Altered videos falsely claim Indian actor 'threatened gang boss' after ex-minister's killing

Published on November 13, 2024 at 02:42
3 min read
By Sachin BAGHEL, AFP India

After a former Maharashtra minister was assassinated ahead of key elections in the state, altered videos surfaced online with a false claim they show a prominent Indian actor warning the head of a criminal gang over the killing. However, original clips uploaded years before the assassination actually show the actor -- Sanjay Dutt -- offering festive greetings and discussing his film. He has not made any public statements related to the ex-minister's killing.

"Sanjay Dutt threatened Lawrence Bishnoi," read the Hindi-language caption of a video shared on X on October 20, 2024.

The video shows the actor saying: "Look Lawrence, what you did to Baba Siddique was wrong. And remember, Salman Khan is like my younger brother, if you harm him in any way, I won't leave you alone. Just remember this."

Another video sharing a similar claim was shared on Facebook on November 2, 2024.

"Lawrence, are you above the law? What you are doing is wrong. And one more thing, stay away from my younger brother Salman. This will be good for you," the clip shows the actor saying.

Both videos show an inset of Dutt, Khan, Bishnoi and Siddique.

Screenshot of the false posts taken on November 3, 2024

The videos circulated online after a former minister of Maharashtra state -- Baba Siddique -- was shot dead in Mumbai on October 12, weeks before elections are to be held in the state (archived link).

Local media reported two suspects arrested after the assassination claimed they were part of a gang run by Lawrence Bishnoi, who is in jail accused of running a crime gang that has carried out multiple killings.

Siddique was considered close to several film stars, including Khan and Dutt.

Khan has received death threats from Bishnoi's gang for years after he killed two blackbucks -- considered by a sect related to the gang to be the reincarnation of their guru -- during a hunting trip in 1998.

The videos were shared with similar claims elsewhere on Facebook here and here.

But the original videos actually show the actor extending festive greetings to his fans and talking about the success of his first Marathi-language film as a producer.

Altered audio

A reverse image search on Google using keyframes found the first video was originally captioned "Happy Diwali", and was posted on Dutt's official Facebook and Instagram accounts on November 7, 2018 (archived links here and here).

Below is a screenshot comparison of the false video (left) and the original video posted on the actor's social media account (right):

Screenshot comparison of the false video (left) and the original video posted on Dutt's social media account (right)

"I just wanted to wish you all a very very happy Diwali and a year full of happiness and good health," the actor says in English in the 15-second clip. "Stay fit, stay happy, and enjoy this time with your friends, family and loved ones."

A reverse image search on a keyframe from the second manipulated clip found the original video was shared on Dutt's verified X account on August 8, 2019 (archived link).

Below is a screenshot comparison of the clip shared in the false posts (left) and the original video (right):

Screenshot comparison of the clip shared in false posts (left) and the original video (right)

In the 45-second clip, Dutt talks about the success of his first Marathi-language film, Baba. He thanks the media and audience for the wonderful reviews and encourages the public to watch the film.

The actor does not mention the names of Khan, Siddique or Bishnoi in either video.

AFP did not find news reports about Dutt publicly addressing Bishnoi after Siddique's assassination.

Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.

E-mail