Video of Mangaluru middle-of-the-street Iftar party peddled as Kolkata

A video showing several rows of tables and chairs set up blocking a road for Iftar is being widely shared on social media with the claim that the visuals are from Kolkata, West Bengal.

An X (Twitter) user shared the video on April 7 with a caption in Hindi that can be translated to: “After Namaaz on the road, here is Iftar party on the road. The video is from Kolkata, West Bengal.
#NamoAgain2024”.

सडक पर नमाज़ के बाद पेश है सडक पर इफ्तार पार्टी। वीडियो पश्चिम बंगाल के कोलकाता से है|#NamoAgain2024 pic.twitter.com/PsvHTpALWe

— Vimesh Pandya (Modi Ka Pariwar) 🇮🇳🚩 (@VimeshPandya) April 7, 2024

Alt News received several requests on WhatsApp to check the authenticity of the viral video.

Several other users shared the viral video with the same caption on Facebook and X.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Fact Check

We ran a reverse image search and found a news report from India Today dated April 1 which carried a screengrab from the viral video. The report mentioned that the Iftar party was organized at Mudipu Junction in Mangaluru in the Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka.

We also found a PTI report on the incident carried by several outlets which corroborated the details. The Print report said, “The Iftar party was arranged on the state highway in Ullal Taluk at Mudipu junction, which is a busy intersection leading to the new IT hub of Dakshina Kannada district. The ECI took note of the video of the event after it went viral on social media platforms. The event had restricted the traffic to one side of the road making it difficult for the motorists and pedestrians for more than 4 hours during peak time.”

The Election Commission of India served a notice on the main organizer of the event, Abubakar Siddique, for violating the election model code of conduct.

Further, we geolocated the area that is shown in the viral video. The Google Street view matched the viral video and clearly showed that the area seen in the clip was Mudipu, Karnataka and not Kolkata.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Hence, it is clear that the viral video of a middle-of-the-street iftar party is not from Kolkata. The incident took place in Mangaluru, Karnataka.