Script video of people who inject chemicals in watermelon virus with a common claim

A script video of a man who is caught and injected chemicals in watermelons has appeared as a real incident, with users incorrectly connected to Ramadan.

Boom found that the video of YouTube Channel The Social Junction was created to raise awareness of the falsification of food.

The viral video shows that the police capture a man who was identified as an Ayush Verma and who confesses to use artificial colors in watermelons.

A Facebook user shares the video and wrote: “Save the life of the Muslims in Ramadan, deserve good deeds by shared this video. During the purchase of Iftar, an error could lead to a disaster for everyone.”

(Original text in Hindi: मजमजान मुसलमानों की जान जान, इस शेय क क नेकी नेकी नेकी नेकी नेकी नेकी मज मज मज इफ़ मज मज मज मज मज की की ख ख ख ख ख की ख ख छुट छुट छुट छुट छुट छुट छुट छुट छुट छुट Ogr.

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The video is also shared to X with a similar false claim.

Facts

We have found that the video rises via a watermark team. As a keyword, Boom was able to find the X handle, which shared the same video. On March 2, the user informed the video with the caption: “Save the life of Muslims in Ramadan, earn goodness by sharing this video. During the shopping for Iftar, an error could lead to a disaster for everyone.”

An opposite image search for the keyframe of the video led us to an India Today report in May 2024 with a similar video. According to the report, the video of the YouTube channel of the social junction was created to raise awareness of the falsification of watermelons. It shows that chemicals are injected into a watermelon.

We found that the young man, who was seen in the report, is also present in the viral video and has a handkerchief over his mouth. In addition, the background also agrees in both videos.

A further research of the YouTube channel for social junction led us to the original video that was uploaded on April 29, 2024. In this area, the young man identifies himself as Ayush Verma.

The original video does not contain the voice -over added in the virus clip, which indicates that a separate audio track has been added to occur a municipal story.

A disclaimer appears in the 28-second mark with the sound: “The video is a complete fiction. All events in the video are only written and made for sensitization purposes …”

The channel of the social junction offers several script videos about the falsification of foods that are intended to clarify its viewers.