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The person seen campaigning for the Congress party in this video is not Shah Rukh Khan; it's his doppelganger, Ibrahim Qadri - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 25, 2024
A video (here, here and here) is making rounds on social media, which allegedly shows Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan campaigning for the Congress Party for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. We fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: The video shows Shah Rukh Khan campaigning for the Congress Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Fact: The person seen in the video is Shah Rukh Khan’s lookalike, Ibrahim Qadri. He campaigned for Congress candidate Praniti Shinde in Solapur, Maharashtra. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
To verify the authenticity of the viral claim, we initially searched for news reports about this incident using relevant keywords. This search did not provide any reliable news reports that supported the assertion that Shah Rukh Khan campaigned for the Congress party.
However, during our search, we found numerous news reports (here, here here, and here) indicating that Ibrahim Qadri, a doppelgänger of Shah Rukh Khan, had campaigned for Congress party leader Praniti Shinde in Solapur, Maharashtra.
Praniti is the sitting MLA of Solapur City Central. Ibrahim Qadri, who resembles Shah Rukh Khan, has a following of approximately 1.6 million on Instagram. In one of his Instagram posts, he can be seen standing atop a campaign vehicle that aligns with the one seen in the viral video.
A post shared by Ibrahim qadri (@ibrahim__qadri)
Reportedly, the BJP took objection to the use of Shah Rukh Khan’s lookalike in the election campaign and labelled it a scam, as reported by the Hindustan Times.
To sum up, the person seen campaigning for the Congress Party in the viral video is not Shah Rukh Khan but his lookalike, Ibrahim Qadri.


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The person seen in this video is Swami Yogananda not Swami Vivekananda - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 13, 2023
A post claiming to be a rare video of Swami Vivekananda is being shared on social media. Let’s fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: Rare video of Swami Vivekananda when he was alive.
Fact: The person seen walking in traditional dress in this video is Swami Yogananda. This was a video shot when he visited New York City, USA. Hence the claim made in the post is False.
We noticed that the viral video had a watermark that read MIRC@SCEDU and searched about it on the internet using appropriate keywords.
That led to the University of South Carolina’s Moving Image Research Collections website. This website contains a collection of archival footage. We observed that the logo similar to the watermark is in a thumbnail on this website. You can see it in the picture below.
We then searched for footage of Swami Vivekananda on it using relevant keywords and found a video containing the footage in the viral video.
The footage in this 48-second video matches the viral video from around 34 seconds. According to the video description, the man seen wearing a traditional dress in this video is Swami Yogananda not Swami Vivekananda. The video description also states that this video was filmed when he visited the New York City, USA, possibly in 1923.
To sum up, archival footage of  Swami Yogananda and his team walking in New York City is falsely attributed to Swami Vivekananda.

source: news-factly

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


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The person seen in this video is not the Prince of Dubai; he is a social media influencer named Iqbal Hatboor - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 17, 2023
A video of a few men dressed in traditional Emirati dress and police uniform is being circulated on social media, claiming to feature the Prince of Dubai, Mohammad Hamdan bin al Maktoum. Let’s fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: This video shows the Prince of Dubai celebrating the Independence day of India.
Fact: This person featured in the video is not the Prince of Dubai. His name is Iqbal Hatboor, a social media influencer. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
Firstly, upon observing a watermark on the video that reads ‘@Iqabl_hatboor’, we performed a keyword search on the internet which led to the social media profiles (here and here) of a person with the same name. According to his Instagram bio, Iqbal is an Entrepreneur and Influencer.
The viral video is featured on Iqbal’s Facebook page, which was uploaded on 15 August 2022. The post’s description reads, ‘Celebrating the 77th Indian Independence Day at the Burj Khalifa in Dubai is a remarkable way to honor the occasion. Expressing gratitude to the UAE and Dubai Police for their support adds a special touch of appreciation to the event.’ Mathrubhumi News also covered this event in which he was identified as a native of Kasargod.
A further search on the internet about Iqbal revealed that he is a native of Kasargod, Kerala. In 2020, Samayam Malayalam reported that Iqbal celebrated the UAE’s National Day on the 122nd floor of Burj Khalifa.
With all this information, it is pretty clear that the viral video misquotes him as the prince of Dubai, Mohammad Hamdan bin al Maktoum. Hamid Bin Mohammad is the crown prince of Dubai. You can learn more about him here and here.
To sum up, the person seen in this video is not the Prince of Dubai; he is a social media influencer named Iqbal Hatboor.


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The person seen playing cricket in this video is former cricketer Yograj Singh, not PM Modi - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 28, 2022
A video is being shared on social media claiming it as the visuals of Prime Minister Narendra Modi playing cricket at a playground. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi playing cricket.
Fact: The man seen playing cricket in the video is the former cricketer and Yuvraj Singh’s father, Yograj Singh. The video has nothing to do with PM Narendra Modi. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When an Instagram user has recently shared the same video with a similar description, another user responded to the post and said that the man seen batting in the video is former cricketer Yograj Singh. On searching for this video using keywords, the same video was found posted on the official Instagram handle of Yograj Singh. Former cricketer and Yuvraj’s Singh father Yograj Singh shared this video on 14 March 2022.
In 2013, during the inauguration of a new cricket stadium in Rajkot, PM Modi tried his hand at batting. Narendra Modi shared a picture of his batting pose on his Facebook page on 06 January 2013. Narendra Modi was seen posing as a left-hander while he was batting in the stadium. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be confirmed that the man seen batting in the video is not PM Modi.
To sum it up, the person seen playing cricket in this video is former cricketer Yograj Singh, not PM Narendra Modi.


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The person seen swimming in this video is former BJP MLA from Morbi ‘Kantilal Amrutiya’; not the current MLA Brijesh Merja - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 3, 2022
In the context of recent bridge collapse in Gujarat, video of a man going into the water with the help of tube to rescue victims is being widely shared claiming that he is the congress party MLA of the Morbi Assembly Constituency ‘Brijesh Merja’. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of congress party’s MLA Brijesh Merja going into water to rescue Morbi bridge collapse victims.
Fact: The video shows Morbi’s BJP ex-MLA ‘Kantilal Amrutiya’. He also posted several videos of himself helping the victims at bridge collapse site. Moreover, ‘Brijesh Merja’, current MLA of Morbi is from BJP. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
We searched the internet with relevant keywords and found the same video on TV9 Gujrati’s Instagram page on 31 October 2022. The description of the post identifies he person as former MLA Kantilal Amrutiya.
Taking a cue from this, we searched more about him and came across his Twitter account. The bio also says he’s the ex-MLA of Morbi constituency.
He also posted several videos including the viral video, on his timeline where he can be seen helping the people at the site of bridge collapse. Some of them can be seen here, here, and here.
મોરબીમાં ઝુલતા પુલની દુર્ઘટના ખુબ જ કમનસીબ છે. હું સ્થળ પર જ છું. સૌને નમ્ર અપીલ કે આ દુઃખની ઘડીમાં આપણે સૌ સાથે મળી શક્ય તેટલા લોકોને મદદરૂપ થઈએ.
નોંધ:જે જગ્યાએ બચાવ કાર્ય ચાલુ છે ત્યા ખોટી ભીડ ના કરીએ જેથી રાહતકાર્યમાં કોઈ અડચણ ના આવે.@narendramodi @AmitShah @Bhupendrapbjp pic.twitter.com/s5HG2ZY0zt
Moreover, the current MLA of Morbi is BJP’s Brijesh Merja. In 2017, he won the Morbi assembly seat as Congress party’s candidate, but in 2020, he left congress and was re-elected from BJP.
To sum it up, the visuals actually show Morbi’s BJP ex-MLA ‘Kantilal Amrutiya’ going into the water to rescue the bridge collapse victims; not the current MLA Brijesh Merja.

