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
RSP MP Gyanendra Shahi vehemently expresses support to RSP Chair Rabi Lamichhane.
Fact
Viral video actually shows Shahi raising objection to the bill seeking amendment to Nepal Acts.
A video purportedly showing Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Member of Parliament (MP) Gyanendra Shahi expressing support to Rastriya Swatantra Party Chairperson Rabi Lamichhane is going viral on TikTok.
TikTok user @nirajkarke25 posted a video showing RPP lawmaker Gyanendra Shahi speaking passionately on the microphone. Text superimposed on the video reads, “Gyanendra [Gyanendra Shahi] roared saying ‘Ravi Ji don’t worry I am by your side and they are trying to frame you.”
The video also shows visuals of Minister for Law Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Dhanaraj Gurung, among other leaders of Nepali Congress and Rastriya Swatantra Party. In the video, MP Shahi says, “It would have been great to see the person who entered it secretly. How could they enter such a criminal thing?” Another footage shows Minister Gurung saying, “How could someone say it was entered stealthily? We actually put it in a pigeon hole and told them to read it every day. We held a clause-wise discussion. But still they do not desist from alleging that it was secretly entered.” Next footage shows Gyanendra Shahi saying, “As I have been following the social media status of honourable minister, I was not expecting such a bill at least from his ministry.”
The video shows another footage of Minister Gurung apparently responding to saying, “Honourable lawmakers said they read my tweet and status and found it a little bit different. It was only your perspective that changed but Dhanaraj Gurung has not changed.”
The video caption reads, “Gyanendra Shahi vehemently expressed support to Rabi Lamichhane [RSP Chairperson] saying that attempts are being made to frame him.”
The video posted on February 15 has garnered 6712 likes, 35 users have shared it and 77 people have commented until the last count. The archived version of the TikTok video can be seen here.
Newschecker found the claim to be misleading.
Fact Check /Verification
To check the veracity of the claim made in the viral video, Newschecker closely observed the video and noticed a watermark on the screen and a logo of 8848 News on the top right corner of the video. Taking a clue from it, we searched for a YouTube channel named ‘8848 News’ and found it.
We then searched for a video resembling the viral video and found a 30 minutes 13 seconds video, dated February 24, 2024, published on the YouTube channel. On checking the video, we found that the video footage from a few sections of the video footage exactly matched the viral video.
The video frame from 14.32-minute to 14.36-minute showing Gyanendra Shahi speaking exactly matched the viral video. Another footage from 17.41-minute to 18.06-minute timestamp exactly matched the footage showing Law Minister Gurung. However, there was a mismatch between the video title and the content. Though the video title resembled the claims made in the viral video, we found that the video actually showed a debate at the House committee on a bill to amend Nepal Act.
We also noticed conspicuous discrepancies in the video descriptions posted on the channel as the title didn’t reflect the content. We also checked other videos posted on the channel and found that most of the videos carried unverified and sensational titles.
Further, taking clues from the video, we ran a Google search by using relevant keywords “Law Minister Dhanaraja Gurung Nepal Act Amendment” and found a video published on the YouTube channel of Corporate online. On checking the video, we found that the footage showing Minister Gurung’s response exactly matched a portion of the viral video. In the video, Minister Gurung raised an objection to the moral question raised against him regarding the Bill to amend Nepal Act during a meeting of the House committee on law, justice and human rights.
We also found an article, dated January 27, 2024, published on Nagarik online which noted that Minister Gurung vented his ire at the lawmakers who raised moral questions against him during a House committee deliberations on the bill to amend Nepal Acts.
Thus, our findings clearly indicated that the viral video actually showed visuals from the House Committee while holding deliberations on the bill to amend Nepal Acts. RPP lawmaker Gyanendra Shahi’s remark has nothing to do with RSP Chairperson Rabi Lamichhane.
Conclusion
No, the viral video doesn’t show Rastriya Prajatantra Party MP Gyanendra Shahi expressing support to Swatantra Party Chair Rabi Lamichhane. The video actually shows Shahi raising questions over a bill seeking amendment to Nepal Acts.
Result: False
Sources
8848 News /YouTube, February 24, 2024
Corporate Nepal/YouTube, February 28, 2024
Nagariknews, January 27, 2024
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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.
