Fact Check: Nepali protestor tosses tear gas canister with hand? No, video is from Pakistan 2022

Hyderabad: Amid the ongoing crisis in Nepal, a video showing a boy in a yellow t-shirt catching a lit-up tear gas canister and throwing it away with people encouraging him has been circulating on social media. Those sharing the video claim that the visual is from the ongoing crisis in Nepal.

Sharing the video, an x user wrote, “The boy caught the tear gas canister like a cricket ball and threw it away. This video is going viral in Nepal. #Nepalprotest” (Translated from Hindi) (Archive)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is false, as the video is from Pakistan in 2022.

A reverse image search of the video’s keyframe led us to the same footage shared by Pakistani Facebook and X accounts on May 25, 2022. The Facebook account stated that people in Lahore have turned even tear gas shells into a game.

In the video, there is a tall billboard with the text ‘Total PARCO’ visible on the left side of the road. Total PARCO in Pakistan refers to Total PARCO Pakistan Limited (TPPL), which is a joint venture between TotalEnergies (a French multinational energy company) and Pak-Arab Refinery Limited (PARCO). This joint venture operates fuel stations exclusively throughout Pakistan.

We also found the video reported by the website ProPakistan on May 25, 2022, titled “‘What a Catch’ Trends as PTI Worker Pulls a Jonty Rhodes on Punjab Police.”

According to the website, the footage shows a young worker of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) catching a lit tear gas canister and throwing it out of harm’s way, an act which went viral on social media at the time. Social media users were impressed by the young man’s bravery and commended him for his courageous act.

Therefore, we conclude that the video was filmed in Pakistan in 2022. The claim that it is from the ongoing crisis in Nepal is false.