Old Myanmar video misrepresented as Sajek clash footage

A video has recently circulated on Facebook with claims that it shows a clash between security forces and protesters in Sajek Valley. However, a Dismislab investigation found that the video does not show the ongoing protest in Sajek but rather promotional footage associated with an organization in Myanmar.

The video was posted by a Facebook page named Watch News BD Twenty Four. The post carried the caption, “Sajek Valley Closed: Allegations of an Attack on the Bangladesh Army.” Text inside the video also read, “Allegations are being raised as to where they got such weapons?” The footage shows several children and teenagers sitting in a circle and handling weapons. Several weapons had been placed in the middle of the group. By the time this report was published, the video had been viewed 138,000 times and shared more than 400 times.

Keyframes from the video were extracted and subjected to a reverse image search. The search revealed that a Facebook profile named Wai Thin had posted the video on September 22 at 7:14pm. The post contained text in Burmese that read, “Kyaukse Township Revolutionary Force, a gun is only a gun when it is fired, and a woman only becomes a woman when she is loved, right? #Revolution.”

The video was also posted on September 24 by a Facebook profile named “အဲနီ မိငယ်.” The Burmese-language post stated, “Myingyan’s youth welcome those who wish to avoid forced recruitment into the military.” The video’s source was identified as the Myingyan Revolution Army.

A keyword search also led to a Facebook page named Kyaukse Revolution Army (K.R.). The Myanmar-based page posted a video showing the same scene on September 22 at 12:35pm. The Burmese-language post read, “To be honest, the people of northern Myanmar are not lacking in blood (they are not lacking in courage).” The Kyaukse Revolution Army identifies itself as an organisation which opposes Myanmar’s military junta. The page regularly posts other promotional videos of this kind.

For context, a clash between security forces and protesters took place on October 22 in Ujho Bazar, in Rangamati’s Baghaichhari Upazila. Road blockades had also been carried out in phases since October 11. The circulating footage, however, is from Myanmar, and the video was available on social media as early as September 22.

In other words, the video shared with claims that it shows a clash in Sajek Valley is old footage depicting a different incident.