Fact Check: Video of Trash Disposal in Mumbai Sea Falsely Attributed to London River

Social media posts falsely claiming a viral video shows an incident in London or elsewhere in England have been debunked by fact-checkers, who confirmed the footage actually depicts individuals disposing of garbage into the sea in Mumbai, India.

The misleading claims spread rapidly across multiple platforms in January, with one Facebook post receiving considerable engagement after asserting: “This Indian foreigner, with his son, just dumped their garbage inside this London River.” The inflammatory caption continued with xenophobic commentary about deportation and cultural incompatibility with “the Western World.”

A similar post on X garnered over 2.1 million views, while other Facebook posts more vaguely claimed the incident occurred “near a river in England” without specifying a precise location.

Reuters Fact Check team investigated the claims and confirmed the footage was not recorded in the United Kingdom. The video’s background clearly shows Mumbai’s iconic Taj Mahal Palace hotel and the Gateway of India monument, both recognizable landmarks in India’s financial capital. Geographical verification using Google Maps imagery of PJ Ramchandani Marg in Mumbai further confirmed the video’s actual location.

The original footage appears to have been posted by a social media account with the handle “TheMancAbroad” on Instagram on January 12. In the original post, the user included the hashtag “#Mumbai” and mentioned they were “enjoying the view” when they witnessed the littering incident. The account’s timeline showed consistent posts about traveling in India since late December, further confirming the video’s origin.

The incident highlights growing concerns about environmental pollution in Mumbai, where waste management remains a significant challenge. The city, home to over 20 million people, struggles with proper disposal systems for its massive waste output. Marine pollution along Mumbai’s coastline has been a persistent environmental issue, with debris frequently washing up on popular beaches like Juhu and Versova.

Environmental activists in Mumbai have been campaigning for stricter enforcement of anti-littering laws and increased public awareness about waste disposal. Several community-led initiatives have organized beach clean-up drives in recent years to address the problem.

The misleading posts also underscore the growing problem of misinformation on social media platforms, particularly content designed to inflame xenophobic sentiments. False geographic attribution of videos showing environmental infractions can contribute to harmful stereotypes and prejudice against immigrant communities.

Social media companies have faced increasing pressure to implement more effective fact-checking measures to prevent such misinformation from spreading rapidly across their platforms. Despite these efforts, misleading content continues to reach millions of users before being identified as false.

The Reuters Fact Check team regularly investigates viral claims and publishes their findings as part of broader industry efforts to combat online misinformation and provide accurate context to widely shared content.