Video from Myanmar falsely circulated as drones used by Kukis to bomb Meitei villages
Claim
LEAKED FOOTAGE REVEALS The #Kuki terrorists have started to use drones to bomb in numerous Meitei villages in #Manipur. Sources said that more than 40 bomb explosion has been reported in Bishnupur dist. #ManipurVideo #ManipurBurning #ManipurCrisis #ManipurVoilence #SaveManipur
Rating
Explanation
The tweet showcases drone footage with the claim that the Kuki community has started using drones to bomb the villages of the Meitei group in Manipur. This further added more horrific details like there were more than 40 bomb explosions reported in the Bishnupur district.
Some users even went on to ask the Indian Government why they are remaining silent. Does the government want to see more Meitei people killed by the Kuki militants? These messages also included hashtags like #SaveManipur #Manipurburning
Manipur is a small state which is under violence and severe clashes between two ethnic groups namely Kukis and Meiteis for more than two months from May 3. Meantime, we see more videos and tweets regarding Manipur, which is scary and heartbreaking.
Drones are now being used by the Kuki terrorists to bomb many locations where Meitei residents live – 27th July 2023.
Dear Indian Govt, are you still going to remain silent?
Do you still want to see more Meitei people killed by the Kuki Militants?@ramindesai @dintentdata… pic.twitter.com/cDrG5sRP82— Koloi Manipur (@KoloiManipur) July 28, 2023
#ALERT: Chin-Kuki terrorists now uses aerial bombs to bomb indigenous Meetei villages in Manipur/India.
LEAKED FOOTAGE REVEALS that Chin-Kuki terrorists have started using drones to bomb indigenous Meetei villages.
More than 40 bomb explosions have been reported in Bishnupur. pic.twitter.com/vUq08PHm6u
— Meetei Today II (@MeeteiTodayII) July 27, 2023
What is the truth ?
The video of a drone used for bombings is shared repeatedly claiming that this is done by the Kuki community militants targeting the Meiteis group in the Manipur region.
When we started the research with the keyframes and tools we came to know that, the video was taken in Myanmar. When we dug a little deeper we landed on the Telegram channel namely Z Fighter which posted the original video on June 2, 2023. There was this logo on the video which we were able to identify as Mandalay Free Press(MFP), a media organization reporting news from Mandalay and the Sagaing region of Myanmar.
The drone footage shows the bird’s eye view of a village with houses covered with asbestos sheets that are surrounded by lush greenery. While watching the video further we were able to see that something is dropped from the drone and it gets exploded.
When we researched a little more we came to know that the footages are from May 31, 2023, and shows the Ayadaw Bone Naing- PDF, a paramilitary force from Myanmar, controlling the drones to organise an attack on a military force that has invaded several villages in the district.
This same video from Myanmar is also uploaded on their Facebook page but is purportedly circulated by various social media users with false claims as this is from Manipur, accusing the Kuki community of using the drones to bomb the Meitei villages.
Conclusion
Therefore, the claim of the viral video stating that the Kuki community is using drones to bomb the numerous village of meitei people is completely false. The video is from Myanmar and not Manipur.
