Fact Check: Rahul Gandhi's Voter Adhikar Yatra - old, unrelated videos go viral

Hyderabad: Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, launched ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ from Sasaram in Rohtas district of Bihar on August 17. This march aims to highlight the alleged assault on people’s voting rights through the special intensive revision (SIR) of the State’s electoral rolls.

In this context, social media is flooded with posts of separate videos of massive turnout in support of the march. We analysed two videos to check if they are related to the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ as claimed by the users.

Video 1

This video shows a huge march that has gone viral. The text on it reads: “A huge crowd gathered to see Rahul Gandhi... Narendra Modi and Amit Shah will not be able to sleep after seeing all this. #VoterAdhikarYatra”

The claim accompanying the video states that the video shows the Voter Adhikar Yatra in full swing with Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav joining the march.

A user shared the video on Facebook with the caption, “Rahul Gandhi... Tejaswi Yadav duo... Vote Adhikar Yatra.. in full swing.” (Archive)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the viral claim is false.

Using reverse image search, we found that the viral video was uploaded to YouTube on December 16, 2022. The title of the video reads, ‘Gandhi tiraya dausa’.

Dausa is a district in Rajasthan. In mid-December 2022, Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra passed through the Dausa district. Tiraha is a word commonly used to denote an intersection of three roads.

Using Google Maps, we found the location where the viral video was shot. Analysing the images, it is clear that the viral video was shot at the ‘Gandhi Circle’ near the PWD office on Agra Road of Dausa.

A comparison of screenshots from the viral video and Google Street View images captured in January 2023 can be seen below.

A keyword search led us to the viral video shared on X with the caption, “Rahul Gandhi led Bharat Jodo Yatra in Dausa, Rajasthan.” The video was shared on December 16, 2022.

Similarly, we found two more X posts (links here and here) which shared similar videos of the march on the same passing through the ‘Gandhi Circle’ on Agra Road.

Therefore, NewsMeter concludes that the viral video shows Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra passing through the Gandhi circle, Agra Road in Dausa of Rajasthan in December 2022. It does not show the recent Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar.

Video 2

A video showing a huge crowd slowly walking on a road is going viral on social media.

The text on the video reads “Rahul Gandhi’s endless popularity in Bihar... The beginning of another complete revolution in the country! In 1974, Jayaprakash Narayan started a complete revolution from Bihar.”

The video was shared on Facebook. The video has over 2,68,000 views and 16,000 likes at the time of writing this article. (Archive)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The video shows a huge crowd rallying with Shri Sant Gajanan Maharaj’s Palanquin from Khamgaon to Shegaon, Maharashtra.

Using reverse image search of the video’s key frames, we found the same video shared on Instagram on August 2. The caption states, “Gajanan Maharaj’s palanquin leaves towards Shegaon from Khamgaon city”.

The video was shared by a user called ‘divyavarhad_’.

A link to a YouTube channel was shared in the Instagram bio. In the channel, we found a longer video including drone footage uploaded on July 31. The title reads, ‘Lakhs of devotees march with the palanquin, Shri’s palanquin returns home..#divyavarhad #shegaon.’

An ABP Live report published on July 30 stated that the rally marked the last stop of Shri Sant Gajanan Maharaj’s Palanquin at Khamgaon before returning to Shegaon the next day.

The palanquin had left Shegaon on June 2. This tradition has been going on since 1968.

Therefore, we conclude that the viral video does not show Rahul Gandhi’s Voter Adhikar Yatra. It shows a huge crowd rallying with Shri Sant Gajanan Maharaj’s Palanquin from Khamgaon to Shegaon, Maharashtra.