created: November 3, 2022


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The person singing a song that mentions the Mathura temple in this video is not UP CM Yogi Adityanath - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 21, 2023
A video is being shared widely on social media with a claim that it shows UP CM Yogi Adityanath singing the song – “मथुरा भी सजा देंगे” (roughly translated as Mathura will also be decorated) while travelling in his car. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video shows UP CM Yogi Adityanath singing a song that mentions the Mathura temple.
Fact: The person in the video is not UP CM Yogi Adityanath. He is Yogi Satya Nath. Many similar videos recorded in his car can be found on the Facebook account of Yogi Satya Nath. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched with some keywords on the internet, we found that when another similar video went viral in 2021, ‘Info Uttar Pradesh Fact Check’ clarified that the person in that video is not UP CM Yogi Adityanath.
#InfoUPFactCheck: चलती कार में भजन सुनते हुए एक वायरल वीडियो में बैठे व्यक्ति को माननीय मुख्यमंत्री श्री योगी आदित्यनाथ जी बताया जा रहा है, जो पूर्णतया असत्य है।
कृपया सोशल मीडिया पर भ्रामक पोस्ट शेयर करने से बचें। pic.twitter.com/LtU0UWbD1b
There are a lot of lookalikes of UP CM Yogi Adityanath on the internet. Some of them can be seen in these videos here, here, and here. So, on searching further, we found the same video on the Facebook account of Yogi Satya Nath, whose attire looks similar to that of Yogi Adityanath. Replying to a comment on his video, Yogi Satya Nath said that it is him in the video. Also, many other similar videos can be found on his account.
While the person in the video is not UP CM Yogi Adityanath, the singer Kanhiya Mittal sang the same song in front of him. The response from Yogi Adityanath can be seen here.
To sum it up, the person singing a song that mentions the Mathura temple in this video is not UP CM Yogi Adityanath.


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The person singing in this video is not the late Indian pilot Deepak Vasant Sathe - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 10, 2020
A post is being shared on social media claiming it as the singing video of the late Air India Express flight Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe. Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe was the pilot-in-command of ill-fated Dubai-Kozhikode Air India Express flight that crashed on ‘7 August 2020’ in Kerala. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Video of late Air India Express flight Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe, singing a Bollywood song on the stage.
Fact: The officer singing on the stage in the video is Retired Vice Admiral Girish Luthra, not the late Air India Express Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe. On the occasion of Indian Western Navy Command celebrating its Golden Jubilee, Girish Luthra sung the Udit Narayan’s iconic ‘Ghar se Nikalthe hi’ song on the stage. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On comparing the photo of the officer shown in the video with that of Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe, we found out that both are not similar at all. Also, by observing the uniform of the officer in the video, it is understood that he is an officer of the Indian Navy. When we searched for more information using these keywords, we found the same video in an article published by ‘The Quint’ news website on ‘07 March 2019’. In the article, it is mentioned that Vice Admiral Girish Luthra chose to sing the Udit Narayan’s  iconic ‘Ghar se nikalthe hi’ song on the special occasion of the  Indian Western Navy Command celebrating its ‘Golden Jubilee’-50 years. The same video was found in the official YouTube channel of Girish Luthra.
On ‘07 August 2020’, Air India Express flight from Dubai carrying 190 passengers overshot the runaway in Kozhikode airport in Kerala. Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe, the pilot-in command of the Air India Express flight, died along with 17 others in this accident.
To sum it up, retired Vice Admiral Girish Luthra’s singing video is falsely shared as that of late Air India Express Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe.
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The person standing beside Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this photo from 1993 is not Amit Shah - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 6, 2023
An image is being widely shared on social media, claiming it as a ‘rare pic’ of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah from 1993. Let’s fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: A rare old of photo of Amit Shah and Narendra Modi.
Fact: This picture was taken during the PM’s visit to Germany in 1993. The person standing to his right in the photo is not Amit Shah but a person known as Sanjiv Oza. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Reverse image search on this image led to quite a few articles from May 2022 that contained the same image.
Reportedly, this image was captured in 1993 during Modi’s visit to Germany. A news report by Hindustan Times mentions the person standing beside him as one of his colleagues but does not specify his name. ANI also published a news report on this photo which can read be here.
We also found some tweets with this photo during the reverse image search. Under one such tweet, we found a response from a user who mentioned that the person standing next to Modi is not Amit shah but a person named Dr Sanjivbhai Ojha from Rajkot.
Reportedly Not Amit Shah, he is Dr Sanjivbhai Ojha from Rajkot. Who is said to be current or former Sanjhchalak of Rajkot vibhag of RSS
With this evidence, we looked for the social media profiles of Mr Sanjiv and found his Facebook profile named Sanjiv Oza. In the about section of his profile, he mentioned that he works at RSS. Based on one of his old pictures available on his profile, he looks very similar to the person in the Viral photo. Mr Oza confirmed to BoomLive that he was the one in that picture standing beside Narendra Modi.
To sum up, the person standing beside Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this photo from 1993 is not Amit Shah.

created: January 6, 2023


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The person standing beside Rahul Gandhi in this photo is not Nathan Anderson, the founder of Hindenburg research - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 9, 2023
A social media post with a picture of Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi alongside a person whom the post alleges is Nathan Anderson, founder of Hindenburg research, is being shared on social media. Let’s fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: Rahul Gandhi’s picture with the founder of Hindenburg research, Nahan Anderson.
Fact: The person in this picture is Niels Annen, a German politician. This picture of him alongside Rahul Gandhi was taken in 2018 during Rahul’s four-day tour of the United Kingdom and Germany. Hence the claim made in the post is False.
To learn more about the viral photo, we ran a reverse image search on ‘Google reverse image search.’ This led us to a few news reports (here, here and here) from 2018 containing the same image.
According to the reports, the person in the picture is Niels Annen, a German politician. Rahul Gandhi was on a four-day tour to the United Kingdom and Germany in August 2018 and met Mr Niels as part of it. The same picture was also posted by Congress party on their official Twitter handle, which can be seen here.
Congress President @RahulGandhi met @NielsAnnen, Minister of State & Member of the Bundestag and discussed Indian & German politics, floods in Kerala, GST & Jobs.#WillkommenRahulGandhi pic.twitter.com/xLufHI3zY6
Hindenburg research, a forensic financial research company, was founded by Nathan Anderson. Recently, the company released a report on Indian Billionaire Gautam Adani, which accused him of accounting fraud and stock manipulation. More details about Nathan can be found here and here.
To sum up, an old photo of Rahul Gandhi with a German Politician is now shared as that alongside Nathan Anderson, the founder of Hindenburg research.

