FACTLY traces AP election-violence claim video to Punganur in August 2023

Original fact-check: Harshavardhan Konda, FACTLY, “అక్టోబర్ 2026 ఏపీ స్థానిక సంస్థల ఎన్నికల హింసకు ఆపాదిస్తూ 2023 నాటి పాత వీడియోను షేర్ చేస్తున్నారు”, October 26, 2026: https://factly.in/telugu-an-old-video-from-2023-is-being-shared-falsely-attributing-it-to-violence-during-the-local-body-elections-in-andhra-pradesh-in-october-2026/ . Licensed CC BY 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . English adaptation and Telugu rewrite by KROV; no endorsement implied.

A video being shared as evidence of violence during the October 2026 local-election nomination process in Andhra Pradesh is old footage from Punganur in August 2023, according to a new FACTLY investigation. Its finding concerns the date and context of that particular clip.

FACTLY reports that reverse-image searches led to the same footage broadcast by Sakshi TV on August 4, 2023, with related scenes also carried by NDTV at that time. The fact-check links the footage to clashes during Chandrababu Naidu's 2023 Rayalaseema tour, rather than to the current election nomination period.

KROV is reporting FACTLY's verification and has not independently authenticated those original broadcasts. No television footage, screenshots or third-party media are reproduced here. The finding does not establish whether every separate claim about current election-related incidents is true or false; other incidents require their own dated evidence.