Two videos of protests held in London over the custodial death of a 22-year-old Iranian woman Mahsa Amini for not wearing a headscarf, is viral with a false claim that it show clashes between Hindus and Muslims.
The videos are being circulated amid the recent reports of communal tensions in Leicester between Hindu and Muslim communities.
According to media reports, the police said that the disturbances began on August 28 after India won a cricket match against Pakistan in the Asia Cup T20 tournament in Dubai. The High Commission of India in the United Kingdom condemned the violence and mentioned it as "perpetrated against the Indian Community in Leicester."
The caption with one of the videos reads, "Multiculturalism at its finest Muslim vs Hindu battle each other, and police, in London over a cricket match played thousands of miles away. Brits speaking out against the constant violence on their streets are being labelled Far-Right Extremists…MSM at it's finest also".
Click here to view the post.
BOOM also received another video on its WhatsApp Tipline number (7700906588) claiming it be from a protest by Hindus in London.
The video is doing rounds with a caption saying, "Hindus standing up for themselves, they are no longer prepared to be MKG!! This video has gone viral it's an incident that happened in London."
Fact Check
BOOM checked both the videos and found them to be from demonstrations held in London after death of 22-year-old Iranian woman Mahsa Amini by the strict morality police in the country.
Video 1
We ran a reverse image search on one of the keyframes from the viral video and found a tweet carrying the same video uploaded on September 27.
The tweet mentioned that the video shows a protest against the Iranian regime held in London.
We ran a related keyword search on Twitter and found UK-based media organisation GB News's news bulletin uploaded on September 27, 2022.
Click here to view the tweet.
The news bulletin too mentioned the footage to be as "Iranian Protests".
Video 2
A reverse image search on one of its keyframes led us to a news.com.au report published on September 28, 2022. The report carried multiple visuals of the same person who can be seen getting hurt after getting pelted with objects.
A comparison between a scene from the viral video and an image published on the report can be seen below.
The article reported that the visuals are from a protest over Mahsa Amini's death held in Kilburn district in London's north-west.
Taking a cue, we ran a keyword search related to Iran protests in London on YouTube and found a video of the same incident uploaded by Daily Mail on September 26, 2022.
The video of the incident featuring the same person can be watched from 2:50 minutes mark.
The description with the video reads, "Iran protests turn violet in London: Riot police deployed, following death of Mahsa Amini | Riot police deployed as clashes erupt at anti-hijab protests in London. Members of a religious procession appeared to tussle with those protesting against the Ayatollah regime while others attempted to breach the walls of the Iranian Embassy."
According to an Associated Press report published on September 26, 2022, "British police said Monday that 12 people were arrested and at least five police officers were seriously injured after violent disorder broke out during protests outside the Iranian Embassy in London.
The custodial death of Mahsa Amini sparked protests in several places calling out Iran's theocratic regime. It can be read here.
