No, This Video Doesn’t Show People Protesting Against EVMs in Maharashtra

Neither is this video recent nor is it related to the recently concluded Maharashtra assembly elections.

Fact-Check | This video is old and unrelated to 2024 Maharashtra Elections.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A video of a massive crowd gathered on the streets is being shared on the internet with a claim that it shows people protesting against the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in Maharashtra following the Assembly elections.

What did the viral post say?: An X (formerly Twitter) premium user shared the clip with a caption that said, "Seeing this crowd, it seems that the public will not allow a new government formed through fraud to be formed in Maharashtra. This crowd against EVM is very huge."

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: X/Screenshot)

The post had recorded over two lakh views on the platform. Archives of similar such posts can be accessed here, here, and here.

What are the facts?: The video could be traced back to at least February of this year and is unrelated to 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections.

• It shows visuals from Delhi's Jantar Mantar, when people had gathered to protest against the use of EVMs in elections.

How did we find that out?: We divided the video into several keyframes using the help of a video verification tool called 'InVID' and performed a reverse image search on them.

• A Yandex search carried a similar visual and identified the location as New Delhi.

The location was identified as New Delhi.

(Source: Yandex/Screenshot)

• Taking this forward, we searched for the caption on X and found a post shared by a user with the same name.

• The video was published on 14 February and its caption said, "Indian citizen Protest against EVM in New Delhi! But Media will not show you!.."

• This indicated the viral clip was old and unrelated to the recently concluded assembly elections in Maharashtra.

Other sources: We performed a keyword search on YouTube and came across a video that showed similar visuals uploaded on a verified channel named 'Ulta Chasma uc'.

• It was shared on 1 February and its title when translated to English said, "Lakhs of people reached Delhi | Movement to remove EVM | Jantar Mantar EVM Protest."

• We further noticed that the board of Janta Dal (United) (JDU) could be seen in the background.

Comparing visuals: Team WebQoof found visuals of JDU's central office shared on the official YouTube channel of Zee Bihar Jharkhand.

• When we compared the signboards seen in both clips, we concluded that the protest video was indeed shot near the JDU Central Office, which is in Jantar Mantar.

A comparison clearly highlights the similarities.

(Source: Zee Bihar Jharkhand/YouTube/Screenshot/Altered by The Quint)

News reports: A report in Amar Ujala said that around 22 organisations, including Bharat Mukti Morcha and others, held a protest against the EVMs at Jantar Mantar.

• The report mentioned that protesters had gathered from different states, such as Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, Delhi.

• Team WebQoof further found a post shared by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) president Sharad Pawar, who talked about the same protest held in Jantar Mantar in Delhi.

• Pawar, too, had addressed the gathering.

Conclusion: It is clear that the video is old and unrelated to the 2024 Maharashtra Elections.

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