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.
Amid the diplomatic row between India and Maldives that first started as a social media battle after Prime Minister Narendra Modi promoted Lakshadweep islands as a tourist destination, several users are sharing videos that purportedly show how Maldives is unsafe and dangerous for tourists.
Claim 1
One such viral video shows a taxi driver threatening and extorting money from two foreign woman passengers. “Maldives is too unsafe for women for obvious reasons. Many girls have reported rape, molestation, extortion etc in #Maldives. Girls should avoid going there,” read the claim. The archived version of the tweet can be seen here.
Claim 2
Another video, which shows a man crying purportedly after he received no help when his wife was kidnapped in the island nation, has gone viral, too. The archived version of the tweet can be seen here.
Fact Check
Video 1
Newschecker first ran a reverse image search of keyframes of the video, which led us to this The Bali Sun report, featuring a longer and clearer version of the viral video, dated January 5, 2024, stating that a Bali taxi driver was caught on camera threatening American tourists.
“A video lasting approximately 3 minutes is circulating on WhatsApp groups and Facebook. The recording was made by a tourist who was a passenger in a taxi in Bali. A conflict appears to unfold between the passenger and the taxi driver, with preliminary suspicions pointing towards a dispute over the fare requested by the driver,” read the Instagram post, dated January 4, 2024.
A relevant keyword search led us to this Independent report, dated January 10, 2024, stating that the taxi driver was arrested and is expected to be charged with “extortion and threat”, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
“The pair were American tourists and were travelling through Kuta, a popular beach resort in the south of the island…They offered the driver 50,000 Indonesian Rupiah, which is around £2.50, for the fare but he insisted on $50 (£39.29),” read the report. A similar report can be seen here, which confirms that the video was from the Indonesian province and not Maldives.
Video 2
Newschecker ran a reverse image search of keyframes of the video, which led us to this tweet by News Globe Official, dated January 3, 2024, reporting that more than 103 were killed in multiple bomb blasts that happened near Qasem Soleimani’s tomb.
We learnt that twin bomb blasts killed at least 103 people in southern Iran on January 3, many of whom were part of a crowd commemorating former Revolutionary Guards chief Qasem Soleimani four years after he died in a US strike. Blaming Israel and the United States for the attacks, the Iranian government has heightened tensions in a region already fraught with the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
We came across several media reports about the blasts near the burial site of Solemani, seen here, here and here, which featured the viral video and a screengrab, confirming that the clip is not from Maldives.
Also Read: Viral Video Showing Zelensky Belly Dancing Is Actually A Deepfake
Conclusion
Videos from the recent bomb blasts in Iran and of a taxi driver extorting money from American tourists in Bali falsely claimed as incidents that happened in Maldives.
Result: False
Sources
The Bali Sun report, January 5, 2024
The Independent report, January 10, 2024
BBC Marathi report, January 3, 2024
55 Online report
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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.
