After Pakistan’s Asia Cup Win Over India, 2020 Videos Resurface With False Claims Yet Again

Claim

Social media users shared videos allegedly showing celebrations in Kashmir after Pakistan beat India in an Asia Cup T20I match on September 4, 2022.

Archived versions of the tweets can be seen here, here, here and here.

Fact check

The video shows young men setting off fireworks in a dark alley, cheering and waving Pakistan’s flags.  However, this is not the first time this video has gone viral and in fact, Newschecker had debunked this video when it was widely circulated in October 2021, claiming celebrations in Srinagar following Pakistan’s win over India in the 2021 T20 world cup.

The fact-check by Newschecker found the video was actually of Pakistan’s Independence Day celebrations in Srinagar in 2020.

Newschecker’s investigation through keyword searches in YouTube led to videos of celebrations in Srinagar following Pakistan’s Championship Trophy win in 2017 and also of celebrations on August 14, both in 2020 and 2021, Pakistan’s Independence Day. However, closer inspection of certain keyframes led to us zeroing in on a video uploaded on August 15, 2020, a day after Pakistan’s Independence Day.

A frame-by-frame comparison revealed several common elements in both videos, namely the waving of the Pakistani flag against the backdrop of crackers zooming skyward and the railing of a footbridge. Further research led Newschecker to several reports and videos from different angles that showed celebrations in Srinagar on August 14, 2020, revealing the location of the celebration as Nawakadal, Srinagar. On geolocation using Google Maps, Newschecker found a bridge at Nawakadal, which could have been the location where this video was recorded.

On analysing the handles that shared the video as recent, we were able to infer that most of these handles were based out of India, principally Pakistan and from places like Ankara, Turkey.

Result: Partly false

Claim 2

Fireworks broke out in Srinagar following Pakistan’s win over India.

Archived versions of tweets can be seen here and here.

Fact check

A Youtube search led us to this similar video, titled “Firecrackers on Pakistan’s independence Day in Downtown, Srinagar”, uploaded on August 14, 2020.

When comparing the frames of both the videos, we saw a domed structure illuminated in the glow of a skyward firecracker, confirming that the same 2020 video was being circulated with a false claim.

Result: False

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