created: February 9, 2023


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The person standing in front of the hut in the photo is not Ashalata Devi. She is Soni Kumari - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 25, 2019
A post is being shared on Facebook with a claim that the person standing in front of the hut is Ashalata Devi (Captain of India’s Women Football Team). Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Photo of Ashalata Devi standing in front of her house (a hut).
Fact: The person standing in front of the hut in the photo is not Ashalata Devi. Her name is Soni Kumar. She was India’s Under-14 women’s football team captain. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The person on the left: Ashalata Devi
When the image on the left is cropped and ran through Google Reverse Image Search, the same image can be found in an article published by the ‘Scroll’ with the following description: ‘Indian women’s football team captain Ashalata Devi in action’. So, it can be concluded that the person in the photo is Ashalata Devi.
The person on the right: Soni Kumari
When the image on the right is cropped and ran through Google Reverse Image Search, it was found that the person in the photo is not Ashalata Devi. In an article published by ‘India.com’ in 2016, the same photo can be found with the following description: ‘Harsh Reality! Soni Kumari, India’s Under-14 women’s football team captain is living in poverty!’. A video about Soni Kumari can also be found in the article.
To sum it up, the person standing in front of the hut in the photo is not Ashalata Devi. She is Soni Kumari.
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created: November 25, 2019


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The person inappropriately touching a woman in this video is not the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 9, 2021
A video accompanying a post is being widely shared on social media claiming that the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan forgot to switch the camera off, after a zoom meeting and is seen inappropriately touching a woman. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of Prime Minister of Azerbaijan inappropriately touching a woman.
Fact: The person in the video is an Azerbaijani ex-MP and University Professor Huseynbala Miralamov who was fired after being caught on camera inappropriately touching his woman employee. There are no recent news articles of the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan being involved in a zoom video leak controversy involving a woman. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we did reverse image search on the screenshots of the video, we found a news article titled, ‘Video sparks debate about sexual harassment in Azerbaijan’ which says that an Azerbaijani ex-MP and University Professor Huseynbala Miralamov was fired after being caught on camera inappropriately touching his woman employee. According to the article, Miralamov was also expelled from the ruling New Azerbaijan Political party where he was a member of the Veterans Council and held the position of chair of the Khatai district party branch. In an interview with Unikal.org, he denied having a relationship with the woman in the video; ‘I was blackmailed’, he said; ‘This was a university conference. The people who broadcast this video must be found’. News articles about the incident can be seen here and here.
Prime Minister of Azerbaijan is Ali Asadov, and Azerbaijan’s parliament agreed to approve him as assistant to the president for economic issues in the year 2019 according to this article. There are no recent news articles of the Prime Minister being in a zoom video leak controversy involving a woman.
To sum it up, the person in the video touching a woman is not the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan.


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The person welcoming the stranded Indian students in this video is G. Kishan Reddy, Union Minister for Culture & Tourism - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 14, 2022
A video through a post is being widely shared on social media claiming that Union Minister Prakash Javadekar had been ignored by the Indian students who were evacuated amidst the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video showing Prakash Javadekar who was ignored by evacuated Indian students from Ukraine.
Fact: The person in the video welcoming Indian students with flowers is Kishan Reddy, Union Minister for Culture, Tourism and Development of North-Eastern Region; he is not Prakash Javadekar. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When reverse image search is done on the screenshots of the video, similar visuals were found on the official Twitter handle of Kishan Reddy, Union Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Development of North-Eastern Region. Kishan Reddy posted the visuals as a Facebook live stream link on his Twitter account when he was receiving the evacuated Indian students at New Delhi. In this better-quality video, it can be clearly seen that it was Kishan Reddy and not Prakash Javadekar who was receiving the Indian students from Ukraine.
Live: Receiving stranded students from #Ukraine, who have been evacuated under #OperationGanga from Budapest, on their arrival at New Delhi.https://t.co/MUZ0c3Ul08
Similar visuals of Kishan Reddy receiving students from Ukraine and greeting them with flowers, can be seen here and here. Zee News which showed similar visuals had been critical of some of the students who according to their report, were indifferent and ungrateful for the evacuation that was done under Operation Ganga. Operation Ganga was an evacuation operation by the government of India to bring back stranded Indians amidst the crisis in Ukraine.
To sum it up, the person welcoming stranded Indian students from Ukraine is Kishan Reddy, Union Minister for Culture, Tourism; he is not Prakash Javadekar.


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The person who fired gunshots in Jafrabad, Delhi is not Anurag Mishra - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 28, 2020
In the context of Jafrabad violence on February 24th in Delhi, a photo is being shared on Facebook with a claim that a person named ‘Anurag Mishra’ was the one who fired gunshots in Jafrabad, but propagandists are advertising that the shooter’s name as ‘Sharukh’.  Let’s try to find the veracity of the claim made in the post.
While a person named ‘Anurag Mishra’ is involved in Jafrabad gun shootings on February 24th, some propagandists are sharing that the shooter name is ‘Sharukh’.
Fact: The person who fored gunshots in Jafrabad, Delhi is ‘Mohammed Sharukh’. In one of the photos in the post, he can be seen wearing a ‘red’ shirt. The person who is in the other photos of the post is ‘Anurag Mishra’, and he is not the one involved in Jafrabad shooting. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
According to an article from the ‘Hindustan Times’, it is understood that on February 24th, a man wearing a red shirt and blue trousers shot his pistol several rounds in Jafrabad, Delhi. A photo of him can also be seen in the article. From a tweet made by ‘ANI’, it is understood that the Delhi police identified the Jafrabad shooter as ‘Mohammed Sharukh’. From another tweet, it is revealed that ‘Mohammed Sharukh’ has been taken into custody by the Delhi police.
When the photo of Jafrabad shooter was juxtaposed with the photos in Anurag Mishra’s Facebook profile, it is clearly understood that both of them are different. From the two photos, the differences related to their eyebrows, eyes, and nose can be clearly noticed.
Also, as his pictures went viral on social media claiming him to be the Jafrabad shooter, Anurag Mishra posted that he will file a police case on people who are sharing false information. He also said the same through a Facebook live.
To summarize, the one who fired gunshots in Jafrabad is not Anurag Mishra.
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created: February 28, 2020


