals of the 2024 Kashmir floods.`


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An old video from Turkey is being shared with a false communal narrative attributing it to Kerala - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 12, 2024
Several posts (here, here, here, & here) accompanying a video of a man seemingly taking a bath at a factory are being widely shared across social media platforms. In the viral video, a man can be seen lying in a small tub, scooping white liquid with a mug, and pouring it over his head. The claim accompanying the video suggests that it depicts a Muslim man in Kerala taking a bath in milk to make it ‘Halal’ before distributing it to Hindus. In this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: A video depicting a Muslim man in Kerala bathing in milk to make it ‘Halal’ before distributing it to Hindus.
Fact: The viral video is from Turkey and dates back to the year 2020. According to reports, the incident took place in 2020, and the individuals accused in this incident were Emre Sayar, who allegedly bathed in milk, and Ugur Turgut, who filmed it. They stated that the liquid they bathed in was not milk as claimed, but rather a disinfectant solution. Later, the court acquitted both of them in October 2021. Sayar subsequently filed a lawsuit against the state treasury, won the case, and the court in Konya ordered that he be paid 1,150 Liras. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
To learn more about this viral video, we conducted a Google reverse image search using keyframes extracted from the footage. This search led us to a report by the Turkish news outlet TRT Haber, dated 10 June 2022, which featured a similar photo to one of the keyframes from the viral video. According to this report, the incident occurred in Konya, a city in Turkey. Emre Sayar, an employee at a dairy plant in Konya, was reportedly arrested for bathing in milk. Another plant worker, Ugur Turgut, who shared the video on social media on 06 November 2020, was also arrested following the video’s viral spread.
Several other news reports regarding this incident can be found here, here, here, and here. According to these reports, it was stated that the liquid they bathed in was not milk. They also argued that the tub was a disinfectant basin. Later, the court acquitted both of them in October 2021. Sayar subsequently filed a lawsuit against the state treasury, demanding a total of 120,000 Turkish Liras in compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages. Sayar won the case, and the court in Konya ordered that he be paid 1,150 liras. Based on this information, it is evident that the viral video is from Turkey and dates back to the year 2020.
To sum up, an old video dating back to 2020 from Turkey is being shared with a false communal narrative attributing it to Kerala.


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An old video from UP is being shared as lathi-charge on unemployed youth at Madhya Pradesh CM’s residence - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 10, 2019
A video is being widely shared on social media with a claim that unemployed youth who were protesting in front of the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister’s residence was beaten up by the police. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Police lathi-charge on unemployed youth who were protesting in front of MP CM’s residence.
Fact: The video is not related to Madhya Pradesh or MP CM Kamal Nath. The video was taken in Aligarh when police lathi-charged the activists of Hindu Jagran Manch for locking the gate of SSP’s office. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the screenshots of the video were run through Google Reverse Image Search, a similar video was found in the search results. The video was uploaded on YouTube with the title, “Lathi charge on hindu jagran manch karykarta in Aligarh”. So, when searched on Google with the keywords ‘Lathi Charge Hindu Jagran Manch Aligarh’, several newspaper articles related to the incident were found in the search results. According to the article in ‘Times of India’, “Aligarh police restored to lathi-charge to disperse a group of Hindu Jagran Manch (HJM) activists on Tuesday after they forcibly locked the gate of the SSP’s office while demanding the arrest of a man who was booked for attempt to murder three months ago .” Other newspaper articles related to this incident can be read here and here.
To sum it up, an old video from UP is being shared as lathi-charge on unemployed youth at MP CM’s residence.
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created: October 10, 2019


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An old video from Uttar Pradesh is falsely shared as visuals of police catching fake voters in Madhya Pradesh - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 24, 2023
As the polling for the 2023 Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections ended, a video of police taking two burkha-clad women into their custody for allegedly trying to cast fake votes is being shared on social media. Let’s verify this claim through this fact-check article.
Claim: Video shows police taking two women into their custody for casting fake votes in the 2023 Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections.
Fact: This is an old video from 2022 filmed in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur. It has nothing to do with Madhya Pradesh elections. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
To learn more details about the viral clip, we performed a reverse image search on a few of its keyframes leading us to a few social media posts (here and here) from February 2022 which contained the same video. The video was described as an incident that happened in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur, “Police in Rampur caught Burqa clad women in an attempt of bogus voting, beaten &. Arrested on the spot. #UPElections2022” read the post’s description.
To confirm this, we performed a keyword search on the Internet which led us to several news reports (here, here, and here ) from February 2022 which reported about an event that took place in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur during the state’s assembly elections.
Reportedly, two women identified as Muskaan and Rani, were caught while casting fake votes. One of them even successfully cast a fake vote. This incident happened in the GRP college polling centre in Rampur. The police even registered a case against them.
Further to check if any such incidents have been reported during the recently held 2023 Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, we found a news report on a woman who cast a fake vote in Ujjain but we did not find any news reports of two burkha-clad women casting fake votes. In any case, the source for the viral video is also from 2022 much before the 2023 MP elections, which makes it clear that an old video is being shared with a false narrative linking it to the MP elections.
To sum up, an old video from Uttar Pradesh is falsely shared as visuals of police catching fake voters in Madhya Pradesh.

