Fact Check: Messi’s cutout was put under sea by fans in Lakshadweep but not from Kerala
After this historic win, football fans across the world, including India, started worshipping Argentina footballers.
FIFA World Cup 2022 was played by 32 teams across 5 cities in Qatar. Argentina won the FIFA Cup title after beating France in a thrilling final in Qatar.
After this historic win, football fans across the world, including India, started worshipping Argentina footballers.
Meanwhile, a video showing football fans from Kerala putting a huge cutout of Messi inside the ocean in between the coral reefs is going viral. The caption on the viral video reads: “Kerala’s craziest football fans have proved it again… They had promised if Argentina wins the World Cup they’ll place Messi’s cutout under the sea among reefs and they did it…
I think Messi should visit Kerala…
The claim is viral on Facebook, Twitter and also Whatsapp.
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Fact check:
The claim is MISLEADING. The cutout of Messi was placed in the ocean by fans in Lakshadweep, not Kerala.
When observed carefully, we found the logo Lakshadweep Vlogger on the video. The speaker in the video is also heard saying Kavaratti a few times, which is the capital city of Lakshadweep.
When we searched for the phrase “Lakshadweep Vlogger”, we found an Instagram account Mohammed Swadikh.
On this Instagram account, several videos showed Messi’s cutout and we also found the viral video originally shared by him.
The same video was shared on a YouTube channel named Stories by Iype Vallikadan, with the title in Malayalam “കടലാഴത്തിൽ മെസ്സി എത്തിയ കഥ | Lakshadweep Vlogger | Lionel Messi | | Iype Vallikadan”, which when translated states “The story of Messi reaching the seabed”
According to firstpost.com, before Argentina’s semi-final match against Croatia, a local vlogger named Mohammed Swadikh pledged to plant a cutout of the legend in the sea via a Facebook post. La Albiceleste lived up to the expectations and crushed Luka Modric’s side 3-0 in a dominant show.
Accompanied by a few of his friends, he took a three-foot high photograph of the Argentine talisman at least 100 feet underwater and placed it next to the coral reefs beneath the crystal clear blue water. They took the assistance of the Ammathi Scuba and Lakshadweep Adventures to accomplish the mission. As revealed by Swadikh, the illustration was built with water-resistant materials and is expected to be intact for a long period.
Therefore, the viral video was taken in Kavaratti, Lakshadweep, and shows fans of Messi in Lakshadweep but not from Kerala.