Fact Check: Video of Muharram procession in West Bengal falsely linked to Haryana’s unrest
NewsMeter found that the video shows a Muharram procession in Bengal's Murshidabad.
By Md Mahfooz Alam Published on 4 Aug 2023 1:10 PM GMT
Screengrab from the Twitter post.
Hyderabad: A video showing children brandishing swords in public is doing rounds on social media. Users are linking the video to the ongoing violence in Haryana.
A Twitter user shared the video using the hashtags “#Gurgaon #HaryanaBurning #HindusUnderAttack #NuhViolence #NuhConspiracy #MewatiAntiHinduRiots.”
(Courtesy: Twitter/@pratheesh_Hind)
Another user shared the video using the hashtag “#MewatTerrorAttack.”
(Courtesy: Twitter/@BasanagoudaFan)
Another user shared the video with the caption, “#GuruGramViolence peacefully religion.”
Having these hashtags in the posts was meant to make the videos appear in the feed related to the violence in Haryana.
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the video shows a Muharram procession in Bengal.
On performing a reverse image search of the video’s keyframe, we found it on Facebook, posted on July 29. The user, Shaikh Aptaj Bharatiya, has shared it with the hashtag Muhraram and mentioned the location of the video as Dhuliyan, Murshidabad in West Bengal.
(Courtesy:Facebook)
We then analysed the video minutely and noticed a blue globe. Taking this as a cue, we found the same road in Dhuliyan in Murshidabad in West Bengal on Google Maps Street View.
Here is the comparison of the visual from the viral video and the image captured on Google Maps.
Hence, we conclude that the viral video is from West Bengal and has been falsely linked to ongoing communal strife in Haryana.
