Old, Unrelated Clip Viral as DMK Workers Dancing After Karur Stampede

We were able to trace the video to 21 September, before the stampede in Karur.

A video showing individuals dancing inside an ambulance, with claims that it shows members of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is going viral on social media.

• Those sharing the clip noted that this incident took place after the stampede in Karur during actor and the chief of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay's rally on 27 September.

• This video was paired with a picture of Chief Minister and DMK leader MK Stalin.

This post recorded 390.8K views at the time of writing this story. (Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

Is the claim true?: No, the claim is false as this video was present on the internet before the tragic incident in Karur.

• Team WebQoof was able to trace the clip to 21 September, while the stampede occured on 27 September.

What we found: At first, we divided the viral video into multiple screenshots and ran a Google reverse image search on some of them.

• It led us to a similar video by VNews27 from 21 September.

• The caption noted, "Staff dancing in a mobile hospital vehicle.. - Viral video | Ambulance | Dance" (sic.)

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A post shared by VNews27 (@vnews27)

• DT Next and the Sun News also uploaded this video about these employees dancing inside a 'mobile hospital' on their Instgram and YouTube channels on 21 September.

• We did not find any evidence of this viral video being linked to DMK workers and the Karur stampede which ocurred on 27 September.

What happened in Karur?:  Over forty, including nine minors, were found killed in the stampede at Karur during, Vijay's rally.

• Several news reports by the Indian Express and The Hindu noted that the crowd turned out larger than expected and was already excited in anticipation of the politician who arrived late to the rally.

• Although, there were strict instructions to not follow his vehicle but, the crowd chased. Additionally, the situation worsened when over a dozen people sat on a tree branch, which collapsed, further exacerbating the crowd's distress.

• Reports cited the poor crowd management at the TVK supremo's rally.

Conclusion: Clearly, the viral video predates the stampede in Karur which happened on 27 September. We were able to trace the viral clip to 21 September.

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