Viral: False claim of Pakistani flag waved at Congress victory rally in Rajasthan - Alt News
Arjun Sidharth
13th December 2018 / 12:45 pm / Last updated: 15th March 2019
The ‘Pakistani flag’ has returned, and it is once again at a Congress rally. After the results of the assembly elections were announced with the Congress party emerging the victor in Rajasthan, a video has circulated on social media with the claim that the Pakistani flag was waved at the party’s rally following the win.
मूर्ख हिन्दूओ भविष्य मे बहुत पछताओगे।
लो जी कांग्रेस की जीत पे (इस्लामिक)का झंडा लहराते हुए
मूर्ख हिन्दूओ भविष्य मे बहुत पछताओगे।
Posted by Politics Solitics on Tuesday, December 11, 2018
The video has been circulated on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The above post is from the Facebook page Politics Solitics and has been shared over 11700 times apart from being viewed in excess of 235,000 times. It has also been shared by numerous individuals.
Alt News has done numerous articles debunking the narrative about the waving of the Pakistani flag. A closer look at the flag in the video makes it clear that it is not the flag of Pakistan.
The flag seen on the left in the above picture was the one waved at the rally, whereas the flag on the right is the national flag of Pakistan. There are clear, visible differences in the pattern of the two flags.
Moreover, Rajasthan police has clarified via Twitter that the narrative accompanying the video on social media is fake.
Alert 🚫🔊
This video 📽️ circulating on #socialmedia claims that there is a Pakistan flag being waved in a victory procession of @INCIndia.
This is false and we request people not to get trapped by this ❌. We are trying to trace the mischief-maker.#FakeNews @SMHoaxSlayer pic.twitter.com/WDnABuJx2M
— Rajasthan Police (@PoliceRajasthan) December 12, 2018
Alt News found that the video of the incident was posted live on Facebook by a user. In the background, the same music can be heard as in the viral video, and a van with the words ‘New Nirmal DJ Sound’ could be seen. Phone numbers were also mentioned. In the picture below, the screenshot on the left has been taken from this video posted on YouTube at 33 seconds, whereas the picture on the right has been taken from this live video at 00:14.
Alt News called this number to confirm if the van had indeed been used at the Congress rally. Hanuman Prasad Nirmal, the owner of the van said, “There were 3-4 types of flags which were waved at the rally, belonging to different groups and denominations. There was also a saffron flag and a Jai Bhim flag. Some young men who were part of the rally took out the green flags from a nearby mosque. There was no flag of Pakistan there. Many people were shooting live videos at that time” (translated). The screenshot posted below was been taken from this live video.
Posted by Harun Bhai Belim on Tuesday, 11 December 2018
A similar narrative was seen during the Karnataka assembly election when it was claimed that the Pakistani flag was waved at a Congress rally, and also on other instances such as the recent false claim that it was hoisted in Kolkata in celebration of the newly elected mayor.
Arjun Sidharth is a writer with Alt News. He has previously worked in the television news industry, where he managed news bulletins and breaking news scenarios, apart from scripting numerous prime time television stories. He has also been actively involved with various freelance projects. Sidharth has studied economics, political science, international relations and journalism. He has a keen interest in books, movies, music, sports, politics, foreign policy, history and economics. His hobbies include reading, watching movies and indoor gaming.
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