Muslim Men Burnt Alive For Cow Slaughter? No, It’s a Magic Show

Contary to the claims the video is from a magic show staged in Kerala in 2008.

Social media is abuzz with a video showing chained men passing through live fire in front of a huge crowd.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Social media is abuzz with a video showing chained men passing through live fire in front of a huge crowd. The claim along with the video states that the men in the video are being punished for cow slaughter.

However, we at WebQoof found that the video is as old as 2008 and contrary to the claims, is from a magic show organised at the Malappuram Kottapadi stadium in Kerala.

THE CLAIM

The aforementioned video is being circulated with a claim that four Muslim men in India were burnt alive after being suspected of cow slaughter.

“Extremists who have taken over India believe that cows are holier than a human being,” the claim reads.

The video is being circulated on Facebook and Twitter with the same false claim.

An archived version of the post can be accessed here.(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

An archived version of the post can be accessed here.(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

An archived version of the Tweet can be accessed here.(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

WHAT WE FOUND

We fragmented the video into several keyframes using the InVid Google Chrome extension and followed it up with a reverse image search. This helped us find the same video uploaded on YouTube by one MM Puthiyath.

The video uploaded in August 2017 described the incident as a magic show staged at Kerala’s Malappuram Kottapadi stadium by four magicians in 2008.

The Quint reached out to MM Puthiyath, who is one of the magicians who performed the trick and he confirmed that the magic show happened in Kerala.

“Five magicians came together to do this feat and this was an attempt to enter the Guinness Book of Records. In less than two minutes of us being lowered into the haystack we set ourselves free.”

MM Puthiyath

Clearly, a 2008 video showing a magic trick in Kerala is being shared with a misleading claim.

This is not the first time that this video is being shared with misleading claims on the internet. Earlier in May, it went viral on social media handles in the Middle East and the claim was debunked by fact-checking website Fatabyyano with the help of The Quint.

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