By Pascal Ibe
Claim
Social media users have shared a video of an elderly man in India and claimed he’s currently 300 years old.
Verdict
This claim is MISLEADING.
After thorough findings, it was discovered that the elderly man was Siyaram Baba, a Hindu saint believed to be around 110 years old.
Full Text
In this age of uncontrollable era of misinformation and disinformation, social media users go to the extent of posting content, whether videos or images, to attract followers or earn money.
With the way these claims are dished out on social media, If one is never careful, they will be believed hook, line, and sinker. Despite fact-checking organizations in Nigeria, these falsehoods are getting worse every day.
This particular claim has flooded social media that there’s a 300-year-old man still living in India.
Many persons on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram made this claim recently.
@shobiztv on Instagram shared the video of the elderly man and said, “This man is from India. He is 300 years. And he is still alive breathing and working healthy What a glorious God. 300 years old.“
A Facebook user, Kpokishy TV made the same claim. Four persons have already shared his post.
Many YouTube channels also posted this video.
FACTWATCH also spotted this claim on WhatsApp groups.
Verification
First, this Fact Checker did a Google image reverse search, which led him to a news publication with a different image of this elderly man.
The news report explained why the elderly man, Siyaram Baba, was trending in the first week of October.
This Fact Checker found out the manin the news publication is the same as the one in the viral video.
When this Fact Checker typed the name Siyaram Baba into Google search, a result from an Instagram page showed that it was the same man with the same background in the viral video.
FACTWATCH checked further to learn that this elderly man, Siyaram Baba is a well-known Hindu saint believed to be around 110 years old.
According to an Indian news medium(Translated from Hindu to English language), Siyaram Baba made headlines in July after it was revealed that he is a devout believer of Rama, the protagonist of the Hindu epic Ramayana, so much so that he purportedly spends 21 hours a day reading it.
Siyaram Baba is currently staying at Bhatyan Ashram in Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh.
Baba is a devout devotee of Lord Hanuman and you may hear him chanting Ram Charitmanas all the time. He was reportedly born in Mumbai, Maharashtra, and attended school until class seventh or eighth.
However, after his encounter with a saint, he left his household and traveled to the Himalayas to do penance.
Despite his advanced age, Siyaram Baba carries out his daily activities independently and does not need glasses for reading or other activities.
There are now different estimates from his followers about his age. Some believe he could have been up to 130 years old, but the believable age they thought he was was around 109 or 110 years old.
Conclusion
The elderly man in the viral video circulated by social media users is not up 30/ years after the findings.
