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.
Claim
Pakistani man smashes his television set after India’s win in the recent cricket match during T20 World Cup 2022.
Fact
We conducted Google reverse image searches on the keyframes of the viral video which led us to a Facebook post by verified account of SPORTbible, dated March 18, 2017. Carrying a video of a man smashing a TV set while watching a football match, the post stated, “A wife pranks her husband by turning the TV on and off with a hidden remote. Get TAGGING!”
On comparing the keyframes of the Facebook video with those of the viral clip, we could conclude that both the footage relate to the same event. Notably, in the viral clip a cricket match is seen telecasted on the TV screen, while the Facebook video shows visuals of a soccer game.
Taking a clue, we conducted a Google keyword search for “Football fan,” “smashes TV,” “prank” & “on and off” which yielded a report by Mirror, dated June 16, 2016, titled ‘Euro 2016 football widow trolls husband during crucial match so badly he smashes their TV.’ Displaying stills from the viral video, the report elaborated, “The man, named as Adam Izzet by a Turkish website, is said to have incurred the wrath of his other half after he insulted her when she asked a question about the game. So she set up a remote control on her phone that could change the channel on their television without her being in the room. And she caught all the action on a hidden camera in their living room as her man went nuts. Adam had been watching the Turkey versus Croatia Euro 2016 match as the sides clashed last Sunday.”
A Daily Mail report, dated June 16, 2016, also carried the video of a Turkish football fan smashing his television set “after his wife pranks him by repeatedly turning off the TV as he tries to watch EURO 2016 game.”
Notably, in all these visuals the man can be seen watching a soccer match, and not a game of cricket as widely claimed. Additionally, the reports clarified that a man seen in the video is actually a Turkish soccer fan who trashed his TV after his partner pulled a prank on him by switching on and off the television set as he tried to watch a EURO 2016 game.
The video had gone viral in June 2016 and multiple news outlets had reported on the incident. You can read such reports here, here and here.
We could thus conclude that the viral video showing a man smashing a TV set while watching a match has been digitally edited and it has been falsely linked to Pakistan’s recent defeat to India in a recent World Cup match. The clip actually shows a Turkish man trying to watch a football match and dates back to 2016.
Result: Altered Video
Sources
Facebook Post By SPORTbible, Dated March 18, 2017
Report By Mirror, Dated June 16, 2016
Report By Daily Mail, Dated June 16, 2016
Self Analysis
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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.
