Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala recently tweeted a set of old footage of Indian troops clashing with Chinese troops, and passed it off as the recent clash that took place at Galwan Valley.
Tweeting to the Minister of Exernal Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Surjewala wrote, "Let us not muddle facts @DrSJaishankar. Pl see the video on social media & tell why no firearms are being carried(see 34th sec for Galwan). And Stop quoting Agreement on Border Management to justify sending Soldiers Unarmed in tactical military situation with lives at stake."
In his tweet, Surjewala makes a reference to Galwan Valley, where a standoff took place between Indian and Chinese troops on Monday night, leaving 20 Indian soldiers dead. The Chinese side is also said to have suffered casualties in the worst escalation between India and China since 1975. Following the clash, questions have been raised on why the soldiers did not use firearms while they were reportedly clubbed to death.
However, are the videos really from the recent clash at Galwan Valley?
Fact Check
BOOM ran a few reverse image searches using keyframes from both the footage in the video tweeted by Surjewala, and found multiple traces of them having existed online before the recent clash at Galwan Valley.
Screenshots of the footage tweeted by Surjewala.
The first footage led us to a YouTube video, uploaded on January 13, 2020 by a channel named YB Vlog, titled, "Chinese army arguing with Indo Tibetan Border Police (I.T.B.P.) in Border of Arunachal Pradesh." While BOOM could not verify the date of origin of this footage, it certainly predates the recent India-China clash in Galvan Valley by months, and is therefore unrelated to it.
Left: Screenshot of YouTube video uploaded in January 2020; Right: Screenshot of video uploaded by Surjewala
The second footage led us to another YouTube video titled "Watch: Jawans stop Chinese soldiers from entering Indian territory Part 1", uploaded by Deccan Herald on July 7, 2017. Deccan Herald mentions in the caption that they could not verify the authenticity of the videos.
It is also mentioned that the video is undated, and "presumed to be shot in the second week of June that shows Indian troop".
Left: Screenshot of YouTube video uploaded in July 2017; Right: Screenshot of video uploaded by Surjewala
We could not independently verify the origins of the video either. However, yet again, it is certain that the video was shot at least three years before the Galwan Valley clash and is therefore unrelated.
