Does This Clip Show People Recently Raising Pakistan's Flags in Karnataka? No!

The video has been online since at least May 2018 and does not show people raising Pakistan national flag.

Fact-Check | The video is old and is being shared with a misleading context.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A video of several people raising the Indian national flag and a green flag is going viral on the internet as a recent incident, amidst the ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.

What are users claiming?: While some users said that the visuals were recorded during a Congress' rally, others claimed that Pakistani flags were raised in Karnataka's Tumkur.

You can view an archive of the post here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

We received a query about the viral video on our WhatsApp tipline as well. More archives of similar claims can be found here, here, and here.

Are these claims true?: No, the video has been available online since May 2018 and did not show people raising Pakistan's national flags on the streets.

How did we find that out?: Using the help of Google Lens, we performed a reverse image search and found the same video shared by an X (formerly known as Twitter) user named 'Sushil Kedia'.

• It was shared on 11 May 2018. Its caption, too, mentioned that the video was from Tumkur and showed visuals from a Congress rally.

What were the flags that were raised?: A closer look at the viral video clearly showed that the green flag looked different from the national flag of Pakistan.

Visuals from the viral video.

(Source: Viral video/Screenshot/Altered by The Quint)

Comparing visuals: Team WebQoof compared the flag seen in the viral video to the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) flag, which highlighted several similarities.

• However, on comparing visuals, it clearly showed that Pakistan's flags were not raised.

A comparison clearly shows the similarities.

(Source: Wikimedia Commons/Screenshot/Altered by The Quint)

The video does not show Pakistani flags being raised.

(Source: Wikimedia Commons/Screenshot/Altered by The Quint)

What did the police say?: Superintendent of Police (SP) of Tumkur, in a post, clarified that the video was falsely claiming that a Pakistani flag was hoisted.

• The post further said that legal action has been initiated against those sharing this misinformation online.

The post was shared on 23 April 2024.

(Source: X/Screenshot)

Conclusion: While we could not independently verify the location or context of the video, it is clear that it is not recent and unrelated to the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.

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