Fact Check: Old Video Of Massive Landslide Going Viral With False Claims

New Delhi Vishvas News – For the past several days, continuous rains have been wreaking havoc in Himachal Pradesh. Amid these rains, landslides, and floods in various areas, a video has gone viral on social media. The video shows mud flowing amid a strong current of water. Some social media users are circulating this video, claiming it to be from Himachal Pradesh.

However, after a detailed investigation by Vishvas News, it was discovered that the video has been circulating on the internet since 2016 and has been falsely attributed to Himachal Pradesh. In reality, the video has been associated with different countries.

What’s Going Viral?

A Facebook page “The Voice of India” (Archive) posted the video on July 26, claiming that the people of Himachal Pradesh should repent to Allah. Other users have also been sharing the video with similar claims.

Vishvas News Investigation:

Vishvas News employed the Invid tool to uncover the truth behind the viral video supposedly from Himachal Pradesh. Multiple keyframes were extracted using this tool to find the original video through Google’s reverse image search. The investigation revealed that the video was uploaded to a Twitter handle on August 1, 2020, claiming it to be from East Africa.

The same video was also found on a YouTube channel, uploaded on June 22, 2020, depicting floods in Nepal. The oldest instance of the video was found on May 24, 2016, where it was described as being from Dubai on YouTube.

To verify the authenticity of the video, Vishvas News contacted Rajesh Sharma, a journalist from Dainik Jagran, Himachal Pradesh, who confirmed that the video is not from the state and has been circulating for many years.

Due to heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh, landslides have caused heavy damage in many places. A piece of news published on Jagran.com stated that so far, there has been a loss of more than Rs 5,000 Crore in the state. Apart from this, there has been a huge loss of life and property. Hundreds of houses and shops have been damaged.

Vishvas News cannot independently verify the country of origin of the viral video, but it is clear that this video has nothing to do with the recent landslides in Himachal Pradesh. At the end of the investigation, the user who posted the fake post was investigated. The Facebook page The Voice of India has over 6,000 followers.