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| - Fact Check: Video of Muslim man urinating in Dutch supermarket is staged prank
India Today found that the video is a staged prank pulled by an Instagram user named Danny Derix.
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India Today Fact Check
This is a staged prank by Instagram user Danny Derix, who is neither Muslim, nor an immigrant.
A video allegedly showing a man urinating in a Dutch supermarket's pork section has gone viral on social media. Allegedly, the person seen in the video was a Muslim immigrant.
In the viral video, a man, facing away from the camera, can be seen leaning over the meat section, hands positioned as if he is urinating. The person behind the camera, speaking in Dutch, yells, "Bro, you're radical, just because you don’t eat pork. Wow. We don't eat pork. We don't eat pork."
A user sharing the video on X, wrote, "Muslim immigrant in Holland urinates on the pork section of the supermarket as another films saying ‘we don't eat pork’."
India Today found that the video is a staged prank pulled by an Instagram user named Danny Derix.
Our Probe
Responding to the viral video, several people identified the man as Instagram user Danny Derix. While tagging him, they commented that he was a known prankster.
We searched for him on Instagram and found the viral video on his profile, also featuring other videos, where he dressed identically staged similar pranks of simulating urination in odd public places.
India Today reached out to Danny, who clarified that he is neither Muslim nor an immigrant and identified as a Christian of mixed ethnicity — half Indonesian and half Dutch. Danny clarified that his purpose in making such prank videos was to raise awareness about the ease of creating and disseminating misinformation online.
In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Danny disclosed that he didn't even use a bottle of water or any fluid to make it authentic. Instead, he used a urinating sound effect and juxtaposed it with the viral video for a realistic effect.
He also created a sample video mirroring the original act, demonstrating the process of searching for a urination sound on a metal sheet online and seamlessly integrating it into video.
Danny went on to explain, "The video gained widespread attention, to the extent that even Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders reposted it with a misleading communal claim."
He further clarified that after shooting the video in Albert Heijn supermarket, it was posted to various social media platforms without any context, but people immediately assumed that this person must be a Muslim or an immigrant. He expressed astonishment at how people construct their narratives.
Expressing regret over the narrative created by those who shared the video, he revealed that several news organisations had contacted him to confirm the authenticity of the viral claims. Lamenting about the implications of such absurd claims, he alleged that Basic-Fit, a popular gym chain in Europe, cancelled his subscription and banned him from all their outlets.
Thus, it’s clear that a viral prank video was circulated online with a communal spin.
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