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.
Ruby leads editorial, operations and initiatives at Newschecker. In her former avatar at New Delhi Television (NDTV), India’s leading national news network, she was a news anchor, supervising producer and senior output editor. Her over a decade-long career encompasses ground-breaking reportage from conflict zones and reporting on terror incidents, election campaigns, and gender issues. Ruby is an Emmy-nominated producer and has handled both local and international assignments, including the coverage of Arab Spring in 2011, the US Presidential elections in 2016, and ground reportage on the Kashmir issue since 2009.
Claim
Video of Cyclone Biparjoy off Gujarat coast near Dwarka
Newschecker received the claim on our WhatsApp tipline (+91-9999499044) to be fact checked.
Newschecker began by carefully analysing the footage claiming to show cyclone Biparjoy off the Gujarat coast near Dwaraka and noticed that the tornado appears to be edited into the video.
This was confirmed by the observation that the sea in the viral video appears to be calm and placid, while the tornado, with raging winds, is seen really close. This would have ideally caused huge waves, and a disturbed surface of the sea, as opposed to how it can be seen in the video.
We then conducted a reverse image search on the keyframes of the video which led us to a YouTube post by channel @rtsarovvideo that posts real and edited footages of extreme weather events.
The video was posted in August 2022. This helps us to infer that the video is neither recent and is most likely edited. Hence the claim made is false.
We also reached out to the creator of the page for further clarification. Rostyslav Tsarov, the creator of the page confirmed that the video was not that of cyclone Biparjoy. “This video was created by me using CGI and I am the owner of this video. It is edited and it is not Cyclone Biparjoy,” he told Newschecker.
Sources Video posted by @rtsarovvideo on August 2022 Self analysis Email correspondence with Rostyslav Tsarov, creator of the video
(This article was updated on Jun 13, 2023 to include the quote of Rostyslav Tsarov)
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.
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.
Ruby leads editorial, operations and initiatives at Newschecker. In her former avatar at New Delhi Television (NDTV), India’s leading national news network, she was a news anchor, supervising producer and senior output editor. Her over a decade-long career encompasses ground-breaking reportage from conflict zones and reporting on terror incidents, election campaigns, and gender issues. Ruby is an Emmy-nominated producer and has handled both local and international assignments, including the coverage of Arab Spring in 2011, the US Presidential elections in 2016, and ground reportage on the Kashmir issue since 2009.