A satirical video mocking All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi has been clipped and is being shared with a misleading claim that it shows a Mulsim cleric calling for a ban on the religious slogan "Jai Shri Ram" in India.
In the viral video, the man is heard asking for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to resign following the assassination of gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj in the presence of police personnel. He further asks for banning the slogan "Jai Shri Ram", as the assassins had chanted the slogan while being apprehended by the police.
The video is being shared with the caption when translated reads, "Listen to this uncle, otherwise you will regret later, "Jai Shri Ram" slogan should be banned completely in India".
Click here to view
The video has been tweeted by several Twitter users with the same misleading caption.
Click here to view
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral video has been clipped and taken from a satirical video mocking AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi created by TV panelist Dr. Syed Rizwan Ahmed.
The man in the viral video is not a cleric nor is it an actual interview as being claimed.
On checking the replies to the viral video, we found a Twitter user mentioning that the person in the video is Dr. Syed Rizwan Ahmed who is ideologically right leaning.
Taking a hint from this, we then found that the original video which is 9.04 minutes long and was posted on the YouTube channel Face to Face which is managed by Dr. Syed Rizwan Ahmed. Ahmed is a right-wing TV panelist and appears on TV debates.
The caption of the video indicates that Ahmed is immitating Owasi. The video is a satirical video and not an actual interview as can be seen below. Just a one-minute section of the video has been clipped and shared with the false claim.
Click here to view
Dr. Syed Rizwan Ahmed also posted another satirical video on Twitter "apologising" to Owasi. Ahmed's facial features match the man in the viral video
AIMIM president Owaisi on April 16, 2023, had attacked the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh over the killing of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf, and had demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the incident and urged for a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the matter.
The statistical video is a spin on this and exaggerates that with provocative statements by Dr. Syed Rizwan Ahmed who is impersonating Owasi in the viral video.
BOOM has previously debunked misinformation tweeted by Ahmed.