An old video produced by an Indian production company is being shared on social media falsely claiming that it is a video report released by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on India's Gross domestic product (GDP) from 1 AD to 1913 AD.
In the video, India's GDP is compared with other countries including that of China, the United States, and the United Kingdom stating that India's GDP fell sharply after the British colonised the country. The video claims that it cites data from economist Angus Maddison's report.
The 4.55 minutes video shows how the British impoverished India collapsing its economy and pushing the country into poverty and famines.
The clip is being shared with the caption, "This part of the video report brought out by BBC which shouldn't go unnoticed !! Please circulate to all your contacts."
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The video is being shared widely on Facebook with the false claim.
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FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the video has not been produced by the BBC as claimed and was actually released by Vishuddhi Films - a production company, in July 2021.
A logo of Vishuddhi Films is visible on the top right hand corner of the video.
Taking a hint from this, we then searched with Vishuddhi Films on YouTube and found that the viral video has been taken from a 29.52-minute-long feature video that was uploaded on July 16, 2021.
At the 22.51 seconds timestamp we can see the same visuals as in the viral video. This shows that it has been taken from this video feature.
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Additionally, Vishuddhi Films has no relation or association with the BBC. On its website, it states that it releases documentary films for "education and awareness" which are focused on topics such as Indian culture, Indian Philosophy, Civilization studies, Temple Art, Iconography, Sciences, Yoga, and Ayurveda. We reached out to Vishuddhi Films, the article will be updated upon receiving a response.
Vishuddhi Films is an arm of the Vishuddhi Foundation a Hindu religious and cultural organisation. The foundation "is engaged in documentation and research on World Civilizations, Indian Languages, Economy & Trade, Temple Art & Culture, Sciences, Defence and Military History, Yoga & Ayurveda," according to its website.
BOOM also reached out to the BBC who denied that the viral video is part of any report released by the media organisation. A BBC spokesperson told BOOM, “This video doesn’t belong to the BBC, we urge everyone to check links and URLs to ensure they are getting news from a trusted source.”