A video has been making rounds on all social media platforms in which a woman can be seen doing aerobics in Myanmar despite heavy military movement behind her. A few hours later, Myanmar armed forces had staged a coup.
Identified as Khing Hnin Wai, a PE instructor at the Ministry of Education, posted a 3-minute video on Facebook on February 1 of herself doing an exercise routine with heavy military movement caught in the background. During those three minutes, the army trucks and other heavy vehicles were seen passing through a recently erected roadblock.
Followed by thousands of people on Facebook, Wai interestingly did not miss a beat amidst army vehicles blowing sirens behind her in the background.
Netizens questioned the video’s authenticity
The video’s authenticity was questioned by several netizens who were skeptical over such a bizarre coincidence. Some netizens even pointed out that the shadow of the woman does not look correct in the video.
If you’re not yet feeling the full surreality of our times, I encourage you to watch this woman lead an online aerobics class as the Myanmar coup unfolds behind her. The fact that I’m not sure whether this is real also seems peak 2021. pic.twitter.com/tWpYST3mL1
— Eliott Behar (@eliottbehar) February 1, 2021
woman doing aerobics with tanks in the back in myanmar – video – is that for real?
— Hyo Yoon KANG (@hyoyoonkang) February 1, 2021
Haven’t done a proper analysis but like other people have mentioned, the woman doing the aerobics class in front of a military convoy in Myanmar doesn’t seem to have a full shadow (only when on the right side of the frame).
— Sofia Diogo Mateus (@sofiadmateus) February 1, 2021
It’s 2021 peeps, manipulated media is not a new thing.
However, in a follow-up post, Wai added several videos of herself doing an aerobic routine from the same location. She said that she has been posting such videos for 11 months and did not post the said viral video as a joke. She said, “I posted it because I didn’t think it would happen,” and urged everyone not to use the caption in the original video, which allegedly sounded like if she was mocking the democratically elected government.
To answer the problem with the shadow, as she was dancing on the staircase, a part of the shadow was missing.
The reason why the shadow’s not continuing is because she’s dancing on a staircase. https://t.co/D7bVXVkE0v
— Jane Lytvynenko (@JaneLytv) February 1, 2021
Several multimedia experts and journalists mentioned the reason.
Myanmar Military Coup
On February 1, Myanmar’s military announced that it had taken control of the government and declared a state of emergency for one year. The Army allegedly took the step after Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was re-elected with a large mandate in the recent elections. The Army detained Aung San and other leaders of her National League for Democracy party in the early morning raids.
Earlier this week, the Myanmar Army had suggested they were ready to take control of the country after pointing out the alleged election fraud in the November 8 election. In the elections, the incumbent NLD had won the election by a landslide, ensuring Aung San Suu Kyi a second five-year term in office.
