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.
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
A girl, whose home was demolished as an aftermath of Nuh violence, shares her ordeal.
Fact
The claim is not true. Video features a girl whose makeshift home was uprooted during a demolition drive in Delhi in June.
A video of a girl narrating her ordeal after her home was razed down is being widely shared on social media platforms, with users linking it to the Haryana government’s “bulldozer drive” in Nuh in the wake of recent communal clashes. The demolition of “illegal construction” was, however, halted following an intervention by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Multiple social media users shared the nearly one-minute-long-video, claiming, “ A poor muslim girl from Nuh, haryana talking about his pain after her house demolished by authorities.(sic)” Newschecker found that the video is being shared in a false context.
Such posts can be seen here, here, here, here and here.
Fact Check/Verification
On carefully analysing the viral footage, we noticed the logo of news outlet ‘The Lallantop’ on the mic.
Taking a clue, we looked up keywords “The Lallantop,” “Home,” and “Demolished” on YouTube. This led us to a video by the news outlet dated June 19, 2023, titled “In the dark of night, who got the bulldozers running at the houses of these 500 people of the capital Delhi? Who is responsible? (translated from Hindi)”
At the counters of 2:13 minutes, we spotted the viral footage of the girl.
The description of the video report stated, “In the early hours of 16th June, authorities demolished the makeshift homes of several families residing in the Priyanka Gandhi camp near Vasant Kunj, leading to their displacement. The camp had been a source of shelter for over 500 people for almost a decade…The Lallantop team reached ground zero and talked to the local people.”
Another video report by the news outlet, dated June 21, 2023, on the demolition drive in Delhi carried the viral footage.
Also Read: Nuh Violence -Old, Unrelated Images Go Viral On Social Media
Earlier in June, the makeshift homes in Priyanka Gandhi camp in Delhi’s Vasant Vihar area were uprooted, leaving the slum dwellers on streets. A Hindustan Times report, dated June 16, 2023, stated, “Officials said that the land was allotted by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to NDRF in 2020 for the construction of its headquarters. Around 69 families from the area had approached the Delhi high court seeking a stay on demolition in the first week of May, which was quashed on May 30 by the court after the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) said that the area was not part of its 675 JJ clusters and was occupied illegally.”
Other reports on the incident can be seen here, here and here.
Also Read: 2020 Video Of Man Wailing Shared In Context Of Communal Violence in Nuh
Conclusion
Months old video of a girl narrating her ordeal following demolition of her home in Delhi has been falsely linked to the bulldozer drive by Haryana government as an aftermath of Nuh violence.
Result: False
Sources
YouTube Video By The Lallantop, Dated June 19, 2023
Report By Hindustan Times, Dated June 16, 2023
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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.
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.
