Scripted Videos by Content Creators Fuel Communal Discord and False Narratives
These scripted videos spread communal disharmony in an already polarised society with little to no repercussions.
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If you look at this video below, you would spot a young woman fainting at the sight of an elderly man sitting next to her.
Its caption suggests that they got recently married and the user takes a dig at the Muslim community with the word 'मजाहब' (a wordplay of the Arabic word मज़हब — which means a school of thought).
The video was shared as a real incident of a woman fainting at the sight of her elderly husband.
(Source: X/Altered by The Quint)
But here's the problem. The video is scripted and does not show real visuals, which was also pointed out by multiple fact-checking organisations. This serves as a classic example of how scripted videos are being used to peddle mis/disinformation and false narratives against both Hindu and Muslim communities on social media platforms.
Between 2021 and March 2025, Team WebQoof published 45 fact-checks on scripted videos. Nearly 50 percent of them (22) were communal in nature, attempting to paint either Hindus or Muslims in a bad light.
In a communally charged and polarised country like India, these videos can act as triggers for violence and add to the narratives that pit one community against the other.
Let’s look at another example. An X (formerly Twitter) post, which has over 5.5 lakh views at the time of writing this report, called on people to “urgently” repost it, highlighting “their mentality” while talking to policemen.
The video itself carries Hindi text, reading, "Salim threatened the police."
What’s wrong with that?
Everything. Firstly, the video does not show a real incident of a Muslim man threatening a policeman.
The Quint found that it was made by content creator Monty Deepak Sharma, whose Facebook page identifies him as an ‘actor’.
Browsing his social media pages showed us that Sharma shares several videos of this kind, many of which involve ‘Salim’ quarrelling with police officials.
The account regularly posts such scripted videos.
(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)
The so-called police station seen in this video was used as a hotel in another scripted video on his channel.
The premise of the now-viral scripted video made it easy for people to share the clip to push communal narratives amid already tense times.
The video went viral days after riots erupted in Nagpur over Mughal emperor Aurangazeb’s grave, which officials say was ‘triggered by misinformation’.
The report was last updated on 18 March.
(Source: The Quint)
Communal Narratives and Viral Propaganda
This claim is far from the only instance of communally charged misinformation which was spread on the basis of scripted videos.
Sample this - a video of a man and a woman wearing garlands, walking hand-in-hand, went viral on social media. Some users claimed that it showed a Hindu man and woman, who were siblings, marrying each other after the former impregnated her. The post used slang to malign the Hindu community.
An archive of the post can be found here.
(Source: X/Screenshot)
Unlike the previous clip, this one carried a disclaimer and the name ‘Kanhaiya Singh’.
There was a disclaimer mentioned in the scripted clip.
(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)
The disclaimer clearly said that the video was “purely made for entertainment purposes only” and had “no intention to disrespect or defame based on race color ancestry, national origin, ethnic group identification, age, religion, marital or parental status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual, orientation gender gender identity or expression (sic).”
The notice flashed on the screen for a moment and nearly went unnoticed. While it may take away the responsibility of the clip being misused from the creator’s shoulders, social media users shared it as a real clip of such an incident happening regardless.
The 22 claims that we debunked shared false, misleading, or harmful narratives and counternarratives about both religious groups.
Among videos shared targeting the Muslim community was a staged video, which was shared to claim that it showed a 71-year-old man, ‘Rozob Ali’, marrying a minor named Sakina Bibi.
The report was published on 1 December 2024.
(Source: The Quint)
The video was traced back to ‘MB TV’ and ‘Disha Media’, both of which said that they made videos for ‘entertainment’.
Similarly, another video claiming to show a grandfather marrying his grandson’s wife for ‘Nikah Halala’ was also found to be a scripted video, created by Bangladesh-based content creator Sharmin Shakil.
The fact-check story was published on 11 July 2023.
(Source: The Quint)
This clip, too, carried a disclaimer about it being made for ‘entertainment purposes’.
The Quint reached out to six content creators, including 'MBTV', to understand the motive behind creating such staged content.
One of the creators, Ritik Kataria, responded to our email saying that they are aware that some of their "scripted videos have occasionally been reshared online with misleading captions or narratives that are not aligned with the original intent of the content."
Marriage, along with the victimisation of women, was found to be a dominant theme in these claims and narratives.
For instance, a video showing a minor and an adult man, went viral on social media, where users shared it to warn women about ‘Love Jihad’. The video went viral with text claiming that the girl was trying to elope with a Muslim man. However, this video too, was made for ‘awareness’ purposes.
The report was published on 18 December 2021.
(Source: The Quint)
On the other hand, videos targeting Hindus, too, go as viral as the ones targeting the Muslim community. This clip went viral to claim that a Hindu man forcefully married his two daughters, aged 19 and 20, threatening to poison them if they refused.
