Unrelated Clip Shared as ‘Kuki Group Raiding Meitei Shop’ Amid Manipur Violence

The video could be traced back to at least February 2023 and is reportedly from Philippines, not from Manipur.

Fact-Check | The video could be traced back to February and is unrelated to Manipur violence.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A video which shows several people entering a shop before its shutters are fully open and then jostling around to pick items they want is being shared, with users linking it to the recent violence in Manipur.

What are users claiming?: Those sharing the video have claimed that the video shows people from the Kuki tribal community looting shops owned by the Meitei community in Manipur.

An archive of the post can be seen here.

(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

The video had recorded more than 23,000 views at the time of writing this report.

(More archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

• People have also shared the video as part of a compilation on Manipur on social media platforms. Archives of such clips can be found here and here.

Are these claims true?: No, the video could be traced back to at least February 2023 and is reportedly from Philippines.

What led us to the truth?: A reverse image search led us to the same video uploaded on the official YouTube channel of VICE News.

• It was uploaded on 3 March.

• The video was titled, "Watch Chaotic Scenes Unfold as a Clothes Store Opens in the Philippines #shorts."

• It mentioned that the visuals were from a secondhand goods store in Lucena City, where customers were racing against each other to grab the best available deals.

News reports: A report published in Yahoo News carried a longer version of the viral video.

• It mentioned that customers jostled against each other and even climbed on racks during a discount sale at a secondhand store on 24 February in Lucena City, Philippines.

The report was published on 1 March 2023.

(Source: Yahoo News/Screenshot)

• Further, we came across the viral video uploaded on the official Facebook handle of a Philippines-based news company called 'DZRH News Television'.

• We also found the same video posted on 27 February on a Twitter handle named News 5.

What is happening in Manipur?: Manipur High Court had directed the state government to consider the inclusion of Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) List.

• This decision was met with fierce opposition from the Naga and the Kuki groups and led to violence breaking out in several areas of the state.

• According to Kuldeep Singh, the security advisor for Manipur, there have been at least 37 casualties, reported Times of India.

Conclusion: While we could not verify the location or the video's context independently, it is clear that the video dates back to February and is unrelated to Manipur violence.

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