2018 Lemon Festival video from France shared as Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in Holland.

Misleading Social

The video is not from Holland but from France, Europe in 2018.

It is not uncommon for social media videos to bear no resemblance to the actual event. Many videos have also been released on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. 

Amidst the ongoing celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi in India, a video showing a giant Ganesh idol built out of oranges and lemons is widely circulating on social media with the claim that the video shows a recent celebration of the Ganesh Chaturthi in Holland, Netherlands.

The caption of the video states: “Holland is said to be the capital of orange in the world. The locals use the best part of their harvest to celebrate the festival of Vinayaka Chaturthi. Please see the unique ceremony they perform.”

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The video is also circulating on Twitter as well.

Fact Crescendo has found that a 2018 video of a giant Ganesh idol built out of oranges and lemons from an event in France is being circulated under the false claim that it is from Holland, where locals recently celebrated the Hindu festival of Ganesh Chaturthi.

Fact Check

A reverse image search of the viral video revealed that it shows an event held on the eve of the Lemon Festival in Menton, France in 2018 with a Bollywood theme.

A You Tube video posted by Wion, an Indian multi-national English news channel stated that the Lemon festival of France is an annual celebration of the end of winter and the arrival of spring, in which the entire town of Menton is painted with oranges and lemons grown locally. In 2018, the theme of the lemon festival was Bollywood.

YouTube link of the original event.

You can see the image of the Ganpati idol posted on Twitter in 2018 stating that it shows Hindu deity Ganesh, made of lemons and oranges, on the eve of the 85th Lemon Festival, in Menton, southeastern France, on February 16, 2018.

Furthermore, we searched for the image on Reuters’ photo site and discovered where it was posted on February 15, 2018, with credit to Jean-Pierre Amet. “A sculpture made of lemons and oranges, depicting the elephant-headed Hindu God Ganesha is seen during the 85th Lemon Festival in Menton, France,” the caption reads.

Conclusion

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the viral video to be misleading and false. The viral video does not show the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in Holland, but the video shows a glimpse of the Lemon Festival in Menton, France in 2018.

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Title:2018 Lemon Festival video from France shared as Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in Holland.

Fact Check By: Usha Manoj 

Result: Misleading