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The person who is being flogged by British in the photo is not Bhagat Singh - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 15, 2019
A post with a photo is being shared on Facebook with a claim that the person who was being flogged by British soldiers is Bhagat Singh and the photo was published in a newspaper article. Let’s try to analyze the authenticity of the claim made in the post.
Photo of Bhagat Singh being flogged by British soldiers.
Fact: The person in the photo is not Bhagat Singh. The photo was taken in Kasur railway station according to a book published in1920. During the period of 1919-20, Bhagat Singh was 12-years-old and he was studying at D.A.V school in Lahore. Also, according to the book released by Indian central government, Bhagat Singh did not participate in freedom movement and was not arrested by British before 1920. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the photo in the post was searched using ‘Yandex’ reverse image technique, a tweet with a similar photo was found. According to the tweet, the photo in the post was taken from a book written by Benjamin Horniman in 1920. When searched for this book, it was found that the title of the book is ‘Amritsar and our duty to India’ (Archived version of the book can be read here). The photo in the post can be found on the 120th-page number of the book. ‘Another picture of an Indian tied to a ladder at Kasur railway station being flogged’ is the description that was written below the photo. In the book, there was no information about Bhagat Singh.
The post claims that the photo was published in a newspaper; however, there was no information about the newspaper name or the date the article was published. But the description below the photo indicates that Bhagat Singh is being flogged by British soldiers in jail. However, because of the information found in Benjamin Horniman’s book, it is understood that the photo was not taken in jail, but at Kasur railway station. Also, there is no information about Bhagat Singh being jailed or flogged by the British in 1920. So even if the newspaper says that the person in the photo is Bhagat Singh, the person in the photo is not him.
From the book, ’Bhagat Singh: Select Speeches And Writings’ (Archived version of the book can be found here) it is understood that when the Jalianwala Bagh incident took place in 1919, Bhagat Singh was 12-years-old  and he was studying at D.A.V school, Lahore. Though it was written that Bhagat Singh collected sand from Jalianwala Bagh, there is no information about him being flogged or arrested by British soldiers. Also, in a book, ‘Dictionary of Martyrs’, released by the central government in 2019, it was written that Bhagat Singh participated in the freedom movement between 1920-22.
To Summarize, the person who is being flogged by British soldiers in the photo is not Bhagat Singh.
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created: October 15, 2019


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The person who was beaten in this video is not a Dalit; the video is from Shahjahanpur, UP - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 19, 2022
A video through a post is being widely shared on social media claiming that a Dalit man is being beaten in Uttar Pradesh. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of a Dalit man beaten in Uttar Pradesh.
Fact: The video is from Shahjahanpur district in Uttar Pradesh. However, the victim who was being beaten up in the video is Rajiv Bharadwaj, who is not a Dalit. Though the video went viral recently, the incident is from 13 March 2022. Shahjahanpur Police registered an FIR on 16 April 2022. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When reverse image search is done on the screenshots of the video, the same video was shared by the official Twitter handle of the Samajwadi Party. According to their tweet, a BJP leader was seen beating a person in Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh. There was no mention of any Dalit man being beaten here. Responding to this tweet, Sanjay Kumar, Addl. Superintendent of Police, Shahjahanpur Police said that the accused is Prateek Tiwari, and the victim is Rajiv Bharadwaj; there was no mention of any Dalit man being beaten up.
हाथ में सत्ता का डंडा लेकर अत्याचार कर रहे भाजपाई गुंडे भाजपा सरकार के जंगलराज की तस्वीर बयां करते है।
शाहजहांपुर में युवक की पिटाई करते भाजपा नेता का वीडियो सत्ता संरक्षित अपराध की बानगी है।
वीडियो के आधार पर दोषियों के खिलाफ हो कठोरतम कार्रवाई।@ShahjahanpurSp pic.twitter.com/iHTSHyf4Ku
When we searched online with relevant keywords, multiple news articles were found about the same incident. The video had gone viral on social media recently, criticising the Yogi government for its inaction, and the state’s performance in law & order. According to news articles, the person beating the victim is Prateek Tiwari, and the victim’s name is Rajiv Bharadwaj. In these articles, nowhere is it mentioned that the person being beaten is a Dalit.
On 16 April 2022, regarding the incident, an FIR had been registered at Sadar Bazar Police Station, Shahjahanpur District, Uttar Pradesh. According to the FIR, the date of the incident is more than a month ago, on 13 March 2022. The name of the complainant is given as Rajiv Bharadwaj, the main accused being Prateek Tiwari. Further, the case has not been registered under any of the sections of ‘The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989’, confirming that the victim is not a dalit.
To sum it up, the person who was beaten in this video is not a Dalit; the video is from Shahjahanpur, UP.


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The person with Kapil Mishra in the photo is not the one involved in the Jafrabad shooting - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 28, 2020
In the context of shootings in Jafrabad (Delhi), a photo is being shared on Facebook with a claim that the person behind BJP leader Kapil Mishra, in the photo is involved in the attack of anti-CAA protestors in Jafrabad. Let’s try to find the veracity of the claim made in the post.
Person stainding behind BJP leader Kapil Mishra in the photo is the one who fired gun shots at protests in Jafrabad, Delhi.
Fact: The person who was involved in Jafrabad shooting and the person who was with Kapil Mishra is not the same person. While the person who was responsible for shooting is ‘Mohammed Sharukh’, the person with Kapil Mishra in the photo is ‘Rohit Rajput’. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
According to an article from the ‘Hindustan Times’, it is understood that on February 24, a man wearing a red shirt and blue trousers fired several rounds with a pistol in Jafrabad, Delhi. His picture  can also be seen in the article. From a tweet made by ‘ANI’, it is understood that the Delhi police identified the Jafrabad shooter as ‘Mohammed Sharukh’. From another tweet, it is revealed that ‘Mohammed Sharukh’ has been taken into custody by the Delhi police.
The video in which Kapil Mishra demanding police to evict anti-CAA protesters from the protest areas in 3-days can be found here. The photo shared in the post is a screengrab from this video. When the photo of Jafrabad shooter was juxtaposed with the photo of the person behind Kapil Mishra, it can be clearly understood that both are different persons. The difference between their hair, beard and face shape can be noticed in the two photos.
When media agencies contacted Kapil Mishra to know the details of the person in the photo, he said that the person is his follower ‘Rohit Rajput’. When Rohit Rajput’s profile photo from his Facebook account is compared with Mohammed Sharukh’s photo, it can be seen that both are different persons.
To summarize, the person with Kapil Mishra is not involved in the Jafrabad shooting. The shooter’s name is Mohammed Sharukh.
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The person with Rahul Gandhi in the viral image is Miva Andreleo, a student leader from Kerala, not Amulya Leona - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 1, 2024
An image circulating on social media shows Rahul Gandhi with a woman, purported to be Amulya Leona Noronha, who chanted ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ at a public meeting held by Asaduddin Owaisi in Karnataka a few years ago (here & here). This article aims to verify the accuracy of that claim.
Claim: Image of Rahul Gandhi with Amulya Leona, who chanted ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ at a public meeting held by Asaduddin Owaisi.
Fact: The person seen with Rahul Gandhi in the photo is Miva Andreleo, a student leader from Kerala. This image was captured in 2022 while Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra was underway in Kerala. She is not Amulya Leona who chanted ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ at a public meeting held by Asaduddin Owaisi. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The person seen with Rahul Gandhi is not Amulya Leona, known for her ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogan. Upon conducting a reverse image search on the viral picture, we found several tweets debunking this claim (here and here). According to these tweets, the woman in the image is identified as Miva Andreleo, a student leader from Kerala.
Taking a cue from these tweets, further investigation led us to the same image posted by Miva Andreleo on her Instagram on 21 September 2022. The caption accompanying the photo read, “Happiest moment in my life.” Further,  we also found reports indicating that Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra was happening in Kerala during this time frame (here & here).
A post shared by Miva_JollY_αndRE _LeO😍😘 (@miva_andreleo)
Additionally, we discovered that Miva Andreleo served as the District Secretary of the Kerala Congress Student Union in Ernakulam. The KSU is the student wing affiliated with the Indian National Congress (INC) party in Kerala. In several other Instagram photos shared by Miva Andreleo, she is depicted holding KSU flags.
As the photo gained traction online, several official Congress Twitter accounts and party leaders clarified that the individual with Rahul Gandhi in the image is KSU member Miva Jolly (here & here).
Comparision of the images of Miva Andreleo and Amulya Leona further confirms that the woman seen with Rahul Gandhi in the widely circulated image is indeed Miva Andreleo, not Amulya Leona Noronha.
To sum up, the person with Rahul Gandhi in the viral image is Miva Andreleo, a student leader from Kerala, not Amulya Leona.


