A video is viral on social media, where one can see flames engulfing the sky at what seems to be an open-air festival with large white tents. A car can be seen moving backwards in order to avoid the fire and, people can be heard screaming at a distance. The video has been viral with the claim that Muslims attacked the Eritrean community festival in Sweden.<\/p>\n
@MrSinha_<\/a> who uses Twitter to generate and amplify misinformation on a regular basis, shared the video tagging journalists Ravish Kumar and Rajdeep Sardesai. He claimed Muslims had attacked the festival and asked the scribes whether the fire in Sweden had also been caused by Monu Manesar. His tweet generated over 5 Lakh views. (Archive<\/a>).<\/p>\n MusIims attacked the Eritrean community festival in Sweden.<\/p>\n Monu Manesar along with Bajrang dal reached there too? @sardesairajdeep<\/a> @ravishndtv<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/j5aXC0moeY<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Mr Sinha (@MrSinha_) August 4, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Monu Manesar<\/a> is a Bajrang Dal leader from Haryana and cow vigilante accused in the murder of two Muslim youths in February.<\/p>\n While sharing the same video, Twitter user @aquibmir71<\/a> claimed it was Muslims who attacked the Eritrean community festival. (Archive<\/a>)<\/p>\n Hello @RanaAyyub<\/a> chachi .<\/p>\n No RSS and Bajrang dal in Sweden .<\/p>\n MusIims attacked the Eritrean community festival in Sweden.<\/p>\n Retweet it .<\/p>\n pic.twitter.com\/tWc2A8EKZX<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Aquib Mir (@aquibmir71) August 4, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Another handle by the name ‘Izlamic Terrorist’ (@raviagrawal3) shared the video and wrote it was an arson attack by Muslims.<\/p>\n Breaking\ud83d\udea8 \u26a1<\/p>\n Arson attack by Muslim, Eritrean community festival in Stockholm, Sweden \ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddea pic.twitter.com\/t2dueJnPqc<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Izlamic Terrorist (@raviagrawal3) August 3, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n First, we broke down the video into multiple key-frames using a video verification tool and ran a reverse image search. It led us to a video story by a German Television News channel Welt,<\/a> which covered the Eritrean community festival in Stockholm, capital of Sweden on August 3. At the 0:30-minute mark<\/a>, it shows portions of the viral video.<\/p>\n [youtube https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=pDrNYRqh-Zw?start=30]<\/p>\n The ‘description’ section of the video contains a detailed report about the incident. It says, “… more than 50 were injured and around 100 arrested during a pro-government Eritrean festival near the Swedish capital Stockholm. Violent riots broke out during a gathering of government opponents near the festival site, police said on Thursday. According to images from the venue, several cars and at least one tent were set on fire… The tabloid “Expressen” reported that around a thousand anti-government demonstrators broke through a police barrier during a legally registered protest and stormed the festival. The demonstrators tore down marquees and used tent poles as weapons against police officers.”<\/p>\n Eritrea is a African country on the shores of the Red Sea. According to a report in The Guardian<\/a>, “Human rights groups have long described the east African nation as one of the world\u2019s most repressive countries. The country has never held an election since it gained independence from Ethiopia three decades ago.\u00a0Refugees from the country have described a police state of forced labour, where young men and women are forced into military conscription and the civil service where they face torture and sexual harassment. The conditions have prompted millions to flee the country in recent decades.”<\/p>\n The report adds that similar anti-government clashes were reported in various cities, including Toronto, Seattle and Stockholm.<\/p>\n In order to find out more about the particular clash in Stockholm, we went through several news reports. According to a report by AP<\/a>, “Sweden is home to tens of thousands of people with Eritrean roots. The festival devoted to the cultural heritage of Eritrea is an annual event that has been held since the 1990s but has been criticized for allegedly serving as a promotional tool and source of money for the African nation\u2019s government.”<\/p>\n\n
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Fact Check<\/h4>\n