A video depicting a shirtless man attacking a woman in an elevator, with a security guard stepping in to save her and physically confronting the man, has been shared online with false claims. The video is being misrepresented as showing Uyghur Muslim Ismail Ehmet attempting to sexually assault a Chinese Buddhist tourist in a lift in Cele, Xinjiang. However, these claims are completely fabricated. The footage actually originates from an incident in Haikou City, Hainan Province, where a security guard courageously intervened to stop a man from violently assaulting his girlfriend in the elevator of a residential building.
Sharing the video on X (Formerly Twitter) propagandist account @RealBababanaras wrote. “A Uyghur Muslim Ismail Ehmet tried to r@pe a Chinese Buddhist tourist girl in Cele area of Xinjiang in lift. Alert security guard saved the girl. This is happening while China imposed strict guidelines for Muslims. Salute to security guard for his courage.”
A Uyghur Muslim Ismail Ehmet tried to r@pe a Chinese Buddhist tourist girl in Cele area of Xinjiang in lift. Alert security guard saved the girl.
— Baba Banaras™ (@RealBababanaras) December 19, 2024
This is happening while China imposed strict guidelines for muslims. Salute to security guard for his courage. pic.twitter.com/TWZ20uilcq
Several other users, influencers and propagandists have also shared the video and made similar claims. Their posts can be seen here, @Ramkumar_9800, @KinghtHindutva
The truth about the viral Elevator assault video, Fact Check
As soon as the posts containing the sensitive video and claims came to our notice. Subsequently, we conducted research and analysis of the incident and found that the video was old. And unrelated to religious hate crimes or sexual assault.
To verify the claims made by the users. We performed a reverse image search of some key frames from the viral video using Google Lens. This led us to several reports containing the same visuals. According to the media reports (1 , 2, 3), the video actually dates back to an incident in Haikou City, Hainan Province, where a security guard bravely stepped in to stop a man from violently assaulting his girlfriend in an elevator of a residential building. The man, identified as Zeng, was reportedly intoxicated. He had a heated argument with his girlfriend over minor issues, which escalated into physical violence. The incident occurred on April 5, 2024.
Therefore, it is evident from D-Intent Data’s Fact Check that the viral Elevator assault video was old and unrelated to hate crimes involving Uyghur Muslim individuals.
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— D-Intent Data (@dintentdata) December 20, 2024
ANALYSIS: Misleading
FACT: A video showing a shirtless man attacking a woman in an elevator, with a security guard intervening to save her and engaging in a physical altercation with the man, has been shared with claims that Uyghur Muslim Ismail Ehmet (1/4) pic.twitter.com/Wv5zfI9Vgj
Intent
Influencers are circulating old videos from China with misleading claims to set their narrative based on religion.
Conclusion
Claim– A Uyghur Muslim Ismail Ehmet tried to rape a Chinese Buddhist tourist girl in Cele area of Xinjiang in lift.
Fact – The video is not from Xinjiang but an old incident from Hainan Province where an intoxicated man was caught on camera assaulting his girlfriend in April 2024.
Related Article: Fact Check: Old video of husband publicly assaulting wife in Bulandshahr shared with misleading claims – D-Intent Data
