A video of a reporter at NDTV rolling on the ground has gone viral in an attempt to troll journalist Ravish Kumar. But, in reality, the video is of Kashmiri journalist Fayaz Bukhari, who was ducking to take cover from heavy firing at Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir. The clip was also uploaded as part of NDTV’s blooper reels in 2013.
CLAIM
BJP’s MLA from Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, Indu Tiwari, tweeted the video with the caption,
“ इस मसीहा पत्रकार को पहचानते हैं? ये दुनिया को पत्रकारिता पर ज्ञान देने की खान हैं। इन्हें आजकल की पत्रकारिता इन्हें मज़ाक़ लगता है। क़ैदें हैं रविश कुमार।”
(Translation: “Do you recognise this messiah journalist? He imparts knowledge of journalism to the world. He finds today’s journalism as a joke. He’s called Ravish Kumar.”)
Journalist Sushant B Sinha, who claims to be a Google-certified trained fact-checker in his Twitter bio, also tweeted the video with a similar caption,
“इस मसीहा पत्रकार को पहचानते हैं? (Hint: ये दुनिया को पत्रकारिता पर ज्ञान देने की खान हैं)“
(Translation: “Do you recognise this messiah journalist? (Hint: He imparts knowledge of journalism to the world.”)
Users also shared the video on Facebook.
WHAT WE FOUND
The reporter in the viral video isn’t Ravish Kumar but Kashmiri journalist Fayaz Bukhari.
A keyword search led us to NDTV’s bloopers reel from 2006, which was uploaded in June 2013, carrying the clip.
A comparison of Bukhari’s picture with the man in the video can be seen below, with the same haircut and face structure.
The Quint also reached to Bukhari, who confirmed that the he’s indeed the man in the video. He was covering a fedayeen attack on a Congress rally in May 2006 at Poloview, near the city centre in Srinagar, as a correspondent for NDTV.
He explained that he was rolling on the ground to escape firing.
“I was doing a live after the rally was over and no one knew that one more militant was alive and was hiding nearby. All of a sudden there was heavy firing and I was in open, without any cover,” he stated.
“The camera person had taken cover and I was the only one who was exposed to fire. I ducked and rolled to reach behind the other camera persons to get cover from direct fire.”Fayaz Bukhari, Journalist
We also found the bulletin of the attack on the Congress rally from the NDTV archives, where the anchors also mention that, “NDTV reporter Fayaz Bukhari and the cameraperson were just meters away from the gunfire.”
We also found the details of the attack in the archives of news agency Associated Press.
The report states that “Suspected Islamic militants hurled grenades and fired bullets into a crowd at a ruling Congress Party rally in India's portion of Kashmir.”
Two policeman and three civilians had died, while three senior police officers including top-ranking Inspector General of Police K Rajendra Kumar had been wounded.
The visuals from the shooting can show camera persons crouching for cover, similar to the NDTV footage.
Evidently, Kashmiri journalist Fayaz Bukhari has been misidentified in the viral video, in an attempt to troll journalist Ravish Kumar.
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