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  • 2023-01-17 (xsd:date)
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  • Clip does not show Pakistan inflation protest -- it was taken from 2020 posts about blasphemy demo (en)
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  • A video has been viewed thousands of times in Facebook and Twitter posts with the false claim that it shows a protest in Pakistan against rising inflation in January 2023. In fact, it shows scenes from a protest in the country's megacity Karachi against alleged blasphemy in September 2020. The video was shared here on Twitter alongside the false claim on January 9, 2023. It has been viewed more than 2,000 times. TLP’s protest in Karachi against rising inflation, a sea of people on the streets. But it’s sad that mainstream media is not giving it coverage, while some people wonder ‘what is Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan doing these days', the post's Urdu-language caption reads. The video appears to have been shot from the roof of a building and shows a dense crowd of people gathered on the street below. Screenshot of the false post. Taken on January 16, 2023. Pakistan's economy has crumbled alongside a simmering political crisis, with the rupee plummeting and inflation at decades-high levels, while devastating floods and a major shortage of energy have piled on further pressure, AFP reported . The video circulated with the false claim as the far-right Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) party announced a protest against rising inflation in the country, local outlet The Nation reported . It was shared in similar posts on Twitter here , here , here and here ; and on Facebook here , here and here . However, the original video predates the current economic crisis. Blasphemy march A reverse image and keyword search on Google found a video with matching scenes shared here on Twitter on September 12, 2020. The tweet's Urdu-language caption translates to English as: The people of Karachi have honoured the 'Namoose Risalat and Azmate Sahaba wa Ahlebayt'. May the Lord bless the ranks of the Ahle Sunnat. The video was also shared in other tweets in September 2020 here and here . At the time, tens of thousands of protesters had gathered in Pakistan's Karachi on September 12, after leading clerics accused some leaders in the Muslim-majority nation of allegedly committing blasphemy, AFP reported on September 12, 2020. Local media outlet Business Recorder reported that the protest, dubbed the Namoose Risalat and Azmate Sahaba wa Ahlebayt (honour of the Prophet Mohammed, his companions and their families in Urdu) rally, culminated near the megacity's Tibet Centre . Below are screenshots comparing scenes from the video in the false posts (left) and the one from 2020 (right): A screenshot comparison of the video in the false posts (left) with the tweet from 2020 (right) AFP footage of the 2020 protests also contains a scene at the one-minute and 13-second mark that shows the same green banner featuring the rally's name, as seen in the false posts. Below are screenshots comparing the banner shown in the false posts (left) with the one seen in AFP's footage (right): A screenshot comparison of the false post (left) with AFP's footage (right) (en)
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