Fact Check: Video From Pakistan Shared As Billboard Falling On Two Motorists Due To Cyclone Nivar
Writer: Yusha Rahman
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India, 25 Nov 2020 12:25 PM GMT | Updated 25 Nov 2020 12:34 PM GMT
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An old video from Karachi's rainfall is being shared with the false claim of two motorists hit by signboard in recent Cyclone Nivar that is to hit Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
Tamil Nadu and Puducherry are currently bracing up for Cyclone Nivar. The cause behind the cyclone is deep depression over southwest Bay of Bengal and the cyclone will cross the coast of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and make landfall between Mamallapuram and Karaikal on today's (November 25) midnight. Due to the cyclone, heavy rainfall has started in many parts of Tamil Nadu and it is expected to disrupt the everyday life of people and cause damages to infrastructure.
In context to this, a video is being shared on social media in which a signboard falls due to heavy wind on two motorists. The video is being shared with the claim that it is of Chennai.
A Twitter handle @RamRam1718 shared the video with the caption, "People of Chennai, Kancheepuram, Chengalpet, Thiruvallur, Villupuram, Cuddalore, Puducherry & Mayiladuthurai districts should stay in as far as possible. When you come out, beware of trees, boards and electric poles around you! Stay strong!". The video at the time of reporting was watched for over 57,000 times.
Another Twitter handle Anil Kaushik also shared the video with the claim, "A very scary video from Chennai, where a signboard falls upon a rider."
A very scary video from #Chennai, where a signboard fall upon a rider.#StayHomeStaySafe#NivarCyclone#ChennaiRain pic.twitter.com/xj64jK1oQc
— Anil Kaushik🇮🇳 (@anilkaushik_) November 24, 2020
The Logical Indian also received the video for verification on its Whatsapp Fact Check number +91 6364000343.
Claim:
A viral video in which signboard falls on two motorists is of Chennai as Cyclone Nivar is to hit the state.
Fact Check:
The Logical Indian did a reverse image search of the following keyframe using InVid tool on Google.
On reverse image search, we found the same video was published on a Facebook page on August 7, 2020, and it was captioned, "Hoarding fall down near matropoll in Karachi during rain." As Cyclone Nivar is to hit the coast of Tamil Nadu today, thus the video can not be of this cyclone.
On searching with the keyword "Karachi rainfall, signboard fall", we found a report by The Express Tribune, a newspaper of Pakistan. The report was published on August 7, 2020, and said, "Two motorcyclists were injured when a large billboard came loose and collapsed on them near Metropole Hotel during heavy rainfall." The report also had an image of the screenshots from the video.
Samaa TV, a Pakistani media house has also published the news with the video.
Thus, an old video of Pakistan has gone viral with the claim that it belongs to Chennai and is of the recent cyclone.
If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.