Unrelated visuals shared as visuals of attacks on Biharis in Tamil Nadu - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 10, 2023
The alleged attacks on Biharis in Tamil Nadu, as depicted in several videos circulating on social media, have raised concerns about their authenticity. This article aims to verify the accuracy and context of these videos to prevent the spread of misinformation and confusion among the public.
Update (10 March 2023):
In wake of the recent spread of misinformation about alleged attacks on Bihari migrant labourers in Tamil Nadu, another video of a crowded train, wherein passengers can be seen clinging onto the doors is being widely shared. The video is being shared with a caption ‘Tamil Nadu to Bihar’, implying that the visuals show fleeing migrant labourers from Tamil Nadu.
However, the visuals do not show any Tamilnadu bound train. Upon carful observation we can spot the name of the train at one timestamp of the video. Further, using some digital image editing tools we found the name of the train as ‘PALAMU EXPRESS’.
According to the Indian railwyas, Palamu Express plies between Patna Junction in Bihar and Barkakana Junction in Jharkhand Which implies these visuals do not show any train plying from Tamil Nadu.
Also, we came across few social media posts which shared the same visuals in January 2023 (here & here), much earlier than the recent spread of misinformation alleging attacks on migrant labourers in Bihar. Hence, these visuals have nothing to do with the Tamil Nadu/Bihar migrants.
Update (09 March 2023):
Lately another video, which claims to show attack on Bihari migrant workers in Tamil Nadu is being circulated widely.
These visuals have been circulating on Arabic social media circles, in February 2023, much before than the recent events of misinformation about attack on migrant workers in Tamil Nadu came to light. Reverse image search of these visuals yielded multiple Arabic news reports which reported the same visuals (here, here & here).
Multiple Saudi based Arabic news articles, dating back to February 2023 reported these visuals as fight between construction workers on the roof of a building under construction. Although these articles did not provide the details about the specific location and context of the quarrel, the availability of these visuals on internet establishes the fact that they have nothing to do with Bihari migrant workers in Tamil Nadu.
Further, we could not find any news reports of migrant’s workers attacked in an under construction building in Tamil Nadu, which further confirms that these visuals have nothing to do with Tamil Nadu.
Update (08 March 2023):
Another video which claims to show attack on Bihari migrant workers in Tamil Nadu is being circulated on social media platforms.
However, these visuals do not show any attack on Bihari migrant labours in Tamil Nadu. These visuals are related to post-poll violence that broke out between Tripa Motha & BJP supporters in Tripura, earlier this month.
Few local news agencies reported the same visuals attributing them to the post-poll violence between Tripa Motha and BJP supporters (here, here & here).
Further, multiple mainstream news agencies reported this post-poll violence, which broke out recently in Tripura. These reports can be viewed here & here.
Update (06 March 2023):
Another video claiming to show attacks on Biharis in Tamil Nadu has been widely circulated on social media, purportedly showing locals attacking Biharis in the region. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Upon reverse image search, we found the name ‘BAYTUR’ written on the jackets of the people running in the video. We learnt that is a construction company in Saudi Arabia. We then searched TikTok using relevant hashtags and found that the same video was uploaded a few days ago with the title, “duty time #saudiarabia🇸🇦 #saudiarabia🇸🇦 #duet #WARK #BAYTUR #KSA”. The account also posts several similar videos related to construction workers. Some of them can be seen here, here, and here.
Another video claiming to show attacks on Biharis in Tamil Nadu has been widely circulated on social media. The video purportedly shows locals attacking Biharis in the region. Let’s verify the veracity of the video.
A reverse image search of the visuals from the viral video has revealed that the video is not related to the alleged incident. Instead, the video is from the Nigerian city of Abeokuta and has been widely circulated on social media in Nigeria. Several activists and local media reports have already reported on these visuals (here, here, and here). The context of the video is that the Nigerian government recently announced demonetisation. This caused long queues at banks for exchanging old notes and getting new ones, as well as difficulties in buying essential goods. Violent demonstrations broke out in many cities of Nigeria due to these factors.
Another video claiming to show attacks on Biharis in Tamil Nadu has been widely circulated on social media, purportedly showing locals attacking Biharis in the region. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
A reverse image search of the viral video claiming to show the alleged attack on Biharis in Tamil Nadu revealed that the video is at least five years old and, therefore, does not depict any recent incidents. The video has been circulating on social media platforms for several years and has been misattributed to different incidents.
Another video claiming to show attacks on Biharis in Tamil Nadu has been widely circulated on social media, purportedly showing locals attacking Biharis in the region. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
After conducting an internet search with relevant keywords, we found news reports by ETV Bharat and News18 on the same issue. According to these reports, the incident occurred in Gujarat’s Surendranagar in July 2022. Two groups of people clashed over a wild boar, resulting in injuries to four people who were later shifted to a nearby hospital.
Published (03 March 2023):
In the wake of reports of alleged attacks on North Indians in Tamil Nadu, Two disturbing visuals of assailants assaulting a person are being widely shared with a claim that visuals show an attack on Biharis in Tamil Nadu for speaking in Hindi.  Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Visuals showing attack on Biharis in Tamil Nadu for speaking Hindi.
Fact: These visuals are related to two different incidents of murder, reportedly in Hyderabad and Coimbatore. While the Hyderabad incident is attributed to financial disputes, the Coimbatore incident is reportedly an act of retaliation of a gang war. These visuals have nothing to do with Biharis. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
First Clip
These visuals of a man being assaulted are from Hyderabad and this incident has nothing to do with speaking in Hindi.
Reverse image search of the viral visuals yielded multiple news reports which reported the same visuals. As per these reports, the incident took place on 22 January 2023 in Hyderabad’s Jiyaguda, wherein three assailants, armed with machetes, chased, and attacked the victim on Jiyaguda bypass road.
As the incident happened in a broad daylight on a road, the incident was captured by commuters. And thus, several journalists shared these visuals on twitter, a few of which can be seen here and here.
Earlier in February 2023, police arrested the culprits and presented them in front of the media. As per the police, the victim is identified as Sainath, a resident of Esamia Bazar in Koti. As per the police, financial disputes led to the murder of the victim.
Second Clip:
These visuals are related to an incident of gang war that led to murder of a young man in Coimbatore. The incident is reported in February 2023.
Reverse image search of these visuals yielded multiple news reports which carried these visuals. As per these reports, two men were attacked by a five-member gang, when the two had come to court to attend a hearing.
The police had identified the victims as Gokul and Manoj. While Gokul is reportedly dead, Manoj escaped with injuries. As per the police, Gokul is one of the accused involved in the murder of 22 year old youth in Coimbatore in December 2021. The police also said that the attack on Gokul could be an act of retaliation by the opposite gang.
Multiple news agencies reported the incident (here, here & here), however, none of these reports claimed that the incident as an attack on Biharis for speaking in Hindi.
To sum it up, unrelated visuals are being shared as visuals showing attacks on Biharis in Tamil Nadu.