The original footage was uploaded on YouTube on March 21, 2016.
A video of a train station in Mumbai, with false claims that it was from this month right after local trains reopened to the general public, has been widely circulated social media in the recent weeks. The 21-second clip shows huge crowds on the platform as well as the on the tracks, trying to get in and out of trains at the Borivali station in the city's suburbs.
The original video, however, has been circulated online since at least 2016, a fact-check by news agency AFP has found.
Mumbai's local train services - suspended in March last year due to the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown opened to the general public on February 2.
One of the false claims made in a Facebook post on February 3, along with the video, says, "Borivali Station today after Local trains started for General Public." One person, who fell for the incorrect caption, commented under the video, "Corona, welcome or bye bye". Another person commented pointing out that the video appears to be an old one as the crowds seen in it were not wearing masks.
The video has been removed from the person's post. Similar claims have been made in several other Facebook posts.
The original footage was uploaded on YouTube on March 21, 2016, a reverse image search on Google by AFP has revealed. The video posted by Navin Poojary is caption "Amazing Mumbai local crowd (sic)."
"Heavy crowding of mumbai local (sic)," the YouTube user wrote as the descritpoon under the video which gathered over 2.7 million views.
Mumbai's local train service is considered as the city's lifeline of Mumbai as lakhs of people depend on it for local travel. They were suspended on the midnight of March 22 last year due to the pandemic and gradually resumed in phases on June 15.
(With inputs from AFP)