This video shows a Hispanic American taking part in a rifle drill competition in the US

This article is more than one year old.
Published on November 4, 2019 at 03:50
3 min read
By AFP India

A video that shows a man in uniform performing a drill with a rifle has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on Facebook and YouTube posts which claim he is an Indian Muslim youth who joined the US army. The claim is false; the video shows Alejandro Paulino, a 25-year-old Hispanic American, competing in a rifle drill competition in the US.

The four-minute, eight-second video was posted on September 24, 2019, here on Facebook. It has been viewed more than 3,800 times.

The post's English-language caption states: “Syed Hameed ul Hasan, From Uttar Pradesh Joined @usarmy U S.Army. The Video Was Taken Last Year During His Selection At Field Exam . It Is Considered As One Of The Toughest Drill Training In US !! A Big Salute To His Drill”.

Below is a screenshot of the misleading Facebook post:

(Screenshot of misleading Facebook post)

The video was also published on Facebook here, here, here and here, where it has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times alongside a similar claim.

It is also shared on YouTube here and here with a similar claim.

The claim is false. The man seen in the video is Alejandro Paulino, a Hispanic American competing in a drill competition in May 2019. Paulino says he is not of Indian descent and he is not in the military either.

At the beginning of the video, Paulino can be seen wearing a badge on his chest that says “A. Paulino”.

Below is a screenshot of him with the name badge circled by AFP in red:

(Screenshot of Alejandro Paulino in the competition)

At the one-minute, six-second mark of the video, Paulino gives his name as Alejandro Paulino and states he is representing “Sin City Drillers” at the “World Drill Championship”.

A keyword search on Google found this video posted on Paulino's YouTube channel on May 5, 2019, which contains the segments identical as in the misleading video. The video's caption states: “World Drill Championship solo routine 2019”.</a> </p> <p>The channel's description <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChILegB6QLrYFVsrRzPZmcw/about" target="_blank">here </a>states: “Hello my name is Alejandro Paulino. I'm 25 years old and a fitness enthusiast and professional rifle exhibition driller. my channel will be mainly focused around fitness and drill, my 2 passions in life. hope you enjoy!”</p> <p>Paulino also posted the same four-minute, eight-second video, along with another footage and photos of the event, on his Facebook page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/alejandro.paulino.167/posts/3075861839094543" target="_blank">here</a> on May 6, 2019. The post's caption states: “1st place at the 2019 World Drill Championships.”</p> <p>Below is a screenshot of the video posted on Alejandro Paulino’s Facebook page:</p> <div class="wrapper-image"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">Image</div> <div class="field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/image_in_article/public/medias/factchecking/india/alej.png?itok=zB6XF4Hg" width="1100" height="492" class="img-fluid image-style-image-in-article" /> </div> </div> <span class="legend">A screenshot of Paulino's Facebook post</span> </div> <p>According to its Instagram account, Sin City Drillers is based in Las Vegas. Paulino is featured in some of their videos, for example <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BxK2AUtlrMG/" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bnwt82QFc8r/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> <p>Paulino told AFP by Facebook Messenger on October 4, 2019, that he is not of Indian origin and is not a military personnel either. </p> <p>“I am not of Indian descent, I am Hispanic,” he said. “I was born in America and the sport that I’m involved in is called rifle exhibition drill. This is a professional competition judged by military service members but it has nothing to do with the actual military. This is a really military style competition, where we have to create routines and showcase them to the judges.</p> <p>“Our uniforms have to represent that of a military style uniform. I am not in the military myself. This is for fun and is just a competition.” </p> <p>Paulino’s name can also be found in the “2018 Worlds Roster” posted <a href="https://worlddrillchampionships.com/2018-worlds-roster-posted/" target="_blank">here</a> on the World Drill Championships website.</p> <p>Below is a screenshot of the World Drill Championship’s 2018 roster:</p> <div class="wrapper-image"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">Image</div> <div class="field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/image_in_article/public/medias/factchecking/india/us4.png?itok=k-LkN-C5" width="467" height="512" class="img-fluid image-style-image-in-article" /> </div> </div> <span class="legend"> (Screenshot of the World Drill Championship’s 2018 roster)</span> </div> <p> </p> </body></html>

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