` `

Fake Video: Men Uprooting Trees

Suzy Woltmann Suzy Woltmann
News
14th August 2020
Fake Video: Men Uprooting Trees
The trees were planted as part of the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami initiative (Pakistan Today).

The Claim

The video below depicts men uprooting trees because “planting trees is against Islam.”

Emerging story

In August 2020, Bharatiya Janata party member Surendra Punia tweeted the video with a caption reading, “Imran Khan copied PM Shri Modi's 'Tree Plantation Drive' in Pakistan but his followers uprooted all trees because they feel 'Planting trees is against Islam.'” The claim was soon picked up by users on social media, who reposted the claim with Islamophobic captions.

Misbar’s Analysis

Misbar found that the captions accompanying the video are false. We conducted a reverse image search using screenshots from the video and found that it was actually from an August 9, 2020 incident when residents uprooted the trees as part of a protest against government encroachment on their land. 

The incident seen in the video has nothing to do with Islam, and the claim about people feeling “planting trees is against Islam” is completely fabricated.

Misbar’s Classification

Fake

Misbar’s Sources

Read More

Most Read