Lighthouse Journalism found a video being widely shared on social media platforms. In the video, several people were seen waving the Indian tricolour. It was claimed that the video was from Balochistan – a region located in the southwest of Pakistan. It was claimed, along with the video, that the people of Balochistan have declared independence from Pakistan.
During the investigation, we found that the video was from India and not Balochistan in Pakistan.
Claim:
X user Dr Chiranjeevi shared the video with the viral claim.
Other users are also sharing the same video with a similar claim.
Investigation:
We uploaded the video in the InVid tool and ran a reverse image search on the keyframes obtained from the video.
We found the video uploaded on the YouTube channel Star Hindi News. The title suggested that the video was from Tiranga Yatra, in Surat in Gujarat.
We also found a picture similar to the video uploaded by MLA Sangita Patil on Instagram. The caption stated: In this Tiranga Yatra, Chairman of Surat Metropolitan Shri Pareshbhai Patel, all MLAs, all post holders, and thousands of town people joined together and expressed their patriotism.
We found similar visuals in posts uploaded on social media platforms.
Through one keyframe, we found out that the drum had ‘Saifee Scout Surat’ written over it.
This band was established in 1954 in Surat.
We found the video on their Instagram handle, too. The caption stated: The Tiranga Yatra in Surat was exciting, and the Surat Dawoodi Bohra Band made it even better with their music. Their songs matched the proud feeling of the day. It was great to see and hear! 🎉🇮🇳 #SuratEvents #TirangaVibes #SuratDawoodiBohraBand #IndianCulture #MusicUnitesUs
We also found news reports about the event.
Conclusion: Viral video showing people with the tricolor claiming it is from Balochistan of people declaring independence from Pakistan, is actually from Surat, Gujarat. The viral claim is misleading.
