This video actually shows a 2012 election victory parade in Singapore
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on July 13, 2020 at 10:20
- 3 min read
- By AFP Singapore
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The video was published here on Facebook on June 24, 2020. It has been viewed more than 11,000 times.
The three minute 46-second video shows an open-top truck travelling slowly along a crowded street. A group of people standing in the back of the truck can be seen reaching to shake hands with people surrounding the vehicle.
Below is a screenshot of the misleading Facebook post:
The post’s caption states: “Early this morning WP go round greeting their supporters lining the road to shake hands putting COVID-19 away as if life returned to normal. It shows the citizens support to WP in Aljunied GRC.”
“WP” refers to The Workers' Party, a political party in Singapore and “Aljunied GRC” is Aljunied Group Representation Constituency, a five-member group representation constituency in the north-eastern and eastern region of Singapore.
Singapore went to the polls on July 10, 2020 that saw the ruling People's Action Party retain power, but with a significantly reduced majority, after the opposition Workers' Party picked up 10 seats -- its best ever showing at an election.
The claim in the Facebook post, however, is false.
At the video's three-minute 30-second and three-minute 32-second marks, a blue placard can be seen on the side of a truck. It reads “Vote Workers’ Party” alongside a photo of a man.
A subsequent keyword and reverse image search found the video shows Png Eng Huat, a member of the opposition Workers' Party who was elected MP after winning the 2012 Hougang by-election. Here is an AFP report about the 2012 vote.
A further keyword search found two videos published here and here on YouTube on May 27, 2012, that appear to have been taken from a similar angle of the same scene.
The YouTube videos show the same spectacled man and placard on the side of the truck.
Below are screenshot comparisons of the video in the misleading post (L) and the 2012 YouTube videos (R), with the identical elements circled in red by AFP:
This Google Maps image of Hougang corresponds with the background seen in the video.
The misleading post was also debunked by Reuters here.
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