As deadly protests over the rising cost of living rocked Pakistan-administered Kashmir, a video emerged in social media posts falsely linking him to the unrest. The footage, which shows a crowd chanting in the street, has in fact been circulating online since at least August 2022 in posts about demonstrations against the government’s plans to transfer more power to Islamabad.
“Now we have to see this. Disgraceful. Pakistanis shuddered after hearing these slogans for the first time. Azad (free) Kashmir,” read an article in Urdu language. Facebook post who shared the video on May 11, 2024.
The video, which has racked up more than 3,000 views, shows a crowd of protesters chanting and waving flags representing Pakistan-administered Kashmir as a group of soldiers look on.
“What do we want? We want freedom! We will get Pakistan’s freedom! We will get India’s freedom!” They scream.
The video was circulated in similar posts on Facebook here, here It is here and on social media site here, here It is here.
Four people were killed in protests against the rising cost of living in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, which ended on May 14 after organizers accepted an offer of financial assistance from the government.
The Himalayan region is divided between India and Pakistan, who claim it in full.
However, the video was filmed years before the protests began.
Old protest
Keyword searches on Facebook and X found similar images in posts from August 2022 about a protest against plans to give Pakistan’s capital Islamabad more control over the region.
The same scene is visible from the 14 second mark of a Facebook Video August 12, 2022 (archived link).
“Azad Kashmir,” the Facebook post reads in Urdu language.
“The all-out attack continued in Azad Kashmir. The people of Muzaffarabad are chanting freedom slogans in front of the Pakistan army.”
Muzaffarabad is the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Below is a screenshot comparison from the video shared in fake posts (left) and from the 2022 video (right). AFP corrected the rotation of the video, which was flipped vertically.
An AFP photographer in Muzaffarabad confirmed the protest location as Plate Road.
Similar images published in a X publish August 12, 2022 included a scene which appears to start where the video in the fake post ends (archived link).
The post in Urdu said: “Strikes and protests are going on all over Azad Kashmir. The protest in Muzaffarabad did not give way to the Pakistani army vehicle. Slogans were raised against the 15th constitutional amendment.”
Indian News outlets Times now It is News 18 covered the protest at the time (archived links here It is here).
Times Now reported that the protesters opposed a constitutional amendment that would transfer the local government’s financial and administrative powers to Islamabad.
A frame from the falsely shared video – showing a Pakistani military vehicle – featured in an Indian news channel’s report on the protest TV9 Bharatvarsh August 16, 2022 (archived link).
Below is a screenshot comparison between a frame from the falsely shared video (left) and the same frame in the TV9 Bharatvarsh report (right):
The report in Hindi is titled: “Protesters once again demanded independence from Pakistan in Muzaffarabad.”
As the image is shown, the anchor says, “Protests against Pakistan have now gone out of control and the Pakistan army has been deployed on the streets of PoK (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir).”