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The person with Sonia Gandhi in this photo is Rahul Gandhi, not Ottavio Quattrocchi - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 8, 2021
A post is being widely shared on social media claiming that the person in the photograph with Sonia Gandhi is Ottavio Quattrocchi, an Italian businessman and a key figure in the Bofors Scandal. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Sonia Gandhi photo with Ottavio Quattrocchi.
Fact: The image shared in the post os of Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi at the raising day function of the Special Protection Group, taken on 08 April 1996 in New Delhi. It has nothing to do with Ottavio Quattrocchi, an Italian businessman and a key figure in the Bofors Scandal. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When reverse image search was done on the photo in the post, we found the new Indian express photo gallery published on 04 December 2017 titled ‘Happy Birthday Rahul Gandhi: From mourning son to political heir, here are rare moments from Congress chief’s life’ with the same photo as in the post. The article in the caption says the photo was of Sonia Gandhi, Congress President, and her son Rahul at the raising day function of the Special Protection Group and that it was taken on 08 April 1996 in New Delhi and was credited to PTI. Another article also says the same that photo is of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
According to an article in the Mint, Ottavio Quattrocchi was an Italian businessman and a key figure in the Bofors Scandal. The Bofors chargesheet filed in 1999 by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had named Quattrocchi, who was close to the Gandhi family during his days in India. As the representative of an Italian firm, he was one of the accused in the case regarding the ₹ 64 crore payoffs for supply of Swedish Howitzer guns to the Indian Army, says the article. But on 04 March 2011, a Delhi court discharged Quattrocchi from the payoffs case after allowing the CBI to withdraw prosecution against him, bringing to an end a major chapter in the 25-year-old Bofors saga, says the article. News articles about Ottavio Quattrocchi can be seen here and here.
To sum it up, picture of Sonia Gandhi with Rahul Gandhi is being shared as that with an Italian Businessman, Ottavio Quattrocchi.


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The persons in this video later clarified that it was just banter, not BJP hooliganism in UP - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 3, 2022
A video is being shared widely on social media with a claim that it shows a BJP leader in Uttar Pradesh threatening an old man to vote for BJP in the upcoming elections in the State. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of a UP BJP leader threatening an old man to vote for BJP.
Fact: After the video went viral, both the persons in the video have clarified that it was just banter. They said that they know each other very well and are relatives. The Uttar Pradesh Police has also clarified the same. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When we searched about the video in the post, it was found that both the persons in the video have later issued a clarification after their video went viral on social media. In their clarification video, they explained that it was just banter. They said that they know each other very well and are relatives.
Update in #Kanpur incident.
The senior citizen claims himself to be uncle of Raghavendra Mishra.
"We were merely joking as why i should join the #BJP", says the senior citizen. pic.twitter.com/VC6kLUQrC5
As the video went viral, the Uttar Pradesh Police has looked into the issue and clarified the same regarding the incident. The tweet by ‘Police Commissionerate Kanpur Nagar’ on the viral video can be seen here. Several news agencies have also published articles on the incident which can be read here and here.
https://t.co/D0tWhxTIVw
To sum it up, a video of banter between two persons is shared as BJP hooliganism in UP.

created: February 3, 2022


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The photo belongs to an incident from 2017, not the recent Gadchiroli Naxal attack. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 3, 2019
A photo showing cardboard boxes is being shared on Facebook with the claim that bodies of policemen killed in Gadchiroli Naxal attack were kept in those boxes. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Dead bodies of brave policemen killed in Gadchiroli Naxal attack were wrapped in boxes.
Fact: There are dead bodies in those boxes but those belong to military personnel who died in Tawang Helicopter crash, in 2017. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When the image in the post is run through Google Reverse Image Search, a Hindustan Times article containing the same image can be found in the search results. According to that article, in 2017, when the former Northern Army commander Lt Gen (Retd) HS Panag tweeted about the wrapping of martyred military personnel in such boxes, the Army’s Additional Directorate General of Public Information tweeted “Mortal remains of heptr accident in HAA on 6 Oct 17 recovered, sent wrapped in local resources is an aberration” and “Fallen soldiers always given full military honour. Carriage of mortal remains in body bags, wooden boxes, coffins will be ensured”. So, an old photo is being shared again with misleading claims.
To sum it up, the photo belongs to an incident from 2017, not recent Gadchiroli Naxal attack.


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The photo does not show players from Ukraine’s football club donning military gear - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 8, 2022
A photo through a post is being widely shared on social media claiming that players from Ukraine’s football club have donned military gear to fight in the ongoing war in Ukraine. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of players from Dynamo football club who wore military uniform to fight in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Fact: The people in the photo belong to a Ukrainian organisation named Gonor, which is not a football club. According to news reports, some sports people including football players took up arms voluntarily to fight for Ukraine. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When reverse image search is done on the photo, the same photo was found in an Instagram post by a group named ‘Gonor’. The group posted the photo on 25 February 2022, which was immediately after the beginning of Russia’s military operations in Ukraine. There was no mention of any football club in the posted photo.
When Reuters asked one of the members seen in the photo, who also posted this picture on his Instagram page, he said, “We are members of Gonor, not FC Dynamo.” Reuters also confirmed with the social media manager of Dynamo Kyiv that the photo does not show any Dynamo Kyiv football players. Gonor is an organisation in Ukraine, not a football club, according to its YouTube channel.
According to news reports (here and here), some sportspersons including football players took up arms voluntarily to fight for Ukraine. However, the photo does not show the members of a football club in Ukraine.
To sum it up, the photo does not show players from Ukraine’s football club donning military gear.


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The photo is neither related to Australia nor any wildfire - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 8, 2020
A photo is being shared on social media with a claim that it is related to Australian bushfires. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Helicopter view of Australian bushfires.
Fact: The photo was taken over Hawaiian ocean waters, not in Australia. Also, the photo is not related to any wildfire. It is a visual where the ‘light of the sunset was visible through a deck of altocumulus clouds’. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the photo was run through the Yandex Reverse Image Search, the same photo was found to be uploaded by many users as related to ‘California wildfires’. But, Marshall Shepard (an Atmospheric Sciences Professor) tweeted the same photo along with the link of his article in the ‘Forbes’ regarding the photo. In the article, it can be read that the photo was taken by Nathan Province. Other photos and a related video  can be seen on her Instagram profile. Regarding the viral photo, the following lines can be read in the article – “the picture was simply of a sunset over Hawaiian ocean waters. It is not even volcanic activity as some have also reported. It is an interesting optical spectacle as the light of the sunset was visible through a deck of altocumulus clouds.”
To sum it up, the photo is neither related to Australia nor any wildfire.
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created: January 8, 2020