created: November 24, 2023


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An old video from West Bengal is being falsely shared as an incident from the recent Delhi riots - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 2, 2020
A post with a video of a few people destroying property in the presence of police is being shared on Facebook with a claim that the incident is related to the recent communal riots in Delhi. Let’s try to find the authenticity of the claim made in the post.
People destroying property during Delhi riots while Police watch.
Fact: The video shared in the post is on social media at least from 1 July 2019, and was identified as that of the clashes between the workers of the TMC and BJP in Dinhata, West Bengal.  Hence, the claim that the video belongs to the recent riots in Delhi is FALSE.
When the screenshots of the posted video were reverse image searched on Google, the same video but posted on a different Facebook post was found. It was uploaded by a user on 01 July 2019, but the user didn’t share any information related to the video on the post. It can also be seen here that the same video was uploaded on YouTube in July 2019. From this information, it can be understood that the video was circulating on social media at least from July 2019 and is not related to the recent riots in Delhi.
The same video was shared last year with different claims, once as the one related to of clashes in Tripura, and on another occasion as that of the situation in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370.
How RSS hooligans are Evacuating Muslim settlements, these Indians are openly doing terrorism under the supervision of the terrorist army. How is open common terrorism…. @UN @UNHumanRights #ModiKillingKashmiris#UnlockCurfewInKashmir
pic.twitter.com/0MAoVl0S5W
These claims have been debunked earlier and the video was identified as that of the clashes between the workers of the TMC and BJP in Dinhata, West Bengal.
To sum it up, an old video from West Bengal is being falsely shared as an incident from the recent riots in Delhi.
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An old video from West Bengal is shared as a recent video of people reciting Azaan on a road in Mumbai - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 28, 2022
A video is being shared widely on social media with a claim that it shows people reciting Azaan on a road in Mumbai as loudspeakers were not allowed. The video is shared in the context of the recent Azaan row in Maharashtra. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Recent video of people reciting Azaan on a road in Mumbai as loudspeakers were not allowed.
Fact: The video is an old one. It is on the internet at least from April 2020. Also, the signboards in the video show that the video was shot in Howrah (West Bengal), not in Mumbai (Maharashtra). Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the screenshots of the video were run through Google Reverse Image Search, many similar videos were found in the search results. The videos were found to be on the internet at least from April 2020. Some of the old posts can be seen here, here, and here. A Facebook user shared the same video in 2020 and mentioned that the video shows people reciting Azaan to ward off the disease. So, the posted video is an old one.
The shop addresses on the boards in the video show that the video was shot in Howrah (West Bengal), not in Mumbai (Maharashtra). One can see that it is written as ‘Howrah’ on a board at the back and the pin code of the shops starts with ‘7’. A doctor with the name N. Rai (Homeopathy) (his name can be seen on a board in the video) was found to have a clinic in Howrah.
Also, the ‘New Shimla Biryani’ shop (seen in the posted video) was found to be located in Howrah.
To sum it up, an old video from West Bengal is shared as a recent video of people reciting Azaan on a road in Mumbai.


