The thing about fake news is that it creates shock and awe in equal measure, but just because it looks real doesn’t mean that it indeed is. Misinformation spreads like wildfire and this story is another example of how stories are taken out of context to further a certain agenda.
CLAIM
A video which shows collision between two buses is in circulation on WhatsApp and Twitter with users claiming that the incident took place on the Ajmer Highway.
The scene shows luggage and dead bodies strewn across the road due to the collision. We have not used the video here due to the graphic imagery. But an archived video of the tweet along with the video can be seen here.
According to the claim on Twitter, 22 people were killed in the accident and nearly 10 were injured.
The Quint received a query about the same video on its helpline number.
WHAT’S THE TRUTH ABOUT THE VIDEO?
On breaking down the video into several key frames using the Invid Google Chrome extension, we found out that the video is not of an accident on the Ajmer Highway but an accident that happened in Zimbabwe in 2018.
According to an article in Al Jazeera dated 8 November 2018, the collision killed 47 people. The buses collided when one bus was travelling to Harare from Mutare and the other one was travelling in the opposite direction.
However, since none of the news outlets had used the pictures due to the graphic imagery, we matched the pictures used in a Dailymail news article to corroborate the news.
It was clear that the video was not, therefore, of an Ajmer Highway accident.
(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9910181818, or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)