DigitEye India Fact Checkers
A video is being circulated widely on social media. The video shows a rally with men dressed in khaki army-like uniforms and a flag is being waved during the rally. The claims that have been circulating along with the video allege that the rally shows men in Pakistan defence uniforms with Pakistan flags in Kerala. The claim reads,
भारत वर्ष में ऐक और बडी साझीस चलाईं जा रही है| अभ भी वक्त है भारतीय जागो उठो, अरे नहीं नहीं ये सीरिया, सउदी, ईरान का वीडियो नहीं है| ये तो भारत में केरल की बल्ला बीच का वीडियो है। कांग्रेस के राज में इस्लाम नहीं फलेगा फूलेगा तो और कहां फले फूलेगा। आखिर राहुल सर अमेठी रायबरेली छोड़ कर वायनाड से इसीलिए तो जीते थे सर|
(Translation: Another big conspiracy is being carried out in India this year. Now is the time Indians, to wake up. Oh no no, this is not a video of Syria, Saudi, or Iran. This is a video from Kerala’s Balla Beach. If Islam will not flourish under Congress’s rule, then where else will it flourish? After all, this is why Rahul Sir left Amethi and Rae Bareli and won from Wayanad.)
The video was also shared on Twitter.
Guess the state pic.twitter.com/EqD06aktk9
— Kreately.in (@KreatelyMedia) October 2, 2023
This video is not from Syria, Yemen, or Iraq. It is happening in Kerala, God's own country, but it seems Communists rule won't let it remain so!
A private army-type parade is happening in Kasaragod district with some unknown flag.
Is this even allowed @pinarayivijayan? pic.twitter.com/yO5QMD2pXL
— Vishnu Vardhan Reddy (Modi ka Parivar) (@SVishnuReddy) October 4, 2023
Digiteye India received a request to fact check this video on WhatsApp.
FACT CHECK
The Digiteye India team used InVID – a video verification tool – to break the video into multiple keyframes. We used these keyframes and ran a Reverse Image Search on Google. One of the results led us to a YouTube video that was uploaded on September 28, 2023. The description of the video revealed that it was from a Nabidina Rally. We found similar other videos of the rally from around the same time. They can be seen here and here. The same flag as the one in the viral video can be seen in these videos as well.
The Nabidina Rally was conducted on Eid-e-Milad un-Nabi in Balla Beach which is the Kanhangad town of Kerala. This year Eid-e-Milad un-Nabi was on September 27-28. The date coincides with the dates when the videos were uploaded on YouTube.
We conducted a reverse image search to find out more about the flag. The results revealed that the flag is not from Pakistan but of the Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama, an Islamic organization in Kerala. The flags seen in the viral video belong to the Samastha Kerala Sunni Yuvajana Sangham (SYS), a sub-part of the Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama.
The claim that the rally featured Pakistan flags is false.
CLAIM: A rally in Kerala’s Balla Beach showed Pakistan’s flag and men in Pakistan defence uniforms.
CONCLUSION: The rally took place in Balla Beach on the occasion of Eid-e-Milad un-Nabi. The flag is not of Pakistan but of the Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama, an Islamic organization in Kerala.
RATING: ??? – Misrepresentation