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An old video is being shared linking it to the ongoing Farmers' Protest - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 13, 2024
In light of farmers planning to resume their protest in Delhi, a viral video showing several tractors traversing water bodies is being shared with the claim that it depicts farmers reaching the protest site despite the government sealing borders with nails and barricades. This article aims to fact-check the assertion made in the post.
Claim: A video showing tractors crossing water bodies to reach the farmers protest site.
Fact: The video surfaced on the internet long before the onset of the ongoing protest. Although the government is blocking protesters from entering Delhi, this video has nothing to do with the ongoing protest. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
After about two years since they concluded their large-scale protest in Delhi, farmers have reinitiated their protest in Delhi with a fresh set of demands, including guaranteed minimum support price, debt waiver, and justice for those responsible for past violence against them.
Farmers launched the ‘Delhi Chalo’ protest as thousands from across India began to enter the capital. The government attempted to prevent the protesting farmers from entering Delhi by implementing security measures such as sealing the borders, deploying barricades, and suspending internet services in several districts. It is against this backdrop that the viral video is being circulated, suggesting that farmers have discovered a new method to access the protest site.
However, this viral video is unrelated to the ongoing protest; it is an old video. Upon conducting a reverse image search of the video screenshots, we discovered a YouTube video with identical visuals uploaded on 17 January 2024, well before the start of the current protest.
While we could not independently verify the context surrounding this video, its existence on the internet indicates that it is unrelated to the current protest.
To sum it up, an old video is being shared asserting that it depicts farmers reaching the protest site.

created: February 13, 2024


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An old video is being falsely shared as “Hindu gods and goddesses’ photos burnt in the anti-CAA protests” - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 2, 2020
A video is being shared widely on social media with a claim that the photos of Hindu gods and goddesses were burnt during the anti-CAA protests. Let’s analyze the claim made in the post.
Photos of Hindu gods and goddesses were burnt during the anti-CAA protests.
Fact: It is an old video. The same video was found to be in circulation on the internet from August-2018. So, the video is not related to the recent anti-CAA protests. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
A tweet with the same video and a similar claim was also re-tweeted (archived) by Sambit Patra (National Spokesperson of BJP).
This video is shocking …how can any protest have a right to defile the tenets of Hinduism ..who gives them the right to burn the pictures of Hindu Gods & Goddesses ..why should any protest be an Anti-Hindu protest??
Is this is what the Congress & Communists promote??#Shame https://t.co/9rn2gIwQ9T
When searched with the keywords on Facebook, a similar video (extended version) was found to be uploaded by a user in August-2018. The video (archived) had the following description – “*Young Ambedkarites burning portraits of Hindu Gods in Ashokpuram MYSORE* to protest against Sanghis who burned copies of the Constitution.” While it can be concluded that the video is an old one and is not related to the recent anti-CAA protests, the exact context of the video cannot be ascertained from the available information.
To sum it up, an old video is being falsely shared as “Hindu gods and goddesses’ photos burnt in the anti-CAA protests”
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created: January 2, 2020


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An old video is being falsely shared as Kashmiri women begging the Indian Army for medicines due to recent restrictions - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 10, 2019
A video is being shared widely on social media with a claim that women in Kashmir are begging the Indian Army for medicines as there are no medicines due to the recent restrictions in place. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Video of Kashmiri women begging the Indian Army for medicines as there no medicines due to recent siege.
Fact: The video is related to an incident which happened in July-2018. In the video, the Indian Army closed the shops as there was a militant attack on CRPF jawans at Batmaloo in Srinagar. So, an old video is being shared as an incident after the government’s recent decision on Article 370. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the screenshots of the video were run through Google Reverse Image Search, the original video was found in the search results. The original video was uploaded on YouTube by ‘Gulistan News’ in July 2018 with the title, “#Breaking: Militant attack CRPF party at Batmaloo in Srinagar. #JammuAndKashmir”. Also, newspaper articles regarding this incident can be read here and here. All these reports indicate that the video shared is most likely related to the search operations conducted by the police and CRPF, after the militants attack on a paramilitary patrol party in Srinagar’s Batamaloo area on the 24 July 2018.
To sum it up, an old video is being falsely shared as Kashmiri women begging the Indian Army for medicines due to recent siege.
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An old video is being falsely shared as ‘Muslims gathered on roads despite the existing curfew’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 31, 2020
A video of a mob pelting stones at Police vehicles is making rounds on social media with the claim that Muslims have gathered on roads despite the existing curfew in the wake of Coronavirus outbreak. Let’s analyze the claim about the video.
: Video of Muslims gathered on roads despite the curfew  to curb the spread of Coronavirus.
Fact: The video is from Ahmedabad (Gujarat) and was taken in December 2019. So, the video is of an incident that took place prior to the announcement of lockdown in Gujarat. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When screenshots of the video were run through the Yandex Reverse Image Search, it was found that the video is from Ahmedabad (Gujarat) and was taken in December 2019. It shows the violence that erupted during the anti-CAA protests in Shah-e-Alam area wherein the protestors  pelted stones on several Police vans. So, the video is of an incident that took place prior to the introduction of lockdown in Gujarat to curb the spread of Coronavirus. When the video has earlier gone viral with another claim, FACTLY has debunked it and has written a fact-check article on it.
To conclude, an old video is being shared as ‘Muslims gathered on roads despite the existing curfew’.
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An old video is being falsely shared as ‘Muslims rally in support of CAA in Kerala’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 27, 2019
A video is being widely shared on Facebook with a claim that it shows a rally by Muslims in support of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 in Kerala. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Video of Muslims rally in support of CAA in Kerala.
Fact: The posted video is an old one. The same video is in circulation on the internet since May-2019. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the screenshots of the video were run through the Google Reverse Image Search, a lot of similar videos were found in the search results. It can be seen that one of those videos was uploaded on YouTube in May-2019. The video had the following title: ‘Muslims Celebrate on PM Narendra Modi Victory from Varanasi in 2019 Loksabha Polls’. While it cannot be ascertained whether the video is related to Varanasi, with the available information, it is definitely not related to any recent rallies related to CAA and NRC.
To sum it up, an old video is being falsely shared as ‘Muslims rally in support of CAA in Kerala’.
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created: December 27, 2019


