A video is going viral on the internet which shows a man being dragged out of his car and beaten by several people, who were allegedly extorting money from the man in the name of Christmas donations in Kerala.
Who shared the video?: Former Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) National Secretary, Anoop Antony, shared the video mentioning that the Christmas spirit has been choked by "extortion rackets fostered by Kerala's Left ecosystem."
An archive of the post can be found here.
(Source: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot)
Hints in the viral video: Several users had pointed out in the comments section that the video was actually scripted. Team WebQoof found a watermark in the video that said, "Sujith Ramachandran."
The video had a watermark.
(Source: Viral video/Screenshot/Altered by The Quint)
Finding the longer version of the video: Taking this forward, we searched for the name on social media platforms and came across one profile that carried a longer version of the viral video.
The video was uploaded on 26 December and its caption when translated to English said, "Fundraiser for the homeland! The incident happened to a young man who was traveling with his family from Katakal to Kulathupuzha at Onthupacha."
It also carried a disclaimer that said that the video has been created for "awareness purpose."
The caption also identified the people seen in the viral video — Jishnu Mazhavillu, Surjit, Baiju, Siddique, Noushad, Mahesh, Vijayan Kadakkal, Jyotish & Pichu.
Further, we found an image posted on Sujith's profile that showed some people who were also seen in the viral video.
The caption along the picture said that the details about the short film were clearly mentioned. However, several people shared the video by giving captions on social media platforms without reading the details.
The image was uploaded on 27 December.
(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)
People in the viral video: When we compared the image uploaded on Sujith's profile to the keyframes of the viral video, we found some people who were dressed in identical clothes.
We have also reached out to Sujith for his inputs and this report will be updated as and when it is received.
A comparison clearly highlights the similarities.
(Source: Facebook/Screenshot/Altered by The Quint)
Conclusion: It is clear that the video is scripted and is being falsely shared as a real incident of people extorting money during Christmas in Kerala.
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