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.
(The article was originally published in Newschecker Tamil)
Claim
A leopard spotted in the high tech kitchen where Sabarimala temple’s Aravana Payasam is prepared.
Link to the post can be found here.
Fact
A Google reverse image search on the keyframes of the viral video led us to a report by The News Minute, dated December 17, 2022, titled ‘Zoo officials capture leopard that strayed into Hetero pharma facility in Telangana.’ Displaying an image of the wild animal around equipment similar to ones seen in the viral video, the report stated, “A leopard that strayed into the Hetero Pharmaceuticals Limited facility in Sangareddy district’s Gadda Potharam industrial area was captured by zoo officials. The leopard is reported to have entered the plant on December 16, Friday night and was spotted by security staff who immediately alerted the police and forest officials.”
Taking a clue, we conducted a keyword search for “ Hetero pharma facility, “ “Telangana” & “leopard” on YouTube which led us to a video report by TV9 Telugu Live on December 17, 2022. It carried the viral video of the leopard straying around the facility with the title, ‘ Leopard enters Hetero’s drug manufacturing lab.’
Multiple other news outlets had reported on the incident in December 2022. Such reports can be seen here, here and here.
We could thus conclude that the viral post claiming to show a leopard in the premise where Sabarimala temple’s ‘prasad’ is prepared is false. The video dates back to December, 2022 and shows the wild animal straying into Hetero pharma facility in Telangana.
Result: False
Sources
Report By The News Minute, Dated December 17, 2022
YouTube Video By TV9 Telugu Live, Dated December 17, 2022
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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.
