Old Clip From Taiwan Shared as Child Being Lifted in Sky by Kite in Ahmedabad

The video dates back to August 2020, when a girl in Taiwan was lifted into air by a giant orange kite.

Fact-Check | The video of a child being lofted in the sky by a kite is old and from Taiwan.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A 51-second clip, which shows a child being lifted in the sky by a kite, is being shared on the internet with a claim that it is a recent one from Gujarat's Ahmedabad.

The clip is being circulated after the Uttarayan celebrations in the state, where people usually indulge in a showdown of kites.

An archive of the post can be seen here.

(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.) 

We also received the video on our WhatsApp tipline.

But, is it true?: No, neither the video is recent nor is it from Ahmedabad. The video dates back to 2020 and shows a three-year-old girl in Taiwan being lifted into the sky by a kite after she was caught in its strings.

How did we find out?: We conducted a keyword search that led us to a report published by the Associated Press (AP) on 30 August 2020.

• It carried a similar incident's video and mentioned that a three-year-old girl in Taiwan was caught in the strings of a giant orange kite and lifted several metres into the air.

• This incident happened during a kite festival in the seaside town of Nanlioao, Hsinchu.

• It further mentioned that the girl did not suffer any physical injuries.

• A report in The Guardian said that according to a local government bureaucrat, Zhang Li Ke, the tail of the kite wrapped around the stomach of the child due to strong winds.

• It also mentioned that the girl was flung around in the sky for over 30 seconds. After the operators lowered the kite, she landed safely in the hands of the gathered crowd.

• The mayor of Hsinchu city, Lin Chih-Chien, also issued a public apology after the incident.

Conclusion: The video is from August 2020 and is not a recent clip from Gujarat's Ahmedabad, as claimed.

(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at [e-mail] and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)