Unrelated Videos From Myanmar Shared as 'Armed Kuki Terrorists' In Manipur

Two of these videos show people from the Chin National Front, a political organisation based in Myanmar.

Three different videos showing several armed people is going viral on social media with a claim that all of them are members of the Kuki tribe in Manipur.

The state has seen a series of violent clashes since May, where over 90 people have died.

What does the first video show?: It shows several armed men laughing and singing the first line of the Indian National Anthem, the claim states that they were mocking the anthem.

What is the second video about?: This video shows several armed men praying. The claim states, "Kuki terrorists of Manipur with heavy arms like M16, AK47 and snipers getting ready for ethnic cleansing of the innocent Hindu Meitei civilians."

What about the third claim?: This video shows a snipper positioned on the ground and aiming at something at a distance.

What is the truth?: These clips are not from Manipur and are unrelated to the clashes taking place in Manipur.

• Two of these videos are from Myanmar and shows Chin National Front (CNF) commandos.

• The third video shows soldiers from the Kawthoolei Army, also known as the Karen National Union from Myanmar.

How did we find out the truth?: We divided the videos into multiple keyframes and performed a reverse image search on some of them.

VIDEO 1:

• We came across a Facebook post made by CDF Thantlang Commando which carried a longer version of this video.

• The video was uploaded on 17 September 2022, which predates the current Manipur conflict.

• The caption stated that the video showed Chinland Defense Force (CDF) Thantlang.

CDF is a rebel group in Myanmar formed in 2021 after the Chin National Front's Chin National Army (CNF/CNA) and the Zomi Revolutionary Army failed to properly safeguard the Chin townships, resulting in the formation of CDF.

• The insignia from the viral video matched with the CNF/CNA party flag.

• For comparison, we used insignia seen in other pictures posted by the CDF and Wikipedia.

(Note: Swipe to check both the comparisons.)

We also reached out to people in Manipur who confirmed that this is not a language spoken in the state.

VIDEO 2:

• We found this video on the same Facebook account, CDF Thantlang Commando.

• The video was shared on 26 May with a caption stating that it shows the CDF Thantlang commandos.

• We also compared one of the insignia found on the uniform with the CNF/CNA party flag.

VIDEO 3:

• With the reverse image search results, we were directed to a Facebook post shared on 7 March by Kaw Thoo Lei Army.

• The post carried the longer version of the video.

Kaw Thoo Lei Army is also known as Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) which is an armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), a party from Myanmar.

• We noticed an insignia on the uniform seen in the viral video and matched it with the insignia seen in other pictures posted by the KNU.

• We also found an image of the Karen soldiers on an image stock website, Alamy, and the insignia from the viral video matched with the one seen here.

(Note: Swipe to check both the comparisons.)

Conclusion: All three viral videos have been falsely linked with Manipur and the Kuki community.

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