FACT CHECK: Does This Video Show Members Of A Singapore Political Party Shaking Hands With Supporters During The Pandemic?
A video shared on Facebook purportedly shows members of the Workers’ Party in Singapore shaking hands with supporters during the coronavirus pandemic.
Verdict: False
The video actually shows a victory parade in Singapore that occurred in 2012, years before the coronavirus pandemic started.
Fact Check:
The footage shows people in the back of a truck reaching to shake hands with others lining the street. In the caption, the Facebook user claims the video shows members of the Workers’ Party “greeting their supporters lining the road to shake hands putting COVID-19 away as if life returned to normal.”
The Workers’ Party is a political party in Singapore. In the general election earlier this month, it won 10 parliamentary seats, while the ruling People’s Action Party secured 83 seats, retaining its power, according to BBC News. (RELATED: Does This Video Show Brazilian Officials Breaking Into An Empty Hospital That Claimed To Have 5,000 COVID-19 Patients?)
But, contrary to the post’s claim, the footage of the parade wasn’t taken during the coronavirus pandemic. Searching “Singapore Workers’ Party parade” on YouTube turned up a similar video, titled “Workers Party By Pass Election Victory Parade In Hougang 7-9,” that was posted in May 2012. It features many of the same people, vehicles and landmarks as the footage in the Facebook post.
A bus bearing the number “87” can be seen passing in both videos. Singapore’s 87 bus route runs along part of the city-state’s Hougang Ave. 5, according to the travel app Moovit. Several landmarks visible in the videos appear in a Google Maps street view of Hougang Ave. 5, confirming the location.
The parade shown in both videos appears to have been taken at a celebration of the Workers’ Party candidate Png Eng Huat’s victory in the 2012 parliamentary by-election for Singapore’s Hougang planning area. In both videos, he can be seen celebrating in the back of a truck adorned with a banner bearing his likeness.
That by-election happened in May 2012, so it is impossible for the footage to be related to the coronavirus pandemic. The novel coronavirus first emerged in late 2019.
