Digitally edited clip shared with false claim that Indian police 'openly shame traffic law offenders'

  • This article is more than one year old.
  • Published on July 14, 2023 at 09:20
  • Updated on July 17, 2023 at 08:44
  • 2 min read
  • By Uzair RIZVI, AFP India

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Multiple tweets and Facebook posts have shared a clip with a false claim that it shows traffic police publicly displaying pictures of people that have broken traffic laws in the southern Indian city of Chennai. However, the person that uploaded the original clip told AFP he had created it with visual effects (VFX). A spokesperson for Chennai police has also told AFP they do not operate such a programme.

The caption claims the video attached to the tweet shows a signboard in Chennai that displays pictures of those that have broken traffic laws, their offence and the fine imposed on them.

"Great innovation. Ideas Delhi? There are many rogue drivers on the roads," reads a tweet posted on June 22, 2023.

The tweet features a video that appears to show a person's face along with the text "Crossed Red Signal" and "Fine of 1000".

Screenshot of the false post taken on July 6, 2023

The video -- along with a similar claim -- was also shared here and here on Twitter and here on Facebook.

Comments from some users suggested they believed the video was genuine with some praising the Chennai traffic police while others expressing worries over the purported scheme.

"Great idea. It makes people ashamed not to repeat the error. It should be implemented in Mumbai as well," one wrote.

Another said: "Total surveillance?? Why is my face being revealed?? Citizens must ask for privacy of your data."

However, the person that uploaded the original video told AFP it was in fact modified with visual effects.

Digitally-edited video

Google reverse image and keyword searches found the video posted on an Instagram account on June 8, 2023 (archived link).

The video's caption says: "This video is a concept video. Signal tracker in Chennai to avoid traffic rules violations."

The account where the video was posted describes itself as a "VFX artist/animators" page.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the video in the false posts (left) and the one posted on Instagram (right):

Screenshot comparison of the misleading post (left) and Instagram video (right)

Syed Abrar, who runs the account, told AFP on July 6: "The original video was shot near Marina Beach in Chennai and edited by our VFX artist Amir Khan on Blender, a computer graphics software. My photo appears on the screen and the person reacting to the video is a friend."

The Instagram account has uploaded several other concept videos (archived link).

R. Sakthivel, a senior traffic policeman in Chennai, told AFP the claim in the video is false and police have no plans to implement such a plan.

"We saw this video a few days ago, this video is absolutely fake and there is nothing true about this," he said.

July 17, 2023 Updated to remove hyphen in headline

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