This video shows a blaze at a firecracker market in central India in October 2016

This article is more than one year old.
Published on November 5, 2019 at 10:35
2 min read
By AFP India

A video has been viewed tens of thousands of times in multiple Facebook posts alongside a claim that it shows a blaze at a firecracker market in southern India. The video is being shared in a misleading context; it has circulated online in media reports since October 2016 about a blaze at a firecracker market in the central Indian town of Aurangabad in Maharashtra state.

The two-minute-and-nine-second-long video was published here in a Facebook post on October 27, 2019. It has been viewed more than 67,000 times and shared more than 1,000 times.

The video’s caption states: “Omg Fire Caught Crackers Shop.
According to source this clip is from Khammam District.
Via: Feeds.”

Khammam is a city in southern Indian state of Telangana.

Below is a screenshot of the misleading Facebook post:

Screenshot of the misleading Facebook post

The same video was also published here, here, here and here on Facebook alongside a similar claim.

The claim is false; the video has circulated online in media reports since October 2016 when a blaze engulfed a firecracker market set up for Hindu festival Diwali in Aurangabad, a central Indian town in Maharashtra state.

A reverse image search on Google for a screenshot of the video and a subsequent keyword search found the same video published here on YouTube on November 3, 2016.

The video’s title says: “Diwali: Massive Fire at aurangabad cracker market”.

Below are three screenshots of the video in the misleading posts (L) and the YouTube video (R):

Screenshots comparing the video in the misleading posts (L) and the YouTube video (R)

The same incident was also reported here by Indian broadcaster NDTV on October 29, 2016.

The report’s headline states: “200 Shops, 40 Vehicles Gutted In Fire At Aurangabad Crackers Market.”

Below is a screenshot of the NDTV report:

Screenshot of the NDTV report

According to this report published by The Times of India, Mumbai-based newspaper, on October 29, 2016, the fire broke out at a makeshift market in Zilla Parishad Ground, Aurangabad.

Here is the location of Zilla Parishad Ground on Google Maps.

Below is screenshot comparison of the misleading Facebook video (L) and Zilla Parishad Ground on Google Maps (R) with two buildings and a tree highlighted as identifications:

Screenshot comparison of the misleading Facebook video (L) and Zilla Parishad Ground on Google Maps (R) with two buildings and a tree highlighted as identifications

The misleading claim published on social media about the video created panic locally in Khammam, Telangana state, as reported here by Telangana Today on October 28, 2019.

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