All section Close
Image Credit: Twitter/Amar Prasad Reddy, Wikipedia/PM Modi
Visuals From UK Anti-Vaxxers Protest Passed Off As Protest Against BBC Documentary On PM Modi
India, 31 Jan 2023 8:43 AM GMT
Editor : Bharat Nayak |
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.
A visual showing a crowd gathered outside a building chanting 'Shame on You' is being widely circulated across social media. The video is being shared with the claim that the demonstration is against the BBC's controversial documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A visual showing a crowd gathered outside a building chanting 'Shame on You' is being widely circulated across social media. The video is being shared with the claim that the demonstration is against the British Broadcasting Corporation's controversial documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A two-part documentary recently published by the BBC severely criticises the then Gujarat Chief Minister and the state administration over its alleged failure to curb the 2002 riots. The External Affairs Ministry of India terms the documentary "propaganda". The government ordered Twitter and YouTube to take down any clips from the documentary circulating online.
Claim:
The video shows a massive gathering outside a structure with a large display. The crowd can be heard chanting, "Shame on you". Then a presenter appears on the large display and says, "The BBC: the lying liars" and "Take down the BBC." The crowd follows the chant made by the figure in the display.
Amar Prasad Reddy, State President of Youth Development and Sports Cell of the BJP in Tamil Nadu, wrote in a tweet while sharing the video, "British Public chanting SHAME ON YOU to the BBC at a demonstration outside BBC Broadcasting house in London. Hated in their own country & spreading FAKE PROPAGANDA in other countries, esp. India... BBC."
A similar claim was shared by other users as well.
The video is widely shared across Twitter and Facebook with a similar claim.
Fact Check:
The Logical Indian fact-check team verified the viral claim and found it to be false.
We used InVid's Keyframe Analysis tool to isolate the keyframes of the viral video, followed by a reverse image search on the keyframes. This led us to a report published on USSA News on January 25, 2023. The USSA News report says that the demonstration was organised there by Truth Be Told, an anti-vax conspiracy group that claims to create awareness and fight for people who have "suffered because of the Covid-19 vaccine".
The group accused the BBC of neglecting to cover the supposed harmful effects of the Covid-19 vaccine and allegedly censoring this information. The USSA News report contains the same viral video of the demonstration.
"Mainstream media in the United Kingdom and America largely ignored this display of public outrage with the global Covid vaccination program. Brits gathered outside the BBC's broadcasting headquarters to listen to speakers such as MP Andrew Bridgen, journalist Mark Sharman and several vaccine-injured individuals," the report reads.
Using relevant keywords, we conducted a keyword search which led us to a YouTube video uploaded on January 21, 2023. In the live stream, a person appeared to be participating in a protest outside the BBC's headquarters in London.
In their demonstration, Truth Be Told protested regarding the supposed harmful effects of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Twitter user Oracle Films tweeted the same visual with a caption that reads, "Shame on You- British public to the BBC. Truth be Told London, a demonstration outside BBC Broadcasting House, Portland Place, London on 21st Jan 2023."
We also came across a report by Rolling Stone published on January 24, 2023. The report mentions that anti-vaxxers participated in raising the chants of "shame on you", as can be heard in the video, along with "Take down the BBC."
Twitter user James Cintolo shared the video with the statement, "BBC Ignores Largest Vaccine Injury Protest In Recent History Occurring Outside Of BBC Broadcasting House, Portland Place, London On Jan 21st 2023".
As of now, there are no reports of any protests in London against the BBC documentary. However, a Firstpost report noted that a section of the Indian diaspora in England plans to hold a demonstration to protest the BBC documentary.
Conclusion:
We found that the visuals are not from a supposed recent protest outside the BBC headquarters over the PM Modi documentary row but rather a protest held by a group of anti-vaxxers called 'Truth Be Told.' The anti-vaccination protestors were raising objections over the deaths and side effects caused by vaccines.
If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.
Must Reads
We are an independent and public-spirited digital media platform for Indian millennials. We report news and issues that matter as well as give you the opportunity to take action.
