Fact Check: Kerala has many Messi fans but this old video does not show celebration of Argentina's La Finalissima 2022 win
India Today
The India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) found that though the viral video was from the Indian state of Kerala, it was almost a year old and has no connection with Argentina’s victory in La Finalissima 2022.
Lionel Messi stole the show in front of a packed crowd at the Wembley Stadium as Argentina's national football team celebrated a 3-0 victory over Italy to claim La Finalissima 2022. Following this, a video went viral on social media claiming it showed the legendary Indian fans in Kerala celebrating Argentina's victory.
The video showed a bike rally with men carrying Argentina’s flag, hooting and cheering as they sped on a road. A Twitter user shared the video with the claim, “My town in India celebrating Argentina’s win today. We love Messi”.
The archived version of this post can be seen here.
The India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) found that though the video was from the Indian state of Kerala, it was almost a year old. Obviously, it has no connection with Argentina’s victory in La Finalissima 2022.
The devil is in the detail
In the viral video, several people could be seen wearing masks, indicating that it was likely shot in 2020 or 2021 when Covid-19 masking rules were stricter. When we reverse-searched frames from the video, we found that many people had shared it in 2021.
The bikes could be seen crossing a bridge located near a beach. An abundance of palm trees also suggested that it was shot in a coastal area.
