Old Clip From Venezuela Falsely Linked to Post-Poll Violence in WB

The video is being shared on WhatsApp to falsely claim that it shows the current situation in West Bengal.

A WhatsApp video is doing the rounds which shows a minor boy being beheaded and shared saying it is related to post-poll violence in Bengal.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A video which shows a boy being beheaded is doing the rounds on WhatsApp, with a claim that the video is from West Bengal. The visuals show a boy gagged and bound as another man in the video delivers a severe blow to his neck. However, we found that the visuals are not from West Bengal but Venezuela.

(Note: We have not added the video or any link to it due to the graphic nature of the visuals.)

CLAIM

The video is being shared with a claim that it shows the situation in West Bengal after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) was voted to power.

Screenshot from the video.(Source: WhatsApp)

This comes amid a huge amount of misinformation which is being shared in the light of the post-poll violence which was reported out of the state.

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

We fragmented the video into several keyframes using InVid Google Chrome extension and came across an article on Daily Mail dated 6 February 2018.

The report carried a picture from the said incident and the caption mentioned “Alleged members of the Primer Comando da Capital took several gruesome pictures of the carnage caused in their rebellion. Pictured is a reported member of the Brazilian-based gang dismembering an associate of the Rotela Clan.”

Taking a cue from here, we conducted a keyword search and came across a report on news.com.au, an Australian news website. The report mentioned that the video was from Venezuela and the boy, who was executed, could be a minor.

“The drug cartels of Venezuela and Mexico kidnap their rivals, torture them, execute them and record their actions as a warning,” the report read.

We found the same clip on a YouTube channel of local outlet – Television Guyana Evening News – which uploaded the video on 19 January 2018. The news report added that the boy was suspected to be a Guyanese national.

Another report by the Guyana Times on 22 January 2018 read that the identity of the Guyanese miner was yet to be determined. The report read that he was killed over a week ago, after he demanded payment for his labour.

The report had the boy’s photo where he is seen lying on the ground gagged with the same cloth which is light green in colour as can be seen in the video.

Clearly, an unrelated video from Venezuela is being shared as post-poll violence in West Bengal.

(With inputs from SM Hoax Slayer)

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