Video of man trying to sell off ration received from donations back to store traced back to Pakistan
A video where a man is seen trying to get ration exchanged at a shop for ‘luxury items’ such as shampoo and soap has been recently doing the rounds on social media. Upon insistence by the shop owner, the man in the video reveals that he has over 200 kgs of dry ration collected, which was donated to his family due to the corona virus pandemic. As it is much more than what his family requires, he is looking to get it exchanged for other goods or money.
The video has been shared by many over social media, most prominently Rahul Srivastav, who is the Additional SP of Uttar Pradesh Police. He added his doubt, wrote “It’s quite unfortunate if it’s true” His following tweet has hundreds of retweets and likes-
“अगर ये सच है तो बहुत दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण है! मानवता को ऐसे धोखा देने से इंसानियत से भरोसा उठ जायेगा और असली ज़रूरतमंद आदमी भूखा रह जायेगा । सभी मददगारों से अनुरोध है कि मदद करने से पहले यह सुनिस्चित करें कि आपकी सहृदयता का दुरुपयोग न हो“
अगर ये सच है तो बहुत दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण है!
मानवता को ऐसे धोखा देने से इंसानियत से भरोसा उठ जायेगा और असली ज़रूरतमंद आदमी भूखा रह जायेगा ।
सभी मददगारों से अनुरोध है कि मदद करने से पहले यह सुनिस्चित करें कि आपकी सहृदयता का दुरुपयोग न हो 🙏#COVID #karuna #StayHome
Vc-@prashanti14 pic.twitter.com/akHs2Dghr5— RAHUL SRIVASTAV (@upcoprahul) April 9, 2020
The text accompanying the post says, “If this is true then it is very unfortunate!
Such deceit of humane actions can cause people to lose faith in humanity and the people that are really in need will have to go hungry. Before helping, all helpers are requested to ensure that your warmth is not misused.”
Other twitter users have also shared the video from their accounts.
This video has been posted by several different accounts of Indian origin across Facebook-
ANALYSIS
By looking closely at the different aspects of the video, the following points were observed-
The brand featured on these cardboard boxes can be read as ‘Pakiza Masala”. A quick google search of the brand name reveals that it is a popular brand of spices in Pakistan.
Same brand with Pakistan’s Flag
Additionally, the banner on top of a shop at the back of the video is written completely in Urdu, which is very unusual for a store in India, which usually has a local language written alongside Urdu on almost all public hoardings.
Pakistani news channel Capital TV posted the same video, claiming that it was from Karachi. Similarly, other news channels like Urdu News 24 7 and leading news channel GNN have also claimed that the video has originated from Pakistan.
Journalism Student.
When not busting fake news, can be found hiking, exploring and trying to feel alive.
