Fact Check: Drug addicts passed out on streets show Venezuela under Maduro? No, video is from Philadelphia
A video has been circulating on social media, claiming to show the condition of Venezuela under its former president, Nicolás Maduro, with people addicted to drugs and passing out on the streets.
By - Md Mahfooz Alam
Claim:The video shows the condition of Venezuela under Nicolás Maduro, with people addicted to drugs and passing out on the streets.
Fact:The claim is false. The video is from the Kensington neighbourhood of Philadelphia in the US.
Hyderabad: Following the US capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, several videos are being circulated on social media claiming to show the current situation of Venezuela.
In this context, a video showing drug addicts passed out on the road has been circulating on social media, claiming that it shows the condition of Venezuela.
Sharing the video, an X user, taking a critical jibe at Maduro’s governance, wrote, “This is the condition of Venezuela—where, despite having the world’s largest oil reserves, the entire country is either engaged in drug trafficking or drowned in drugs. When the government provides food anyway, what's the need to do anything at all? This country has been ruined because of freeloading.”
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false, as the video is from Philadelphia, US.
Where is the video from?
A reverse image search of the video’s keyframes led us to the footage posted by Brazil-based media outlet O Globo on September 22, 2023. According to the media outlet, the video shows the impact of drug addiction in the USA.
The Daily Mail included the video in a report published on September 11, 2023.
The report stated that the video shows zombified homeless drug addicts passed out in the streets of Philadelphia. The news outlet also reported sedative Xylazine has infiltrated the drug supply and is used in heroin, fentanyl and cocaine to enhance the effects.
We also found the video published by the New York Post on September 13, 2023.
According to the channel, the Kensington neighbourhood of Philadelphia has become an open-air drug market, with drug addicts found roaming around on the road barefoot.
The channel also reported that most of the inhabitants behave like zombies due to drug addiction. They do not have tents and sleep directly on the ground, with their possessions stuffed into plastic bags, shopping carts, backpacks or laundry baskets.
Therefore, we conclude that the video does not depict the condition of Venezuela.
