Video shows Indian actor at New York parade, not campaigning for Congress party

Asma HAFIZ / AFP India

8 May 2024 at 4:34 am·3-min read

False information spreading online was rife ahead of India's national elections. In one case, a video of popular actor Allu Arjun waving to crowds circulated in Facebook posts falsely claiming it showed him campaigning on behalf of the opposition Congress party. The clip in fact shows Arjun taking part in the India Day Parade in New York in August 2022.

"Superstar Allu Arjun campaigning for Congress," the Congress party's Jharkhand state unit posted on Facebook on April 21, 2024.

Allu Arjun is a popular actor known for his work in southern India's Telugu-language film industry, aka Tollywood.

The video shows the star waving to crowds, with text superimposed reading "Victory to Congress".

<span>Screenshot of false post taken on April 26, 2024</span> — Screenshot of false post taken on April 26, 2024

Nearly a billion Indians are voting to elect a new government in six-week-long elections that started on April 19, the largest democratic exercise in the world.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all but assured to secure a third term, faced with opposition from a fractitious alliance that includes Congress.

New York parade

A reverse image search and keyword searches on Google found a similar video posted on YouTube on August 22, 2022 (archived link).

It shows crowds gathered to watch a parade, with Allu Arjun arriving from the 17-minute mark (archived link).

The video is titled: "40th India Day Parade in New York City. Grand Marshal Pan India Super Star Allu Arjun. NYC Mayor Eric Adams attended".

The India Day Parade is an annual event in New York to celebrate India's independence from Britain in 1947.

<span>Screenshot of a YouTube video of the India Day Parade in New York in August 2022</span> — Screenshot of a YouTube video of the India Day Parade in New York in August 2022

Various Indian media reported on Allu Arjun's participation in the parade, including The Hindustan Times and local news channel TVN99 Telugu (archived links here and here).

TVN99 Telugu's video report shows the exact moment seen in the clip in false social media posts from its two-minute two-second mark (archived link).

Below is a screenshot comparison of the false post video shared on Facebook (left) and TV99 Telugu's original video (right):

<span>Screenshot comparison of the false post video shared on Facebook (left) and TV99 Telugu's original video (right)</span> — Screenshot comparison of the false post video shared on Facebook (left) and TV99 Telugu's original video (right)

AFP confirmed the footage was filmed on Madison Avenue in New York by comparing the scene to Google Street View images from the area (archived link).

<span>Screenshot comparison of a keyframe from the video shared in false posts (left) and the Google Street View of Madison Avenue (right) with similarities highlighted by AFP</span> — Screenshot comparison of a keyframe from the video shared in false posts (left) and the Google Street View of Madison Avenue (right) with similarities highlighted by AFP

AFP did not find any public declaration of support for the Congress party in the 2024 election on Allu Arjun's social media channels or in news reports, as of May 7, 2024.

Arjun campaigned for his uncle Pawan Kalyan's Jana Sena Party in southern Andhra Pradesh state in 2019 elections. The party later formed an alliance with Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party.

AFP has fact-checked more misinformation around India's election here.

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