Fact Check: Viral Video of Huge Crowd at Patna's BKC Turns Out to be 'Pushpa 2' Trailer Launch, Not MVA Rally

A viral video circulating on social media showed a massive crowd, with a drone shot of the gathering at what many claimed was a Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) rally at BKC, Mumbai. Indeed, the video, which has been widely shared, intensified debates; the users identified it as a political event, but India Today Fact Check came out to clarify the truth: that the video actually shows a crowd gathering for the trailer launch of Pushpa 2: The Rule, a movie now heavily anticipated in cinema halls, starring the charismatic Bollywood star Allu Arjun and Rashmika Mandanna, held in Patna, Bihar.

Fake News Travels on Social Media

The video shows a huge crowd and was initially captioned by an X (formerly Twitter) user, who described the footage as from a political rally. The user wrote, "Crowd throng MVA rally at BKC in Mumbai | Overview of the meeting recorded by drone." It went viral very fast, and people started linking the huge gathering with the political discourse in Maharashtra.

India Today Fact Check discovered, however, that this viral video was not a political event but a promotional event for Pushpa 2: The Rule. Trailer launch event was held at Gandhi Maidan in Patna on November 17, 2023. The video shows excited fans gathered to see Allu Arjun and Rashmika Mandanna, with some fans climbing onto a tower-like structure to catch a better view.

The Truth Behind the Crowd

The investigation by India Today uncovered a crucial match between the viral clip and an 86-minute-long video uploaded on YouTube by the event management company YouWe Media. This video showcased the launch of the Pushpa 2 trailer and had several keyframes similar to those found in the viral clip. The video features scenes of the stage, the crowd, and the structure in which fans stood.

Contrary to what the political rally claimed of the event, it was actually a campaign for the movie, and the commotion in the arena was credited to high attendance. The incident has once again highlighted the spread of misinformation on social media, where videos can be easily misrepresented to create confusion.

The viral video in question is originally a part of the political debate surrounding Maharashtra's MVA rally. In fact, it is footage from the movie trailer launch of Pushpa 2 in Patna. So here's another reminder of just how quick social media can unravel misinformation and why facts have to be checked before jumping to conclusions.

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