Fact Check: SIR protests in West Bengal? No, video is old
A video showing a large group of people is going viral on social media, claiming that it shows people protesting SIR in West Bengal.
By - K Sherly Sharon
Claim:The video shows people protesting the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls in West Bengal.
Fact:The claim is false. The video predates the announcement by the Election Commission regarding SIR in West Bengal.
Hyderabad: A video showing a large group of people walking is going viral on social media with the claim that it shows a protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal.
The people in the video can be seen holding brooms and sticks in their hands. The text on the video reads, “Why fear if you’re a genuine voter… Protest against SIR (Special Intensive Revision of Voters’ List) in West Bengal. These protesters don’t even look like Indians.”
The video was shared on Instagram and had over 3 lakh views at the time. (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the viral claim is false. The video shows a protest in the Mansurabad region of Bangladesh on September 14.
Through a reverse image search, we found the same footage shared on Facebook on September 15. The caption reads, “Video of today’s movement.” (Translated from Bengali)
Responding to a comment asking for more information about the ‘movement’, the Facebook user wrote, “Both of our areas have been taken away from our thana and added to another thana.”
On September 15, the Facebook user shared five more videos showing people protesting. One of the videos shows people holding a banner. Although the banner in the video is cropped and does not show the entire text, it mentions, “Separate Algi and Hamirdi Union.”
Another video shows people in a single file on a road. The caption read, “Today at Mansurabad Stand, video of our Hamirdi residents’ protest.”
Using keyword searches, we found a report published by Protomalo on September 15 with the title ‘2 highways blocked again after removal, vehicular movement suspended.’
The report states, “On 4 September, the Election Commission published the final list of boundaries for 300 constituencies through a gazette notification. Under this arrangement, Algi and Hamirdi unions of Bhanga upazila were excluded from Faridpur-4 constituency and included in Faridpur-2.”
A report published by The Daily Ittefaq on September 14 states that on the same day, protesters blocked a road at the Mansurabad bus stand area of Hamirdi Union in Bhanga. They were protesting the reassignment of the Algi and Hamirdi unions from Bhanga Upazila of Faridpur-4 constituency and merging them with the Faridpur-2 (Nagarkanda-Saltha) constituency.
This explains the comment made by the Facebook post explaining the whereabouts of the ‘movement’ video.
What is the Special Intensive Revision in West Bengal?
On October 27, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar announced that Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls will be conducted in 12 States and Union Territories, including West Bengal.
NewsMeter could not independently verify the location and the date of origin of the viral video. However, it is clear that the video predates the announcement of SIR in West Bengal.
