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| - Fact Check: Old Ramadan video FALSELY shared as Muslims praying at Times Square on Christmas
India Today found that this video shows Muslims offering Taraweeh prayers during Ramadan earlier this year, not during Christmas.
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India Today Fact Check
This video shows Taraweeh prayers being offered during Ramadan in March 2023.
A video of a huge gathering of Muslims allegedly offering prayers at Times Square in New York on Christmas this year. A Facebook user wrote sharing the viral video, “Times Square - New York, Christmas Day, 2023.”
The archived version of this post can be seen here.
India Today found that while the viral video is from Times Square in New York, it is old and shows Taraweeh prayers during Ramadan.
Our Probe
Reverse-searching keyframes of the vial video, we came across reports with similar visuals, noting that these scenes show Iftar and Taraweeh prayers at Times Square in New York. Taraweeh is an Islamic prayer that is performed only in the month of Ramadan.
With these clues, we performed a keyword search on YouTube and found the viral video uploaded to multiple accounts between March and April this year. These videos were described as Taraweeh prayers at Times Square on the first day of Ramadan.
The Muslim holy month of Ramadan in 2023 began on March 22 and ended on April 21.
Additionally, the news ticker in the video featured a report on violent clashes in France between police and demonstrators during an anti-reservoir protest. The clash took place on March 25, 2023, when protestors opposing the construction of a large water reservoir meant for farm irrigation in west France clashed with French police.
We also perused Christmas Day live vlogs from Times Square on YouTube and found the place was well-lit and decorated, and found nothing that resembled the scene in the viral clip.
All this evidence suggests that an old video of Ramadan prayers at Times Square was shared with a false communal spin.
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