A video of a man spitting on a pizza while preparing it is being shared across social media platforms.
An X (Twitter) user named Amitabh Chaudhary (@MithilaWaala), who frequently shares communal disinformation, has shared the video claiming the man’s name was Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah and he was from Nigeria. He mentioned in his tweet that he was sharing the video to show why the “YOGI Govt decision of ordering food – fruit stall owners to write their name in Kanwar Yatra” was necessary.
📌 A Thread on why YOGI Govt decision of ordering food – fruit stall owners to write their name in Kanwar Yatra
Route is a welcome decision and must be implemented nationwide for the sanctity of those Hindu Jains Sikhs Buddhist to use fruits for fasting and PujaHe is… pic.twitter.com/e36efCIt6l
— Amitabh Chaudhary (@MithilaWaala) July 18, 2024
Others who amplified the video included BJP leader and legal activist Ashwini Upadhayay, Deepak Sharma
(@SonOfBharat7), Prof. Sudhanshu Trivedi (@Sudanshutrivedi) and others.
Viral in 2021 as well
The video went viral in 2021 as well. Several people had then identified the man as ‘shantidoot’ (peaceful), a derogatory term used for the Muslim community. It was suggested that he was an Algerian refugee in London. Twitter user Shefali Tiwari shared the clip, writing, “Scenes from a London restaurant. This peaceful is a refugee from Algeria. It’s simple, avoid this place as soon as you discover who owns it or risk eating saliva-tainted food.” The caption also encourages others to boycott ‘Muslim-owned businesses’. It had racked up more than 5,000 views at the time of writing. (Archive link)
#लंदन के एक रेस्टोरेंट का दृश्य👇#शांतिदूत अल्जीरिया से आया हुआ एक शरणार्थी है
सीधी सी बात है जैसे ही पता चले इनकी #दुकान है चुपचाप कट लो वरना इनका #थूक वाला खाओ pic.twitter.com/inGGghx1cO— Shefali Tiwari (@shefalitiwari7) February 24, 2021
Facebook user Amit Kumar Tiwari also posted the video with this claim. (Archive link)
यह लंदन का दृश्य है और यह शांतिदूत अल्जीरिया से आया हुआ एक शरणार्थी है
सीधी सी बात है जैसे ही पता चले कि इनकी दुकान है चुपचाप कट लो वरना इनका थूक वाला खाओ🤭🤭
Posted by Amit Kumar Tiwari Amit on Wednesday, February 24, 2021
The visuals and accompanying claims are viral on Facebook and Twitter.
Fact-check
Alt News performed a keyword search and found the same video uploaded on YouTube on September 25, 2018. CBS Miami reported that the incident took place in Detroit, US.
According to AP News, the man in the video is Jaylon Kerley, who was fired from his food service job after the clip went viral. The report mentioned that he could be sentenced to four years in prison.
Detroit news channel WXYZ-TV also uploaded a video story on the incident where the individual who recorded the video mentions that Jaylon was going through a difficult time. The Food Safety Department of the city also demanded he undergoes a medical evaluation. AP News reported that the test results confirmed that Kerley did not have any infectious diseases.
None of the reports mentions his religious identity.
A three-year-old video of a man spitting on pizza dough in Detroit, US, is being shared on social media with a false communal spin. In a similar incident, a video from 2015 was circulated targeting the Muslim community over the coronavirus. An old clip of a Muslim man licking fruits in Madhya Pradesh was shared earlier during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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