A video going viral on social media (here, here, and here) claims to show an election rally for Congress candidate Sajid Khan Mastan Khan in Akola, Maharashtra for the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly Elections. The post claims that individuals on various vehicles were carrying flags of Palestine, Iran, Iraq, ISIS, and Hezbollah, with no Indian flag visible. Let’s verify the truth behind the video in this article.
Claim: This video shows Congress candidate Sajid Khan Mastan Khan’s rally in Akola, Maharashtra, with flags of Palestine, Iran, Iraq, ISIS, and Hezbollah, but no Indian flag.
Fact: The video dates back to September 2024, and shows the Milad-un-Nabi bike rally in Latur, Maharashtra. While Indian flags are visible in the viral video, we cannot independently verify if the other flags are associated with Palestine, Iran, Iraq, ISIS, or Hezbollah. However, the viral video is not related to Congress candidate Sajid Khan Mastan Khan’s election rally in Akola, Maharashtra. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
A reverse image search of the keyframes from the viral video led us to the full version (Archive link) of the video uploaded on 01 October 2024 to a YouTube channel named “AAJ KA MAHANAGAR live,” titled Latur Maharashtra Eid Miladun Nabi Juloos.
Taking a clue from the title, a Google keyword search led us to a news report (Archive link) published by the Latur News Official YouTube channel on 19 September 2024. The report described the video as showing the “Eid Miladun Nabi bike rally in Latur.”
We compared keyframes from the viral video with visuals from the Latur News Official YouTube channel and found similarities, the same person holding an Indian flag in both images.
We geolocated the place on Google Maps using a shop sign from the video as a reference. Using the Street View option, we found the location and confirmed it matched a keyframe from the viral video.
We can observe people holding Indian flags in the viral video, but we cannot independently verify if the other flags are associated with Palestine, Iran, Iraq, ISIS, or Hezbollah. The video, however, shows a Milad-un-Nabi rally in Latur, not a recent Congress candidate’s election rally.
To sum up, an old Milad-un-Nabi bike rally video from Latur is shared as a recent Congress candidate’s election rally in Akola, Maharashtra.
