Video of 'large crowd' at Rahul Gandhi's rally is from religious event in Andhra Pradesh

What is the claim?

As the 2024 Indian general elections approach, politicians are campaigning extensively nationwide. A 22-second video, showing a large crowd and panning from right to left to emphasize the gathering, is circulating on social media platforms. Users claim the video depicts scenes from a recent Congress rally led by party leader Rahul Gandhi.

On X (formerly Twitter), a verified account shared the video with a Hindi caption translating to: "This crowd supporting Rahul Gandhi will keep Modiji awake at night." Other users shared it with captions like "Is this large gathering a signal of the end of the dictatorship...?" along with election-related hashtags, #Congress and #RahulGandhi.

One such post had garnered approximately 596,900 views at the time of writing. Archives of the posts can be accessed here and here.

Screenshot of the viral posts.(Source: X/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the viral video originates from an annual religious festival in Gorantla village, Andhra Pradesh, a state in southern India.

What we found

We conducted a reverse image search on keyframes of the viral video and found a longer version on an unverified Instagram account, 'hosanna_fellowship_official.' This extended video, posted on March 11, was captioned '#glory to for successfully completing 47th International Feast of Tabernacle from Hosanna ministries (sic).'

The Feast of Tabernacles, also known as 'Gudarala Panduga,' is an annual Christian festival organized by Hosanna Ministries in Andhra Pradesh—a Christian religious group and non-profit organization involved in various charitable activities.

This extended version included an aerial drone shot of a stage and an emblem featuring a cross with the word "Hosanna" imprinted on the video. This version also had a different music track in the background.

(Source: Instagram)

Additionally, we found a video on YouTube titled "HOSANNA MINISTRIES 47th FEAST OF TABERNACLES HIGHLIGHTS," uploaded by the channel HOSANNA MINISTRIES OFFICIAL. This video featured visuals of a crowd similar to those seen in the viral video and the Instagram reel. It also stated the event's location was Gorantla, a village in Andhra Pradesh.

Comparison between the viral video and the YouTube video posted by HOSANNA MINISTRIES OFFICIAL. (Source: X/ YouTube/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

We also found a Facebook post by Hosanna Ministries Official from March 2 in Telugu, announcing the International Festival of Tabernacles in March 2024 in Gorantla-Guntur.

Where did the viral video originate?

In the viral video, we noticed a watermark reading "DEGITAL ????? ---SUBSCRIBE--- Follow @ Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube."

Further research led us to the Instagram account associated with this watermark. This account initially posted a shorter version of the video from the Hosanna Fellowship Instagram account, accompanied by a caption roughly translating to "dance and shake too." This clip also had a different soundtrack.

While the account did not claim that the viral video depicted Gandhi's campaign, other users cropped the video shared by this account, overlaid a different soundtrack, and used it to make political claims. 

(Source: Instagram)

The verdict

A video showing a large crowd at a religious meeting in Andhra Pradesh is being shared with the false claim that it shows footage from a rally held by Rahul Gandhi. We have, therefore, marked this claim as false.