A video of a pro-Palestine march held in Kerala is viral on social media. Users claimed that the flag carried by demonstrators was the national flag of Italy. National secretary of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga tweeted the clip with this claim. (Archive)
Hamas terrorists supporters gathered in Kerala, instead of carrying Palestine flag 🇵🇸 they carried Italy Flag 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/jgBVI5M2Ty
— Tejinder Pall Singh Bagga (@TajinderBagga) October 21, 2023
BJP national spokesperson Anil K Antony quote-tweeted Bagga’s tweet remarking, “the growing radicalism and growth of Islamic fundamentalism is a grave concern for Kerala’s law and order situation and for India’s internal security”. (Archive)
😁😂🤣. Laughs aside the growing radicalism and growth of Islamic fundamentalism is a grave concern for Kerala’s law and order situation and for India’s internal security – @HMOIndia @NIA_India https://t.co/UVmwjoqt12
— Anil K Antony (@anilkantony) October 21, 2023
Media outlet handle @NewsNow4USA tweeted the video and wrote, “Indians march in support of Palestine, carrying Italian flags” in Arabic. (Archive)
هنود يقيمون مسيرة دعمًا لفلسطين حاملين أعلام إيطاليا. pic.twitter.com/6nS12gmCyl
— الأحداث الأمريكية🇺🇸 (@NewsNow4USA) October 21, 2023
Twitter handle @Imamofpeace tweeted the same video with the viral claim and garnered over 17,000 likes and over 5,400 retweets. They later deleted the tweet. (Archive)
A mistake at a large pro-Hamas protest in Kerala, India, saw hundreds raising the Italian flag (🇮🇹) instead of the Palestinian flag (🇵🇸). pic.twitter.com/g3tcs277UI
— Imam of Peace (@Imamofpeace) October 21, 2023
Verified handle FranceNews24 also tweeted the same video claiming that the demonstration had seen hundreds of Italian flags being waved. (Archive)
🔴 INFO – #Inde : Une erreur lors d’une grande manifestation pro-Hamas au #Kerala, en Inde, a vu des centaines de personnes brandir le drapeau italien (🇮🇹) au lieu du drapeau palestinien (🇵🇸). 🤔 #IsraelAttack #GazaHospitalBombing #SuperMarioBrosWonder #GazaHospital… pic.twitter.com/KiXkEPE31n
— FranceNews24 (@FranceNews24) October 21, 2023
Several other verified Twitter handles including @capt_ivane, @dom_lucre, @OliLondonTV, @ViralNewsNYC, @Slatzism, @Natsecjeff, and @clashreport tweeted the same claim. Some users gained thousands of likes and retweets.
The video is also viral on Facebook.
Fact Check
We noticed that the procession was led by a group holding a banner with the text “Welfare Party Kerala” at the bottom. We also noticed another poster with the same text.
We also noticed that the flags held by the demonstrators carried a text. We could decipher the word WELFARE written on the flags.
We looked up the official page of the Welfare Party Kerala on Facebook and discovered several pictures from their pro-Palestine demonstrations. The images offered a clearer view of the flags seen in the viral video. Although starkly similar to the flag of Italy, the demonstrators actually waved the official flag of the Welfare Party. The image below is one of the images uploaded on the Welfare Party Kerala’s Facebook page on October 19.
As one can see, the flag consists of red, white and green panels like the flag of Italy. However, it has a symbol consisting of two ears of wheat and the text “WELFARE PARTY” written at the centre.
We also located the place where the video was shot. The structure seen on the left is the Pattala Masjid on GH Road in Kozhikode.
The official X (formerly Twitter) account of Welfare Party Of India, Kerala state committee, shared a 55-second video of the rally with the caption, “We Indians with Gaza Huge protest in Kerala, India by #WelfareParty in support Palestine.”
Thus, it is clear that the demonstrators in Kerala did not carry the flag of Italy during their march for Palestine. The march was organised by the Welfare Party Kerala and the demonstrators were waving the official party flag.
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