Video From Lahore Passed Off as COVID-19 Norms Flouted in Delhi

Ahsan Raza, Lahore-based senior journalist told us that the video is from Pakistan’s Lahore and not Delhi.

A video showing a crowded marketplace is doing the rounds with the false claim that it is from New Delhi’s Jafrabad area.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A video showing a crowded marketplace is being circulated to claim that people flouted COVID protocol in New Delhi’s Jafrabad area.

However, Ahsan Raza, Lahore-based senior journalist told The Quint’s WebQoof team that the video is from Pakistan’s Lahore and not Delhi.

CLAIM

The claim shared along with the video reads: “जाफ़राबाद नई दिल्ली के दृश्य.. लगता है प्रधानमंत्री मोदी दिल्ली चुनावों के लिए अभी से रैली कर रहें है”

(Translated: Visuals from New Delhi’s Jafrabad… It seems Prime Minister Narendra Modi has begun his rally for the Delhi Assembly elections)

You can view the archived version here.(Source: Facebook/ Screenshot)

The video has been widely shared on Facebook and Twitter with a similar claim and the archived version of the posts can be found here, here, and here.

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

We fragmented the video into multiple keyframes using the InVid Google Chrome extension and conducted a reverse image search on each of them on Google.

This led us to an Instagram post of Aamir Liaquat Hussain, member of national Assembly of Pakistan and television host, who had shared the viral video on 26 April.

Taking a cue from here, we conducted a search on YouTube using relevant keywords and found a video by local media outlet Raabta TV.

The caption along with the video mentioned that the viral visuals are from Ichhra Bazaar in Pakistan’s Lahore, where people had gathered for Eid shopping and COVID-19 protocols were flouted.

We also came across a tweet that carried the viral video and the user had claimed that it’s from Ichhra Bazaar in Lahore.

Another video uploaded by a Pakistan-based channel called SK TV on 28 April showed a reporter walking through the Ichhra Bazaar where several people could be seen crowding the area.

Speaking to The Quint’s WebQoof team, Ahsan Raza, Lahore-based senior journalist, said that the video is indeed from Pakistan’s Lahore and not Delhi.

Further, a Facebook post shared by Assistant Commissioner Model Town Lahore on 27 April stated that the assistant commissioner had visited Liberty and Ichhra markets to take action against violation of COVID SOPs.

Assistant Commissioner Model Town visiting Ichhra market

(Source: Facebook/ Screenshot)

Pakistan-based newspaper Dawn published a report on 28 April 2021 saying that army troops, accompanied by civic administration officials, visited various market places, including Ichhra Bazaar, to ensure that people did not flout COVID rules.

Clearly, a video from Pakistan’s Lahore was used to falsely claim that people flouted COVID norms in Delhi’s Jaffrabad.

(With inputs from SM Hoax Slayer)

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