A video is going viral on social media platforms showing some men forcefully asking for donations for a grand Christmas celebration. Users are sharing this video and claiming that goons are forcefully extorting money in the name of Christmas donations in Kerala

Anoop Antony, Former BJYM National Secretary posted this video on X(Twitter) and wrote: “Christmas spirit choked by extortion rackets fostered by Kerala’s Left ecosystem. High on drugs and alcohol, goons are forcefully extorting money in the name of Christmas donations! Kerala turned into a hub of drugs by the Left, holding the youth captive for their political interests”

The archive link can be seen here.

In addition, several users posted this video and made similar claims.

Fact-Check

To determine the reality of the above viral video, the dfrac team converted it into keyframes and reverse-searched it on Google. We discovered this video on a Facebook account named Sujit Ramachandran with some information in Malayalam Language. As per the given information, the incident happened to a young man who was traveling with his family from Katakal to Kulathupuzha at a place called Onthupacha along with a disclaimer: “Created video for awareness purpose”

Conclusion

It is clear from DFRAC’s Fact-Check that the viral video claiming goons forcefully extorting money in the name of Christmas is misleading. The video is scripted and made for the awareness purpose of the people.    

Analysis: Misleading