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.
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
Recent video showing massive flooding at a Chennai college.
Fact
Old video falsely shared as “present situation” of Chennai’s Sathyabama College.
As incessant rainfall wreaked havoc in Chennai throwing routine life out of gear, social media platforms are rife with unverified visuals of massive flooding, and waterlogging, claiming to be from the capital city of Tamil Nadu.
One such video showing students wading through a waterlogged campus has gone viral, with users claiming that it showed the current situation at the Satyabhama engineering college in Chennai. Newschecker, however, found the video to be old.
Multiple X and Facebook users shared the video to show the “Present situation in Satyabhama Eng. college, Chennai”
Such posts can be seen here, here, here and here.
The 34-second-long-clip has also been posted on YouTube with the same claim.
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Fact Check/Verification
We skimmed through the comment sections of social media posts carrying the viral video, and spotted multiple users pointing out that the footage was from “last year,” 2023.
Taking a clue, we looked up keywords such as “Sathyabama college,” “flood” “2023” on YouTube which yielded a video by @muskansinghvlogs-vm8yn, dated December 15, 2023. The video, titled “@sathyabama flood 2023….. Chennai @Michaung”, carried similar visuals of students wading through the inundated campus.
We also spotted the same individuals in the YouTube video as seen in the viral footage.
Notably, Cyclone Michaung hit Chennai in December last year resulting in torrential rainfall.
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Following this, we searched for multiple keywords such as “Sathyabama,” “ Michaung,” “Chennai,” “Floods” on multiple social media platforms, but couldn’t find the same video. However, a search on Facebook led us to an Instagram (another Meta-owned platform) profile of @sathyabamites, carrying many similar videos of waterlogging.
We skimmed through the profile and found one such video, dated December 6, 2023, featuring snippets from the viral footage being widely shared to show the “present situation” of the Sathyabama College.
The Tamil Nadu govt’s fact check unit also clarified that the viral video was old.
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Conclusion
Hence, an old video has been falsely shared to show the “present situation” flooding in a Chennai college.
Result: False
Sources
YouTube Video By @muskansinghvlogs-vm8yn, Dated December 15, 2023
Instagram Post By @sathyabamites, Dated December 6, 2023
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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.
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.
