Political

Video of church on fire in France shared linking to Manipur violence

Video shows a church on fire in France and is not related to the violence in Manipur.

Manipur is witnessing an ongoing conflict between the tribal communities of Kukis and Meiteis, which has resulted in the deaths of over 150 people so far. In this context a video of a burning church in a massive fire is going viral on social media to claim that this incident happened recently in Manipur. The claim also states that ‘pro-BJP extremists’ burned down this 300-year-old St Joseph’s church as a part of the protest. Caption of the post states “Violence arson is not stopping Pro-BJP extremists destroyed more than 300-year-old St. Joseph’s Church lit Manipur is burning since 73 days and PM is roaming abroad, I have never seen such a shameless and shameless PM. #Manipur Violence”

Archive link

Fact check

Our investigation began with a reverse image search of key frames from the viral video, which led us to a report published by the French media named France 3 on 7 July, 2023. The feature image of this story matched the visuals from the viral video. According to the report, “the historical timber-framed church, L’église Notre-Dame-de Drosnay in Marne caught fire and collapsed shortly after. The cause of the fire was not known”.

In further search we found a report by Hindustan Times from 8 July. The report contained the viral video and stated that it shows a 16th-century church on fire in North-Eastern France. 

We also came across another report by French news outlet BFM TV regarding this incident. This mentioned that 41 firefighters reached the scene to help douse the fire, and an official statement informed that 90% of the roof’s surface had collapsed. Mayor Emmanuel Le Roy informed that the church was listed as a historical monument since 1982 and predated to at least the 15th or 16th century.

Further we found a press release by Marne’s The Regional Department of Cultural Affairs (DRAC) Grand Est about the incident. It was published on 7 July and stated that the half-timbered church in Drosnay, in the Marne, was destroyed by fire on 7 July. We also discovered the church’s exact location in France on Google Maps which matched the viral video

Conclusion-

Fact Crescendo found that the claim made along with the viral video to be False. The viral video shows a church fire in Marne, France and is not related to the violence in Manipur.

Title:Video of church on fire in France shared linking to Manipur violence

Written By: Usha Manoj

Result: False

Usha Manoj

Recent Posts

Old CCTV footage from Myanmar earthquake goes viral as the recent earthquake in Russia

This video shows a CCTV footage from an electronics store in Myanmar when the earthquake…

9 hours ago

2017 tsunami video from Durban shared as Tsunami in Japan after the earthquake in Russia.

This video shows a heavy tidal wave on a beach in Durban, South Africa, and…

12 hours ago

Old Video Of An Under-Construction Bridge Collapse In Bihar Going Viral As A Recent Incident.

Recently a video showing a collapsed under-construction bridge went viral on social media. Sharing the…

16 hours ago

Old and unrelated image goes viral linking to recent Russian plane crash

This viral image is from the Air India Express plane crash in Mangalore in 2010.…

16 hours ago

Satara Knife Attack Falsely Given Communal Spin; Accused Is Not Muslim

A disturbing video showing a knife attack on a schoolgirl is going viral on social…

1 day ago

Video of a murder incident from Pakistan falsely shared as an incident from Uttar Pradesh

This is an old video from Punjab, Pakistan. It is not related to India. A…

2 days ago