Viral video claiming Australian PM cancelled Pakistani visas after Bondi Beach attack is fake
New Delhi: A video circulating on social media claiming that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the cancellation of all Pakistani visas following the recent terror attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach has been found to be false and digitally manipulated.
The six-second clip was widely shared on X and Facebook. The video allegedly showed Albanese making the announcement in the aftermath of the December 14 attack.
An X user Tyagi (@mktyaggi) had shared the video on December 14. He claimed that the Australian government had decided to revoke all Pakistani visas after the incident and the post received nearly 50,000 views. A similar claim was amplified by another X account, Tiger Raja Satire (@TigerRajaSinggh), whose post garnered over 82,000 views and without verification, the video was also shared by multiple Facebook users
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A closer examination of the clip by Alt News revealed that the visible lip-sync discrepancies and suspicion about its authenticity. No credible reports of any Australian government decision to cancel Pakistani visas following the attack were found on any platforms.
To verify the source of the visuals, a reverse image search was conducted by Alt News, using key frames from the viral video. This led to several news reports published in August 2022 by The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times and The Age, which featured Anthony Albanese wearing the same attire and standing against the same backdrop. Those reports related to a parliamentary discussion on the proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament and had no connection to the Bondi Beach incident.
There was no announcement regarding Pakistani visa holders during the press conference and authorities have also clarified that no link to Pakistan has been established in connection with the attack.
Police said, with roots in Tolichowki in Hyderabad, the attacker Sajid Akram had Indian lineage and had migrated to Australia in 1998 on a student visa. He had visited India only on a few occasions for family-related reasons. Officials further stated that the factors leading to the radicalisation of Sajid and his son did not appear to have any connection with India or local influences in Telangana. While Sajid held an Indian passport, his children were born in Australia and were Australian citizens.
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RR beat RCB by six wickets in IPL
Guwahati (PTI): Blistering fifties by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Dhruv Jurel powered Rajasthan Royals to a six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their IPL match here on Friday.
Sent in to bat, RCB rode on a fighting half-century by skipper Rajat Patidar (63) to post 201 for 8.
Virat Kohli (32), Romario Shepherd (22) and Venkatesh Iyer (29) also chipped in with useful contributions.
In reply, Sooryavanshi (78 off 26 balls) and Dhruv Jurel (81 not out off 43 balls) shared a 37-ball 108-run partnership for the second wicket to set the platform. Krunal Pandya (2/30) tried to bring them back with back-to-back wickets.
But Jurel, in the company of Ravindra Jadeja (24), completed the task with another 68-run stand, with two overs to spare.
For RR, Jofra Archer (2/33), Ravi Bishnoi (2/32) and Brijesh Sharma (2/37) took two wickets.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 201 for 8 in 20 overs (Rajat Patidar 63; Jofra Archer 2/33, Ravi Bishnoi 2/32, Brijesh Sharma 2/37).
Rajasthan Royals: 202 for 4 in 18 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 78, Dhruv Jurel 80 not out; Krunal Pandya 2/30, Josh Hazlewood 2/44).
