Fact Check: Video of Christian fest from Andhra passed off as turnout at Rahul Gandhi’s rally
The claim is false as the video is from a Christian fest organised in Andhra Pradesh.
By Md Mahfooz Alam Published on 17 April 2024 11:37 AM GMT
Screengrabs from the viral video. (Source: X)
Claim: The video shows a huge crowd gathering at Rahul Gandhi’s rally ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Fact: The video shows the completion of Hosanna ministries’ 47th International Feast of Tabernacle.
On 12 March, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin shared the dias in a mega rally in Coimbatore. Stalin and Rahul launched a frontal attack on the BJP on issues like electoral bonds, imposing “one language” on the country, and criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for seeking votes by not talking about his achievements, but “criticising” the I.N.D.I.A. bloc. Against this backdrop, a video has gone viral on social media claiming to show a huge gathering at Rahul Gandhi’s rally.
“This crowd in support of Rahul Gandhi will give Modi Ji sleepless nights. #LokSabaElection2024,” wrote an X user who shared the video. (Archive)
Another X user who shared the video captioned, “Is this mass gathering a sign of the end of the dictator...? #Elections2024 #LokSabaElection2024 #Congress #RahulGandhi.” (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false as the video is from a Christian fest organised in Andhra Pradesh.
After conducting a reverse image search of the video’s keyframes, we found it posted by the Facebook and Instagram accounts “Hosanna Fellowship” on March 11. The accompanying caption stated that the video shows the completion of Hosanna ministries' 47th International Feast of Tabernacle.
We also noticed the logo of ‘Hosanna Ministries Official’ in the videos posted by “Hosanna Fellowship”. With this lead, we found a collage video showing the same visual posted on the Instagram page and YouTube channel of Hosanna Ministries Official on March 8. The accompanying caption stated that the video shows a drone view of the 47th International Feast of Tabernacle.
According to a report by the Telugu newspaper, Eenadu, published on March 8, the festival was organised in Gorantla, a suburb of Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh under the auspices of Hosanna Ministries.
According to Hosanna Ministries' website, it is a Christian organisation headquartered in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. It celebrates the Feast of Tabernacles every year.
NewsMeter has also reached out to Hosanna Ministries for their clarification. The story will be updated as and when they respond.
Hence, we conclude that the claim is false as the viral video does not show the crowd gathered at Rahul Gandhi’s rally.
