Fact Check: Viral Video Claimed to Show RSS March in Haryana Actually From 2022 Kerala Event

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 2nd Sept. As Haryana gears up for assembly polls, a video circulating on social media purports to show a recent foot march by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) workers in the state. The video, which has garnered significant attention, has been shared alongside claims that the RSS is actively mobilizing in the poll-bound region. However, an investigation by PTI Fact Check has debunked these assertions, revealing that the video is neither recent nor from Haryana.

The footage, which has been widely shared as evidence of the RSS’s pre-election activities, actually dates back to October 2022 and depicts an RSS march in Malappuram, Kerala, during the Vijayadashami festival. The video has been misrepresented to suggest it is linked to the upcoming Haryana elections, misleading many viewers.

One prominent post on X (formerly Twitter) that shared the video claimed, “RSS in Haryana. Great to see they are in Hyper Active mode now. All internal issues between RSS & BJP were settled. They know MatraBhumi Bharat is beyond any Egos. Proud to be swayamsewak.” This post alone has received over 190,000 views and nearly 3,000 retweets, spreading the misinformation to a wide audience.

To verify the video’s authenticity, the PTI Fact Check team used the InVid Tool Search and Google Lens to analyze key frames from the footage. Their investigation led to an Instagram post by the handle ‘Sangha Shakthi’ dated October 7, 2022, which featured the same video with a caption indicating that the march took place in Tanur, Malappuram, Kerala. Further confirmation came from a Facebook post by Vishwa Samvad Kendra–Kokan, also dated October 7, 2022, which verified the location as Malappuram during the Vijayadashami celebrations.

Additional geolocation efforts, focusing on signboards visible in the video, further corroborated the video’s origin, solidifying that the claims tying it to Haryana were baseless.

This case highlights the critical need for vigilance in interpreting social media content, particularly in the heightened atmosphere of an election season, where misinformation can easily spread and influence public perception.