The 24-second video showed two men assisting an elderly figure, hunched over with a white beard, who also uses a walking stick for support. Despite the video’s rapid spread, the extraordinary claim surrounding the man’s age quickly drew scrutiny from both fact-checkers and online platforms.
Multiple reports soon surfaced, identifying the man in the video as Siyaram Baba, a Hindu saint from Madhya Pradesh.
A video claiming to show a “188-year-old man” being rescued from a cave near Bengaluru has gone viral, amassing over 34 million views on X. The footage, shared by the handle ‘Concerned Citizen,’ captured the attention of millions worldwide, sparking intense debate and speculation. The post accompanying the video read: “This Indian man has just been found in a cave. It’s alleged he’s 188 years old. Insane.”
The 24-second video showed two men assisting an elderly figure, hunched over with a white beard, who also uses a walking stick for support. Despite the video’s rapid spread, the extraordinary claim surrounding the man’s age quickly drew scrutiny from both fact-checkers and online platforms
Multiple reports soon surfaced, identifying the man in the video as Siyaram Baba, a Hindu saint from Madhya Pradesh. Far from being 188 years old, the reports suggested that the man is approximately 110 years old. X itself issued a disclaimer below the original post, stating: “Misinformation! The elderly man is a Hindu Saint named ‘Siyaram Baba’ who lives in Madhya Pradesh, India. According to reports he is about 110 years old.”
Further investigation by data verification group D-Intent Data corroborated this. The group labelled the video and the age claim as misleading. Posting on X, they stated, “ANALYSIS: Misleading. FACT: A video of some people helping an elderly individual has been shared, claiming that a 188-year-old Indian man has just been found in a cave. The fact is that these claims are not true. The elderly man is a Saint named ‘Siyaram Baba,’ who lives in Madhya Pradesh, India.”
The platform’s fact-checking note also referenced a July 2024 article from the Navbharat Times, which confirmed the man’s true identity and stated his age as 109 at the time. Siyaram Baba, a well-known figure in the Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh, is a revered saint in the local community.
Despite the viral nature of the video, it has become clear that the claim of a “188-year-old man” was unfounded. Experts have warned that social media influencers are increasingly circulating videos with sensationalised and unverified claims to gain attention online. D-Intent Data, in their analysis, cautioned users: “Influencers are circulating videos with self-invented claims to get the spotlight on social media.”