Uttar Pradesh clip shared as communal sloganeering in Maharashtra ahead of polls

What is the claim?

A video showing people chanting "Jai Shri Ram" (Hail Lord Ram) and singing songs supporting 'Hindutva'—a political ideology advocating for India as a Hindu religious state—has gone viral on social media. At 2:17, a voice can be heard urging those on their balconies in what appears to be a residential colony to "vote on the 20th."

The video has been shared with claims that it originates from a residential area in the Indian state of Maharashtra and is connected to the upcoming 2024 Legislative Assembly elections.

A user on X (formerly Twitter) posted the video with the Hindi caption (translated), "Mood of Maharashtra. The Maharashtra election campaigning has begun in a beautiful manner." At the time of publishing, this post had received over 267,000 views, 3,700 reposts, and over 12,000 likes. Archived versions of similar claims with this video can be viewed here and here.

The same video, with similar claims, has circulated widely on Facebook (archived here and here).

India News, a Hindi news channel, also shared the video, claiming it was filmed in Maharashtra.

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

However, our investigation reveals that this viral video was actually recorded in Kanpur, a city in Uttar Pradesh, during the 2022 Assembly elections.

What we found

A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral video led us to a Facebook post (archived here) dated February 15, 2022, on the page "Vishwa Hindu Parishad Bajrang Dal Prakhand Banskhoh." The post was captioned "Prabhat Feri, Kanpur West." Since this video has been available online for over two years, it is clear that it is unrelated to the upcoming elections in Maharashtra.

Screenshot of the February 2022 Facebook post (Source: Facebook)

We also discovered the video in a post (archived here) from February 12, 2022, which featured multiple images. The post stated that the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) conducted a "Prabhat Feri" (a morning procession with religious songs) in Kalyanpur's Gautam Nagar area, including locations such as Navshildham Society, Ratan Orbit Apartment, Kanha Shyam Apartment, and Divinity Homes Apartment.

To confirm the location, we searched Google for images of each society and verified that the video was filmed at Diviniti Homes Society. We matched stills from the video with photos available on the society's Facebook page (archived here), further corroborating our findings.

Comparison between the viral video and images on Diviniti Homes' Facebook (Source: X/Facebook/Screenshot)

Additionally, we located Diviniti Homes on Google Maps, which is situated on Indira Nagar Road in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

Comparison of the building seen in the viral video and on Google Street View (Source: X/Google Maps). 

Further investigation reveals that the appeal heard in the video to "vote on the 20th" refers to the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Voting for the third phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections took place on February 20, 2022, covering 59 seats in 16 districts, including Kanpur.

The verdict 

A two-year-old video of people chanting "Jai Shri Ram" in a Kanpur housing society is being shared with the false claim that it is a recent recording from Maharashtra. It bears no connection to the upcoming 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections.

(Translated by Vanita Ganesh)