Fact Check: Viral video of crocodile in residential area is from MP, not Chennai
The video is from Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri district in 2022.
By Md Mahfooz Alam Published on 4 Dec 2023 1:56 PM GMT
Screengrab of the post (Source: X/@The_AK_Devotee)
Hyderabad: Amidst heavy rainfall in Chennai and as Cyclone Michaung is expected to make landfall on December 5, a video of a crocodile straying into a waterlogged residential area is going viral on many socials. Users claim that the reptile was spotted in Chennai during the ongoing heavy rains.
An X user shared the video with the caption, “Just a video of crocodile enjoying visiting Chennai city. #ChennaiFloods #CycloneMichaung.”
Several X users shared the video claiming the same. Click here, here, here and here to view the posts.
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the video is from Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri district in 2022.
Upon a reverse image search of the video’s keyframe, we found it on X, posted by a user on August 14, 2022. The caption stated that the video was from Shivpuri.
Taking a cue from this, we ran a keyword search and came across a report from August 15, 2022, by ABP News, which carried stills from the video. It said many areas were inundated in Madhya Pradesh after heavy rainfall, and Shivpuri witnessed a strange incident after a crocodile entered along with rainwater into a residential area.
NDTV and News18 also reported the incident of a crocodile wandering into a residential area in the Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh in August 2022. The reports carried the stills from the video.
Hence, we conclude that the viral video is from 2022, from Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri district. The claim that the video is from Chennai is false.
