An old video of Telugu actor Allu Arjun is being shared online with a false claim that it shows him campaigning in support of the Congress during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
BOOM found that the video is from 2022, when Arjun attended the India Day Parade as the Grand Marshal in New York, US.
Controversial film critic and former Bigg Boss contestant Kamaal R. Khan shared the video with the caption, “Allu Arjun the biggest super star of India is campaigning for congress party.”
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
The video is also being shared with a Hindi caption that translates to, “Allu Arjun in the field to honor Congress.”
(Original Text in Hindi: कांग्रेस के सम्मान में अल्लू अर्जून मैदान में।)
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
Fact Check
BOOM ran a reverse image search on some of the keyframes from the video with Google Lens and found several news articles with images of Allu Arjun wearing the same attire.
One such article published by Hindustan Times on 22 August, 2022, stated that the actor participated in the annual India Day parade in New York as an invitee, serving as the grand marshal to commemorate the 75th anniversary of India’s independence.
Taking a cue, we ran a related keyword search and found a video from 23 August, 2022, featuring similar visuals on the actor’s official YouTube channel.
The description with the video reads: “Icon Star Allu Arjun as Grand Marshal at the 40th India Day Parade in New York”.
Below is a comparison between the scenes from the viral video and the video uploaded on Arjun’s official YouTube channel in August, 2022.
An NDTV report from 22 August, 2022, covering the event reads, “The Annual India Day Parade was organised by the Federation of Indian Associations to mark 75 years of Independent India. During the event, the actor (Allu Arjun) also met the Mayor of New York City and shared some glimpses on social media.”
The photos shared by the actor’s verified X handle can be seen below.
It was a pleasure meeting the Mayor of New York City . Very Sportive Gentleman. Thank You for the Honours Mr. Eric Adams . Thaggede Le ! @ericadamsfornyc @NYCMayorsOffice pic.twitter.com/LdMsGy4IE0
— Allu Arjun (@alluarjun) August 22, 2022
Click here to view the post.
According to the Federation of Indian Associations’ website, the India Day Parade is observed in August every year to celebrate the Indo-American culture, and bring together the members of Indian diaspora.
An excerpt reads, “This India Day Parade event marks the unique mix of togetherness of Indo-America where Indian immigrants residing in the USA come together with the visitors of different countries participating in the parade by holding aloft an Indian flag, and witness Indian culture, its identity and exchange social bonding with cultural understandings.” (sic.)
This story was originally published by Boom Live as part of the Shakti Collective. Apart from the headline, excerpt and introduction, this story has not been edited by ThePrint staff.
Also read: Fact Check: Dhoni’s selfie not about Congress. Photo from 2020, celebrating IPL team’s X following