Side-by-side screenshot from the videos shared by Xplore_Nagaland (Left) and Daily Mail Sport (Right) depicting fireworks were set up prior to the Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores 2024 match between River Plate and Atletico Mineiro at River Plate Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina, on October 29. The former, however, depicted it as a celebration of Diwali in Dimapur.
Moa Jamir
Dimapur | November 5
One negative aspect of an increasingly digital world is the emergence of the ‘fake news’ phenomenon, with misinformation, disinformation, or malinformation (MDM) being shared for various motives.
A video of massive fireworks is widely circulating on social media, with users claiming it shows Diwali celebrations inside a stadium in Dimapur on November 1, fall under the category.
Diwali was celebrated across India and many parts of the world last week.
The video gained significant traction after two accounts on the micro-blogging site X, formerly Twitter, shared it. The video was first posted by what appeared to be a Nagaland-based X account.
This was picked up by others.
Sharing the video, X handle @MeghUpdates wrote, “A message for Arvind Kejriwal from Nagaland – celebrating Diwali like a pro,” seemingly attempting to score a political point.
The post, timestamped at 2:45 AM on November 1, had generated over 285,100 views by 3 PM on November 4 and was reposted more than 2,000 times.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s weekly magazine Panchjanya also shared the video with the caption, “This is how Diwali was celebrated in Nagaland!” (as per Google translation), posted at 11:02 AM on November 1.
By 3 PM on November 4, the post had been viewed over 73,400 times, with 1,600 reposts.
Despite being flagged by third-party fact-checkers, (link here, here and here) these posts had not yet been removed by the two entities.
Both posts were shared from an ‘original’ video posted by a Nagaland-based X handle, Xplore_Nagaland (@Nagaland_India), which claims to post “About Nagaland & Northeast.”
The video, shared at 5:58 PM on October 29, included the message, “#HappyDeepavali With love from Nagaland, Dimapur stadium #Deepavali2024 celebration.”
By the afternoon of November 4, it had generated over 138,300 views.
On November 2, ‘Xplore_Nagaland’ reposted the Panchjanya and Megh Updates posts, among others, and thanked them for sharing. Several users have since shared the video on X, as well as on YouTube.
On Facebook, the video post displays a message stating, “Third-party fact-checkers say that information in this post is false.” Versions of the video are also visible on Instagram and YouTube.
The Real Video
Prima facie, it is clear that the video is neither from Nagaland nor representative of any state capability.
Besides, on October 29, the Dimapur police issued an advisory reiterating the ban on firecrackers for the upcoming festive season. Fireworks were permitted from 8 PM to 10 PM on Diwali and other festivals like Gurupurab, while the permitted time for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve was from 11:55 PM to 12:30 AM.
Further, firecrackers containing hazardous chemicals like barium, lithium, arsenic, antimony, lead, or mercury, along with those exceeding a noise level of 125 dB (AI) or 145 dB (C) at a 4-meter distance, are prohibited.
A celebration of such magnitude purportedly in Dimapur, thus, would have invited scrutiny.
To verify the video’s origin, The Morung Express conducted a keyframe analysis using the InVID Verification Application, followed by a reverse image search of the generated frames via Google Lens.
The results led to a ‘reel’ video link shared by Daily Mail Sport under the caption, “SCENES at River Plate vs Atletico Mineiro…” and other links, confirming that the fireworks were set up prior to the Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores 2024 semifinal second leg match between River Plate and Atletico Mineiro at Estadio Más Monumental or River Plate Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina, on October 29.
The official River Plate YouTube channel also shared similar visuals with the caption, “A hug from the river and a unique, historic and incomparable reception on the night of the #Libertadores.”
Other fact-checking articles also debunked the claim that this video depicted Diwali celebrations in Nagaland. However, as of November 4, the video had yet to be taken down from the X handles of Panchjanya, Megh Updates, or Xplore_Nagaland.
Thus, from both a local context and analysis of the available online records, it is clear that the video shared did not depict Diwali celebrations at Dimapur stadium or have any connection to Nagaland and was used out of context.
Over recent years, the concept of MDM – Misinformation, Disinformation, and Malinformation – has become a major concern.
The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) defines misinformation as “false, but not created or shared with the intention of causing harm,” while disinformation is “deliberately created to mislead, harm, or manipulate a person, social group, organisation, or country.” Malinformation is based on fact but used out of context to mislead, harm, or manipulate.
The present case appears to be an instance of malinformation.
Context
The misrepresented Diwali celebration in Nagaland appears to portray the festival as celebrated widely in a predominantly Christian state. According to the 2011 Census, Christians form the majority in Nagaland, constituting 87.93% of the total population. Other major religions include Hinduism (8.75%) and Islam (2.47%).
Did Nagaland Celebrate Diwali?
Along with the rest of the country, Nagaland celebrated the festival of lights, with homes, businesses, and other locations lit up.
The festivities were most visible in Kohima and Dimapur, where the majority of the non-Christian religious community resides.
Nagaland Governor, La Ganesan, led celebrations with festive fervour at Raj Bhavan, Kohima, on October 31, bringing together officers, Raj Bhavan staff and their families, as well as members of the Nepali community from Old Minister’s Hill, Kohima.
Nagaland is known for its peaceful co-existence of all religions.
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