Indian-origin man opens up about receiving backlash over viral Canadian food bank video: ‘Under great mental stress’

While talking about facing backlash over a viral Canadian food bank video, Mehul Prajapati said, “I haven’t received anything like this in my whole life".

An Indian-origin man studying in Canada for nearly two years recently faced the wrath of social media users after he shared a video of how he collects free groceries from his university’s food bank. He received backlash after a few X users shared his video claiming that he is employed in a bank in Canada and still collecting “free food” meant for the students. A few even labelled him a “thief” and “freeloader”. Mehul Prajapati, the man at the eye of the controversy, has opened up about the ordeal he has faced since his video went viral. In a telephonic conversation with Hindustan Times, he shared about the mental agony and the online threats that have tarnished his image.

Mehul Prajapati received backlash after he recorded a video of a Canadian food bank. (Instagram/@iammehulprajapati)

Prajapati, originally from Ahmedabad in Gujarat, went to Waterloo in Canada in 2022 and is pursuing his master's degree. He is a student of Wilfrid Laurier University and said that the educational organisation has food banks where the students can collect the items by showing their official ID cards.

Mehul Prajapati on online backlash:

He said that he didn’t just receive criticising comments from social media users but also received threatening DMs. While talking about his ordeal, he shared that the entire experience was a “bit heavy” for him.

“I haven’t received anything like this in my whole life. This is very unexpected. Imagine you have worked your whole life for your image and how false information makes your image really bad. So, it’s like it slipped into a moment where your whole reputation is gone right,” he added.

He also clarified that the news of him being employed as a data scientist in a bank is false. He shared that he used to work in the said bank as an intern.

While discussing handling the backlash, he shared that he is under “great mental stress”. Sometimes, he even remains silent for one to two hours to stop thinking about the entire fiasco.

Why did he record the food bank video?

Mehul said he is from a humble background with limited resources, and when he came to Canada, the country “welcomed him”. He later learned about the resources he could use as a student with limited means. He made the video, like a few that he recorded earlier, to inform other students in similar situations about the resources available.

After his video went viral and received backlash, he was hesitant to open up to his family but finally decided to confide in his elder brother. Prajapati revealed his brother has been trying his best to clear the student’s name.

While talking about how he thinks things will be after his side of the story comes out, he said, “I am not sure how things are going to be different, but at least I got a chance to tell my side of the story, so now people know about it”.

“The college and my friends are supportive, and I have not broken any laws. The university stands with me and says that what you have done is not against you,” he said during his conversation on receiving support.

He ended the interview by saying, “Request everyone not to blindly believe everything on social media and check the reality.”