Clip of London’s Anti-Modi Protest Falsely Linked to I-T 'Survey' at BBC Offices
This video dates back to 15 August 2021 and shows an anti-Modi protest held in London.
An old video of a protest held in London is being falsely linked to the Income Tax department's 'survey' at BBC offices in India.
(Photo: Altered by The Quint)
An old video showing a group of people standing on a bridge and displaying a banner that reads 'Resign Modi’ is going viral on social media. In the clip, people can also be heard shouting slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
What's the claim?: The claim states that this protest happened in London after the Income Tax department carried out a 'survey' at the BBC offices in India. The search, which went on for about three days, was at the news organisations' Delhi and Mumbai offices.
An archive can be seen here.
The search came a few weeks after the UK-based media organisation released a documentary on the Gujarat riots, which focused on Modi's tenure as the chief minister of the state when the riots broke out.
What's the truth?: This video shows an anti-Modi protest that was held on 15 August 2021 in London by a Britain-based anti-imperialist and anti-racist organisation called South Asia Solidarity Group (SASG).
How did we find it out?: We found a longer and an older version of the same video on YouTube.
The video was uploaded on 15 August 2021 with a title that read, "Westminster Bridge, London UK banner drop - Resign Modi: Indian Independence Day".
At 1:40 timestamp, people can be seen shouting slogans similar to that in the viral video.
The description of the video stated that the members of SASG dropped a banner that read 'Resign Modi' and also held a candlelight vigil outside the Indian High Commission in London.
This was shared on 15 August 2021.
We also found a detailed Twitter thread containing visuals from the protest.
Reports about the protests: We found several reports about the protest from August 2021.
The Quint also reported on this London protest and mentioned that SASG's statement for Modi's resignation included reasons like the "three contentious farm laws, sexual violence on Dalit women and girls, Kashmir issue, EVM tampering, and criminal mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic."
Conclusion: An old video of a London protest is being falsely shared as recent while linking it to the BBC surveys.
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