This video of people opening fire not linked to Manipur violence

Hyderabad: A video showing people continuously firing bullets during night-time is going viral on social video. Those sharing the video are linking it to the ongoing violence in Manipur.

A Twitter account shared the video with the caption, “Here is a video of Kuki people firing’s shots at Meitei people. Is this what you guys called a peace rally and trying to be the victim (sic).”

Many Twitter users have shared the video claiming the same. (Click here, here, here, and here to view more posts.)

The claim comes after violent clashes broke out in various parts of Manipur following a protest rally by tribal groups over a High Court order on Scheduled Tribe status for Meities. Chief Minister N. Biren Singh has appealed to the people to maintain peace, and the Indian Army and Central paramilitary forces have also been called in to control the situation in the state.

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the video has been on the internet since at least July 2020.

On performing a reverse image search of the video’s keyframe, we found the same video posted by a Twitter user on 29 April 2023. On skimming the account’s profile, we found that the account regularly posts videos of gunfire.

We also found the same video posted by an Instagram account on 5 July 2020. The caption contained hashtags like PUBG, Free Fire, and Battlefield.

NewsMeter could not independently verify whether the video shows a real incident or is from a video game. However, we confirmed that the video has been online since at least July 2020. Hence, we conclude that the video is being falsely linked to the ongoing violence in Manipur.