Video shows Indonesian soldiers, not 'anti-coup Burmese fighters dancing in rain'
- Published on August 26, 2024 at 10:31
- Updated on August 26, 2024 at 11:02
- 2 min read
- By AFP Thailand, AFP Indonesia
Copyright © AFP 2017-2025. Any commercial use of this content requires a subscription. Click here to find out more.
"They are happier when it rains," read the Burmese-language caption to a video uploaded to Facebook on June 1, 2024.
The post has since been shared over 1,800 times by an account which regularly published content critical of the ruling military junta in Myanmar.
The country has been in turmoil since 2021, when the military ousted former leader Aung San Suu Kyi's government, ending a 10-year experiment with democracy and sparking nationwide protests.
The junta's crackdown on dissent sparked renewed fighting with ethnic minority armed groups in the borderlands and sent thousands to join the pro-democracy "People's Defense Forces" (PDF) formed to battle the military.
Some users appeared to believe the clip genuinely showed PDF fighters.
"Heroes in the PDF are dancing. This is also an entertainment for their soul," one user wrote.
"Our country will be much better, brilliant and educated children with sympathy. We must win," another comment read.
The video was also shared alongside the false claim elsewhere on Facebook.
However, the men in the video are Indonesian soldiers.
Popular military song
Using the video verification tool InVID-WeVerify, AFP conducted reverse image searches on multiple keyframes and found a TikTok post showing the same scene published on May 18, 2024 (archived link).
The Indonesian-language caption of the video read: "Stay motivated, rainstorms are friends".
Below is a screenshot comparison of the false video (left) and the original video published on TikTok (right):
The user regularly publishes videos related to the Indonesian military such as here, here and here (archived links here, here and here).
Indonesian media also reported the song played on the video is popular among soldiers in the South East Asian country sung when they are away from their families (archived link).
AFP has previously debunked misinformation related to the PDF here, here and here.
The story was updated to clarify the TikTok user uploads videos related to the Indonesian military.August 26, 2024 The story was updated to clarify the TikTok user uploads videos related to the Indonesian military.
Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.
Contact us
