- The Verdict: False Logically Facts confirmed with organisers that the video shows a Good Friday procession in Jammu, held by the Joint Churches Fellowship in March 2024.
What is the claim?
A 45-second video circulating on social media shows a man dressed as Jesus walking down a road carrying a cross while being struck with a lash by two others. The footage transitions to additional people holding the cross and walking on the same road. Text overlaid on the video claims, “Punjab has really fallen, conversions are at its peak.”
The video has been shared with the claim that it was filmed in Punjab, a state in northern India. An X user, Mr Sinha, known for sharing misinformation, posted the video with the caption, “This is Punjab.”
The post garnered over 200,000 views, 400 comments, and 1,400 reposts. Similarly, the right-wing account Kreatly Media, which regularly spreads misinformation, shared the video, blaming the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab with the caption, “Drama progressing in Punjab. AAP hai toh mumkin hai (If AAP is there, it is possible).”
The narrative spread across platforms like YouTube and Instagram. Archived versions of the posts are available here, here, and here.
However, we found that the video is not from Punjab but from Jammu and depicts a Good Friday procession held in March 2024.
What are the facts?
A reverse image search of keyframes from the video led to a news report by Daily Excelsior, a Jammu and Kashmir-based outlet. Published on March 28, 2024, the report included a screenshot from the viral video (archived here) and stated it was from a Christian procession organised in Jammu on Good Friday and Easter by the Jammu and Kashmir Joint Churches Fellowship.
Additional visuals from the procession, uploaded on Daily Excelsior’s Facebook page on March 27, 2024 (archived here), closely match the viral video.
Logically Facts contacted the Jammu and Kashmir Joint Churches Fellowship. The organisation’s media consultant, Camres David, confirmed, “The video is from the Good Friday procession held on March 27, 2024, in Jammu. We conduct this procession every year; it’s an annual event.” Reverend Shoukat Peter, president of the fellowship, corroborated this information.
Further investigation confirmed the location in the viral video. At the 40-second mark, a store with a red signboard reading “Ghulam Rasool & Sons Dress Designer” is visible. We geolocated this store to Residency Road in Prem Nagar, part of Jammu’s Old Heritage City area. The yellow building above the store, seen in the video, was also verified using Google Maps.
The verdict
A video of a Good Friday procession held in Jammu in March 2024 is being falsely shared with claims that it depicts religious conversion in Punjab.
This report first appeared on logicallyfacts.com, and has been republished on ABP Live as part of a special arrangement. Apart from the headline, no changes have been made in the report by ABP Live.