Lighthouse Journalism found a video being widely shared on social media platforms, it was claimed along with the video that the police officials in Punjab were using drugs while wearing their uniform.
During the investigation, we found that the video was from Punjab, Pakistan, and not India.
Claim:
X user vinay srivastava shared the viral video with a misleading claim.
Archive version of the post.
Other users too are sharing the video with the same claim.
Investigation:
We started the investigation by running a reverse image search on the screenshots obtained from the video.
We found the video uploaded on the Instagram handle, thetrendingindian, claiming that the video was from Pakistan’s Punjab.
The video was uploaded on December 21, 2024.
We then ran a Google keyword search using the information obtained through the Instagram handle.
We found an article on the ABP Live website.
The report mentioned (translation): Recently, in a video going viral on social media, a policeman from Pakistan wearing a uniform was seen openly selling drugs. But when he was caught by a reporter, he ran away like he was a criminal.
We found the video posted by Pakistan PTI leader, Fatima.
We also found the video posted on an X handle, which had a logo, ‘SA Times’.
We found the Facebook page of SA Times.
We found the video posted on SA Times Facebook page on 4th January.
The caption said: A police officer was caught red-handed selling marijuana while on duty
Conclusion: The viral video which claims to show Punjab police using drugs, is from Pakistan’s Punjab and not India. The viral claim is misleading.
