No, this video does not show an Indian millionaire celebrating Narenda Modi's re-election by giving away $100,000

This article is more than one year old.
Published on June 5, 2019 at 10:15
2 min read
By AFP India

A video has been viewed thousands of times in multiple posts on Facebook which claim it shows an Indian millionaire celebrating Narendra Modi's re-election by giving away US$100,000 to people in a New York street. The claim is false: the video shows a stunt staged by a US musician in New York; the footage was posted online before voting in the Indian elections had concluded.

The video was shared in this Facebook post on May 24, 2019 where it has been viewed more than 13,000 times.

Below is a screenshot of the misleading post:

A screenshot of the misleading Facebook post

The caption states: “Apparently Happened today on 47 street ( Diamond Market) New York $100,000 given away. ??in ref to modi victory .. see how this millionaire Indian is celebrating.”

The post refers to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi's re-election on May 23, 2019.

Here is an AFP story published on May 23, 2019 about his re-election.

The same video was posted here, here, here and here on Facebook with a similar claim that an Indian millionaire gave money away to celebrate Modi’s victory.

The claim is false: the video shows a stunt in New York which was staged before voting in the Indian elections had concluded.

A keyword search found the same video published on YouTube here on May 15, 2019.

The video title states: “Money Shower - The God Joe Kush throwing real $5 Bills on 47th street in the diamonds district in NY”.

The video's description states: “Money Shower - The God Joe Kush throwing real $5 Bills on 47th street in the diamonds district in NY - real money shower in the diamonds district in New York City - people for crazy and start fighting in the middle of the street next to cops.”

Below is a screenshot comparison of the YouTube video of May 15, 2019 (L) and the video in the misleading post (R), with a man throwing money in the air circled in red:

A screenshot comparison of the YouTube video (L) and the video in the misleading post (R)

A screenshot comparison of the YouTube video (L) and the video in the misleading post (R)

“The God Joe Kush” refers to a US based musician. This is his official Instagram account, this is official YouTube channel, and this is his Facebook page.

He posted similar footage of the same stunt here on his Instagram page on May 16, 2019.

The stunt was staged here outside a row of jewellery shops on 47th street, New York.

The misleading Facebook posts were also debunked by Indian fact check site BoomLive here.

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