No, viral video does not show YSRCP supporters celebrating Chandrababu Naidu's arrest

By: Rohith Gutta
October 27 2023

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Screenshot of the viral post on X claiming that YSCRP supporters are celebrating Chandrababu Naidu's judicial remand (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

What is the claim?

A user on X (formerly Twitter) shared a black-and-white video last week claiming it shows supporters of the ruling party of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), celebrating the arrest of former chief minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) President Chandrababu Naidu. Head of YSRCP’s rival party, Naidu, was arrested on September 10 and has been booked on various charges related to the alleged misappropriation of funds in the skill development scheme implemented by his government between 2014 and 2019. 

The video shows a group of people smashing coconuts on a road outside what appears to be a cinema hall. In the video, vehicular movement seems to have come to a halt because of the celebrations. The video (archive here) had garnered over 50,000 views at the time of publication.

Screenshot of the social media post. (Source: X/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, this video does not show YSRCP members celebrating Naidu’s extended judicial custody.

What did we find?

The video shows posters in Tamil pasted on the side of the median strip facing the crowd. We can also see the name of the cinema hall outside where people are smashing coconuts—Sangeetha Theatre.

Identification markers in the viral video (Source: X/Screenshot)

Running the keyframes from the video through reverse image search and a Google search led us to various reports mentioning the incident was from Tamil Nadu.

A user on X named ‘Spark Media’ posted the original video in color on October 19 and stated that it showed celebrations by fans of Indian actor Vijay—who predominantly acts in Tamil movies— following the release of his latest film ‘Leo.’ The user identified the location of the incident as Karumathampatti in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. 

Both videos show people smashing coconuts, thus holding up the traffic, a lorry, an autorickshaw, and banners of Vijay.

Comparison between the viral clip and the video shared by Spark Media and others. (Source: X/ETV Bharat Tamil/Screenshots)

ETV Bharat Tamil carried a news report on the celebrations by Vijay fans in Coimbatore with the same video. News 18 and News 24*7 Tamil also reported on the incident rallying similar details and visuals from the viral clip.

We located the cinema hall on Google Maps using the information mentioned in these reports. Sangeetha Theatre is part of the Sangeetha-Saveetha theatre complex in Somanur in Coimbatore district. We could spot the electricity pole, a blue-color building, from the viral video in the images of the location we narrowed down on Google Maps. . 

Comparison of Spark Media video and Google Maps image of Sangeetha Theatre. (Source: X/Google Images/Screenshot)

All of this establishes that the viral video shows celebrations by Vijay fans in Coimbatore

The verdict

A video of fans of movie star Vijay fans celebrating the release of his latest film has been peddled as YSRCP members rejoicing over Chandrababu Naidu’s judicial remand. Therefore, we have marked this claim false.