Our fact-check found that this video was made and shared by content creator Neha Singh, again, for ‘entertainment’.
We had debunked this clip on 20 July 2022.
(Source: The Quint)
Creators and Their Content
As we've seen so far, these videos were created by people identifying themselves as 'digital creators', 'content creators', or actors.
For instance, 'artist' Dhirendra Raghav, on two discrete occasions, dressed up in a kurta and a skullcap to spread communal misinformation.
In the second example, he pretended to be a Muslim man criticising the Hindus of Ayodhya for not giving their votes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi despite having 'built the Ram Mandir'.
Raghav continued to make communally charged content despite being called out the first time.
(Source: The Quint)
While Raghav, who expressly identifies himself as Hindu, has now deleted both videos after being called out for their content, he continues to play these 'characters' and sing along to music.
Similarly, a self-declared Hindu 'digital creator' Ankita Karotiya also shares videos of her or her team members, who pretend to belong to the Muslim community.
Ankita Karotiya is a self-proclaimed Hindu.
(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)
In a story we debunked, we traced a scripted video which was shared as a real one of a Muslim man marrying his niece to Karotiya's account.
We debunked the video in March 2025.
(Source: The Quint/Screenshot)
How Scripted Videos Provoke Emotions in People & Paint a Villain
If you look at the video below, the video would show a person injecting some sort of artificial colour into watermelons.
Its caption insinuates that this is being done by Hindus during the holy month of Ramzan to target Muslims. The caption further appeals to people to be careful before shopping.
But was it really a danger and a matter of concern? Well, the simple answer is NO. The Quint had debunked the same video in May 2024, when it was shared with a similar communal claim. However, this time, the caption insinuated that the culprit was a Muslim.
The report was published on 17 May 2024.
(Source: The Quint)
The mudslinging here is evident. However, the fact that this video was debunked by several fact-checking organisations, including The Quint’s WebQoof, and yet still managed to find its way on social media platforms in March 2025 paints a glaring image.
What similarities did you notice in the claims? The modus operandi remains the same.
Share a scripted video, which may have some dramatic events unfolding like kidnapping, physical assault, or anything that may be harmful to people.
Identify the accused as a person belonging to either Hindu or Muslim community.
Add other elements or a bigger message, such as urging others to be careful or stoking emotions.
Ask other users to make the video viral.
Don’t believe us? Look at this claim for example. Let’s break it down here
The video shows a man taking off his shirt in front of a woman walking past him on the street. Following this, the woman repeatedly slaps the man.
Now look at the caption. The man was identified as a Muslim man, while the woman supposedly belonged to the Hindu community. The user further urges others to “resist the unrighteous”.
The report was published on 18 October 2024.
(Source: The Quint)
Why do these kinds of content go viral? A research paper titled ‘Emotion detection for misinformation: A review’ published by Science Direct said that misinformation can evoke emotional responses in readers, which in turn can lead to specific behaviors, such as belief in the information, resharing or liking it, etc.
It further said, “Misinformation is generally associated with a significant level of high-arousal emotions such as anger, sadness, anxiety, surprise, and fear. Rumors conveying anger, sadness, anxiety, and fear are likely to generate a large number of shares, and to be long-lived and viral, while emotional appeals (like anger and disgust) can increase users’ engagement with fake posts.”
How Can I Identify These Videos?
With careful observation, these scripted videos can be quite easy to spot.
Using claims that The Quint has debunked, let's go through some details that may help you identify them if you see them again.
Disclaimers: Many content creators add disclaimers to their videos which mention that they were made for ‘educational’, ‘awareness’, or ‘entertainment’ purposes.
Video and audio quality: Since content creators make videos regularly, the video quality of these clips is better than what one would usually record on their smartphones. The audio of these videos is also of superior quality as compared to a regular video shot on a phone.
Circles, highlights, arrows: In many cases, creators use circles and arrows to draw attention to the story they are trying to tell. This is one of the many indicators of a scripted video.
Microphones: One can also see people with microphones clipped to their clothing. This is done so the content creator can capture dialogue well, but shows that the video is staged.
Multiple camera angles: Some of the claims showed visuals of the same incident from different angles, carrying multiple shots, which can only be done if the event is known i.e., scripted.
In some cases, you may see several of these details but it still might not be scripted. Don't worry, we've got further steps covered!
Due to the increasing internet penetration in the country and different types of misinformation we debunked over the years, The Quint made a video guide which can help you learn how to verify and spot 'fake news'.
In our series 'Verify Kiya Kya?', we take you through the many approaches you can take to find and tackle misinformation. Watch our series here.
While the creators carry disclaimers that absolve them from any liability stemming from sharing such content, these videos continue to spread on social media by bad actors with misleading contexts.
These clipped videos possess the power to create communal disharmony and unrest and when that happens, who is to be help responsible? The creators? Social media platforms? Or individual users?