A video (here, here, here & here) allegedly showing a group of Muslim men carrying BJP flags and chanting anti-Muslim slogans is being widely shared across social media platforms. In this article, let’s authenticate the video.
Claim: Video showing Muslim men carrying BJP flags and chanting anti-Muslim slogans.
Fact: This viral video is an edited one. It shows visuals from a rally held by the BJP Minority Morcha in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, in December 2021, during the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections 2022. Originally, the participants in the rally chanted slogans in support of PM Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath. However, the original audio has been altered with anti-Muslim slogans. Sultanpur BJP Minority Morcha leaders filed a complaint with the police in March 2024 after this edited video of their rally went viral on social media. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
To verify the authenticity of the viral video, we conducted a Google reverse image search. This search led us to a video (archive link) featuring similar visuals uploaded on an Instagram page on 01 December 2023. In this video, we can hear people chanting slogans of “Narendra Modi, Amit Shah Zindabad”. However, this Instagram video did not provide any information regarding the rally.
During this search, we also found another video (archive link) featuring similar visuals uploaded by a Facebook user named ‘Hemant Mishra’ on 09 January 2022. In this video also, we can hear people chanting slogans of “Narendra Modi, Amit Shah Zindabad”. The video description reads: “#Sultanpur #Uttar #Pradesh the strategy of BJP Minority Morcha National President Jamal Siddiqui seems to be successful in UP”.
Upon careful observation of the viral video, we noticed a few shop name boards in Hindi such as ‘Vijay Photo State’, ‘Khadi Gramodyog Bhawan’, and ‘Hind Photo State’. Using these cues, we located the location on Vikas Bhawan Road in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, on Google Street View. From this information, it is evident that the viral video shows visuals of a rally that took place in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Here is a comparison of the viral video and Google Street View of Vikas Bhawan Road in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
Furthermore, we conducted a relevant keyword search to learn more about this rally. This search led us to an article published in Dainik Bhaskar in March 2024. According to this report, leaders of the BJP Minority Morcha filed a complaint with the police after an edited video of their rally went viral on social media. Azadar Hussain, the Sultanpur district president of BJP Minority Morcha, stated that Home Minister Amit Shah had attended an election meeting at Awas Vikas Maidan on 28 December 2021, during the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections 2022. A rally was held during that time by the BJP Minority Morcha, during which slogans were raised in support of PM Modi, Amit Shah and CM Yogi. The video of this rally was edited and made viral with anti-religious slogans. From all this information, it is evident that the video of this rally has been edited by altering its audio with anti-Muslim slogans.
To sum up, a video of a rally held by the Sultanpur BJP Minority Morcha in 2021 has been edited and shared with a false communal narrative.
