Does This Video Show Recent Meeting Between DMK & AIADMK Leaders? No!

The video could be traced back to 2018 and does not show a recent meeting.

Fact-Check | The video is from 2018 and is being incorrectly shared as a recent incident.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A video of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leaders, including MK Stalin, meeting All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's (AIADMK) Edappadi K Palaniswami is being shared on the internet as a recent incident.

What's the claim?: Suspecting an alliance between DMK and AIADMK and other parties to form the new government in Tamil Nadu, the user insinuated that the clip showed a recent meeting.

• The claim comes after no party secured a clear majority in the recently conducted assembly elections.

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot) 

The above post had gained over six lakh views on the platform. More archives of similar claims could be found here, here, and here.

What's the truth?: The video dates back to 2018, when Stalin had met the then CM Palaniswami at the Secretariat in Tamil Nadu. This meant that the viral claim was misleading.

How did we find that out?: Using the help of Google Lens, we performed a reverse image search on the keyframes of the viral video and found a news report published by Deccan Chronicle.

• The report said that the then CM Palaniswami had met Stalin at the former's chamber in the Secretariat.

• It mentioned that Stalin shared several steps for the government to resolve the crisis plaguing the transport sector.

The report was published on 14 February 2018.

(Source: Deccan Chronicle/Screenshot)

Other sources: Next, we conducted a keyword search on YouTube in English and found the same visuals uploaded on the official channel of PuthiyathalaimuraiTV.

• It was posted on 2 March 2018 with a title that said, "CM meets Stalin tomorrow consulting the cauvery issue! | #CauveryIssue #CM #MKStalin."

Conclusion: It is evident that the video is old and is being incorrectly shared as a recent one.

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