Edited video of man falling into pothole and disappearing shared as real

By: Urva Kapoor
July 18 2023

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Context

North India has been experiencing heavy rain, leaving daily life disrupted by landslides and floods in many parts of the region. The record monsoon rains left over 100 people dead in two weeks, with the state of Himachal Pradesh being the worst hit. While the Yamuna River's water level has begun to decrease after reaching a 45-year record high, several places like Delhi and Punjab are still dealing with severe flooding.

Amid this, a video of a man walking in the rain and suddenly disappearing into a pothole has gone viral on social media. Concerned social media users have been sharing the video as an actual incident, cautioning others to be careful while walking on waterlogged roads. In one such Twitter post, the user urged people to take care of themselves claiming that such mishaps occur due to government negligence. An archived version of the post can be found here.

However, the video is not real and has been manipulated using video editing tools. 

In Fact

There are several indications in the video that raise doubts about its authenticity. We noticed that the man seemed to disappear rather than fall. Further, the man's hand gesture does not change throughout, and he does not create a splash while falling.

After conducting a reverse image search and additional research, we found the same video uploaded by an Instagram user named Faisal (faisal_vfx), who, according to the bio in the profile, is a VFX artist from Indonesia. The Instagram post was uploaded on September 8, 2020. The caption (translated from Indonesian) read, "If it's raining, be careful on the road, guys, there are lots of puddles... especially from the past." From the comments section, it was quite clear that he often makes such videos using video editing tools. One user was seen requesting him to upload a tutorial of the making of the particular video. 

We came across other similar edited posts on his Instagram profile. In one such video, he demonstrated the techniques used in his VFX creations and the process involved, mentioning the use of freeze frames and green screen techniques. The video shows a headless man driving a scooter, created using Adobe After Effects. The creator used a piece of cardboard attached to the helmet as the greenscreen to remove the head from the footage. 

Logically Facts contacted Mahan J. Dutta, a media, post-production, and graphics expert in Mumbai, who confirmed that the viral video of the man falling was created using video editing software like Adobe After Effects. He said, "There is no sign of any such big gap or hole on the floor. It will create a big splash if a fully grown man suddenly drowns. In this clip, there is hardly a ripple. It is a video made using video editing tools; the first part is raw, while he has used editing tools in the second part."

The Verdict

The viral video does not show a man falling into a pothole and has been digitally manipulated using video editing tools. It was originally uploaded in September 2020, further pointing to the fact that it has no connection with the recent wave of heavy rains in north India. Therefore, we are marking the claim as false.