Werewolf sculpture shared with unrelated video from Pak believed to be an incident from MP - Alt News
Kalim Ahmed
23rd June 2021 / 2:04 pm / Last updated: 6th December 2021
[Warning: Visuals may be distressing for some. Reader discretion is advised.]
A series of photos and videos are circulating on Whatsapp with different claims. In one of the videos, a werewolf-like creature can be seen injured and breathing heavily. It seems to be inside a hospital. In another video, we can see a group of people soaked in blood, wailing and being assisted by doctors. Some of the accompanying claims suggest the creature was spotted in Huzurabad, Telangana.
Alt News had received several requests on WhatsApp helpline number (+91 76000 11160) to fact-check the visuals in June. It was being shared with the claim that they’re from Bandhavgarh, Madhya Pradesh.
Some of the clips had also shared this on YouTube with the caption, “बांधववगढ़ में पाया गया इंसान की शकल में भेड़िया मध्य प्रदेश का हादसा.”
Video 1
For the first video, which appears to be of a lycan (subspecies of a werewolf in monster mythology), we did a keyword search on Google. This led us to an article by TMZ, an American website that covers pop-culture events. According to TMZ, the clip initially went viral on Twitter and was assumed to be from Nigeria as someone can be heard speaking Hausa.
What kind of animal is this again ? pic.twitter.com/h6YMnd6SWG
— 👑 Øba_jərõ (@oba_jero) June 18, 2021
But the video that was shared on Twitter was dubbed over and is not from Nigeria, TMZ reported, adding that the original clip is from a Portuguese short film called ‘Lobisomem Morto a Tiros’ (Werewolf Shot to Death). Alt News noticed that the video viral on Twitter and Whatsapp has been inverted. As per TMZ, the SFX (special effects) work of the lycan was done by freelance sculpture artist Joseph-Rob Cobasky.
A post shared by Joseph-Rob Cobasky (@robcobasky)
Alt News contacted Joseph. He informed that TMZ’s report claiming that the werewolf was featured in a Portuguese film is incorrect. Joseph said that he was on a movie set with his friends, trying to shoot a short film. The video is a behind the scenes clip from that night. “I wanted to show that the werewolf was hit by a car,” he said, adding that someone used the video without permission and changed the audio to scare people.
Video 2
The video of the monster gasping for breath was also shot by Joseph. “I recorded this on my phone. I was pushing the werewolf’s back with my hand to make it appear as if it was breathing. Then I made the breathing sound with my own mouth and slowed it down for effects,” said Joseph
A post shared by Joseph-Rob Cobasky (@robcobasky)
Some of the other photos viral on WhatsApp can be found here and here.
Video 3
We used InVID to break down the video into multiple keyframes. A reverse-image search of one of the frames led us to a video posted on YouTube by PukarAsia in June 2019. We are not embedding the video due to its graphic nature. Taking clues from this clip, we came across a news report by ANI which said that the incident took place at District Headquarters Hospital in Pakistan’s Nankana Sahib where five people were killed and seven others were injured in an armed clash that took place between two rival groups inside the hospital premises. For further details, ANI relied on a report by Xinhua News Agency according to which two different clans opened fire at each other in the emergency section of the hospital over a petty dispute. Four people died on the spot. One of the injured succumbed to their injuries later at a private hospital in the district. After the incident, a heavy contingent of police rushed to the hospital and a state of emergency was imposed.
Hence, unrelated videos were shared together to falsely portray that a ‘werewolf was spotted in Bandhavgarh, Madhya Pradesh.
Kalim is a journalist with a keen interest in tech, misinformation, culture, etc
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