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The photo of a crescent Earth seen from the Moon was captured by the Apollo 17 spacecraft, not the Orion - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 11, 2023
A photograph of the crescent Earth rising over the horizon of the Moon is doing the rounds on social media. It is being claimed that this photograph was taken from NASA’s Orion spacecraft. Let’s fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: This photograph was taken by NASA’s Orion spacecraft.
Fact: This photograph was actually taken from the Apollo 17 spacecraft in 1972 when it was in the Lunar Orbit. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
We performed a reverse image search online to learn more about the viral photo. This search led us to NASA’s website, according to which this photo was taken during the Apollo 17 mission.
The caption for this photo reads, ‘The crescent Earth rises above the lunar horizon in this spectacular photograph taken from the Apollo 17 spacecraft in lunar orbit during the final lunar landing mission in the Apollo program.’
NASA’s Orion spacecraft is an “exploration vehicle” which will be used for deep space travel. This is being used in the Artemis mission, which is aimed at setting a base camp on the Moon’s surface to enable astronauts to perform scientific experiments.
In 2022, Orion was launched into space on the Space Launch System (SLS) on 16 November 2022. It took a photo of the crescent Earth while looping around the Moon (here, here, and here). Instead of this photo, the viral post labels a photo taken during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972 as a photo taken from the Orion spacecraft.
To sum up, a photo of the crescent Earth taken during the Apollo 17 mission is being falsely shared as one taken from the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis-1 Mission.

created: September 11, 2023


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The photo of killing a cow on the Indian flag and burning the flag was taken in Pakistan, not in Kashmir - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 20, 2019
A post with 4 images is being shared on Facebook with a claim that a cow was killed on the Indian flag and the flag was burnt in Kashmir. Also, the images show that the police were attacked during the incident in Kashmir. Let’s try to analyze the claims made in the post.
A cow was killed on the Indian flag and the flag was burnt in Kashmir. Policemen were also attacked.
Fact: The photo of killing a cow on the Indian flag and burning the flag was taken in Pakistan, not in Kashmir. Also, the images of injured policemen in the post were taken from unrelated incidents across the country. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Let’s analyze the claims made in the post by running each image in the post through Google Reverse Image search:
Picture 1:
The photo was found in an article published in 2011. The photo was taken in Agartala, not in Kashmir. The policeman was attacked by the Congress party activists.
Picture 2:
This photo, where a cow is being killed and the Indian flag is being burned, was not found in any news articles published by credible sources. There were some tweets suggesting that the photo was taken in Pakistan. But a fact-checker, back in 2017, concluded that the photo was taken in Pakistan by the logic that the brand ‘Digger’ (hoarding on the back in the photo) is a footwear company in Pakistan. To cross-check, when looked for the logo present on the other hoarding in the picture, it was found that it was the logo of ‘Nishat Linen’, a clothing brand based in Pakistan. So, it can be concluded that the photo was taken in Pakistan.
Picture 3:
This photo was taken in 2014 during a protest in Uttar Pradesh. The injured policeman in the photo was the DIG of UP Police. So, it is in no way connected to Kashmir.
Picture 4:
The photo was found in a photo feature titled ‘Sikh protesters in Jammu’ in an online news portal. The policeman in the photo was injured when angry Sikh protestors came on to the roads against the removal of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale poster at Rani Ragh near the Jammu airport. So, the photo is not related to any incident related to the killing of a cow.
To sum it up, the photo of killing a cow on the Indian flag and burning the flag was taken in Pakistan, not in Kashmir.
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The photo of Modi bowing down to Advani is photoshopped to include various other persons - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 30, 2020
A picture of Modi bowing down to touch the feet of AIMIM leader MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi is being shared widely on social media. Let’s fact-check the authenticity of the posted picture.
Photo of Modi bowing down to touch the feet of AIMIM leader MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi.
Fact: Modi’s photo of bowing down to touch the feet of Advani, back in 2013, was photoshopped to add Owaisi’s photo in the Advani’s place. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the image in the post was cropped and ran through Google Reverse Image Search, a newspaper article with a similar photo was found in the search results.  In the picture, it can be seen that Modi was bowing down to Advani at a rally in Bhopal in 2013. The video related to the incident can be seen here.
A similar photo with Saudi King’s photo in the place of Advani went viral in 2016 when a News18 journalist has tweeted the morphed photo. The BJP then had filed a formal complaint on the journalist for which the journalist had apologized. Also, many other photoshopped versions of the same picture were found on the internet.
To sum it up, the photo of Modi bowing down to Advani photoshopped to include various other persons in place of Advani.
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The photo of Ravi Shastri with a liquor bottle under his chair is a photoshopped one - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 10, 2019
On Facebook, a photo of Ravi Shastri with Indian Cricketers that purportedly shows a liquor bottle under his chair is being shared widely. Let’s try to check the authenticity of the image put in the post.
Ravi Shastri is seen with a liquor bottle under the chair in the Indian team picture.
Fact: In the original photo, no liquor bottle is present under the chair of Ravi Shastri. The image posted is a photoshopped one. So, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Similar posts can be seen on Twitter.
@KirenRijiju
Sir pls enlarge the picture and then u will find the bottle of wine below ravi shastri chair, now does the ministry of sports will ask for explanation from coach or we will let them off as officialy BCCI doesn’t comes under you
BJP supporter pic.twitter.com/1fCPyQRUya
When the image in the tweet is subjected to Google Reverse Image Search technique, it was found in the Twitter account of BCCI. On July 6, 2019 BCCI tweeted this image on its official Twitter account with the text “One Team. One Nation. One Emotion”. There is no liquor bottle present under the chair of Ravi Shastri in that photo.
One Team. One Nation. One Emotion 🇮🇳🇮🇳#TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/gDbIRGYs72
To conclude, the photo of Ravi Shastri with a liquor bottle under his chair is a photoshopped one.
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The photo shows air conditioners on the wall of a building in Singapore, not on the ‘Paribesh Bhavan’ (Kolkata). - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 11, 2019
An image is being shared widely on social media with a claim that it shows the wall of ‘Paribesh Bhavan’ (the head office of West Bengal Pollution Control Board) building in Kolkata. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Wall of ‘Paribesh Bhavan’ building (Kolkata) in the photo.
Fact: The photo was taken by Vivek Prakash for Reuters in 2009. The photo shows air conditioners on the wall of a building in Singapore’s financial district. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the photo was run through the Google Reverse Image Search, the same photo was found on the ‘Adobe Stock’ with the title, ‘Rows of air conditioners are seen on the walls of a building in Singapore’s financial district’.
It was also found that the photo was taken by Vivek Prakash for Reuters in 2009. So, when searched with the keywords, the same photo was also found on the Reuters pictures website with the same title. And, the photo can also be found in an article published by Reuters in 2009.
To sum it up, the photo shows air conditioners on the wall of a building in Singapore, not on ‘Paribesh Bhavan’ (Kolkata).
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created: November 11, 2019


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The photo shows spilled phone books near Glendale (Arizona), not copies of Roget's Thesaurus in New York - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 2, 2022
A photo is being shared widely on social media with a claim that ‘a truck loaded with thousands of copies of Roget’s Thesaurus spilled its load leaving New York’. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo shows thousands of copies of Roget’s Thesaurus spilled on a road in New York.
Fact: The posted photo is an old one that was taken near Glendale (Arizona), not in New York. Also, the spilled objects are phone books, not copies of Roget’s Thesaurus. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When the photo was run through Google Reverse Image Search, the same photo was found in an article published by ‘azcentral’ in 2016. The title of the article is – “Phone books spill onto Loop 101 near Glendale”. So, the posted photo is an old one that was taken near Glendale (Arizona), not in New York.
Also, the spilled objects are phone books, not copies of Roget’s Thesaurus. The tweets made by the Arizona Department of Transportation regarding the incident can be seen here and here.
The new phone books are here! Many of them, at least. Northbound L-101 at Bell. pic.twitter.com/8C7UhnQLf9
To sum it up, the posted photo shows spilled phone books near Glendale (Arizona), not copies of Roget’s Thesaurus in New York.


