Old & Unrelated Visuals Falsely Linked to Rescue Work in Wayanad by RSS

These images are not from the recent Wayanad tragedy while the video is recent but is unrelated to RSS.

A collage of four images and are video showing people rescuing others stuck in flood are going viral online to claim that it shows members of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) helping people in Wayanad, Kerala after the area was hit by landslides.

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

What's the truth?: Although the collage containing four images actually shows the RSS team conducting rescue work, they are all old images.

• The video showing people collecting important items at relief camps and cooking food is unrelated to RSS. It shows members of NGO, Deseeya Seva Bharati Kerala, working to help people stuck in Wayanad landslide.

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How did we find out the truth?: We performed a reverse image search on each of the image on Google and this led us to old reports and posts. Let's take a look.

IMAGE 1 & 2

• These two images showing men in khaki short walking in water-filled roads is actually from 2018 and shows RSS members carrying relief activities after devastating floods hit Kerala.

• We came across Facebook post shared by RSS Rengali, Sambalpur on 18 August 2018 and along with other images, it included the viral images too.

• According to the reports, Kerala witnessed heavy flooding from 1 June to 18 August 2018 with incessant rains triggering several landslides and forced the release of excess water from 37 dams.

• This had displaced 1.4 million people and took 433 lives.

IMAGE 3

On performing a reverse image search, we came across a website called VSK Tamil Nadu which had posted several images of relief activities in Kerala after the 2018 floods.

This was shared in August 2018.

IMAGE 4

• A reverse image search on Google led us to a Facebook post from 21 August 2019.

• The viral image can be spotted at 0:13 timestamp of the video.

RSS website also carries this image as RSS workers carrying relief work but does not specify the date or location.

VIRAL VIDEO

• We noticed 'Vallatholinte Kavipada' watermark on the video and looked at their Facebook page where this video was shared on 30 July.

• We also performed reverse image search on Google on some of the keyframes of the video but it did not return any old results.

• The results also included the video shared by Vallatholinte Kavipada's page and some on Instagram.

• All the captions of these posts mentioned that the video shows Sevabharathi activists helping with food from Pazhassi Balamandir, an orphanage, to the disaster ground in Wayanad.

• Taking a cue, we then checked Deseeya Seva Bharati Kerala's social media platforms, where they had shared this video on Instagram story.

• We also figured out through the NGO's website that this organisation is not linked to RSS at all.

Team WebQoof reached out to Seva Bharati Kerala who clarified to us that the video only shows volunteers in Wayanad who are linked with their NGO.

Conclusion: Clearly, old and unrelated visuals are being linked to RSS workers helping out people in Wayanad, Kerala.

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