A video showing Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan enjoying a meal at a table with some people is being widely shared on social media, where users are criticising the minister amid activist Sonam Wangchuk’s hunger strike to demand his resignation.
(Archived versions of more posts sharing this claim can be seen here, here, and here.)
Is it true?: The claim is misleading, as the video being shared is over two years old.
It shows Pradhan eating to mark Pakhala Day, an annual Odia event to celebrate their traditional fermented rice dish known as Pakhala.
How did we find out the truth?: We carried out a reverse image search on the part of the claim carrying Pradhan’s video, which led us to a similar video shared on Odia news outlet Argus News’ verified YouTube channel.
Published on 20 March 2024, the title and caption of the video noted that it was ‘World Pakhala Day’ and that “Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan posted a greeting on Pakhala Day and ate Pakhala with special guests.”
A relevant keyword search led us to more visuals of Pradhan on DD News from 2024, which showed the same video of him enjoying Pakhala.
Pradhan had shared photos resembling the clip in the claim on his official X account as well.
Conclusion: Old visuals of Dharmendra Pradhan enjoying a Pakhala are being shared amid Sonam Wangchuk’s hunger strike, to criticise the former.
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