A video is being widely shared on social media in which people are seen throwing furniture from a building with a cross on it and attacking the building.

The video is shared with a caption claiming that it shows a mob attacking a Christian church in India.

The video has Hindi text on it that reads, “Church attack, vandalism in church.” Another Malayalam text embedded on it reads, “This is not in Pakistan but in Digital India ruled by Narendra Modi.”

SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The video is from Pakistan’s Jaranwala, not India.

On a Google reverse image search, we found that the same video was shared by a YouTube channel on August 16. The video was shared with an Urdu title that suggested that the video is from Jaranwala and that the incident happened on August 16, 2023.

Taking a hint, we searched with relevant keywords and found the video shared in a report by Business Standard on August 18, 2023.

In the video report, at around 13 seconds, we can see clips of the viral video. The video was shared with a caption that reads, “It was a dark day for Pakistan when Bibles were burned, and churches were set ablaze in Faisalabad’s Jaranwala on August 16. Rumours of a blasphemous act sparked the outrage, though its veracity remains uncertain. Watch the video to know how Christians, in the name of blasphemy, are terrorised in the Sunni-dominated country.”

We compared both clips and found similarities that show that both were showing the same incident. The similarities include a white building with cross on it and a grey building and a blue building on either side.

The incident was also reported by The Economic Times on August 21, 2023.

According to the report, the Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP) report says that on August 16, 2023, the Jaranwala mob attack, 19 churches and 89 Christian homes were fully destroyed. Over 400 houses were affected in total. The violence happened at Churches for allegedly desecrating Islam’s holy book.

Therefore, we conclude that the claim is false.