Wrong video surfaces claiming a kid offers prayer on road in Karnataka after May 2023 elections: Fact Check

Posted by: Arun Nag May 25, 2023

A video is being shared on social media with a claim that a young boy is offering prayers (namaz) in the middle of the road in Karnataka, bringing the traffic to halt. The video also shows a policeman diverting the traffic.

The video has gone viral soon after the change of government in Karnataka with the Congress emerging victorious and forming the government on May 20, 2023.

The remarks accompanying the video said, “Enjoy the street view of Karnataka this morning, must watch *Secular Hindu. See the effect of the vote you have given. *Because of one Muslim child, the entire traffic route changes, these people run the constitution in their own way, just let it be 40% after some time, then see what they do”.

The video is being share on Twitter here and here.

आज सुबह के कर्नाटक के सड़क के दृश्य का आनंद लेवे , *सेक्युलर हिन्दू जरूर देखें । जो वोट दिया है उसका असर देखे ।* एक मुस्लिम बच्चे के कारण पूरी ट्रैफिक का रूट बदल जाता है , यह लोग संविधान को भी अपने तरीके से चलाते है बस कुछ समय बाद 40 % होने दो , फिर देखो क्या क्या करते है pic.twitter.com/mo5pBho2pj

— Dev Aarya (@DevAarya09) May 24, 2023

FACT CHECK

Digiteye India took it up for fact-checking and found that the claim was totally false. It was odd to find too many inconsistencies in the video, showcasing Karnataka, where the uniform of a traffic policeman is not blue and white but khaki and white as shown below.

Further, using a key-frame in the video, we found on Google Reverse Image Search we found that the video was shared as early as March 6, 2023 by a news presenter on Twitter as shown below. The elections to Karnataka assembly were not held by then.