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An old video is being falsely shared as 'old man beaten by Muslim youth for shouting Bharat Mata ki Jai’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 24, 2019
A video is being widely shared on social media with a claim that Muslim youth have beaten an old man for shouting ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ slogans in Delhi. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Muslim youth beating an old man in Delhi for shouting ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’.
Fact: The old man in the video was beaten over some issue related to money and for abusing people, not for shouting ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’. The Police have told that the man has been arrested before for killing his wife and frequently get into fights with others. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The same video went viral previously in October-2019 with a similar claim. On one of the videos, a user has commented that the video is related to Bhilwara (Rajasthan) and also, vehicles with Rajasthan registration numbers can be seen in the video.
So, when FACTLY has contacted Rajesh Meena (Bhilwara District Additional Superintendent of Police) in October-2019, he said, ‘The old man in the video is Hothchand Sindhi. He is mentally unstable. He has been previously arrested for killing his wife and frequently gets into fights with others. In the video, he was beaten (at Azad Chowk, Bhilwara) over money and for abusing others, not for chanting ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’. Manjinder S Sira (Delhi- Rajouri Garden MLA) has also tweeted clarifying about the incident.
Hope this report will clarify pic.twitter.com/lSbTRO0gV1
Also, FACTLY was able to find the FIR copy of the complaint filed by the old man’s son about the incident. It can be seen that there is no mention of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ in the complaint and also, there are non-Muslims in the accused list. The complainant himself mentions that there were Muslims, Sindhis and other religious members in the accused members. The FIR copy can be accessed here.
To sum it up, an old video is being falsely shared as “old man beaten by Muslim youth for shouting Bharat Mata ki Jai’”
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created: December 24, 2019


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An old video is being falsely shared as ‘protest against CAA and NRC in Gulbarga’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 20, 2019
A video is being shared on social media with a claim that it is related to a protest against Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Gulbarga. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Video shows protest against CAA and NRC in Gulbarga.
Fact: The same video with entirely different audio can be found to be in circulation since 2016. The video is related to Samastha’s 90th Anniversary Conference. The event in the video happened in Kerala. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the screenshots of the video were run through Yandex Reverse Image Search, many similar YouTube videos can be found in the search results. One of them had the title as ‘Mailadiyal Samastha 90th at Alleppey conference’. Also, on the posted video, the logo of ‘SKICR TV’ can be seen.
So, when searched with the keywords on the YouTube channel of ‘SKICR TV’, the video of the event streamed live on 14 February 2016 was found. Similar visuals as seen in the posted video can also be seen in the ‘SKICR TV’ video.
On the posted video, a Tik Tok username – @zakariya_abdulla can be seen. When searched on Tik Tok, it can be found that the user has posted the video, without the ‘Dakia News’ logo, on his account. A Facebook user with the same name ‘Zakariya Bin Abdulla’ has also posted the same video on his account on 15 December 2019. But the same user has also posted the same video with entirely different audio on 16 February 2016 with the title – ‘Samastha sammelanam.! Speech Panakkad haidarali thangal…’. So, an old video is being shared again with different audio.
The photos related to the 2016 event can be seen here. In an article published by ‘The Hindu’ in December-2015, it can be read that ‘the valedictory of the Samastha’s 90th-anniversary celebrations would be held at Alappuzha in Kerala from February 11 to February 14’. While it is true that there were some protests in Gulbarga, the video posted is an old video from Kerala.
To sum it up, an old video is being falsely shared as ‘protest against CAA and NRC in Gulbarga’.
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created: December 20, 2019


