Lighthouse Journalism found a video being widely shared on social media platforms; it was being claimed that the video was related to the recent protests in Nepal.
During the investigation, we found the claim to be false. The video is old and not from the recent protests.
Claim:
X user Rajasthan One shared the video with a false claim on his profile.
Other social media users are also sharing the same video.
Investigation:
We checked the comment section of several such videos uploaded on the social media platforms.
We found a comment that said: That is an old video from the past. They are celebrating their local festival/ jatra. The recent condition is over here
We found another video uploaded on X, which said: The current situation at Pashupatinath at night. Pashupati is peaceful. The army is providing security. We are continuously monitoring. Do not worry. No one can touch Pashupati.
We then ran a reverse image search on the keyframes obtained from the video.
We found a video uploaded on TikTok.
We also found the video uploaded on Facebook on 9th September.
The caption said: This video is not of today or now, not of agitation, but of fair.
This video/photo is of our ‘Paha Chahre Jatra’, which is an important festival of the Newar community. There have been no attacks or unpleasant incidents in this, and everyone is safe.
This video/photo is a simple scene captured during the festival. So, no one needs to be scared or terrorized about it. I also request you not to be confused and not to spread confusion.
The video was first uploaded by the page in July.
Paha Chahre Jatra, also known as Pahan Charhe or Pasa Charhe, is a significant three-day religious festival celebrated by the Newar community in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Translating to “inviting guests,” the festival occurs on the 14th day of the dark fortnight of the Nepali month of Chaitra.
Conclusion: An old video of a festival in Nepal is being shared as recent from Nepal protests. The viral claim is false.
