Video of Indonesian Pilgrims at Mecca Shared as Celebrations for Ram Temple

This video shows Indonesian pilgrims at Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

Fact-Check: This video does not show Ram Temple celebrations in Mecca. 

(Source: Altered by The Quint) 

A video showing some people in a semi-circle, dressed in orange robes standing in the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, with a Hindu religious song playing in the background is being shared on social media.

What is the claim?: Those sharing have claimed that it shows celebrations in honour of the Ram Temple inauguration in Ayodhya at Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

An archive of the post can be found here. 

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot) 

(Archives of similar claims can be found here, here and here.)

Is this true?: The claim is false.

• The video shows Indonesian pilgrims in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

How did we find out?: At first, we divided the viral video into multiple keyframes and ran a Google reverse image search on some of them.

Video predates Ram Temple's Inauguration: We came across the same videos on YouTube before the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya which was held on 22 January.

• We traced the oldest version to 17 January. It was uploaded by a channel "Baba Tasbi House."

• You can find older versions of the video here and here.

About the viral video: With a relevant keyword search, we came across a YouTube video by a channel, '@elleylaofficial' from 9 November 2022.

• The video was uploaded with a caption that read, "Umrah 2022 - Indonesian Pilgrims Visit Quba Mosque."

• We noticed that the people wore similar outfits as the viral video.

• Upon comparing two frames, we noticed similarities in their outfits.

Here are the similarities in the outfits adorned by people in both these videos. 

(Altered by The Quint)

Here are the similarities in the outfits adorned by people in both these videos. 

(Altered by The Quint)

• We also found a video report by Cable News Network (CNN) from 13 September 2023 which was uploaded with the title, "5 Years of Savings, Residents of One Village in Jombang Umrah Together."

• In this video, the people can be seen in the same orange robes and bags as the viral video.

• Additionally, we found no news reports or press statements that confirm whether any celebrations took place in Mecca for the Ram Temple inauguration in Ayodhya.

• Lastly, the audio in the background is a song by one Pooja Golhani. It is called, "Mere Bharat Ka Baccha Baccha."

Conclusion: The video is being shared with a false claim that celebrations for the Ram Mandir inauguration were held in Mecca.

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