Fact Check: Video alleging YSRCP lost votes due to EVM tampering is old, not linked to 2024 polls

Hyderabad: A video has resurfaced on social media alleging that the YSRCP lost votes due to EVM (Electronic Voting Machines) tampering in the recently concluded polls. The video is being shared with captions calling for justice and demanding an investigation by the Supreme Court and the CBI.

A Facebook user shared the video with the caption: "The people of Andhra Pradesh are calling for justice regarding the 2024 election results. We request a CBI inquiry monitored by the Supreme Court or the governor or a recount. This request represents the collective decision of the Andhra Pradesh people, including myself. We insist on the counting of VVPAT slips to validate the 2024 AP election results,” (Archive)

Similar posts can be seen here, here, and here. ( Archive 1 ) , ( Archive 2 ), ( Archive 3 )

Fact Check:

NewsMeter found that the claim is false, as the video is from 2019.

A reverse image search of key frames from the video led us to a video published on the ABN Telugu YouTube channel, dated April 14, 2019. The video was titled “Hari Prasad Complains On EC Over VVPAT Displaying Only for 3 Seconds, Instead of 7 Seconds.”

In this detailed report, Hari Prasad is seen speaking to the media at the 2 mark, alleging that VVPATs were only displaying for 3 seconds instead of 7 seconds. This particular part of the video has been edited and used on social media.

Additionally, a keyword search yielded a detailed report from The Quint titled “VVPAT Has a Coding Problem But EC Refuses to Listen: Hari Prasad Vemuru of TDP,” published on April 18, 2019. In the report, Hari Prasad responds to The Quint, stating, “A common voter doesn’t understand whether it's 3 seconds or 7 seconds. They may feel that if 3 seconds has come, that’s fine for them. But for a programmer, it matters.”

We also found similar reports from National Herald and Business Standard.

Our investigation found that the video in question is not related to the 2024 Andhra Pradesh elections. Instead, it dates back to 2019 and concerns the TDP (Telugu Desam Party). The video has been misrepresented in the current context to suggest electoral malfeasance in the recent elections.