An image in the form of a graphic, purportedly carrying a news update along with a Santa Claus visual, is being widely shared on social media. The graphic claims that a man dressed as Santa Claus was beaten up by people in Gujarat while distributing gifts, and that the incident occurred recently during Christmas 2025.
The above post can be seen here. (Archive)
NM VERIFIED
NewsMobile verified the claim and found that the image is Misleading.
Examining the viral graphic closely, the NM team noticed a watermark of ‘Bolta Hindustan’ on the image. Searching further to verify its authenticity, we identified the official X handle of Bolta Hindustan carrying the same image, uploaded on December 23, 2022.
As per the graphic description, a man dressed as Santa Claus was allegedly beaten by a mob while distributing gifts in Gujarat. The attackers had objected the gift distribution, saying it was a Hindu area and such activities would not be allowed.
गुजरात : सांता क्लॉज बनकर गिफ्ट बांट रहे शख्स को भीड़ ने पीटा, कहा- ‘ये हिंदुओ का इलाका है, यहां ये सब नहीं चलेगा’ pic.twitter.com/vvq49GAPOO
— Bolta Hindustan (@BoltaHindustan) December 23, 2022
Since the image dates back to December 2022, it is clear that the incident has no connection to Christmas 2025.
Digging further, we found multiple media reports from the same period published by Agni Ban and Live Hindustan. According to Agni Ban, the incident took place in Makarpura area of Vadodara, Gujarat, where a man dressed as Santa Claus was distributing chocolates in a residential colony.
The police, while probing the matter, clarified that the man had gone to meet members of the Christian community. Some residents from another community reportedly objected to his presence, which led to the altercation.
Hence, we can conclusively say that a 2022 visual from Gujarat has been linked to the Christmas 2025 with false narratives.
