Zubeen, The CJI And Social Media Court

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🛑 Stop! Is That ‘Building in Mumbai's BKC’ Crumbling? Viral Video is Actually 3,000 Miles Away! 

The Claim That Sank WhatsApp

A video has been making the rounds—it shows a massive sinkhole near a high-rise apartment. This video, which went crazy viral on WhatsApp, was shared claiming: "Road collapse near Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai (sic)". But, is it true?

The Fact-Check: How We Dug Up the Truth

When a shocking video appears without any official/crediblel source, the first step is always to question the claim. BOOM’s fact-check used a simple tool: a Reverse Image Search (like Google Lens, Yandex, TinEye, etc).

1. BOOM’s Srijit Das broke the viral video into keyframes (still images).

2. A search of those frames immediately led to an Indian Express report.

3. The article credited a Reddit user for sharing the clip and stated that the incident occurred in Bangkok, Thailand’s capital, on September 24, 2025, outside a hospital. 

4. The Straits Times reported on October 7, 2025, that the sinkhole in front of Vajira Hospital in Bangkok was likely caused by a leaking water pipe, which led to soil subsidence and a collapse into a subway tunnel. 

The Final Verdict: It's Bangkok, Not Bandra

It’s a false claim. The dramatic road collapse incident did not happen in Mumbai. The footage actually shows a massive sinkhole that formed in Bangkok, Thailand. The only thing that collapsed was the truth in the Mumbai-based claim!

Your Media Literacy Toolkit: 3 Tips to Stop Viral Lies

This is a classic example of misinformation: taking a real video from one location and falsely labelling it to cause panic and fear in another. Here are three quick verification tips:

1. Reverse Image Search: If a video or photo seems too unbelievable, use tools like Google Lens or Yandex to upload a screenshot. This will often help you find the original source or news report.

2. Context Check: Ask yourself: Does the architecture, signage, language, or vehicles in the video match the claimed location? In this case, does it really look like a Mumbai setting?

3. Look for Recent News: If a major road collapses in a city like Mumbai, it will be widely reported. If you don't see multiple credible sources reporting it, be skeptical. Having said that, sometimes the media misreports as well. Hence, always question everything that comes your way.

🚨 Alert | Join Teen Scam Busters and learn how to spot and protect yourself from online scams and fraud. This three-month online programme starting in November 2025 is open for everyone in the age group 13-20 years. This programme is brought to you by BOOM's Teen Lab that ran the Teen Fact-Checking Network India for the last 3 years.

DECODE

How AI Memes Turned An Attack On India’s Top Judge Into Casteist Heroism

Casteist Posts Prompt Action: Punjab Police have registered multiple FIRs under anti-discrimination laws after social media posts with casteist undertones glorified an attempt to throw a shoe at Chief Justice BR Gavai, India’s first Buddhist and second Dalit to hold that position. 

Background: The cases follow the October 6 incident when advocate Rakesh Kishore attempted to hurl a shoe at Gavai during a Supreme Court hearing. The Bar Council suspended Kishore, calling the act “inconsistent with the dignity” of the profession.

Misinformation and mockery: But online, the incident has been recast as heroism. A widely shared video shows a man painted blue with an earthen pot hanging from his neck—symbols associated with casteist mockery—being struck with a shoe. The clip, staged to look like parody, carries the caption: “The Supreme Court’s oppression had exceeded the limit, from releasing rapists to toying with the sentiments of Hindus. Then Rakesh Kishor came and gave the answer.”

Most of the comments supported the narrative. Some, though, tagged the police, calling for action against the casteist content and what they described as an “insult” to the Chief Justice. Hera Rizwan reports.

A Student's ChatGPT Prank Sent an Entire City Hunting for Phantom Leopards

AI Adds a Leopard to a Balcony Selfie: It started off as a joke. A 22-year-old journalism student in Lucknow's Ruchi Khand neighbourhood used ChatGPT to add a leopard to a selfie of himself on his balcony. 

The WhatsApp Effect: He sent the altered image to a WhatsApp group of friends. One friend in the group shared the photo with another WhatsApp group. 

Within hours, local cops and forest officials geo-located the image and showed up at his doorstep after frantic calls from residents about a leopard on the loose.

Wasted Resources: Divisional Forest Officer Sitanshu Pandey told Shefali Srivastava the misinformation wasted resources and created panic. “On the night of September 26, our team received a call reporting a leopard sighting. When they reached the spot, it turned out to be just a black dog."

Between Justice And Myth: How Assam Is Mourning Zubeen Garg

The crowd outside Siddharth Sharma’s house in Guwahati’s Datalpara neighbourhood was restless. Hundreds had gathered on 25 September, clutching placards and portraits of Zubeen Garg, the singer, composer, filmmaker, and cultural icon who had died six days earlier in Singapore. 

Within hours of Garg’s death, social media was flooded with reels, videos, and rumours that turned grief into suspicion. Across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and X, hashtags such as #JusticeForZubeen and #WeWantAnswers trended. 

Lawyer Angshuman Borah, a senior criminal advocate from Guwahati, told Sanskrita Bharadwaj the legal process requires caution and evidence-based cooperation between India and Singapore. 

'FAKE NEWS’ YOU ALMOST FELL FOR

🔍  Was Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk’s father, Sonam Wangyal, involved in a covert mission in India with the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)? Find out in 🔗 Anmol Alphonso’s ↗️ fact-check.

🔍  Maharashtra Congress' X account posted a 🔗 deepfake ↗️ video showing Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) of Leh, Ghulam Muhammad admitting that activist Sonam Wangchuk has been detained on the instruction of Home Minister Amit Shah.

🔍  A video of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addressing a seminar at Colombia’s EIA University saying, “I have a big social media presence but would not rely on that thing. That thing is a lot of fluff,” was shared claiming that he called his social media following fluff and inorganic. 🔗 Anmol Alphonso ↗️  tells you the truth.

🅱️ RECOMMENDS

This week's recommendation is: AI tools promise efficiency at work, but they can erode trust, creativity and agency

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Verified By Boom is written by Divya Chandra, edited by Adrija Bose and designed by H Shiva Roy Chowdhury.

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