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The photo was taken during Nehru’s visit to the USSR in 1955, not during his visit to the USA - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 24, 2019
A photo is being shared widely on social media with a claim that it was taken during Nehru’s visit to the USA in 1954. This photo is being shared in the context of Modi’s recent visit to the U.S. and the ‘Howdy Modi’ event. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Photo taken during Nehru’s visit to the USA in 1954.
Fact: Photo was taken during Nehru’s visit to the USSR in 1955. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has also posted the same picture with a similar claim on his Twitter account but later clarified that the picture was forwarded to him and ‘is probably from a visit to the USSR and no the US’. (Archived Tweet).
I am told this picture (forwarded to me) probably is from a visit to the USSR and not the US. Even if so, it still doesn’t alter the message: the fact is that former PMs also enjoyed popularity abroad. When @narendramodi is honoured, @PMOIndia is honoured; respect is for India. https://t.co/9KQMcR0zTD
When the image in the post was run through the Yandex Reverse Image Search, the same photo was found in a website with the description, ‘The meeting of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi 1955, Russia, Chelyabinsk oblast, Magnitogorsk’ (translated from Russian). A user has also given the geo-location of the place in the comments below the photo. The two buildings in the background can be seen in the street view of the location – ‘28 Prospekt Pushkina, Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia’.
In an article (‘The Soviet land, 1955’) on the ‘Outlook Traveller’ website, it can be found that Nehru, along with his daughter Indira, has travelled to the USSR in June 1955 and the itinerary included ‘Magnitogorsk’. The article reads, ‘In June of that year our first PM Jawaharlal Nehru travelled to Moscow for his first official tour of the USSR (he had been once before in 1927 as an Indian National Congress delegate to the 10th anniversary celebration of the October Revolution). His daughter was with him and they began an epic itinerary from Moscow to Leningrad by way of Stalingrad, Crimea, Georgia, Ashkabad, Tashkent, Samarkand, the Altai Territory, Magnitogorsk, and Sverdlovsk.’ Other photos and more information about this visit can be found here and here.
To sum it up, the photo shared as taken during Nehru’s visit to the USA in 1954 is actually from his visit to the USSR in 1955.
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created: September 24, 2019


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The photo was taken in April 1947 at the Viceroy’s house, not inside the jail - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 13, 2019
A photo is being shared on Facebook with a claim that Gandhi was having breakfast with British officials inside the jail while people are fighting for Independence. Let’s try to check the authenticity of the image in the post.
Mahatma Gandhi having breakfast with British official inside the jail.
Fact:  The photo was not taken inside the jail. It was taken during a breakfast meeting between Gandhi and Mountbatten at Viceroy’s House in April 1947. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the image in the post is run Google Reverse Image Search, a link to Getty Images website containing the same image can be found in the search results. In that website, the image has a description which reads, “Breakfast meeting between Mahatma Gandhi and Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten 1947”. Also, in the book ‘India Remembered’ written by Pamela Mountbatten (the daughter of Lord Mountbatten), the same image can be found in the ‘A Huge Task’ chapter. She writes that the photo was taken on 1 April 1947 at the Viceroy’s House. The Viceroy invited Gandhi for breakfast to discuss the transfer of power, declared by England’s PM Clement R. Atlee in February 1947. So, the photo was not taken inside  the jail.
To sum it up, the photo was taken in April 1947 at the Viceroy’s house, not inside the jail.
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The photo was taken in the Riviera region of Southern France in 1945, not at Normandy in 1944 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 12, 2019
A photo with some women walking on to a beach is being shared with a claim that the photo was taken in 1944 when Red Cross women landed at Normandy beach. Let’s try to check the authenticity of the image in the post.
The photo shows brave women of the Red Cross arriving at Normandy Beach in 1944 to help the injured troops.
Fact:  The photo was taken in the Riviera Region of Southern France in 1945. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When the image in the post is run through Google Reverse Image Search, a link to the American Red Cross article can be found in the search results. According to the article, the photo was ‘taken on January 15, 1945, seven months after the D-Day Invasion at Normandy, the photo captures a United States Coast Guard-manned barge unloading its passengers onto a beach in the Riviera Region of Southern France’. The photo was not taken in 1944 but in 1945. In the post, the location of the photo was given as Normandy (Northern France) but the photo was actually taken in the Riviera region (Southern France).
The same can be corroborated by the caption attached to the image found on Getty Images.
To sum it up, the photo was taken in the Riviera region of Southern France in 1945, not at Normandy in 1944.
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The photo was taken when Jaitley visited Srinagar to review the security situation. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 13, 2019
With Narendra Modi alleging that INS Viraat was used as ‘personal taxi’ by Rajiv Gandhi for his family vacation, a post is being shared on Facebook with a claim that Union Minister Arun Jaitley has also used an Indian Navy Chopper for his personal use. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
The image in the post shows Arun Jaitley as Defence Minister using an Indian Navy Chopper to ferry his family to a wedding in Goa.
Fact: The photo was taken when Jaitley visited Jammu and Kashmir, in May 2017, to review the security situation and also, to attend the GST Council Meeting. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the image in the post is run through Google Reverse Image Search, a similar photo can be found in an India Today article. According to that article, in May 2017, Arun Jaitley along with the Chief of Army Staff General Bipin Rawat arrived in Srinagar to review the security situation in the valley. Also, Arun Jaitley was in Srinagar to attend the two-day GST Council Meeting on 18 and 19 May 2017. Arun Jaitley was holding both Defence and Finance portfolios at that point of time.
Also, Arun Jaitley had posted similar photos of this visit on his official Twitter account.
With respect to the news on using Navy chopper in 2014, Jaitley responded then by dismissing the claims on the use of Navy chopper for personal purposes.
To sum it up, the photo was taken when Jaitley visited Srinagar to review the security situation.


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The photograph of Modi with Indira Gandhi is a work of Photoshop - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 14, 2019
A Facebook post with the photograph of Indira Gandhi with Kannada hero Raj Kumar was being shared widely. In the post, it is alleged that Modi was also present in the photo along with Indira Gandhi. Let’s try to analyze the claims made in the post.
Modi was present in the photograph of Indira Gandhi.
Fact: The original photo was clicked when Indira Gandhi met Kannada hero Raj Kumar at an event organized by Sangeetha Music. This photo was edited to replace some unknown person’s face with that of Modi’s. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the image in the post is run through Google Reverse Image Search technique, it was found in an article of ‘The Quint’ with the title “Karnataka’s Reluctant Politician: The Life and Times of Annavaru”. From the information available in the article, it was found that the original photo was taken when Indira Gandhi met actor Raj Kumar at a Sangeetha Music event. This photo is edited by replacing some unknown person’s face in it with that of Modi’s, to mislead people.
To conclude, the photo of Modi seen along with Indira Gandhi and Raj Kumar is a work of Photoshop.


