Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
Over the past couple of weeks, social media has been flooded with content relating to the recently concluded 2022 Asia Cup tournament. The Super 4 Afghanistan Vs Pakistan match on September 7 saw the Afghan fans vandalising the Sharjah stadium and hurling chairs at Pakistanis after suffering defeat in a thrilling game. It is in this context, a video showing a clash between two groups in a stadium is being widely shared online. Newschecker found the video to be old and unrelated to the recent tournament.
Several Facebook users shared the viral video following Pakistan victory over Afghanistan on September 7 with the caption “#Pak Vs #Afghanistan Fight.”
Links to such posts can be seen here, here, here and here.
Also Read: After Pakistan’s Asia Cup Win Over India, 2020 Videos Resurface With False Claims Yet Again
Fact Check/Verification
Newschecker carefully analysed the video and was able to spot certain men wearing Pakistani cricket jerseys. Taking a clue, we conducted a keyword search for “Pakistan cricket fans fight in stadium” on YouTube which led us to a video by HSE Murtaza, dated June 30, 2019, titled ‘AFGHANISTAN 🔥CROWD FIGHTING WITH 🇵🇰 PAKISTANI Cricket FANS . CROWD Fight Pakistan vs Afghanistan.’
On comparing the viral clip with the YouTube video, we noticed certain similarities in their keyframes. The same can be seen below.
The description of the YouTube video read, “Pakistan vs Afghanistan Fight between Pakistan & Afghanistan Fans before Match ICC Cricket World Cup 2019…”
Following this, we conducted a keyword search for “Pakistan,” “Afghanistan”, “fans”,”fight” “Cricket,” and “World Cup” on Google, set the time frame for the same from May 31,2019 to July 14, 2019 (duration of the tournament) and looked up the video results on the search engine. This led us to a Facebook post by Arab Times Kuwait on July 1, 2019. Captioned “#CricketWorldCup 2019 : Fight between #Afghanistan and #Pakistan Fans,” the post featured a nearly 12-minute-long-video.
Around 8 minutes into the video, we spotted the same footage that has now gone viral after the recent Pakistan Vs Afghanistan match in Asia Cup 2022.
The same Google search also led us to a report by The Sun, dated June 30, 2019, titled ‘HATE-BRAWL OVER Shocking new footage emerges of Pakistan and Afghanistan fans brawling during Cricket World Cup.’ Featuring visuals of the scuffle between the cricket fans of the neighbouring countries, the report stated “A handful of supporters try in vain to quell the attackers, but some Afghanistan fans even tried to break down the gates, pushing them against guards. Earlier, a plane with political messages flew over Leeds, sparking trouble outside the stadium. And flare-ups continued after the match, with hooligans captured on video throwing objects at each other in the stands.”
Around 26 seconds into a video carried by The Sun, we spotted the keyframes of the viral video.
We could thus conclude the viral video of brawl between Pakistan and Afghanistan cricket fans is around three years old and not related to the recent Asia Cup match. The incident took place during the ICC World Cup 2019 match between the countries in Leeds.
Reportedly, the ICC had said in a statement that it was “aware of some scuffles among a minority of the fans” and that it was “currently working with the venue security team and the local police force, West Yorkshire Police, to ensure there were no further incidents.”
Conclusion
Viral video claiming to show a scuffle between Pakistan & Afghanistan cricket fans in a stadium is being shared out of context.
Result: Missing Context
Sources
YouTube Video By HSE Murtaza, Dated June 30, 2019
Facebook Post By Arab Times Kuwait, Dated July 1, 2019
Report By The Sun, Dated June 30, 2019
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Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
