Fact Check: Myanmar footage passed off as ‘Kuki Terrorist’ using drones in Manipur
It shows commandos from Chinland Defense Force (CDF) Thantlang from Myanmar and aerial footage of landscape from Manipur.
By Md Mahfooz Alam Published on 13 Jun 2023 11:08 AM GMT
Screengrab of the Facebook post.
Hyderabad: A video showing a man in combat uniform operating a drone camera, and related aerial footage of villages, farms, and forests is going viral on social media. Those sharing the video claim it features a ‘Kuki Terrorist’ in Manipur using drones to intercept police positions.
(Source: Facebook)
Since last month, ethnic clashes have broken out between the Kuki and Meitei communities in Manipur over the demand of the Meitei community for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the video was edited by merging two clips. It shows commandos from Chinland Defense Force (CDF) Thantlang from Myanmar and aerial footage of landscape from Manipur. On performing a reverse image search of the initial frames of the video, we found a video published by ABC News In-depth on August 18, 2022, titled “On the Frontline of Myanmar’s Forgotten Civil War”.
At 15:40 minutes, the frame showing the same person in the combat dress operating a drone camera appears in the viral video. The video is a documentary by ABC reporter Matt Davis on the civil war between the CDF and the Myanmar military (The Tatmadaw).
On performing a reverse image search on other frames of the video, we found a video published by Manipur-based news outlet Lamka Talk on May 29. This video is titled “Drone footage shows the involvement of state police commandos in attacking tribal villages in Manipur.” This video shows the same visuals of farmland as seen in the viral video.
Hence, we conclude that two different video clips from Myanmar and Manipur have been merged and are being shared with the false claim that it features a ‘Kuki Terrorist’ in Manipur using drones to intercept police positions.
