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| - Fact Check: Old video from 2018 falsely shared as 'Indians setting 5G towers on fire'
The video has been there on the Internet since 2018 and precedes the rollout of 5G technology in India.
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India Today Fact Check
It's an old video that has been there on the internet since as early as 2018. It’s noteworthy that 5G was rolled out in India in 2022.
A video of a mobile tower engulfed in flames is going viral on social media. Those sharing it claimed that people were setting 5G towers on fire in India. A Twitter user, sharing the clip, wrote, "In India people are burning 5G towers." An archived version of one such tweet can be seen here.
India Today found that the viral video has been there on the internet since as early as January 2018, four years before 5G was rolled out in India.
Our Probe
A reverse search of keyframes from the viral video led us to a similar video on the YouTube channel HindiXpress. It was uploaded on January 2018. As per the description provided with the video, the incident reportedly occurred in Barara, Ambala.
It's worth noting that 5G technology wasn't available in India in January 2018, the first time a viral video appeared on the internet. In April, South Korea was the first country in the world to debut the latest generation of mobile internet technology.
India Today reported on Feb 24, 2018, telecom major Bharti Airtel and technology giant Huawei announced that they had successfully conducted the first 5G "trial" in India. Airtel's Experience Centre in Manesar (Gurugram) was the test site.
Around four years later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the service on October 10, 2022, in India, marking the adoption of the 5G technology.
We also found that the viral clip was also shared back in 2019 as well. At the time, those sharing it claimed that it showed a 5G tower in Gujarat.
While we could not ascertain more details of the incident, one thing is established beyond doubt: the incident precedes 5G technology in India.
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