By Anmol Alphonso
An old video from June 2022 of a group of people protesting against former Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nupur Sharma's remarks on Prophet Mohammad is being shared with the misleading claim that it is from a recent protest against Hindus in the United States.
BOOM found that the viral video is being shared out of context to falsely claim that it is recent and to "Boycott Hindu business'.
The video which shows a group people protesting with placards that read, "Stop Hindutva USA", "Muslim Lives Matter" and chanting "Save the prophet" was tweeted by the Twitter handle '@MeghUpdates' with the caption, "Anti-hindu demonstration organised by a muslim group in USA - "Save the Prophet, Boycott hindu business"."
In the video protesters can be heard chanting, "Why are we here - To save the prophet"
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The Twitter handle Sudhir Mishra (@Sudhir_mish) also tweeted the same video with the misleading caption which translates to, "Slogans of “Boycott Hindus” in America- The 'radical Muslims' took out a regular "rally". These people are not 'boycotting' Dalit, OBC, upper caste separately, they are "boycott Hindu"?? Those who divide into castes will do "the same condition" to you."
(In Hindi - अमरीका में “हिंदुओं का बहिष्कार करो” के नारे-'कट्टरपंथी मुस्लिमों' ने बाकायदा “रैली” निकाली। यह लोग दलित, OBC, सवर्ण, को अलग-अलग 'बॉयकॉट' नहीं कर रहे, “boycott Hindu” कर रहे हैं ?? जातियों में बांटने वाले तुम्हारा "यही हाल" करेंगे।)
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Also Read:Nupur Sharma, Salman Khan: Who Can Get A Gun License In India?
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral video is from June 2022, and is not a recent protest held by Muslim groups in the United States against Hinduism or Hindus.
The protest was held in Chicago in June 2022 outside the Indian consulate against former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her derogatory comments against Prophet Mohammad.
In June 2022, several Arab countries including Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia had registered protests with the Indian government over remarks made by Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal against the Prophet Mohammad. Following the heavy backlash, the BJP had distanced itself from the comments and expelled Jindal and suspended Sharma from the party.
Taking a hint from the slogans being chanted in the video like "Why are we here - To save the prophet" and placards like "stop hindutva usa", we ran a keyword search on Google which search results showed that the video dates back to June 2022.
The results showed news reports that had published their articles citing a tweet on June 25, 2022 by a handle that had tweeted the video of the protest in Chicago, United States.
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We also found a news report by Muslim Mirror with a photo from the same protest where the man holding the placard "Stop Hindutva USA" can be seen. The headline of the news report dated June 19, 2022, reads, "Protest held outside Indian consulate in Chicago over remarks on Prophet Muhammad".
Muslim groups held a protest outside the Indian consulate in Chicago, US against insulting remarks on Prophet Muhammad by members of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) reported Muslim Mirror. The report further added that the protesters demanded strict action against individuals involved in attacks on Islam and Muslims in India.
Comparison
