Self-Immolation in Morocco Shared as Power Bank Explosion in India
This video dates back to June 2018 in Morocco where a man set himself ablaze after he was caught stealing.
advertisement
CLAIM
A 21-second video showing a man on fire is being circulated online with a claim that the accident occurred due to a power bank explosion at Kannur airport.
The message comes with a claim which reads, “Someone at Kerala Kannur Airport charged his mobile phone thru his power bank keeping in his pocket.. This video is a alert to all.. We usually charge our mobile keeping it in our pockets and bags.. This video is warning friends.. Pl avoid charging in a closed or packed where there is no scope for heat to emit out..(sic)”
The message warns people against charging their phones using power banks in a closed area where there is no scope for heat emission.
The message has been in circulation since March, 2019.
TRUE OR FALSE?
The claim with which the video is being shared doesn’t have an ounce of truth to it. This video dates back to June 2018 and is from a shopping complex in Morocco’s Agadir. According to news reports, the man set himself ablaze after he was caught stealing from a store.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
On fragmenting the video into various key frames using Invid Google Chrome extension and then conducting a reverse image search using Yandex search engine, we came across a tweet which suggested that the incident dates back to 2018 and that it happened in Morocco and not Kannur, as suggested in the message being circulated online.
We then looked up using keywords ‘Moroccan burns himself in a commercial market for being accused of theft’ and came across a news report published in Morocco World News.
According to this report, the 30-year-old man was caught stealing from a store. However, he left the shop at that moment and returned later with some flammable product and set himself ablaze.
He was reportedly taken to a hospital after the store’s security intervened and tried to extinguish the fire. The man was reportedly admitted with second and third degree burns.
(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)