Video of spectators reciting Hanuman Chalisa during Cricket World Cup final is edited

What is the claim?

A video of a packed stadium is being linked to the recently concluded ICC Cricket World Cup final match between India and Australia, held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19, 2023. The video suggests that around 150,000 spectators recited the Hanuman Chalisa, a Hindu holy chant, during the match. 

Several users linked to right-wing organizations, including the RSS Magazine Panchjanya on X (formerly Twitter), have shared this video with similar narratives. The RSS Magazine Panchjanya's post on X had garnered about 110,000 views at the time of writing (archived here). Archived versions of similar posts can be seen here, here, and here. 

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

Media outlets such as Zee News, Asianet News Hindi, OpIndia (a right-wing news website), and Sakal Media have also reported on this and shared the viral video with the same claim. OpIndia updated its story later; the archived version can be seen here. Archived versions of other news reports can be seen here, here, and here. 

Screenshots of news reports. (Source: Zee News, OpIndia, Asianet News Hindi/ Screenshots/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, there is no truth in such claims made using the video, as the audio from the original video is edited and tampered with. In the original video, singer Darshan Raval sings the song “Chogada.” The audio included with the viral video is taken from a video of a mass Hanuman Chalisa recitation held in Jaipur. 

How did we find the truth?

Upon conducting a Google search using relevant keywords, we discovered the same video as a YouTube Short uploaded on October 27, 2023, on a channel named Sadashiv (sadashiv52815). This video includes the same visuals as the viral clip, and the same style of recitation of the Hanuman Chalisa can be heard. The caption of this YouTube Short contains hashtags related to an India-Pakistan cricket match.

As the World Cup final match between India and Australia was held on November 19, and this video has been online since October, it is evident that this video is unrelated to the ICC Cricket World Cup final held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Further investigation into the YouTube channel (sadashiv52815) revealed that the same video was uploaded on October 16, 2023, without audio containing a recitation of the “Hanuman Chalisa.” Instead, singer Darshan Raval’s song “Chogada” plays in the background. The description of this video reads, “Darshan Raval at Narendra Modi Stadium,” accompanied by hashtags like “India vs Pakistan.”

Searching for spectator-shot videos of the India-Pakistan match on YouTube led us to another video shot from a different angle, uploaded on a channel named “Anshu Kashyap Blog.” The title of this video reads, “Darshan Raval’s live video at Narendra Modi Stadium|India vs Pakistan|Cricket World Cup.” At about the three-minute mark, Darshan Raval’s song "Chogada" can be heard, and he can be seen performing on the ground.

By comparing this video and the viral video, we identified similarities between them. 

Screenshots from the viral video and Darshan Raval’s performance during the India-Pakistan match. (Source: X, YouTube/Screenshot)

Screenshots from the viral video and the India-Pakistan match. (Source: X/YouTube/Screenshot)

Darshan Raval also shared the video of his performance on his Instagram account on October 15, 2023. The World Cup group stage match between India and Pakistan took place on October 14, 2023, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad.

Source of Hanuman Chalisa audio

On the YouTube channel where the video with the “Hanuman Chalisa” recitation audio was shared, the bottom right side of the video mentions the audio source as “Recitation of Hanuman Chalisa in Jaipur.”

Screenshot of the video showing the original source of its audio. (Source: YouTube/Screenshot)

Further, we found a YouTube channel named “Jaipur Wale,” where a video uploaded on June 3, 2023, shows hundreds of people sitting in front of a temple and reciting the Hanuman Chalisa. We also found the same video with the source audio on the Instagram account of “Jaipurwale.” 

Searching for news reports about this recitation event in Jaipur led us to a Facebook post by ABP News dated June 4, 2023. This post contained a news bulletin detailing how thousands participated in the grand event, where Hanuman Chalisa was recited in Jaipur. 

The verdict

The video accompanying claims that spectators at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad recited the “Hanuman Chalisa” during the Cricket World Cup final between India and Australia is altered and misleading. This video was originally shot during the India-Pakistan match held at the same venue on October 14, 2023, and the audio in the viral video is taken from a video unrelated to the sporting event. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false. 

(Translated by: Vivek.J)