FACT CHECK: Witch caught on camera? Vfx video falsely shared as real incident
Netizens were quick to share this video and claimed that the creature resembles a “witch” and was caught on camera near a crematorium in Bihar.
A video recorded by an individual showing a mysterious creature appearing to float atop a white van is viral on social media. In the video, the creature seems to have glowing eyes and is seen climbing down the van. A strange noise, similar to a weeping animal can be heard in the background.
Netizens were quick to share this video and claimed that the creature resembles a "witch" and was caught on camera near a crematorium in either Bihar or Meerut.
One such tweet reads, "Last night in Meerut, a mystery video became increasingly viral on social media. A young man captured a video of a ghost on his mobile. The video was taken near a colony built near the cemetery near Kasampur gate of Meerut." The hashtags "#Meerut" and "#ghost" were added to the video as well.
Few media organizations such as Zee News reported on the video too. The artcile reads, "Few people in Kalna claimed that a ghost was seen. A video related to this also went viral on Facebook. Based on the video, there is a rumor in the city of Kalna that ghosts have indeed been seen! And the image of that ghost is captured in that video. As a result, people were not even seen leaving their homes in the surrounding areas after 9 pm."
FACT CHECK:
A reverse image search led to the same video being geo-tagged to different locations.
A video was posted on youtube by media channel "Zabar News" claiming that the video was shot by a KMC city warden at midnight from a washroom window near Karachi's Kidney Hill Park. Similarly the video was geotagged to Malaysia and Philippines.
Another reverse image search led to a youtube video posted on September 24, titled, "VFX tutorial. Flying witch caught on camera. Cinema 4d and after effects." Here, the speaker showed how the video was made via visual effects. Joseph Njovu, the visual effects artist based in Zambia, explained how the video that was made for artistic purposes was taken out of context as a real life incident.
The video shows how Njovu edits the clip using Marvelous Designer, a software used by 3D artists. He also mentions that he used his voice and that of his wife in the background, to add an effect. However, the viral video has a different spooky noise played in the background indicating that the audio has been tampered with.
Evidently, it is clear that the viral video claiming to show a "witch" from Bihar or Meerut is fake. It is a video made by a VFX artist.
Claim : Video shows a mysterious creature caught on camera in Bihar or Meerut.
Claimed By : Social Media Users
Fact Check : False