Old video of religious ritual in Nepal falsely linked to deadly protests

Published on September 11, 2025 at 11:34
4 min read
By Devesh MISHRA, AFP India

Social media posts have falsely claimed a video of a religious practice shows demonstrators in Nepal "vandalising" a famous Hindu temple as the country's youth, angry at a ruling class they see as out of touch, took to the streets in deadly protests in September. The person who shot the footage told AFP it shows people shaking the temple gates as part of an annual religious festival.

"This situation in Nepal is not just a social media issue; it is a calculated attack on Hindu faith. The Indian government must intervene appropriately. Protesters attempted to vandalize the gates of the famous Pashupatinath Temple in Nepal, a Hindu pilgrimage site. @narendramodi Sir, please take action!" reads a Hindi-language X post shared on September 9, 2025.

The video shows a group of people climbing onto the metal bars of a temple gate and shaking it. The sign above them reads "Pashupatinath Temple", one of the most sacred sites for followers of the Hindu deity Shiva (archived link).

Media reports said the temple was temporarily closed amid heightened security after a short-lived government ban on social media triggered protests that boiled over into wider unrest in Nepal (archived here and here).

Screenshot of the false X post captured on September 10, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

Nineteen people were killed as police sought to crush the protests that started on September 8, led by Nepali youth grappling with political instability, corruption and slow economic development (archived link).

The army has since imposed a curfew to restore order in the Himalayan nation of 30 million people, after the worst violence in two decades ousted the government and left parliament ablaze (archived link).

The video of people shaking the temple gate was also linked to the unrest in posts on X, Instagram and Threads.

However, it shows an annual religious festival and is unrelated to the protests.

A reverse image search on Google led to the same footage in a TikTok post on Jul 14, 2025 by an account called "Hamro Jatra" (archived link). The video was also shared on the "Hamro Jatra" Facebook page, whose bio states it is dedicated to sharing Nepalese festivals (archived link).

"Who knows about this festival at the Pashupatinath Temple? Which festival is it and when is it held? Why have people climbed the gate? #pashupatinath," reads its Nepali-language caption.

Screenshot comparison of the false post (L) and the TikTok video

The accounts' founder, Shyam Tha, confirmed he shot the video at the Pashupatinath Temple during the "Naxal Bhagwati Jatra", an annual festival that took place on March 29 to 31 in 2025 (archived link).

"It does not depict violence or protests, but rather a ritual in which the temple’s main gate is symbolically shaken, a practice rooted in religious belief and tradition. The clip has been misrepresented online with false claims linking it to recent unrest", he told AFP on September 10, 2025.

Videos of this ritual in previous years can also be seen on TikTok (archived here and here).

Subsequent keyword searches found an X post on September 9, 2025 by Dr KN Swami, the chairperson of a group that promotes the study of ancient Hindu texts with offices near the temple (archived link).

"The current situation at Pashupatinath at night. Pashupati is peaceful. The army is providing security. We are continuously monitoring. Do not worry. No one can touch Pashupati," the post reads. The accompanying video shows an empty temple compound.

Screenshot of the X post, taken on September 11, 2025

Swami also told AFP on September 10 no attack took place inside the temple or at its main entrance.

"I am currently inside the temple, and everything is peaceful here," he said.

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