Fact-Check: Riot in New York's Union Square Was Not Caused by 'Refugee Muslims'

It shows a riot-like situation which broke out after YouTuber Kai Cenat held a giveaway of 300 gaming consoles.

A video showing massive crowds in a public area, shot from above is being shared on social media.

The claim: The video is being shared to claim that it shows 'refugee Muslims' rioting in New York's Union Square.

• This X user shared the video with the claim, in context of the recent communal violence in Haryana.

At the time of writing this article, this post was viewed over 55,000 times.

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

Is it true?: We found no credible reports to back the claim.

• The video reportedly shows a riot-like situation which broke out at New York's Union Square park, after American YouTuber and Twitch streamer Kai Cenat held an event announcing that he would give away 300 gaming consoles on 5 August.

• Cenat was then charged with inciting a riot by the New York Police Department (NYPD) and was arrested, but was later released.

How did we find out?: Using keywords, we looked for reports of riots in New York's Union Square in Manhattan.

• This led us to a report by New York Times, which mentioned that social media streamer Kai Carlo Cenat III – better known as Kai Cenat – was charged with inciting a riot after an event in Manhattan's Union Square Park descended into violence.

• It mentioned that Cenat had announced an event where he would give away several prizes, including 300 video game consoles on 5 August, which led to the chaos.

• Sixty-five people (mostly juveniles) had been arrested in connection to the incident.

• The publication also mentioned that New York Police Department's chief of department Jeffrey Maddrey had told reporters that Cenat would be charged with unlawful assembly and "potentially, other crimes," apart from the riot charge.

• Argentinian news organisation Filo News shared the same video on their verified TikTok account.

We also came across several news reports by The Independent, NBC News and CBS News, published on 5 August, which showed similar, massive crowds at Union Square Park.

(Swipe to view similarities in videos.)

The YouTuber shared a video of the riot-like situation on his verified YouTube channel, titled 'Kai Cenat Shuts Down New York City'.

The statue and the Union Square subway stop which are seen in the viral video can also be seen on Google Maps' street view.

We noticed that the viral video carried a username 'plaid_blazer' on it.

• Looking for this username on social media platforms, we came across an Instagram account with the same username, mentioning that it belonged to one Stephen Martino.

• The Quint has reached out to Martino for more information on the video used and will update this article as and when it is received.

Conclusion: A video of a riot-like situation caused due to a YouTuber's announcement of giving away 300 gaming consoles at New York's Union Square Park is being shared with a false communal claim that it was started by Muslim refugees.

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