A dramatised video showing a Muslim couple helping a Hindu priest and a small child lying on the road after the priest suffers an epilepsy attack, is being shared online with captions suggesting it to be a real incident.
BOOM found that the viral video is scripted and has been created by 3RD EYE - a YouTube channel that is known for making such 'public awareness' videos to garner millions of views.
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The viral video shows a man dressed as a priest walking with an infant in a by-lane. After a while, he suddenly places the child on the ground, lies down and starts trembling as if he suffering an epilepsy attack. Shortly after, a Muslim couple passing by on a motorcycle stop and help the man. They offer him water and a ride home on the motorcycle.
The video is yet another one in a series of scripted videos that are created for 'entertainment and education' purpose but are shared out-of-context on social media. BOOM has debunked similar scripted videos previously.
A Facebook post sharing the 4-minute-long video has been captioned 'Live CCTV Recording from UP, India a Hindu Pandit Fell in Ground due to Epilepsy Attack Lying in Road with Child No Body is Stopping to Help Him A Muslim Couple Stopped & Help Her This is Real India & Humanity which no body can destroy India & its Culture,Love,Brotherhood,Unity in Diversity,National integration... Share maximum & make it viral if you are true Indian'.
The video is viral with Hindi captions with similar claims.
Click here to view the video.
Click here and here to view the viral post.
Fact Check
BOOM watched the full video and found a disclaimer clearly mentioning that it was created for the 'purpose of educating the public by making them understand how the real world situations will be and picturized to educate public'.
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Taking cue, we did a keyword search with 'salute to this Muslim couple' on Facebook and found a Facebook post with a YouTube link to the same video.
The link directed us to the YouTube page 3RD EYE where the video was uploaded on May 6, 2022 with a caption reading 'SALUTE TO THIS COUPLE 🙏👏💖 || This is Heart Touching || Social Awareness Video By 3rd Eye'.
The description with the video reads 'Thank you for watching! Please be aware that this Channel features scripted dramas and parodies to Aware People in Differnet Situations. This Channel Brings Social Awareness Videos. These short films are for entertainment purposes only! (Sic)'.
The About section of the YouTube page 3RD EYE also states that the channel shares 'entertainment' videos.
The video has also been shared on the Facebook page of 3RD EYE which goes by the name Ideas Factory.
We have previously debunked staged videos created by 3RD EYE. Read here and here.
BOOM reached out to the 3RD EYE channel for more details. The report will be updated when we hear from them.