On June 3, 2023, the Middle Eastern media portal @ScreenMix tweeted a video of a bride being carried in a palanquin. The caption in Arabic that accompanied the video read, “If her husband dies, she will be buried alive along with her husband.” Although the post was later deleted by @ScreenMix, it received a lot of attention and spread quickly across a number of social media sites, including TikTok.
On June 4, TikTok user @nfm7890, posted the 28-second video with their 130,000 followers, garnering an astounding 12 million views. The video was also uploaded on TikTok by @hy_7727. Both posts have shared @ScreenMix’s tweet and received responses in Arabic.
To fact-check the video, Nepal Check captured a screenshot. We then performed a Google reverse image search to trace its origin. The investigation led us to the TikTok account of @laxu.sapkota. Sapkota, who recorded the video, said it was filmed during a wedding ceremony in Bajhang district in Nepal’s Far Western Province. Further inquiries prompted Sapkota to introduce us to Jayanti Khadka, the bride in the viral clip.
Khadka, who is currently pursuing her graduate studies in Kathmandu, confirmed the video did indeed capture her wedding. She said she had a love marriage with Milan Aryal of Gulmi in a ceremony on May 6, 2023, in Thalara Rural Municipality Ward No. 1 of Bajhang district. “It seems like people who saw my video assumed that mine was an ‘arranged marriage.’ But I fell in love and married him,” she told Nepal Check. She said even though it was a love marriage, she felt like crying when she was leaving her maternal home.
By corroborating Sapkota’s account and directly speaking with the bride herself, Khadka, along with an analysis of the language spoken in the video, Nepal Check established that the clip was recorded in Nepal one month ago. Therefore, the claim in the viral video has been rated as false.
| Claim | Claimed by | Nepal Check Verdict |
| Video shows an Indian bride crying because of a custom that requires her to be buried alive with her deceased husband. | Social media users | False |
NepalCheck.Org 
You must be logged in to post a comment.