Fact Check: Viral video showing a mosque on fire makes a false claim that it occurred in India
nsion between India and Bangladesh has erupted amid the alleged attacks on the minorities in Bangladesh, that led
Mosque on fire
Tension between India and Bangladesh has erupted amid the alleged attacks on the minorities in Bangladesh, that led to massive protests in the country. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), India, expressed concern over a series of attacks on Hindu temples in Bangladesh, calling for swift action from the Bangladeshi government to ensure the safety and security of its minority communities.
After a series of events, several social media posts were in circulation showing violence against the minorities in Bangladesh, many of which were old and misleading, spreading misinformation. Amidst this situation, a video of a mosque set on fire is shared on social media with the claim that a mosque has been set on fire in India. The social media posts shared the video with caption in Bangali like “আল্লাহ ভারতীয় মুসলমানদের কে
When translated, it claims: “May Allah protect the Indian Muslims. How some animals grown up eating cow's urine set fire to the mosque”
Here is the Archive link of the claim.
Fact Check:
The claim is False. The video is not from India but is from Indonesia where a mosque caught fire due to a short circuit.
When we extracted keyframes from the video and searched them using Google reverse image search, we found a YouTube video published on December 8, 2024, with the caption “Kebakaran di Pasar Sentral Luwuk Banggai Sulawesi Tengah!!#firefighter #pemadamkebakaran #kebakaran” When translated, it states: “Fire at Central Market Luwuk Banggai, Central Sulawesi!”. In the description of the video, we found Jakarta as the location of the video.
We found another YouTube video published by a channel named Damkar- firefighters also geotagged as Jakarta.
According to the description on a short news video published by a channel named Pos-Kupang.com with the title “Fire Burns Dozens of Stalls at Luwuk Banggai Central Market”, a massive fire hit the Luwuk Central Market, Banggai Regency, Central Sulawesi, Sunday (8/12/2024) morning. The fire reportedly originated from a trader's stall next to the Luwuk Central Market Mosque. The flames quickly spread, burning down the mosque and dozens of trader's stalls around it. The very crowded market conditions and the building materials dominated by wood accelerated the spread of the fire. Firefighters were overwhelmed in handling the fire. After struggling for several hours, the fire was finally extinguished. However, almost all buildings in the Luwuk Central Market were reported to have burned down. Until now, the authorities have been investigating the exact cause of the fire and calculating the total losses suffered by the traders. (POS-KUPANG.COM, TribunPalu.com)
Therefore, the viral video showing the fire in the mosque is not from India, and it was not intentionally set on fire. The mosque caught fire due to a short circuit in the nearby market and then spread to the mosque, burning it down. The claim is False.