Fact Check: Boy stuck in water slide for over 15 minutes? No, it is a staged promotional video

Fact Check: Boy stuck in water slide for over 15 minutes? No, it is a staged promotional videoHyderabad: A video claiming to show a boy stuck in a water park slide for over 20 minutes is going viral on social media. In the clip, a group of men stand at the end of the slide, peering inside with concern.

The text on the video reads, ‘Warning to water park goers’. A voice over in the video says, “Look at this video. It’s been over 2 minutes, still the boy has not come out. There are a lot of such incidents happening at water parks. That is why please avoid such parks.” (Translated from Hindi)

The video was shared on Instagram with the caption, “Please share this important video with everyone and make them aware” (Archive)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the viral claim is false. The video does not show a real incident; it is a scripted promotional video.

Using reverse image search, we found an extended version of the viral video shared on Instagram on April 2. It showed a boy emerging from the water slide holding a wedding invitation card. (Archive)

In the footage, a man is heard saying, “He is inside, he is inside. It’s been over 15 minutes.” As the camera pans, he asks someone on top of the slide, “Is he up there?” to which the person signals ‘no’ with his hands.

The man continues, “Then he must still be inside. It’s been over 15 minutes and the boy hasn’t come out yet.” A few seconds later, a person emerges from the slide, holding a wedding invitation card. The invitation says ‘Amit weds Mamata’.

The man filming the video takes the card and hands the camera to someone else as he speaks, “This wedding card, we ordered it through a water ride.”

The text on the video reads, ‘Himanshu shadi card, Chawri Bazaar, Delhi’, along with a contact number.

Using this lead, we performed keyword searches and found the full version of the viral video shared on Instagram on March 20 with the caption, “The ride… Shadi card matlb himanshu shadi card.” (Archive)

This video shows the man promoting the wedding invitation card store and mentioning the address. This video has over 116 million views.

The Instagram page featured several similar attention-grabbing videos, including one where a man confronts a girl about hiding something, and another where two supposed former lovers meet for their last Holi celebration, during which the girl hands over her wedding invitation card. These videos ultimately serve as promotional content for the wedding card store.

Therefore, NewsMeter concludes that the viral claim is false. The video does not show a real incident at a waterpark. It is a staged promotional video for a wedding invitation card-making business.