“LDF’s journey to the third term is headed for collapse”: Did M. V. Govindan say that?

Election season is also a time of widespread circulation of fake news. Numerous false campaigns — in the names of candidates and political fronts — are common in the run-up to elections. Edited videos and AI-generated images being spread in ways that mislead voters is a regular occurrence on social media.

However, edited and spliced videos may not be easy for ordinary people to identify. One such video was recently shared on certain Facebook accounts. A video of CPI(M) State Secretary M.V. Govindan speaking to the media has been edited and circulated in a misleading manner. How did this fake video, which has been viewed by a large number of people, spread across cyberspace?

The edited video of M.V. Govindan was found circulating on a Facebook account called “Malappuratthe Leagukar” (League people of Malappuram). This account, which posts daily content against the government, has 1,74,000 followers. The video being circulated is a 17-second clip in which the Secretary is seen telling the media: “The Left Democratic Front’s journey towards a third term will be one that has taken shape into a massive collapse.” The video was posted on this account on March 24.

The card accompanying the video states that he was fielded deliberately to defeat CPI(M) candidates. From this account alone, more than 2,80,000 people have watched the video. Over 3,000 people have liked it, and more than 400 have commented. However, not a single comment mentions that the video is edited. The video was also found circulating on several other accounts.

Screenshot of Facebook video from March 24.

The comments below this video include remarks such as: “A teacher who cannot speak even a single sentence properly,” “Is this person mentally deficient?” and “This is what you call a complete idiot.”

This video has also been circulated with similar captions on some Congress-leaning accounts and several private accounts. The video has been shared in a group called “Congress Kerala – INC”, which has over 38,000 members.

Screenshot of the post shared on the Facebook group INC Brigade. 

This video has also been circulated in a Facebook group called “BJP Kerala”, which has over 1,34,000 followers.

A cut can be seen right at the very beginning of the 17-second video — a clear indication that the press meet video has been edited. Another cut appears at the 12th second as well. In order to determine whether the video was edited, the original footage of the circulating 17-second clip was tracked down.

The original video was found on Mathrubhumi’s YouTube channel under the headline: “Candidate selection will lead to a massive collapse for Congress; a third term is inevitable.” This original video was posted on Mathrubhumi’s YouTube channel on March 19.

Mathrubhumi report, screenshot.

The Secretary is heard saying that the current candidate selection will be one that leads to a massive collapse. However, if you watch the video further, it becomes clear that the CPI(M) State Secretary is actually talking about Congress’s candidate selection — not the LDF’s.

M.V. Govindan’s actual words were: “Against the backdrop of the Left Democratic Front’s journey towards a third term being embraced with great strength by the people as a whole…” — and it is in this context that he was speaking.

It is this sentence that some people clipped and spliced together with another sentence from the Secretary himself to create a completely different, misleading meaning. Media outlets including ANI and Asianet have also reported on this. Verify the facts before sharing posts on social media.

(This is an AI-assisted translation of an article originally written in Malayalam, produced under editorial supervision).