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An old video is being falsely shared as ‘rally in support of CAA and NRC at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 23, 2019
A video is being widely shared on social media with a claim that it was taken during a rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan in support of CAA and NRC. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Video shows rally in support of CAA and NRC at Ramlila Maidan (Delhi).
Fact: The posted video is an old one. The same video was found to be tweeted by a user in July-2019. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the screenshots of the video were run through the Yandex Reverse Image Search, a similar video can be found in the search results. The video (archived) was tweeted by a user in July-2019. So, it is an old video.
Thousands of Rambhakts on Roads demanding a magnificent Ram temple in Ayodhya
Will the intolerance brigade call them a part of "propaganda Machine' for chanting #JaiShriRam?#ThursdayThoughts #ThursdayMotivation pic.twitter.com/wYG6pmtJXn
In the video, in the end, the slogans of ‘Mandir vahi banayenge’ can be heard and the man in the video also refers to ‘Ramlila Maidan’ in the video. So, when searched with the relevant keywords, it was found that VHP held ‘a rally in Delhi’s Ram Leela Maidan for Ram Temple construction in Ayodhya’ in December-2018. The video might be related to that event. But, it can be concluded that the video is definitely not related to any recent rally in support of CAA and NRC.
To sum it up, an old video is being falsely shared as ‘rally in support of CAA and NRC at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan’.
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created: December 23, 2019


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An old video is being falsely shared as the eye of Cyclone Nisarga - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 4, 2020
A video is being shared on social media claiming it as the eye of Cyclone Nisarga (‘The eye is a region of mostly calm weather at the center of strong tropical cyclones’). On 03 June 2020,  Cyclone Nisarga made its landfall on the coast of Maharashtra. It slammed the coast with wind speeds of up to 120 kmph. FACTLY has found that the posted video exists on the internet at least since October 2019. Some users have posted the same video on YouTube in 2019 saying the video shows scary visuals of a cyclone near Bambolim in Goa. FACTLY could not independently ascertain when and where the video was taken, but it is an old video, and hence is not related to Cyclone Nisarga.
Sources:
Claim –
1. Facebook post (archived)
Fact –
1. YouTube video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izEgp_CHgck
2. YouTube video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG1YUGQR5_I
3. YouTube video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGYB_SnGMaA
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An old video is being falsely shared as the visuals of weaponry uncovered in Al-Shifa hospital - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 16, 2023
A video featuring a room full of weapons is being shared with a claim that it shows the weapons found by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) in the Al-Shifa hospital located in the Gaza Strip. Let’s fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: This video shows weapons found by the IDF in Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza.
Fact: The video predates the IDF discovery and is falsely linked to Al-Shifa. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
To check the claim’s veracity, we conducted a keyword search, confirming (here, here, and here) that the IDF did discover weapons in Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital. However, no evidence of the viral video was found on the IDF’s official X page, disassociating it from the Al-Shifa discovery.
Watch as LTC (res.) Jonathan Conricus exposes the countless Hamas weapons IDF troops have uncovered in the Shifa Hospital's MRI building: pic.twitter.com/5qssP8z1XQ
To trace the origin of the viral video, a reverse image search on the internet using a few of its keyframes led us to the same video posted on X on 31 August 2023. The user who uploaded the video described it as visuals of weapons caught in Ramallah.
נתפס היום ברמאללה.
משל צורני הולם לציון 30 שנה לאוסלו – הטעות החמורה והאסונית ביותר בתולדות המפעל הציוני pic.twitter.com/PINhMLcIrL
Further internet search uncovered a news report by allisrael.com detailing an incident in which the IDF, alongside others, found dozens of weapons in the house of a 26-year-old Palestinian in Ramallah. Although the report did not include the viral video, the described weapons’ type and quantity matched those in the video. The viral video predates the Al-Shifa discovery, rendering the claim misleading.
To sum up, the viral video falsely claims to depict weapons found in Al-Shifa hospital by the IDF. Instead, it predates this discovery and actually shows weapons found in Ramallah.

created: November 16, 2023