A video circulating on social media claims to show the crackdown on protests against the Waqf Amendment by the Uttar Pradesh police. The video, which is nearly a minute long, shows a large crowd marching down a road, only to be dispersed by a charging unit of cops, who are seen thrashing the protesters with lathis.
Former Governor of Tripura and Meghalaya, Tathagata Roy, was among those who shared the viral video linking it to the protests against Waqf Amendment Bill.
The posts come as the Rajya Sabha, following the Lok Sabha, has passed the Waqf Amendment Bill. The bill amends the Waqf Act of 1995, which regulates the management of properties donated by Muslims.
Also Read: Waqf Amendment Bill- Asaduddin Owaisi Crying In Parliament? No, Old Video Shared With False Claim
Fact Check/Verification
We utilised the Invid tool to split the video into several keyframes which we then subjected to reverse image searches on Google. This led us to a longer version of the same viral video on Facebook dated January 25, 2020, posted by Judge Advocates Pidit Organization (JAPO). The caption describes that the video shows police lathi-charging during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Uttar Pradesh.
Taking this as a clue, we conducted a keyword search with relevant terms and found a post by Live Hindustan on December 20, 2019. The video showed police lathicharging protesters in Naqash Chowk, Gorakhpur, who were pelting stones at the cops during an anti CAA protest.
Upon comparing the keyframes of this footage with that of the viral video, we found that they carried several commons elements, including a textile shop by the name Mangala Wedding Collection, that was seen in both videos.
We were able to locate this place in Gorakhpur using Google Maps, ascertaining the location of the video.
Conclusion
Our investigation reveals that footage from the 2019 protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Gorakhpur is being misrepresented as protests against the Waqf Act.
Sources
Facebook Post by Judge advocates pidit organization – JAPO on January 25,2020
YouTube video by Live Hindustan on January 20,2019
Google Map
