Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
Priest miraculously survives a heart attack inside a Ganpati pandal.
Fact
The video is scripted.
Several social media users are sharing a video, purportedly showing a priest suffering a heart attack after performing a pooja for Ganpati, however, moments later, a religious flag falls off the idol onto the priest lying on the ground, following which he miraculously wakes up. The video has gone viral across all social media platforms, claiming to be from Karnataka, evoking reactions of veneration at the incident.
The archived version of the post can be seen here.
Fact Check
Newschecker noticed that the video shared by some users had a disclaimer at the end, stating, “This reel life video footage published only for the purpose of educating the public…Characters in the video are for education and entertainment purports”, indicating that it was staged.
We then ran a reverse image search of keyframes, which led us to the earliest instance of the video uploaded online on September 19, 2024, by actor Sanjjanaa Galrani and digital creator IdeasFactory on Facebook.
“Disclaimer: Thank you for watching! Please be aware that this page features scripted dramas and parodies as well. These short films are for entertainment & educational purposes only! Characters in this video are for entertainment and educational purposes,” read the post, confirming that it was scripted.
The video was also uploaded on the Youtube channel of IdeasFactory on September 19, 2024, with a disclaimer stating that the channel creates social awareness videos and that the short films are for entertainment purposes. We can see a similar video, using the same pandal set, uploaded by the channel on September 21, 2024.
Also Read: Scammers At It Again! Viral Video Of Gautam Adani Promoting Investment Platform Is Deepfake
Conclusion
A scripted video of a priest miraculously surviving a heart attack after performing a pooja for Ganpati is being shared as a real incident.
Result: Missing Context
Sources
Facebook post, September 19, 2024
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
