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Media Outlets Falsely Claim That Rishi Sunak Celebrated Pongal In London; Viral Video Is From Waterloo, Canada
Writer: Jakir Hassan
A journalist at heart loves the in-depth work of reporting, writing, editing, research, and data analysis. A digital and social media enthusiast.
India, 20 Jan 2023 11:56 AM GMT
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As the founding editor, Bharat had been heading the newsroom during the formation years of the organization and worked towards editorial policies, conceptualizing and designing campaign strategies and collaborations. He believes that through the use of digital media, one could engage the millennial's in rational conversations about pertinent social issues, provoking them to think and bring a behavioral change accordingly.
Creatives : Jakir Hassan
A journalist at heart loves the in-depth work of reporting, writing, editing, research, and data analysis. A digital and social media enthusiast.
We found that the viral video was not a Pongal celebration in London organised by Rishi Sunak’s office however took place in Waterloo, Canada, hosted by Tamil Cultural Association of Waterloo Region.
A video is going viral showing people sitting at a table and participating in a traditional Pongal lunch. The video is viral with the claim that it shows people in London at a Pongal lunch hosted by United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Pongal is a multi-day Hindu harvest festival celebrated by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka, and was held from 15 January 2023 to 18 January 2023 this year.
Claim:
The viral video shows a set of people dressed in what appears to be police uniforms and suits sitting around a table. They can be seen eating food that is laid out on banana leaves.
Media outlet India Today shared the video on Twitter and captioned it, “Watch this viral video of UK delegates celebrating the Pongal festival by feasting on banana leaves.” The video is interspersed with the text, ‘UK Defense and PM’s office staff celebrate Pongal festival.”
NDTV’s Twitter page shared a screengrab of the viral video with the caption, “Watch: UK PM Office Celebrates Pongal, Staff Eats With Hands On Banana Leaf.”
Times Now shared a report on Twitter which featured the video with the caption claiming, “PM Rishi Sunak hosts traditional Pongal lunch in London, his staff eat meals using their hands.”
OneIndia and TV9 Telugu shared the video with the same claim.
MeghUpdates, Gaurav Agarwal, a media personality affiliated with TV9 Bharatvarsh, and senior journalist Jayprrakash Singh shared the video with similar claims.
Fact Check:
The Logical Indian Fact Check team verified the viral claim and found it to be false. The viral video is from Waterloo, Canada.
We used InVid’s Keyframe Analysis tool to isolate the keyframes of the viral video. We then conducted a reverse image search and came across the same video uploaded on the Facebook page of Tamil Culture Waterloo Region in a post uploaded on January 15, 2023.
The post's caption reads, “Tamil Culture Waterloo Region rTCA Tamil Thai Pongal Celebration (Tamil Thanksgiving) region of Waterloo politicians, Regional Chair City Mayors, councillors and Police Chief and staff.”
On the same page, we found that the Tamil Culture Waterloo Region shared a post uploaded on January 18 by Bardish Chagger, a Waterloo MP.
In the caption of the post, Chagger shares, “This past weekend, it was a full house at Woodland Christian High School in Breslau to kick-off #ThaiPongal celebrations. It was a wonderful time with an amazing company, epic talent, and delicious food…”
Comparing the persons seen in the viral video and the pictures shared by Chagger, we found that the person in the same outfit can be seen in both visuals. We could confirm that Chagger was a part of the Pongal lunch seen in the viral video.
Through a keyword search, we also came across a tweet by Waterloo Chief of Police Mark Crowell, published on January 15, 2023, captioned, “A wonderful evening celebrating Tamil Heritage Month and Pongal with the Tamil Cultural Association of Waterloo Region.“
Comparing the images from MCrowell’s post and the viral video, we noticed the same persons in both visuals.
We also came across a post by Berry Vrbanovic, Mayor of Kitchener uploaded on January 16, 2023, captioned, “Some more pictures from last night’s #ThaiPongal celebration hosted by Waterloo Tamils.”
In a tweet published on January 18, 2023, NDTV News clarified that the video was incorrectly reported, saying, “A fake video was incorrectly reported, including by NDTV, as a Pongal celebration at the UK PM’s office. We retract the story and apologise for the error.”
Conclusion:
We found that the viral video was not a Pongal celebration in London organised by Rishi Sunak’s office. It took place in Waterloo, Canada, hosted by Tamil Cultural Association of Waterloo Region. Hence, the viral claim is false.
If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.
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