By Srijit Das
A video of anti-government protest in Mexico has been shared on social media with a false claim that it shows supporters of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan protesting against the present government and Pakistan Army.
The Facebook posts further use a derogatory term 'jihadis' to refer to Pakistanis and claim that a civil war is impending in the country.
BOOM found that the video is from Mexico where citizens staged protests against a proposal to overhaul electoral rules.
Pakistan has been facing a political turmoil since Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party chief Imran Khan was removed from power last year. Khan has since then launched a series of protests demanding early elections in the country. Over 500 PTI activists were arrested due to the party's 'Jail Bharo' movement which was launched on February 22, reported Press Trust Of India. The video is viral in this context.
The video is captioned as, "Now there will be civil war in the Jihadi country. Watch the latest video of the crowd of Imran Khan's supporters in Islamabad. Never before such an atmosphere has been created against Pakistan's army. These Jihadis will die fighting among themselves. Jai Sanatan".
(Original Text in Hindi: अब होगा गृह युद्ध जिहादी देश में इस्लामाबाद में इमरान खान के सपोर्ट वालों की भीड़ की ताजा वीडियो देखो पाकिस्तान की फौज के खिलाफ ऐसा माहौल पहले कभी नही बना । आपस में ही लड़ मरेंगे ये जिहादी। जय सनातन)
Click here to view the post.
Click here to view the post.
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Fact Check
BOOM performed a reverse image search on one of the keyframes from the viral video and found that Mexican politician Sara Rocha Medina uploaded the same video on herofficial social media accounts on February 27, 2023.
She wrote in Spanish, "Mission accomplished. The Plaza de la Constitución in Mexico City was filled with citizens who with determination raised their voices against injustice."
Click here to view the post.
Mexico's The Institutional Revolutionary Party also tweeted the same video from their official Twitter handle on February 27.
Mexico’s Congress in February approved a major overhaul of the National Electoral Institute (INE), an independent body that oversees elections in the country. The overhaul includes spending cuts, trimming headcount and reducing its oversight. Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has attacked the INE accusing it of being corrupt and inefficient. However, Mexicans see the move as undermining the electoral body’s authority.
We were also able to geolocate the area in Mexico's central Zocalo square where the protest took place on February 26 against President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's administration.
A Reuters video report from February 27 states, "Huge crowds gathered in Mexico to condemn government moves to shrink the electoral authority as a threat to democracy, in what appeared to be the largest protests so far against President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's administration".
International news agency Associated Press also reported that the protests were fueled by the electoral law changes which could be draconian. It reads, "López Obrador’s proposals were passed last week. Once enacted, they would cut salaries, funding for local election offices and training for citizens who operate and oversee polling stations. They would also reduce sanctions for candidates who fail to report campaign spending."
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