Old protest video from Pakistan's Kashmir falsely linked to recent unrest

Published on May 19, 2024 at 05:20
3 min read
By Masroor GILANI, AFP Pakistan

As deadly protests against rising living costs rocked Pakistan-administered Kashmir, a video surfaced in social media posts that falsely linked it to the unrest. The footage, which shows a crowd chanting in the street, has in fact circulated online since at least August 2022 in posts about rallies against government plans to transfer more power to Islamabad.

"Now we have to see this. Regrettable. Pakistanis shivered after hearing these slogans for the first time. Azad (free) Kashmir," read an Urdu-language Facebook post that shared the video on May 11, 2024.

The video, which racked up more than 3,000 views, shows a crowd of protesters chanting and waving flags representing Pakistan-administered Kashmir, while a group of soldiers look on.

"What do we want? We want freedom! We will get freedom from Pakistan! We will get freedom from India!" they shout.

Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on May 16, 2024

The video circulated in similar posts on Facebook here, here and here and on social media site X here, here and here.

Four people were killed in protests against rising living costs in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, which ended on May 14 after organisers accepted a government offer of financial aid.

The Himalayan region is divided between India and Pakistan, who both claim it in full.

However, the video was in fact filmed years before the protests broke out.

Old protest

Keyword searches on Facebook and X found similar footage in posts from August 2022 about a protest against plans to give Pakistan's capital Islamabad more control over the region.

The same scene is visible from the 14-second mark of a Facebook video from August 12, 2022 (archived link).

"Azad Kashmir," reads the Urdu-language Facebook post.

"Complete wheel-jam strike continued in Azad Kashmir. People of Muzaffarabad are chanting freedom slogans in front of the Pakistan army."

Muzaffarabad is the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the video shared in false posts (left) and the video from 2022 (right). AFP has corrected the rotation of the video, which was flipped vertically.

Screenshot comparison of the video in the false post (left) and the video from 2022 (right)

An AFP photographer in Muzaffarabad confirmed the location of the protest as Plate Road.

Similar footage published in an X post from August 12, 2022 included a scene that appears to pick up from where the video in the false post ends (archived link).

The Urdu-language post read: "Strikes and protests are happening all over Azad Kashmir. The protest in Muzaffarabad did not give way to the Pakistani army vehicle. Slogans were raised against the 15th constitutional amendment."

Indian news outlets Times Now and News 18 covered the protest at the time (archived links here and here).

Times Now reported that demonstrators opposed a constitutional amendment that would transfer the local government's financial and administrative powers to Islamabad.

A frame from the falsely shared video -- showing a Pakistani military vehicle -- featured in a report on the protest by Indian news channel TV9 Bharatvarsh from August 16, 2022 (archived link).

Below is a screenshot comparison between a frame from the falsely shared video (left) and the same frame sin TV9 Bharatvarsh's report (right):

Screenshot comparison between a frame from the falsely shared video (left) and the same frame shown in the Hindi-language news report (right)

The Hindi-language report is titled: "Protesters once again demanded independence from Pakistan in Muzaffarabad".

As the image is shown, the anchor says: "Protests against Pakistan have now gotten out of control and the Pakistan army has been deployed on the streets of PoK (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir)".

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