A viral video claimed to show the rescue of a “188-year-old man” from a cave near Bengaluru, India, garnering over 58 million views on the social media platform X.
The post, shared by an account named ‘Concerned Citizen,’ @BGatesIsaPyscho featured a 24-second clip showing two men assisting an elderly individual with a hunched back, white beard, and walking stick. The caption claimed the man was 188 years old, sparking widespread debate and curiosity.
However, fact-checkers quickly debunked this claim. It was revealed that the man in the footage is not 188 years old but is Siyaram Baba, a Hindu saint from Madhya Pradesh. Reports indicate that Siyaram Baba is approximately 110 years old, far younger than the viral video suggested.
In response, platform X flagged the post with a disclaimer, informing viewers of the misinformation. The notice clarified, “Misinformation! The elderly man is a Hindu Saint named ‘Siyaram Baba’ who lives in Madhya Pradesh, India and is about 110 years old.”
Data verification group D-Intent Data further validated this, labelling the video as misleading. They stated, “A video of people helping an elderly individual has been falsely shared, claiming that a 188-year-old man was found in a cave. In reality, the man is a saint named ‘Siyaram Baba’ from Madhya Pradesh.”
Additional confirmation came from a July 2024 article in Navbharat Times, which verified Siyaram Baba’s identity and listed his age as 109. The article also noted that Siyaram Baba is a respected saint in Khargone district, Madhya Pradesh, where the local community highly reveres him.
Although the video quickly gained traction, it has since been thoroughly debunked. Experts have raised concerns about the growing trend of sensationalised, unverified claims on social media. D-Intent Data urged caution, noting that influencers increasingly share misleading content for attention. They warned, “Influencers are circulating videos with self-invented claims to gain the spotlight on social media.”
