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Video of Pope's visit to East Timor wrongly linked to protest by Indian Muslims

<span>Screenshot of the incorrect post taken on September 26, 2024</span>” data-src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/5AdeGKLcaHDo4RbzgdrNBg–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTE0OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/afp_factcheck_us_713/9266924a371c31d 472011f3967b1cd10″/><span></div>
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Screenshot of the incorrect post taken on September 26, 2024

The false claim emerged as former Indian lawmaker Imtiaz Jaleel led a convoy of hundreds of vehicles into Mumbai, demanding the arrest of BJP politician Nitesh Rane and Hindu preacher Ramgiri Maharaj for “inflammatory statements” about Muslims, according to local media (archived Link). .

The protesters were denied entry into the city and returned after handing over their demands to government officials.

The clip was shared with similar false claims elsewhere on X and Facebook here and here.

But the claim is false. The video was filmed during Pope Francis' visit to East Timor.

Photographs from East Timor

A reverse image search of the footage on Google found a higher quality version posted to TikTok on September 11, 2024 by an account named “rey.marques.” It has been viewed more than two million times (archived link).

Hashtags in the caption suggested it was filmed during the Pope's visit to East Timor.

The pope celebrated mass for hundreds of thousands of believers in the small Southeast Asian country on September 10 (archived link).

Around 600,000 people from a population of 1.3 million attended the mass, the Vatican said in a statement, citing local authorities.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the clip shared in fake posts (left) and the TikTok footage (right):

<span>Screenshot comparison of the altered video (left) and the TikTok footage (right)</span>” data-src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/rm4lekysuD4JdIfwroU0Jw–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTQzOQ–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/afp_factcheck_us_713/58032990ce427e19 c0532e0fe6df9795″/><span><button class=

Screenshot comparison of the modified video (left) and the TikTok material (right)

The footage shows the East Timorese flag on street lamps and a poster of the Pope.

<span>Flag of East Timor on street lamps and a poster of the Pope</span>” data-src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/I2LGco1UKa5rplSWlWi29w–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYwNw–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/afp_factcheck_us_713/1fa7e4383e4ed75 fed6675ee1a5adb18″/><span><button class=

Flag of East Timor on street lamps and a poster of the Pope

AFP previously debunked another false claim in the Philippines sharing the same video.

Rey Marques, a photographer based in the capital Dili and owner of the TikTok account, told AFP at the time he did not know who shot the video but identified the scene as near the Raikotu General Cemetery in the city.

AFP confirmed the location of the footage by comparing it with Google Street View images from the area (archived link).

Below is a screenshot comparison highlighting a house, street and tree in the TikTok video (left) and the corresponding elements in Google Street View (right):

<span>Screenshot comparison highlighting a house, street and tree in the TikTok video (left) and the corresponding elements in Google Street View (right).</span>” data-src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/y_CXXyoesLGFPytaoRei2Q–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTI2Mw–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/afp_factcheck_us_713/b30a2e9dc3979982 f4789ce3dba221f2″/><span><button class=

Screenshot comparison highlighting a house, a street and a tree in the TikTok video (left) and the corresponding elements in Google Street View (right)

A livestream on local media outlet TVET Entertainment's Facebook page shows a similar scene of crowds running after the mass (archived link).