Child-kidnapping rumours are rampant in the country, with frenzied mobs taking the law in their own hands and thrashing people on the streets over unfounded suspicions of child-lifting. Mentally-challenged people, unable to defend themselves either by words or action, have become the most common victims of the violence. A majority of the mob attacks have been reported from the rural parts of the country. More than 15 people were lynched in the last three months across India. Haryana, Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh are some of the states most affected. Alt News has debunked several videos of mob attacks widespread on social media furthering untrue claims. In this report, we will be talking about the disturbing trend of staged videos fanning child-kidnapping rumours. In the era of social media, where ‘likes’ and ‘views’ dictate the nature of content, several YouTube users have left no stones unturned to misinform people in the most convenient yet believable fashion. Multiple staged videos narrating the ‘modus operandi’ of ‘child-kidnappers on a prowl’ are drawing millions of views on the video-sharing platform. They’ve been created around the stereotypical characterisation of ‘child-kidnappers’ – unidentified people, many differently-abled, begging for alms. In the course of this article, Alt News will list five of the most viral staged videos on YouTube adding fuel to false child-kidnapping rumours. Video posted by – L K Films Number of views – 27 million A dramatic video shows two men dressed as sadhus recceing in a village. One of the men acts as a deaf and mute person, while the other middle-aged man is shown instructing this person. The duo are going door to doors begging for alms when the differently-abled man finds a little boy without a guardian roaming the streets. He offers the boy a snack then, seizes an opportunity to sedate and hide him under a shed. Subsequently, he informs his partner who brings a car, driven by a third man, to the spot. The two men are shown packing the boy in a sack and finally, kidnapping the child and hopping into the car. At the time of writing this article, this video had amassed over 27 million views on YouTube. “बाच्‍चा चोराकर गाडी मै लेकर भाग रहै है ये लोग गाँव मै आकर (These people fled in a car after kidnapping a child from a village)”, reads the title of the video posted on July 31, 2019. This video is categorized as ‘comedy’. On August 27, a 48-year-old pregnant and deaf-mute woman was reportedly beaten by a mob in Delhi over suspicions of child-lifting. Video posted by – Vijeta Films Number of views – 16 million In an 11-minute long video, a woman is seen going door to door in a village begging for alms. The woman is looking for children in the houses of those who give her alms. She finds two children leaving their home to play outside. Later, the woman joins the children and offers food to them. As soon as the elder brother leaves sight of the younger child, the woman grabs the child in her arms and runs away. The younger boy returns to find that the woman and his sibling are both missing and immediately informs his family. The woman is caught by locals, including the boy’s family. The video ends with visuals showing the family beating the woman. The title of this video posted by Vijeta Films, a verified YouTube channel with over 6 lakh subscribers, reads, “#किडनी चोर औरत बच्चा लेकर भाग रही थी अचानक पकड़ी गई || vijeta films (Kidney thief, child-kidnapper woman was running away with a child and was caught || vijeta films)”. The video, published on August 8, 2019, has garnered more than 16 million views so far. Alt News had earlier reported cases where transgenders begging for alms and women merely talking to children on the streets were believed to be child-lifters and thrashed by mobs. Video posted by – Anmol Bhojpuriya Number of views – 15 million A couple is shown roaming about in a forest where they change their clothes and dress up as religious mendicants. After failing to find a kid alone in a house, the couple manages to find a child sleeping on a cot. The woman lifts the child and puts him into a sack held by the man, after which they flee from the spot and into the forest. Villagers subsequently catch the duo red-handed, beats them up and rescues the boy. “#किडनीचोर गेंग कि खौफनाक तसबिरें ऐसे देते है बारदात को अंजाम,सबक सिखाना जरूरी है (Dangerous photos of gangs that sell kidneys. This is how they perform their task. It is important that they are taught a lesson)”, reads the title of the video posted on August 10, 2019. With more than 15 million views on YouTube, the video builds a misleading perception about those dressed in religious garb.