A video appearing to show Communist Party of India (Marxist) CPI(M) members singing a Ram bhajan on stage after polling in second phase in West Bengal is edited. BOOM found that in the original video CPI(M) members were singing the song 'Neel Gagan Par Udte Badal'.
Around 91.97% of the 3.21 crore electors voted in the second phase of polling in West Bengal, amid sporadic violence. Counting and results will be declared on May 4.
The Claim:
The video was posted on X by the handle @KreatelyMedia, with the caption, "CPI after poll close".
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BOOM has previously debunked misinformation posted by the X handle @KreatelyMedia.
What We Found:
1) Edited Video
We broke the viral video into keyframes and ran a reverse image search using Google Lens. This led us to the original video posted on X by user Dibyendu Das on November 19, 2024. On a post with the edited video, Das had then replied claiming the IT cell of the Trinamool Congress was spreading fake news.
We found that in the original video, the people are not singing a Ram bhajan, but the song “Neel Gagan Par Udte Badal.”
The original video was posted on a Facebook group titled “The CPI(M) West Bengal,” which stated that the footage is from a protest held at Tekhali Bazar in Nandigram-1 block, East Medinipur district.
The protest was organised by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) over issues including violence against women, price rise, and unemployment.
BOOM Hindi had fact-checked the same edited video in November 2024, when it was being shared with false claims.
