A dramatized video showing a youth collapse after a birthday celebration, where he received 'birthday bumps' from his friends, is viral across social media platforms with a false claim that it shows CCTV footage of a real incident.
BOOM found that the video, deliberately edited to look like a CCTV footage, is a scripted footage and was created by a Facebook page for 'educational purposes'.
The video shows a group of youngsters celebrating a birthday on the streets. The youngster can be seen being given birthday bumps or hit with punches and kicks, post cutting the birthday cake. Moments later, he collapses. The 3.13 minutes video is being shared with the caption, "In today's era, this absurd way to be called Birthday Celebration..... inadvertently took the life of his own dear friend in the process of celebrating his birthday party. Celebrate happiness in a happy way."
(In Hindi - आज के जमाने का *बर्थडे सेलिब्रेशन* कहा जाने वाला यह बेहूदा तरीका. अनजाने में अपने ही प्रिय मित्र की जान ले ली उसके जन्मदिन की पार्टी मनाने के चक्कर में ( केक मुँह और नाक पर लगने से साँस आना ही बंद हो गया ) खुशी को खुशियों वाले तरीके से ही मनाओ......*)
The same video was also reported by TV9 Marathi stating that it is going viral, however, the article did not mention that it is scripted. The headline of the article when roughly translated from Marathi reads, "Video: Wish to god that this video is false, While giving birthday bumps 'he' died"
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Viral on Facebook
The same video is being shared with the misleading claim on Facebook.
BOOM also received the same video on our WhatsApp Helpline number (7700906111) inquiring about the video.
Also Read: Dramatized Video Of A Woman Being Kidnapped Viral As Real Incident
FACT-CHECK
A Facebook suggestion popped up in one of the viral posts stating that the original video could be found on a verified Facebook page by one Hamsa Nandini.
Hamsa Nandini's page has over 2.9 million followers and has shared several similar scripted CCTV footage-like videos.
The original video was uploaded on March 2, 2020, with the caption, "DON'T CELEBRATE LIKE THIS. Thank you for watching! Please be aware that this page features scripted dramas and parodies as well. These short films are for educational purposes only!"
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In the end of the video we can see a message 'Don't trust anyone blindly... Thank you for watching! Please be aware that this page features scripted dramas and parodies as well. These short films are for educational purposes only!'
The message can be seen at the 3.12 minutes mark.
It is however unclear if the video was created by the page.
The Facebook page also has several similar scripted videos. BOOM has previously debunked scripted videos from the same page that have gone viral as actual incidents.
Also Read: Staged Video Of Man Spiking Woman's Drink Shared With Communal Spin
