Visuals from Nepal spark post-election misinformation in India's Bihar
- Published on November 27, 2025 at 06:32
- 3 min read
- By Devesh MISHRA, AFP India
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India's opposition Congress party accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led alliance of rigging votes to win bellwether elections in India's poorest state Bihar. But footage of a burning building circulating online with claims of post-election protests in the eastern state is old and was filmed in neighbouring country Nepal.
"There was a huge uproar in Bihar over vote theft; the BJP office in Patna was set on fire," reads a Hindi-language Instagram post shared on November 17, 2025.
The post included a video that shows smoke billowing from a multi-storey house with the entrance ablaze.
"This is Bihar, Modi ji, you have chosen the wrong state to steal votes," reads superimposed text on the clip.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed a "resounding" victory for his party and its allies in a key local election in the country's poorest state of Bihar (archived here and here).
The eastern state of 130 million people was widely seen as a bellwether and a test of Modi's ability to translate New Delhi's booming economy into gains for its poorest citizens.
But in days following the polls, Congress and its allied parties intensified allegations of electoral irregularities (archived link). The opposition alliance has repeatedly accused the Election Commission of siding with BJP, claiming large-scale manipulation -- or "vote theft" -- helped the ruling alliance secure a comfortable victory (archived link).
The video was shared with similar claims on Instagram and Facebook posts.
The clip, however, predates the Bihar elections and was in fact filmed in Nepal. There have also been no official reports of widespread protests in the eastern state following the election results.
Nepal protests
Reverse image search on Google found the same video posted on the Instagram handle of local Nepali news outlet 'Flop Birgunj' on September 9, 2025 (archived link).
Birgunj, known as "Gateway of Nepal", lies in the southern part of the Himalayan nation and is located 223 kilometers (139 miles) from Bihar (archived link).
The post is captioned, "Arson at Birgunj Mayor Rajesh Man Singh's residence".
Romi Raja Samani, a journalist and owner of the Instagram handle, confirmed to AFP he filmed the video during the Gen Z protests that rocked Nepal in September.
"I recorded this video in September. It shows the Gen Z protests in Nepal. The house burning in the video belongs to our city Birgunj’s mayor Rajesh Man Singh. This has nothing to do with any political party in India," Samani told AFP on November 10.
Media outlet India Today shared the video in its September report covering the Nepal protests (archived link).
Birgunj Mayor Rajesh Man Singh shared photos of the same house on his official Facebook page on October 20, 2025 (archived link). AFP compared these images with the house seen in the false post video and identified matching details.
In September, Nepal was rocked by deadly youth-led protests after the government imposed a social media ban, triggering widespread anger over corruption, economic hardship and rising violence (archived link). The demonstrations quickly escalated into a nationwide uprising.
Crowds set parts of the parliament building and the Supreme Court on fire, forcing the government to collapse. Police reported at least 76 deaths over two days of unrest, including 63 protesters, 10 escaped prisoners and three police officers.
AFP has previously debunked misinformation about the Bihar elections.
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