A set of pictures went viral on social media claiming that a protester set fire to a vehicle amid strikes. Multiple pictures of a burning vehicle were shared from a number of Facebook pages. 

(Screenshots from Facebook post)

Debunked Source

https://www.facebook.com/gulmibastu/posts/pfbid02PrVKH3Hdx6XvwkhAqfG6VHtdVqy5L8oxqYxAyeSrz86AgqybbpomCJDFG4hjQRjel

https://www.facebook.com/onlinejagaran/posts/pfbid0iBDLpRWhMCG9XV9AkHSZ5wC8cEpHwX585kecUTwsrzoXE6h3sgeE2N4eJ9QJDstpl

https://www.facebook.com/mptravelsandtours/posts/pfbid02tTHGhMxSxVm4dQmqur1HaJCzgsAKNcG7BVVWNLijE4pMDVsS78SCs1Y84oRuggnTl

1. Fact Check

In order to verify the claim, we searched for keywords “vehicle set on fire Nepal” on google search engine and found that the incident took place on 7^th August 2022, when the vehicle was set on fire near the bridge of the Babai River. For further investigation we performed a reverse image search of the shared pictures.

Reverse image search revealed that the first photo dates back to 2015 and is from Bangladesh.

(Screenshot from Banglapran website)

Reverse image search revealed that the second picture dates back to 14^th July 2015 from McMinnville, Ore, USA.

(Screenshot from Salem News Journal website)

Reverse image search revealed ^that the third picture dates back to 15^th February 2022 from Eyre Highway, Australia.

(Screenshot from Port Lincoln Times website)

Further fact checks revealed that investigation by Nepal Police Suresh Kafle, Superintendent of Police (SP) stated that driver Arun Chaudhary and co-driver Aakash Chaudhary confessed that they intentionally set the truck on fire to claim insurance as directed by the truck owner.

(Screenshot from My Republica website)

Source

https://chhadkenews.com/13865

https://narayanionline.com/2022/08/23/202008/\

https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/tipper-truck-set-on-fire-to-claim-insurance-amount/

https://www.nepwave.com/driver-burns-his-own-truck-taking-advantage-of-nepal-banda-for-insurance-money/

Rating

False /Misleading / Propaganda

Conclusion

Our fact-check confirmed that the irrelevant pictures were shared with a false and misleading context to mislead the general public regarding the ongoing situation.

ABCDE Framework-Based Analysis 

Actor	Independent social media accounts are involved in spreading misinformation on social media.
Behavior	A fake news of angry strikers setting vehicles on fire is circulating on social media.
Content	Social Media posts.
Degree	No synthetic means are being used to make the content viral. The target audience of the post is the general public.
Effect	The shared pictures are being circulated to mislead the public and make them panic.