Fact-check: Staged video from India falsely linked to Pakistan floods
The video is scripted and was recorded in India, not Pakistan
Updated Friday Sep 26 2025
During the recent floods and heavy rains in Pakistan, a video circulated online claiming to show a child dragging the dead body of his mother through floodwater. Many users believed it to be genuine.
The claim is false. The clip is staged and was recorded in India by a social media influencer.
Claim
On September 11, a Facebook post stated: "A child pulling his mother's dead body from the floodwater."
The post also included a 29-second video that led many to believe it was real.
Similar claims were also shared on Facebook, X, YouTube and Instagram here, here, here, and here.
Fact
The video was created in Uttar Pradesh, India, by a content creator who staged the scene for social media. Indian fact-checking organisations, including Factly, have confirmed that the clip is not authentic.
Factly reported that the woman in the video pretended to drown and later clarified it was only a skit.
On September 8, the woman also posted a video statement confirming she was alive and that the claims were false.
Verdict: The viral claim is untrue. The video is scripted content recorded in Uttar Pradesh, India, and not a real incident from Pakistan.
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