Authors
An Electronics & Communication engineer by training, Arjun switched to journalism to follow his passion. After completing a diploma in Broadcast Journalism at the India Today Media Institute, he has been debunking mis/disinformation for over three years. His areas of interest are politics and social media. Before joining Newschecker, he was working with the India Today Fact Check team.
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.
Claim
Hindu woman, aides, beat up Muslim man who was harassing her, in an impact of “The Kerala Story”
Fact
Incident happened three years ago, not after the release of the film, “The Kerala Story”.
Several social media users are circulating a video, which shows a man being beaten up by passers-by after he approaches a woman on a scooter.
“KERALA STORY EFFECT: In Coorg Karnataka, this peaceful muslim guy was calling Hîndu girls and was making vulgar remarks, this girl courageously called him to meet, rest was history…This is the right treatment they deserve…great,” read the posts.
The archived versions of the tweets can be seen here and here.
Also read: Old Video Of People Fleeing Tel Aviv Beach Shared As Recent
The controversy behind “The Kerala Story”
The “The Kerala Story”, which shows three women from Kerala converting to Islam and joining the Islamic State (IS) group, has triggered political rows across the country, even before its release on May 5, 2023, including bans in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu over its “potential to incite violence”, while the BJP-led governments in different states have waived off the tax.
Fact check
Newschecker ran a reverse image search of keyframes of the video, which led us to this news report, dated September 18, 2020, published in Telugu news website Samayam, featuring the same video. According to the report, the incident happened in Karnataka, where a woman got her harasser, Mudasir Ahmed, thrashed by her husband and others.
We then came across this Times of India report, dated September 18, 2020, stating that the Madikeri police had arrested five people over the incident. According to the police, Mohammed Mudasir would send lewd messages to the woman, following which, she asked him to meet her at a spot in Madikeri in the evening, where she and her aides thrashed Mudasir. The report stated that along with Mudasir, who filed a counter complaint of assault, the police arrested the woman and her three aides.
Media company NewJ also published a news report on the incident.
Also read: Old Photo Of Men Posing In ISIS T-Shirts In Tamil Nadu Shared As Kerala
Conclusion
Three-year-old incident of woman and aides thrashing her harasser in Karnataka falsely claimed to be the result of the film, “The Kerala Story”.
Result: Missing context
Sources
News report published by Samayam, September 18, 2020
News report published by The Times of India, September 18, 2020
Video report of News J
If you would like us to fact-check a claim, give feedback, or lodge a complaint, WhatsApp us at 9999499044 or email us at checkthis@newschecker.in. You can also visit the Contact Us page and fill out the form.
Authors
An Electronics & Communication engineer by training, Arjun switched to journalism to follow his passion. After completing a diploma in Broadcast Journalism at the India Today Media Institute, he has been debunking mis/disinformation for over three years. His areas of interest are politics and social media. Before joining Newschecker, he was working with the India Today Fact Check team.
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.
