Old Video Shared as Recent Visuals of Protests Against SIR in West Bengal

The video has been available on the internet since September, which predates the SIR announcement in the state.

Abhishek Anand
WebQoof
Published:
<div class="paragraphs"><p>Fact-Check | The video has been online since September 2025, which predates the beginning of SIR in West Bengal.</p></div>
i

Fact-Check | The video has been online since September 2025, which predates the beginning of SIR in West Bengal.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

advertisement

A video of a crowd walking with sticks and brooms in their hands on the streets is being circulated on social media platforms as a recent incident from West Bengal.

What's the claim?: An X (formerly Twitter) premium user called 'SK Chakraborty' shared the clip with a caption saying, "See how they have come out against SIR(Special Intensive Revision of Voters’ List) in West Bengal. Illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas must be deported."

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: X/Screenshot)

The above post had gained over two lakh views on the platform.

More archives of similar such claims could be viewed here, here, and here.

What's the truth?: The video could be traced back to at least September of this year, which predates the announcement of the SIR in West Bengal. This makes the viral claim misleading.

How did we find that out?: Using the help of Google Lens, we conducted a reverse image search on the keyframes of the viral video. This led us to the same visuals uploaded on a Facebook handle named 'Biplob Biplob'.

  • It was uploaded on 15 September.

  • The post's caption was in Bangla, which loosely translated to, "Video picture of today's movement".

  • The handle's bio indicated that the user lives in Bangladesh.

The video was shared on 15 September.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

SIR in West Bengal: A Press Information Bureau (PIB) press release said that the Election Commission of India, on 27 October, ordered special intensive revision (SIR) in nine states and three union territories.

  • The nine states were - Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

  • Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry were the three UTs.

  • The enumeration period began on 4 November and will continue till 4 December.

The press release was shared on 4 November.

(Source: PIB/Screenshot)

Conclusion: While we could not independently verify the date and context of the viral video, it is clear that the video predated the announcement of the SIR in West Bengal.

(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9540511818 , or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)

Published: undefined

ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL FOR NEXT