Against the backdrop of the violence in Manipur since May 3, a video has been going viral on social media where apparently a machine gun can be seen being fired relentlessly. It has been shared on Twitter and other social media platforms with the claim that the visuals are related to the current clashes in Manipur.
While the common claim accompanying the video is that it is from Manipur, some users claimed that it was the people from the Kuki community who were firing at the Meiteis.
A Twitter user, who goes by the name ‘Walmart Banana’ shared the video on May 4 saying that it was a video of Kuki people firing at Meiteis.
The tweet received over 1,36,000 views and was retweeted about 1,000 times. (Archive)
Here is a video of Kuki people firing’s shots at Meitei people .Is this what you guys called a peace rally and trying to be the victim #manipurisburning #manipur_on_fire #NarendraModi #NDTVExclusive #AmitShah pic.twitter.com/5yuTHdklMu
— Walmart Banana (@BananaWalmart) May 4, 2023
The above tweet was quote-tweeted on the same day by another user — Ritu #सत्यसाधक, who has 1,32,000 followers on Twitter. She said in her tweet that it looked like a ghastly attack on Hindu Meitei Community.
The quote tweet received over 52,000 views. (Archive)
Who supplied guns and ammunition to Christian Kuki tribe militants?
This looks like a ghastly attack on Hindu Meitei Community!
Hindus have been so accommodating and tolerant to christians, muslims and others
But see how are they being attacked in their own land now
Devastating! https://t.co/GuIeB6Fppy— Ritu #सत्यसाधक (@RituRathaur) May 4, 2023
In a Twitter post on the same day, a user named Pawan Boxer shared the said viral video. He wrote in Hindi, “This is not a film scene, it is Modi ji’s double engine government in Manipur. Now, dalal (broker) media and Modi devotees should tell which Opposition and leaders went here to provoke? There is a proverb, ‘A bad workman quarrels with his tools.’ The country has been ruined by the sons of Godse.
#ManipurOnFire”.
The tweet received over 83,000 views and was retweeted about 2,000 times. (Archive)
ये कोई फ़िल्मी सीन नहीं मणिपुर में मोदी जी की डबल इंजन की सरकार है
अब दलाल मीडिया और मोदी भक्त ये बताए कि यहाँ कौन सा विपक्ष और नेता गये थे भड़काने ?
कहावत है “नाच न जाने, आँगन टेढ़ा”
देश बर्बाद कर दिया इन गोडसे की औलादों ने।
#ManipurOnFire pic.twitter.com/6zJHmCmwkc
— Pawan Boxer (@PawanBoxer_) May 4, 2023
According to his Twitter bio, Pawan Boxer is the former state secretary of the National Students’ Union of India, the student wing of Indian National Congress.
Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Sevadal, a verified page on Facebook, also shared the viral video with the same caption.
ये कोई फ़िल्मी सीन नहीं मणिपुर में मोदी जी की डबल इंजन की सरकार है
अब दलाल मीडिया और मोदी भक्त ये बताए कि यहाँ कौन सा विपक्ष और नेता गये थे भड़काने ?
कहावत है “नाच न जाने, आँगन टेढ़ा”
देश बर्बाद कर दिया..
Posted by Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Sevadal on Thursday, 4 May 2023
Multiple other users have posted the video in question with similar claims.
Fact Check
We broke down the video into its key-frames using the InVID software and ran a reverse image search on some of the frames. The search led us to an Instagram post by the profile: @threatty_, whose Instagram bio says: “Video creator”.
The above account had posted the viral video in question on July 5, 2020, with the caption: “Warzone” and tagged WorldStar, a content-aggregating video blog, and tagged their own account as the owner of the video. The caption also carried hashtags such as: “#gaming”, “#justforfun” and “#pubg”, “#callofduty” — famous battle mobile/computer games. The location of the post has been set as Culiacán, a city in Mexico.
View this post on Instagram
We noted that a user commented on the post bringing the matter into the creator’s knowledge that their video had been shared with false claims in connection to the Manipur violence and @threatty_ also replied to the comment.
Therefore, the claims made regarding the viral video in question are false. It is not from Manipur. The video in question is a gaming video from 2020 created by Instagram user: @threatty_, more such videos can be found on their profile.
Oishani Bhattacharya is an intern at Alt News.
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