As cases of Covid-19 rise across the country, many have come forth to use social media for helping those in need. Fake news, however, has also been on the rise. A video of an alleged iftar party in Hyderabad, for instance, has been going viral across social media platforms. Even as many slammed the video for flouting Covid-19 rules, the video has turned out to not be from Hyderabad at all but from a funeral in Uttar Pradesh.
The video in question started going viral last week amid mounting criticism of the Mahakumbh festival being held in Haridwar, Uttarakhand. While crowds have started to thin drastically after several key ‘akhadas’ of seers such as the Juna Akhada backed out of this year’s celebrations following an appeal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, critics had initially slammed authorities for allowing it to happen in the first place at a time when the second wave of coronavirus had already started spreading in states like Uttar Pradesh.
Around the same time, the video of the alleged “Iftar Party" from Hyderabad started doing the rounds. On April 18, a Facebook user had posted the video on his page and written, “Those preaching on Kumbh must also see this Iftar gathering at Hyderabad".
The video turned up on Twitter and other platforms as well with similar captions.
कुम्भ देख के ज्ञान बाटने वालों का जी भर गया हो तो ये हैदराबाद की ‘इफ्तारी’ भी देख लो pic.twitter.com/c3FXzcRaB2— राष्ट्रवादी अखिलेश योगी सेवक (@123AkhileshHYV) April 19, 2021
A fact check conducted by The Quint, however, found that the assertions were fake. The video was not from an Iftar party in Hyderabad but from a funeral in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh. The video, which shows a large crowd of people milling around the entrance to a mosque, was shot at the Anjuman Masjid in Sambhal. The report confirmed that the footage was shot from Anjuman Muainul Islam Madrasa where a large number of people had gathered to attend the funeral procession of Maulana Abdul Momin Nadvi. The latter passed away on 16 April.
Fake news has been on the rise ever since the second wave of Covid-19 started spreading across states. India on Thursday clocked 3,14,835 fresh infection cases, 2104 new deaths, 8,841 discharges in the last 24 hours. This pushed the total caseload to 1,59,30,965 infections and 1,84,657 deaths.
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