Fact Check: Viral auto-rickshaw race video is from Sri Lanka, not India
A video of an auto-rickshaw race has gone viral on social media. A Twitter user called it "India's version of Formula One Race."
By Newsmeter Network Published on 27 Dec 2020 9:18 AM GMT
Hyderabad: A video of an auto-rickshaw race has gone viral on social media. A Twitter user called it "India's version of Formula One Race."
Click here to view the archive of the tweet and here for a similar claim.
Fact Check:
NewsMeter found that the claim that the video is from India is FALSE. It is from Sri Lanka.
We performed a reverse image search and found that the same video was used in a news report by The Financial Express in June 2020. It said that the event took place in Sri Lanka and the video is from "Red Bull Tuk It", a two-day auto-rickshaw race organised by Red Bull in Sri Lanka.
"Tuk-Tuk racing doesn't exist, it can't hurt us – or so we thought. So, Sri Lanka saw an opportunity to race auto-rickshaws and it isn't one of them races in a back alley," read the article.
Upon closer observation, we also found the 'Red Bull Tuk It' logos on the auto-rickshaws in the viral video.
We then checked the official website of Red Bull and found that indeed a two-day auto-rickshaw race was organised in Sri Lanka this year. The website's event page invited participants to the race: "Register with your team of 3 now to participate in the ultimate Tuk Tuk challenge in Sri Lanka designed to test the body & mind of the participants as you make your way through Sri Lanka's most scenic and testing routes!"
Evidently, the claim that the event took place in India is FALSE as the auto-rickshaw race took place in Sri Lanka.
