Fact Check: Old videos shared as malls being decorated with Lord Ram statues on Christmas Day
Both videos are old and do not show malls being decorated with Lord Ram statues on December 25.
By Md Mahfooz Alam Published on 26 Dec 2023 10:49 AM GMT
Hyderabad: Social media users are sharing two videos with the claim that the malls, which used to be decorated with Christmas trees on December 25, are now being decorated with the statues of Lord Ram. One of the videos shows the statues of Lord Ram, Sita and Lakshmana with Lord Hanuman bowing in front of them in a mall; the other purportedly shows a statue of Lord Ram with a bow and arrow.
āAmazing change. Jaytu Sanatan. The malls decorated with Christmas trees on 25th December are now decorated with the grand statue of Lord Ram Ji. Our country is changing (sic),ā wrote an X premium user who shared the video.
(Source: X/@losttt_boi)
Click here, here, here and here to view posts claiming the same.
āThe mall which was once decorated with a Christmas tree is now decorated with the grand statue of Lord Shri Ram. Truly, our country is changing,ā wrote an X user who shared the video of Lord Ram with a bow and arrow.
(Source: X/@mashru_chetan)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found both videos are old and do not show malls being decorated with Lord Ram statues on December 25.
Video 1
The viral video has a Diwali song being played in the background and the platform on which the statues were erected has the text wishing Happy Diwali to mall goers. We performed a reverse image search and found the same video on Instagram, posted on November 7. The caption stated that the mall is located in Lucknow.
We also found the video posted on the official Instagram page of Fun Republic Mall Lucknow on November 28. āYes! Thatās our Diwali vibeā¦ captured by @smartcity_lucknow in a very mesmerising way,ā read the caption.
An Instagram user Vikash Pandey also posted a video of the Fun Republic Mall on December 25. The video shows decor for the Christmas celebration, not the Lord Ramās statue.
Chitranshi Saxsena, an executive of Fun Republic Lucknow, confirmed to the NewsMeter that the Lord Ram statue was not decorated on December 25. She said, āLord Ram statue was decorated during the Diwali.ā
Video 2
Upon a reverse image search of the keyframes of the second video, we found it on Reddit, posted on November 12, 2020. āOne more lord Ram statue in Mall of India. Jai Shri Ram,ā read the caption.
(Source: Reddit)
NewsMeter could not independently verify the location of the video. However, we can confirm that the video has been on the Internet since 2020.
Hence, we conclude that the videos do not show Lord Ramās statues being decorated in malls on Christmas Day, December 25, 2023. The claims by social media users are misleading.
