Recently, a video has been circulated on social media with the claim, “India in turmoil with anti-Modi protests.”
See the videos circulated on Facebook with this claim: here, here, here, here, and here.
Fact-check
The Rumor Scanner team’s investigation found that the video in question is not from India. Instead, it shows a recent protest in Nepal.
In the course of the investigation, a video published on September 9th was found on a YouTube channel named ‘@Bagwankitech’.
The scenes in that video match those being circulated with the claim. According to the video’s description, it is claimed to be a scene from Nepal.
Further investigation located the place on Google Maps. The location is Nepalgunj, a city in the southwest of Nepal.
Chetana Kunwar, Assistant Fact-Check Editor at the Nepalese fact-checking organization Nepal Factcheck, informed Rumor Scanner that the place is called B.P. Chowk. A sign for Nepalgunj National Hospital pvt Ltd. is also visible there.
A report published on the website of the international news outlet BBC on September 9th regarding the protests in Nepal states that the country’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned following allegations of excessive force by law enforcement during the protests. Even after that announcement in the afternoon, protesters entered, vandalized, and set fire to various public and private buildings, including the Nepalese parliament building and ministers’ residences.
In other words, the video being circulated with the claim is indeed a scene from the protests in Nepal.
Therefore, a video of a protest in Nepal has been shared with the false claim that it shows anti-Modi protests in India; which is false.
Sources
- @Bagwankitech: Youtube Video
- BBC News: What we know about Nepal anti-corruption protests as PM resigns
- BBC News: Nepal turmoil adds to India’s woes in South Asia
