Old video of people being swept away in flood water viral as recent clip from Rajasthan - Alt News
Abhishek Kumar
29th July 2022 / 11:16 am
Recently, the Meteorological Center Jaipur issued a yellow alert in Rajasthan as heavy rainfall continued to lash several parts of the state.
Against this backdrop, a video of a dramatic rescue of people being swept away in a rapid stream of flood water is circulating widely on social media. As the water rushes down a narrow lane between a few houses, a group of men reach out and save those who were drowning. It has been claimed that the visuals are from the recent heavy rains in Jaipur.
Journalist Sonu Sharma of Mirror Now tweeted the footage and wrote, “Heavy rains lead to disaster in Jaipur, locals washed away in fast-moving flood water, roads have transformed into ponds, vehicles were seen floating.” (Archived link)
जयपुर : भयंकर बारिश बनी आफत
पानी के तेज बहाव में बहे लोग
सड़कें बनीं तालाब, कारें तैरने लगी#Rajasthan #rains pic.twitter.com/2TbRCe6mlE
— Sonu Sharma (Journalist) (@jr_sonusharma) July 27, 2022
In a now-deleted tweet, News24 promoted the clip as an incident from Jodhpur. (Archived link)
A Twitter user named Rishabh Virendra Dixit also shared the video, writing, “Rain causes havoc in Jaipur, locals swept away in flood water”. (Archived link)
जयपुर में बारिश का कहर
पानी का तेज बहाव लोगों को भी बहा रहा है…!#Jaipur pic.twitter.com/CLaXvHGzAU
— ऋषभ वीरेन्द्र दीक्षित (@RishabhhDixit) July 27, 2022
Several other social media users amplified the video as recent.
Alt News performed a reverse image search using a frame from the viral video. This led us to a tweet by News18 carrying the clip from August 14, 2020. The outlet mentioned that heavy rains triggered a flood-like situation in some parts of Jaipur. This confirms that this footage is old and has no connection to any recent incidents.
#WATCH – Parts of Jaipur experienced flood-like situation after heavy rains. pic.twitter.com/hP87tljdmA
— News18 (@CNNnews18) August 14, 2020
A keyword search on Twitter led us to a tweet by journalist Saumit Mohan dated August 14, 2020. Sharing the viral video, he wrote, “Yesterday, I accidentally posted a viral video of Jaipur rains as Delhi rains, for that I am sorry”.
Saumit Mohan also claimed that it is a three-year-old video of Jaipur being shared as visuals from Delhi. It is worth noting that in 2020, heavy rains in Rajasthan led to waterlogging in many parts of the state. As a result, the Meteorological Department issued a red alert in many districts.
Yesterday, by mistake I posted viral video of #JaipurRains as #DelhiRains, for that am sorry. The below video is 3 years old video of Jaipur rains being shared as Today’s rains. #FakeNews #FAKE pic.twitter.com/Cdy9jtcUPs
— Soumit Mohan (@SoumitMohan) August 14, 2020
Based on this information, we attempted a few different keyword searches and reverse image searches using different frames of the viral clip. We could not find any reports which confirm that the video was first shared online in 2017. Hence, Alt News cannot verify whether the visuals are indeed from 2017. This article will be updated as and when that information becomes available. However, at the same time, it is certain that this video was not taken during the ongoing heavy rains in Rajasthan’s Jaipur or Jodhpur. This footage is at least two years old.
Abhishek is a senior fact-checking journalist and researcher at Alt News. He has a keen interest in information verification and technology. He is always eager to learn new skills, explore new OSINT tools and techniques. Prior to joining Alt News, he worked in the field of content development and analysis with a major focus on Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar…
In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin…
The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to…
Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile…
Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…