Several posts (here, here, and here), accompanied by a video of an event organized on the road, are being widely shared across social media platforms with the claim that the video shows an iftar party held on a road in Kolkata, West Bengal. Through this article, let’s fact-check the claims made in the posts.
Claim: Video depicting an iftar party held on a road in Kolkata, West Bengal.
Fact: The viral video depicts an iftar party held on a road in Mangaluru on 30 March 2024. According to reports, the event blocked over 200 meters of the state highway, restricting traffic to one side of the road, and causing difficulties for motorists and pedestrians for more than four hours during peak time. Following the video’s viral spread on social media platforms, the Election Commission of India issued a notice to the main organizer of the ‘Auto Rajakanmar Iftar’ event, Abubakar Siddique, for violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) on 31 March 2024. There are no reports about any such iftar party held on roads in Kolkata recently. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
To verify the authenticity of the viral claim, we conducted a relevant keyword search. However, there are no reports about any such iftar party being held on roads in Kolkata recently. To learn more about the viral video, we conducted a Google reverse image search using the keyframes from the video. This search led us to a news report containing similar visuals from the viral video, published by ‘India TV’ on 01 April 2024. According to this report, “the Election Commission issued a notice to the organizers for holding the iftar party on the road in Mangalore, Karnataka. As the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is in place across the country, organizers are required to obtain permission from the poll panel before holding any public event.”
We have also found a news report by ‘Deccan Herald,‘ published on 01 April 2024. According to this report, “the iftar party was arranged on the state highway in Ullal Taluk at Mudipu junction, which is a busy intersection leading to the new IT hub of Dakshina Kannada district on 30 March 2024. The event blocked over 200 meters of the state highway, restricting traffic to one side of the road and causing difficulties for motorists and pedestrians for more than four hours during peak time. All the rickshaw drivers of Ullal Taluk conducted this iftar gathering, which was attended by locals and local traders. After the video of the event went viral on social media platforms, the Election Commission of India issued a notice to the main organizer of the ‘Auto Rajakanmar Iftar’ event, Abubakar Siddique, for violating the election model code of conduct on 31 March 2024”. From all this information, it is clear that the viral video shows the Iftar party held on the road in Mangaluru, Karnataka.
Other news reports regarding this iftar event can be seen here, here, and here.
To sum up, video of an iftar party held on a road in Mangaluru is being falsely shared linking it to Kolkata.
