A video showing a man purportedly freeing three women locked inside a home by kidnappers is going viral on social media. The viral video is being shared with the claim that it shows a case of ‘love jihad’.
Claim:
A Facebook user shared the video and wrote, “Beware, they are kidnapping innocent Hindu girls with Love Jihad. They are earning 70 to 90 lakhs by selling body parts after killing them.” (Translated from Telugu) (Archive)
Similar claims have been found here and here. (Archive 1) (Archive 2)
Investi
Investigation:
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The video was a fictional skit.
At the beginning of the 7:13-minute-long viral video, a disclaimer pops up for a moment with the text ‘The content made in this video should be considered for entertainment purposes only.’ This clarified that the video is scripted and does not show a real incident.
Using a reverse image search of the video’s keyframes, we found an extended version of the viral video uploaded to YouTube on February 12, 2023. The video was uploaded by the YouTube channel Naveen Jangra with the title, ‘Look how girls are kidnapped and what is done later on|| Naveen Jangra New Video.’
The YouTube channel has other videos that feature the same actors from the viral clip. A comparison of the actors from the viral clip and a video from the YouTube channel can be seen below.
Therefore, NewsMeter concludes that the claim is false as the video is scripted.
Conclusion: The video being widely shared on social media websites with the claim that a man has rescued women kidnapped in ‘love jihad’ is scripted. The viral claims are false.
(This fact-check article was originally published by Newsmeter and has been republished by Lighthouse Journalism as a part of Shakti Collective.)
