A video showing crowded railway station trains running along packed tracks, and people travelling on the roofs of train coaches is being shared with the false claim that it is from India. However, the video is from Bangladesh, not India.
Sharing the video on X (Formerly Twitter) racist and propaganda account @ElijahSchaffer (2) wrote, If you don’t want this for America you are a r*cist and you should lose your blue check mark, It crazy that the British brought trains to India. They wouldn’t even have modern transportation if it wasn’t for our people. They took back control of the railways in 1947 and like most infrastructure, non westerners take control from whites. It’s in shambles now.
If you don’t want this for America you are a r*cist and you should lose your blue check mark pic.twitter.com/igJSzmjQ65
— E (@ElijahSchaffer) December 27, 2024
The truth about the video of crowded trains, Fact Check
As soon as the posts containing the video and claims came to our notice. Subsequently, we conducted research and analysis of the video. We found that the video was not from India but from Bangladesh.
To verify the claims made by propagandists. We performed a reverse image search of some key frames from the viral video using Google Lens. This led us to initial posts containing the same video. According to the initial posts, the video was from Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Moreover, Indian Railways is nearly 100% electrified, and overhead electric wires are present across its network, which are not seen in the video. While Indian railway stations can become crowded during major festivals, people travelling on the roofs of train coaches is not a common practice, due to electrification it is impossible and dangerous to travel on the roof of the trains.
Additionally, such videos are not unique to South Asia. For example, several videos online show deteriorating infrastructure and unhygienic conditions in train coaches in developed countries like the United States.
Therefore, it is evident from D-Intent Data’s Fact Check that the video is not related to Indian railways. It was from Bangladesh.
2781
— D-Intent Data (@dintentdata) December 27, 2024
ANALYSIS: Propaganda
FACT: A video showing a crowded railway station, trains running along packed tracks, and people traveling on the roofs of train coaches is being shared with the false claim that it is from India. In reality, the video is from Bangladesh. (1/4) pic.twitter.com/CkWddny32z
Intent
Racist and extremist accounts are circulating videos from different locations with misleading claims to target Indians.
Conclusion
Claim– The video depicting overcrowded trains was from India.
Fact– The video of the overcrowded trains was not from India but from Bangladesh.
Related Article: Bangladesh Unrest 2024— Old video of crowded ferries circulated with misleading claims: Fact Check – D-Intent Data
