Sanjeeb Phuyal is the Nepali Editor of Newschecker based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He brings over a decade of experience writing and editing news. In his previous stint, he worked as online editor for The Kathmandu Post. With the growth of social media platforms—and the ever-growing competition amongst media outlets to churn out breaking news, he feels that fact-checking every piece of information has become more essential today than ever before.
Claim
Rabi Lamichhane addressed his supporters after his release from Kaski custody.
Fact
Viral clip is from 2019 when Rabi Lamichhane was released from Chitwan prison on a suicide abetment case.
A video allegedly showing Rabi Lamichhane addressing his supporters after his release from custody in Pokhara is going viral on TikTok. The video goes on to claim that Rastriya Prajatantra Party lawmaker Gyanendra Shahi shared the stage with him.
Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chairman and former home minister Rabi Lamichhane was released on Thursday (January 9) after he posted a bail of Rs 6.5 million. He spent 84 days in custody in Kaski district. The Kaki District Court, headed by Judge Neetij Rai, ordered Lamichhane’s release on the condition that he appears for proceedings related to cases filed against him in other district courts.
Against this backdrop, TikTok user @i_love_you_my_mutu posted a video showing Rabi Lamichhane addressing his supporters. Text superimposed on the video reads, “Rabi Lamichhane delivers a powerful speech after his release from custody. Gyanendra Shahi [Rastriya Prajatantra Party leader] also accompanied Lamichhane during the assembly.” In the clip, Lamichhane says, “I would like to welcome all the brothers and sisters. I don’t know if I can accommodate your immense love in my heart. I have felt the responsibility and my team will be dedicated to live up to it. I will work hard to give concrete shape to the trust you have bestowed upon me. I will never let you down.”
The video posted on January 8 has garnered 26.9k likes, 392 users have shared it and 987 people have commented until the last count.
Fact Check /Verification
To check the veracity of the claim, Newschecker split the video into several key-frames and ran reverse searches on them. A Google reverse search on a frame-from the video led us to a video, dated August 27, 2019, posted on the YouTube channel named Online TV Nepal. On checking the video, we found that the video clip exactly matched the first 1.02-minute clip of the viral video.
We also found another video, dated August 27, 2019, posted on the YouTube channel of News24 Television. The news title read that media workers Rabi Lamichhane and Yubaraj addressed the people of Chitwan. We found that the video matched the viral video.
Further, we found another video, dated August 27, 2019, posted on the Facebook page of Avenues Television. The caption of the video resembling the viral video reads, “Mediaperson Rabi Lamichhane organised an assembly to thank his supporters.” We also clearly noticed the banner put on the background of the stage reading, in Nepal “Dhanyabad Sabha [Thank Assembly]”
In August 2019, the Chitwan District Court released TV show host Rabi Lamichhane and journalist Yubaraj Kandel on bail, the Kathmandu Post reported. The duo had been arrested for their alleged role in abetting suicide of journalist Shalikram Pudasaini.
Thus, our findings clearly showed that the viral clip is from August 2019 when Lamichhane organised an assembly to thank his supporters after his release from custody.
Conclusion
No, the viral video doesn’t show Rabi Lamichhane addressing his supporters after his release from custody in Kaski district. The viral clip showing Lamichhane sharing stage with Gyanendra Shahi is from 2019 when he organised an assembly in Chitwan to thank his supporters.
Result: False
Sources
OnlineTv Nepal /YouTube, August 27, 2019
News24 Television, August 27, 2019
Avenues Khabar /Facebook, August 27, 2019
Kathmandu Post, August 27, 2019
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Sanjeeb Phuyal is the Nepali Editor of Newschecker based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He brings over a decade of experience writing and editing news. In his previous stint, he worked as online editor for The Kathmandu Post. With the growth of social media platforms—and the ever-growing competition amongst media outlets to churn out breaking news, he feels that fact-checking every piece of information has become more essential today than ever before.
