Unrelated video of mob violence in MP viral as Delhi riots - Alt News
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29th February 2020 / 5:09 pm / Last updated: 20th April 2020
Several users on Twitter uploaded a video of a mob brutally thrashing a man with stones and sticks. The accompanying claim suggests that the video is from the recent communal riots in Delhi. Alt News is not embedding the video due to its graphic nature. However, it has been hyperlinked below for those who wish to watch.
An Arabic user shared the video with the claim that “RSS terrorists” are brutally killing Muslims.
@AftabAfridiPK, a Twitter user from Pakistan, shared the viral video and wrote (archive link), “Wakeup @UN before its too late. PM @ImranKhanPTI warned you about Modi backed RSS an year ago but you people didn’t listen. Now you are responsible for this. #DelhiViolance #DelhiGenocide2020.” This was retweeted over 1,200 times. Another Twitter user from Pakistan tweeted (archive link) the viral video and said, “The Pitcher of Indian terrorism RSS #DelhiViolance”
Similarly, several Tamil users posted the viral video on Twitter with the text, “If you can..continue watching by restraining your feelings. There’s violence because of RSS in Delhi [Translated from உங்களால் முடியும் என்றால்.. உணர்வுகளை கட்டுப்படுத்திக் கொண்டு தொடர்ந்து பாருங்கள். டெல்லியில் RSS வன்முறை].
Alt News performed a keyframe analysis on InVid. After a reverse search of the viral video’s opening frame on Yandex, we found a February 6 report by BBC Hindi. According to the report, one person was killed and five were seriously injured in Manawar, a village in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh after some people were beaten because of child lifting rumours.
Subsequently, Alt News performed a keyword search and found a February 5 report by Times of India. One of the victims told the media outlet, “Five labourers had promised to work in the fields and taken the advance of Rs 50,000 each. But when we reached their houses to collect the money, they attacked us. Then the crowd gathered, calling us child lifters.”
Therefore, the social media claim that the video shows violence during riots in Delhi is false. Last year, misinformation about child-lifters led to several deaths of innocent people. Alt News had published multiple reports debunking the same.
[Update: Identical claim shared by an Arabic user was added to this report on April 20, 2020.]
🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023.
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