Fact Check: Viral video of people setting fire to BJP flags is not recent; it is from 2021
The claim is misleading as the video is from 2021 and reportedly shows farmers setting fire to BJP flags in Haryana’s Ellenabad.
By Md Mahfooz Alam Published on 25 April 2024 12:59 PM GMT
Screengrabs from the post making the misleading claim. (Source: X/@Vini__007)
Claim: The video shows BJP flags being burned by Khalistanis disguised as farmers in Bhagwant Mann-ruled AAP’s Punjab.
Fact: The claim is misleading. The video reportedly shows farmers setting BJP flags on fire in Haryana’s Ellenabad in 2021.
Hyderabad: Ahead of the second phase of voting for 89 seats across 13 states for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls on April 26, a video of the public setting fire to BJP flags on a road in front of police officials is doing rounds on social media. The accompanying claim suggests that the video is recent.
A premium X user shared the video (Archive) claiming that Khalistanis disguised as farmers snatched the BJP flags from all the vehicles and people participating in a BJP rally and set them on fire. The user said that the incident took place in front of the Punjab police because chief minister Bhagwant Mann had tied their hands, suggesting that the video is recent.
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is misleading as the video is from 2021 and reportedly shows farmers setting fire to BJP flags in Haryana’s Ellenabad.
Upon a reverse image search of the video’s keyframe, we found the video on X, posted by Congress leader Vikash Bansal on October 9, 2021. He stated that the BJP flag was set on fire by farmers during an Assembly by-poll in the Ellenabad constituency.
A local YouTube channel in Haryana, Aapni News, published an extended video showing the same visuals on October 7, 2021, stating that the farmers burned the BJP flags amid a tense atmosphere in Ellenabad.
A verified YouTube channel, Khas Haryana, published the video with identical visuals on October 7, 2021. The channel stated in the caption that the farmers of Ellenabad had set on fire thousands of BJP flags.
Bhagwant Mann was sworn in as chief minister of Punjab on March 16, 2022. Hence, we conclude that the claim that the incident happened recently under CM Mann is misleading.
