Pakistan Flags on Independence Day? Same Narrative, Old Videos

Viral videos shared on social media platforms claimed to show Muslim children in India waving Pakistan’s national flag on August 15. We traced the origins of both videos and found that they were unrelated and falsely attributed to India’s Independence Day.

On August 15, India celebrated its 80th Independence Day. On August 16, several social media accounts shared visuals alleging that children from the Muslim community were seen waving Pakistan’s national flag alongside India’s tricolour. Many claimed that the incident occurred in Delhi on August 2. However, we found that one of the visuals depicts an incident that took place in Pakistan. The second visual was of a controversial incident from two months ago, which occurred during Moharram in Sagarpur, Delhi, in June. But in July, the Delhi Police refuted the claim, stating that the flag seen in the footage was an Islamic religious flag. Therefore, the viral claim is false.

The viral posts and their verification

Video 1

On August 16, social media influencer on X, ‘Common Man’, shared a video alleging that Muslim children in India were carrying the Pakistan flag. The video shows an individual forcefully taking a boy holding a Pakistani flag into a home. The social media influencer urges Indian Muslims to answer why these children are carrying a Pakistan flag during India’s Independence Day.

As of August 17, the post had garnered 1,75,400 views, 4,100 likes, and 1,300 reposts.

Responding to the post, a user stated, “They might have celebrated Pakistan’s Independence,” while another remarked that people of India are its worst enemies.

Damdaar24 News, a verified Facebook profile that describes itself as a Mumbai-based media organisation, also shared the same video on August 16, questioning the source of the Pakistan flag the children were holding and alleging that the incident occurred in New Delhi, India.

Responding to the post, a user stated that authorities should investigate this matter. Another user remarked, “There are many traitors like this in Delhi, and police should investigate the family of these kids.”

We noticed several users suggested that the video was from Pakistan.

Video 1 verification

We analysed the viral claim and found no media reports or official statements that corroborate it.

A detailed keyframe analysis of the viral video led to an Instagram post shared on August 14.

We found that the Instagram user Abdul Rafay, who appears to be based in Pakistan, initially shared the video on August 14 along with the caption, “We are Pakistanis”. The video shows Abdul Rafay picking a boy from the street, who is holding a party horn-shaped object with a colour pattern similar to the Indian flag, inside a house. Towards the end of the video, the boy is seen leaving the house without the object.  A few comments on Instagram also suggest that the video went viral across social media, claiming that the incident occurred in India.

Video 2

On August 16, the same X account, ‘Common Man’, also shared another video which appears to be CCTV footage. The post claims that CCTV footage from East Sagarpur, Delhi, shows a Muslim boy waving the Pakistani national flag. The text on the video reads, “Muslims waved Pakistani flags, using children to expose their internal mindset. When the public questioned them, they replied that it was brought from their home by mistake. Why did they keep a Pakistani flag in their home?”

The post’s caption alleges that ‘high-intensity outrage’ and ‘protests’ have gripped East Sagarpur following the incident.

Video 2 verification

We found no recent news reports or official statements about any such incident in Sagarpur, Delhi.

A keyword search led us to News 18 Delhi NCR’s video report dated June 27, which carries the viral video.

According to the report, a controversy erupted in Delhi’s Sagarpur area after a video that allegedly shows a Pakistan flag being waved during the Muharram procession went viral on social media.

In June, communal tensions reportedly erupted in Sagarpur, Delhi, following a controversy over a green flag displayed during Muharram on June 26. Hindutva activists claimed that the flag was the Pakistani national flag. The Delhi Police rejected the claim, stating that no Pakistani flag had been displayed.

On June 30, the situation escalated after right-wing groups gathered at the nearby DDA park to recite the Hanuman Chalisa, leading to an argument and stone-pelting, with both sides accusing each other of violence and some residents alleging police inaction. Reports also alleged that BJP-linked worker Vipin Rajput made inflammatory remarks and was seen carrying a sickle during the gathering. The tensions continued with a mahapanchayat organised by Hindu groups on July 5, while police maintained that the situation was under control and urged people not to spread unverified information.

Additionally, we found that the viral video from August 17 includes visuals from Times Now Navabharat’s video report dated July 1, about the communal tensions in Sagarpur.

This establishes that the video predates August 15.

Our analysis found that the two viral videos do not show Muslim children in Delhi waving Pakistan’s national flag on India’s Independence Day. The first video was found to have been shared online from Pakistan on August 14, before Independence Day. The second video is from Sagarpur, Delhi and was also circulated online in June with a similar ‘Pakistani flag claim’. The Delhi Police had also disputed the claim that the flag seen in the footage was Pakistan’s national flag, stating that it was an Islamic religious flag. Therefore, the viral posts misleadingly present old and unrelated footage as a recent incident from India’s Independence Day.