Doctored videos show Akshay Kumar speaking in support of Palestine

Two videos which purportedly show Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar speaking in support of Palestine have gone viral on social media.

In the first video, he can be heard saying, “Whatever is happening with Palestinians is wrong. I feel anguished but I hope everything will be fine.”

In the second video, the actor is seen with pro-Palestinian signage on his face and can be heard saying, “I am with Palestine, nothing bad will happen with them now.” He adds, “If Pakistan stands with Palestine, so does India. I love you, Palestine.” (Click here and here to view the archived posts.)

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Fact Check

NewsMeter found that both videos are doctored. The purported audio of Kumar in both videos was digitally added.

We checked Akshay Kumar’s Instagram and found an extended version of the first video posted on 3 October 2020. It shows Kumar speaking in support of the Bollywood industry, not Palestine.

He can be heard saying, “I am talking with a heavy heart today because of so much negativity these days. Bollywood has always tried to show people’s issues from poverty and unemployment to corruption. The sudden death of Sushant Singh Rajput has hurt us as much as it has hurt you. It has raised many issues and has forced us to introspect.”

He further adds, “The issue of narcotics and drugs exists in Bollywood, but it does not mean everyone from the industry is involved.” In the end, he requests people not to judge everyone in the industry with the same yardstick. He also requests the media to be sensitive in raising any issue.

We found that the second video was posted by Kumar on Instagram on 24 June 2022. This video also does not show him speaking in support of Palestine.

In this video, Kumar speaks about his film ‘Jugjugg Jeeyo’ which was released last year. He asks people to watch the film and speaks about the cast and crew, including actors Anil Kapoor, Neetu Singh, Varun Dhawan and Kiara Advani, and also mentions producers Karan Johar and Apoorva, and director Raj Mehta, wishing them the best.

Hence, we conclude that the viral videos have been doctored by adding audio in support of Palestine.