A viral video posted in early May claims to show bottles of alcohol in Iran being destroyed by security forces and civilians. But that’s not what actually happened.
In the video, which was shared widely on social media in Venezuela and India as well as on conservative Russian chat forums, often without sound, hundreds of what appear to be empty wine and liquor bottles are laid neatly in the dirt in front of crowd of men. The men proceed to hurl the bottles one by one into the air as others in uniform survey the scene.
The video was in fact filmed in Pakistan. Here’s how we tracked it down.
Horror in Iran
Their cruelty has no limit, it's very tragic
Some of them are 12 years old, some are 15 years and some are even 18 years old
*warning* disturbing video pic.twitter.com/fmAaDZhu80— Exsecular (@ExSecular) May 1, 2019
Ojo imagenes fuertes Horror en Irán… se me caen las lagrimas
Algunos tienen 12 años, otros 15 y también de 18…
Salvajes!!! pic.twitter.com/nvG1DEjHIU— Pedro Paolucci (@paolucci40) May 19, 2019
Language and uniforms are a big hint
Running a reverse image search of the video quickly turns up a version with sound. The people in it are heard speaking Urdu, the official language of Pakistan. The most common languages in Iran are Persian, Kurdish and various Turkic dialects.
Additionally, one of the men in the video is wearing a white cap and uniform typical of that of a naval officer. But the uniform has short sleeves, which is inconsistent with Iranian naval uniform.
Finally, the two men holding large bottles of liquor in the foreground of the video are wearing caps that say “Pakistan”. An online search of “Pakistan customs” reveals photos of Pakistani customs officials wearing hats with a similar logo.
A scene filmed by the Associated Press
The video depicts Pakistani customs officials destroying seized goods worth more than 3 billion rupees, or around €17.7 million euros on April 25.
Authorities smashed around 59,000 bottles of liquor and beer and burned narcotics outside Karachi, along Pakistan’s southern coast, according to Independent News Pakistan. Drinking alcohol is forbidden for Muslims in the country.
The event can also be seen in a video and photos taken by the Associated Press.
Both the viral video and the AP video show a line of concrete blocks and an excavator to the right of the scene, as well as white plastic bags demarcating the area where the bottles are piled up.
Source » france24