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False: Video claiming protests by Christians in East Malaysia against GPS support

Published

November 21, 2022

Contributors

CLAIM:

A video showing dissent among Christians in Sabah and Sarawak at an open forum against local governing party GPS’ intention to build a coalition with Perikatan Nasional.

CONCLUSION:

This is false. The video is from a public consultation event that took place in Karawang, Indonesia on 1 September, 2022. It shows demonstrators protesting the event because they deemed it not in the best interest of the people of Karawang.

FULL REPORT

A video claiming to show Christian Sabahans and Sarawakians protesting GPS’ endorsement of Perikatan Nasional has been circulating widely on WhatsApp.

In the 31-second TikTok video, two men are seen yelling in the direction of the stage at the speakers.

*The alleged video submitted by a user.*

Faqcheck Lab’s review of the video found that the claims made about the video clip were false.

The video, first posted on TikTok by user nurdinsyam on 1 September, 2022, was actually taken at a public consultation event in the Karawang Regency of West Jawa, Indonesia.

The event was eventually shut down due to the demonstrators, who argued that the issue discussed was not in the best interest of Karawang.

*“Chaos, Karawang Officials and Public Discussion Participants Expelled at the Brits Hotel” reads the story headline, dated 1 September 2022. Reports* *here* *and* *here*.

Running through the comments, it was clear from the recent submissions that Malaysians were convinced that these protests had recently transpired in Sarawak. Some even referred to the language spoken as “Sarawakian”.

*Screenshot of comments taken on 21 November, 2022*

But not all Malaysian commenters were fooled, with some pointing out that the video happened in Indonesia.

TikTok videos generally provide the name of the original poster along with the video. When in doubt, confirm its veracity by looking up the source.

Similarly, check the comments left by other users, which can provide context and clues. Much like in this video, scrolling through the comments showed users mentioning “Karawang”, indicating that the event potentially took place in that location.

FAQCHECK TEAMS:

University of Nottingham Malaysia: Nathaniel Chan Jia Yoong, Nursarah Mohammad Firdaus Aloysius, Dayana Salim, Farah Aina Azaharuddin, Soh Annjo & Nur Ain Nabila

JOMCHECK ALLIANCE:

Faqcheck Lab is part of the JomCheck fact checking alliance. Reach out to the JomCheck WhatsApp tipline at +6017-4776659 or here to request a fact check.

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