Lighthouse Journalism came across a video being widely shared on media platforms, including WhatsApp, the video was claimed to be from Maharashtra in some posts, Nagpur. The claim suggested that people from the Warkari sect were having a meal on the roadside and singing praises to Vitthal when local Muslims troubled them. During the investigation we found the viral claim to be misleading. The video was old and from Ahmednagar.
Claim:
X user Amitabh Chaudhary shared the viral video with the same claim on his profile.
Check the archive version of the post.
Other users too are sharing the video with the same claim.
A portal too had carried the misleading claim.
Investigation:
We downloaded the video and uploaded it in the InVid tool. We obtained several keyframes from the same. We then ran reverse image search on the keyframes.
This led to a news report on newsdrum.in.
The report mentioned: At least five persons were injured in a clash between two groups belonging to different communities in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, following which the police have arrested seven suspects, an official said on Tuesday. The incident occurred at Guha village in Rahuri, around 270 km from here, on Monday morning when a group was performing rituals at a temple of the Nathpanthi sect, he said.
The report also said: “As prayers were being offered at the temple and a speaker was on at high volume, a group from another community asked those involved to reduce the sound level. However, it led to an argument between the two groups,” he said.
The report was uploaded on 14th November, 2023 and had the same screenshots as those seen in the viral video.
Other media organizations too had carried the news report.
There was no mention of Warkaris in the report.
Conclusion: Old incident from Ahmednagar of a clash between two groups from different communities is being shared as recent. Viral claim is misleading.
