Fact Check by Press Trust of India
New Delhi, April 8 (Anushka Pandey / Abhinav Gupta PTI Fact Check): A video of a group of men warning people of social boycott if they employed any Muslim is being widely shared on social media. The video is being shared with hashtags insinuating that it is from a recent incident and warns people to watch it before going for Eid shopping. In its investigation, the PTI Fact Check Desk found that an old and unrelated from Haryana’s Nuh was shared as recent on social media with false claim.
The video dates back to August 2023, following the communal violence that erupted in Haryana’s Nuh which left at least seven people dead and several others injured.
Claim
A Facebook user shared a video of a group of men carrying a banner and warning shopkeepers of social boycott if they employed any Muslim. Using hashtag of Eid, the user insinuated that it was a recent incident and warned people to be careful when shopping for Eid-ul-Fitr.
“ईद की शॉपिंग करने से पहले ये वीडियो जरूर देखें।वीडियो को ज्यादा से ज्यादा शेयर करें प्लीज ज्यादा से ज्यादा शेयर करें प्लीज#ईदमुबारक#eidulfitar#shopping#brand’ read the post with over 91,000 views.
An English translation to the post read, “Please watch this video before doing Eid shopping. Please share the video as much as possible. Please share as much as possible #EidMubarak#eidulfitar#shopping#brand.”
Here is the link and archive link to the post, and below is a screenshot of the same:
Investigation
Starting the investigation, the Desk ran the viral video through InVid Tool Search and found a few keyframes. On running the keyframes through Google Lens, the Desk came across the same video posted on YouTube on April 2.
Here is the link and archive link to the video, and below is a screenshot of the same:
On watching the viral video closely, the Desk noticed that the banner mentioned “Nuh (Mewat)” and July 2023. Below is a screenshot of the same:
Taking a cue from this, the Desk conducted a customised Google search and came across an X post by journalist Rana Ayyub on August 9, 2023.
The post carried an extended version of the viral video and the caption of the post read: “Muslims given an ultimatum in Haryana. Shopkeepers being asked to sack their Muslim employees or face boycott. Some of our well meaning friends will continue with the most neutral and nauseating whataboutery. Every day apartheid.”
Here is the link and archive link to the post, and below is a screenshot of the same:
We also came across a video report on YouTube video uploaded by the official handle of Al Jazeera English on August 10, 2023.
Here is the link to the video and below is a screenshot of the same:
The description of the video read, “Far-right Hindus in India’s Haryana state have launched a boycott to expel Muslims after a wave of communal violence that has led to the deaths of several people.”
Meanwhile, a report by Economic Times, published on August 12, 2023, quoted the Supreme Court observing that the alleged call for social and economic boycott of Muslim community was “unacceptable”.
The title of the news report read: “Call for boycott of Muslims unacceptable; hate speech needs to end: Supreme Court”
Here is the link to the report:
Subsequently, the Desk concluded that an old and unrelated video was shared as recent on social media, falsely linking to the upcoming Eid festival.
CLAIM
A group of men warns shopkeepers against employing Muslims ahead of Eid.
FACT
The video dates back to August 2023 and is related to the communal violence in Haryana’s Nuh.
CONCLUSION
Several social media users shared a video of a group of men warning shopkeepers against employing Muslims. The users shared it with hashtags insinuating that it was a recent incident. In its investigation, the Desk found an old and unrelated video from Haryana’s Nuh was shared as recent on social media with a false claim.
(This story was originally published by PTI and republished by Khabar Lahariya as part of the Shakti Collective.)
‘यदि आप हमको सपोर्ट करना चाहते है तो हमारी ग्रामीण नारीवादी स्वतंत्र पत्रकारिता का समर्थन करें और हमारे प्रोडक्ट KL हटके का सब्सक्रिप्शन लें’
