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
Youth threw a shoe at Prachanda for speaking against the former monarch.
Fact
No, viral video is from March 2020.
A video showing security personnel arresting a youth after he allegedly flung a shoe at CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias ‘Prachanda’ for speaking against monarchy is going viral on TikTok.
The video is being shared at a time when Chairman Dahal, who is also a former prime minister, has been launching a scathing attack on the ex-monarch, Gyanendra Shah. Prachanda even accused Shah of being responsible for the killing of his brother Birendra Shah. He alleged that the former monarch was involved in the gold smuggling and theft of statutes.
TikTok user @jaynepal622 posted a video showing security personnel grabbing and dragging a man. Text superimposed on the video reads, “Just now a youth who was standing right in front of Prachanda opened his own shoe and threw it at Prachanda after the latter spoke against the former King.”
The video posted on March 15 has garnered 51k likes, and three people have commented.
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 ran a Google search by using relevant keywords and found several news reports about a man hurling shoe at Maoist Chairman Prachanda.
On checking a video, dated March 2, 2020, posted on the Facebook page of Times of India, we found that the video from 0.6-minute onwards resembled the viral video. The Facebook post, accompanying the video, reads, “Nepal Police arrested a 22-year-old man who flung a shoe at Maoist Chairman Prachanda during a public function in Kathmandu.”
We closely watched the viral clip and noticed the logo of AP1 HD Television on the top right corner of the video. Taking a clue, we looked up the YouTube Channel of AP1 HD television and found a video, dated March 1, 2020. On checking the video, we found that the video exactly matched the viral video.
The video description noted that a youth, who originally hails from Jumla district, flung a shoe at Prachanda during an event organised at National Assembly hall to mark the 1st death anniversary of communist leader Bharat Mohan Adhikari.
Thus, our findings clearly indicated that the viral video is from March 2020 and has nothing to do with Maoist Chairman Prachanda’s recent allegation against the former monarch.
Conclusion
No, Maoist Chairman Prachanda has not been attacked with a shoe after spoke against former King Gyanendra Shah. The viral clip of a youth being arrested after he threw a shoe at Prachanda in March 2020 is being passed off as recent.
Result: False
Sources
Times of India /Facebook, March 2, 2020
AP1 HD Television /YouTube, March 1, 2020
Lokantar
If you would like us to fact check a claim, give feedback or lodge a complaint, WhatsApp us at 9999499044 or email us at [email protected] You can also visit the Contact Us page and fill the form.
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.
