Video from Karnataka shared as Andhra Pradesh government worker taking eggs from children

What is the claim?

A 37-second video of a woman serving eggs to children in what appears to be a school and taking them away before they could eat, while another woman was taking a video on her phone, has been shared on social media with the claim that it happened in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

A user on X (formerly Twitter) shared the video (archived here) with the caption, in Telugu, "Merciless alliance government's Anganwadi teacher. After photographing the serving of eggs, the cheat Anganwadi teacher snatched them away. What should we beat her with?," insinuating that the incident happened in Andhra Pradesh. The government in Andhra Pradesh is an alliance of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Jana Sena Party (JSP), and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Alliance government is a shorthand reference to this government. Archives of similar posts can be accessed here, here, and here. 

Screenshots of the viral social media post (Source: Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

Anganwadi centers were set up in 1975 under the Integrated Child Development Scheme. These centers provide various nutritional and health services to children under six, adolescent girls, and women between the ages of 15 and 45. Anganwadi workers provide these services in these centers. They also provide mid-day meals to children under six. 

However, the incident happened in Karnataka, a neighboring state of Andhra Pradesh. 

What did we find?

We observed that the writing on the wall behind the students was in Kannada, a language predominantly spoken in Karnataka.

Screenshot of the Kannada writings in the viral video (Source:X/ Modified by Logically Facts)

We then ran the video keyframes through a reverse image search and confirmed that the incident happened in Karnataka.

According to a report in the local news outlet Prajavani, which contains visuals from the video, the incident happened on August 10, 2024, in the Anganawadi 2 center in Gundur village in Koppal district in Karnataka. The report notes that after serving the children eggs for a photograph, the eggs were taken away from them. Another Kannada daily, Kannada Prabha, also included visuals from the now-viral video. 

Reports by India Today, which carried the now-viral video, and Bangalore Mirror corroborate these details. 

Screenshot of the India Today report with the visuals from the viral video (Source: India Today) 

A report in The Hindu, quoting the Koppal Deputy Commissioner, confirmed that the incident happened in Koppal. The report noted that the program officer of the deputy director of women and child development in Koppal said that the incident occurred a week ago and that the video clip went viral on August 8. The report further noted that the Anganwadi worker and the helper were suspended pending inquiry.

The reports confirm that the incident happened in Karnataka.

The verdict

A video of an Anganwadi worker taking away eggs from children in Karnataka was shared with the false claim that it happened in Andhra Pradesh.