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The photos show copper utensils being used by officials at Indore Municipal Corporation (MP), not by UP officials - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 14, 2019
A couple of photos showing officials using copper utensils instead of plastic bottles for drinking water in an official meeting is being shared on social media with a claim that the photo was taken in a meeting in Uttar Pradesh. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Photos of UP officials using copper utensils for drinking water in an official meeting.
Fact: The photos were taken during an official meeting at Indore Municipal Corporation in Madhya Pradesh, not in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the images in the post were run through Google Reverse Image Search, it was found that those photos were taken during an official meet at Indore Municipal Corporation. Some news websites have published the same photos explaining that the Indore Municipal Corporation has started using copper utensils, in place of plastic bottles, for drinking water.
Also, similarities in the design of the room and the conference table, and the position of the TV Screen can be seen in the photo posted on Facebook and the Indore Municipal Corporation meeting photo uploaded on the Swachh Bharat website.
To sum it up, the photos show copper utensils being used by officials at Indore Municipal Corporation (MP), not by UP officials.
Did you watch our new Episode of the DECODE series on Parliament?


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The picture in the post is not Cobra flower, it is a sea creature known as ‘Sea Pen’
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 23, 2019
A post with a photo is being widely shared on Facebook with a claim that the picture shown in the post is of a “Cobra flower” which blooms once in every 36 years. Let’s try to analyze the authenticity of this post.
Claim: Photo of Cobra flower which blooms once in every 36 years.
Fact: The picture in the post is not even a flower. It’s a creature at the bottom of the sea, which is called as ‘Sea pen’. So, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
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When the image in the post was searched using Google reverse image technique, a post published by ‘Journal of Environmental & Agricultural Sciences – JEAS’ in 2016 on their Facebook page was obtained. The post clearly mentions that the picture is not of a ‘Snake flower’ (Naga pushpam) which blooms in the Himalayas once in every 36 years, as being shared virally, but is a creature called as ‘Sea Pen’. It also states that this creature is found at the bottom of the sea. More information about ‘Sea Pens’ can be found here.
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It can be observed that the organizations such as Snopes and AFP-Factcheck have already written that the image in the post is not ‘Snake flower’ (Naga pushpam). According to the Snopes article Gordon J. Bowbrick has captured this photo in the year 2013 and it is understood that he also captioned the picture as ‘Sea Feather’. Also, even in Indonesia the same photo went viral with the claim ‘Once in 33 years ‘Megapuspa’ flower blooms in Jawajiya mountains’ according to the article of ‘Pusat Informasi Anti Hoax’.
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Finally, a sea creature (‘Sea Pen’) photo is shared as that of a “Cobra flower” which blooms once in every 36 years.
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created: September 23, 2019


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The picture showing Rahul Gandhi & Mamata Banerjee, with the Pak PM and its Army Chief is a photoshopped one - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 12, 2019
A post with the picture showing Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Navjot Sidhu and Shatrughan Sinha with the Pak PM and its Army Chief is being shared by many Facebook users. In the post, it was written that voting for Congress was like voting for Pakistan. Let’s try to analyze the authenticity of the picture posted.
The archived version of the post can be found here.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his party leaders Shatrughan Sinha, Navjot Singh Sidhu and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee are in the same pic with Pakistan’s PM Imran Khan and its Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa
The original photo of the picture posted can be seen in the article of the news agency ‘ARY NEWS’. The photo is from the meeting of Pakistan Army Chief with its PM Imran Khan to discuss their country’s security-related matters. No Indian political leader can be seen in the original pic. So, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On doing the Google reverse image search, the photo was found in the ‘ARY NEWS’ article dated Apr 4, 2019 with the title “Army Chief calls on PM Khan, discusses security-related matters”. The image in this article is photoshopped to show as if Rahul Gandhi, Shatrughan Sinha, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Mamata Banerjee are with Pakistan’s PM and its Army Chief.
Hence, the picture showing Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Navjot Sidhu and Shatrughan Sinha with the Pak PM and its Army Chief is a photoshopped one.


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The picture with Andhra Pradesh Election Survey Report 2019 is a fake one - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 10, 2019
A post with the picture of Election Survey Report of Andhra Pradesh for 2019 Assembly Elections is being shared by many Facebook users. Let’s try to analyze the authenticity of the numbers reported in the post.
The archived version of the post can be found here.
Surveys predict the victory of Telugu Desam Party in the upcoming Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Elections-2019
The statistics in the survey report do not match with the actual figures put out by  the relevant Survey agencies and TV channels. Hence, the picture of AP Election Survey Report-2019 that is widely being shared is a fake one. So, the claim is FALSE.
When the image is reverse searched, another similar Election Survey Report with the same figures but with just an interchange of the names of two parties TDP and YSRCP was found.
The statistics in the two survey reports do not match with the figures put out by the relevant survey agencies and TV channels. The Report in the post says that the survey of India TV-CNX predicts 126 seats to TDP and 49 seats to YSRCP, but the actual figures release by it predicts 100 seats to YSRCP and 45 seats to TDP.
A survey by the news channel NewsX predicts 92 seats to TDP and 77 seats to YSRCP as opposed to the figures stated in the report as 122 to TDP and 51 to YSRCP.
It is even found that some of the above Election Survey agencies haven’t even disclosed their survey findings on AP Assembly elections, till date. A few days ago, a survey agency CSDS has clarified that it hasn’t released any survey findings and the survey report circulating in their name is a fake one.
Hence, the Andhra Pradesh Election Survey Report 2019 in the post is a fake one created to influence the voters.


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The pictures are from the clashes during the Ram Navami rally in Asansol - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 16, 2019
Many Facebook users are sharing a post with a set of pictures in it. In the post, it is claimed that Muslims have attacked Hindus during the latter’s bike rally. Let’s try to analyze the claims made in the post.
In Barakar, near Asansol, Muslims attacked the Hindus during the latter’s bike rally
The clashes took place when the Ram Navami rally, organized by the Hindu community was going down the Barak road with devotional music from the audio system . Hence the claim in the post is TRUE.
On doing Google Reverse Image search, some of the pictures in the post were found in an article of the Hindi newspaper livehindustan.com. On searching for more information, an article with the NDTV’s video coverage of the Barakar clashes was found.
As per the NDTV’s article, the clashes took place when the Ram Navami rally – organized by the Hindu community was going down the Barak road with devotional music from the audio system. Some locals from the Muslim  community objected to the noise and this triggered an argument between the two communities which further lead to stone-pelting. The incident was reported by multiple news outlets like Times Now & My Nation.
Though it isn’t clear who has started the attacks on whom, the clashes have indeed taken place between the two communities at Barak during the bike rally.
Finally, the pictures in the post are the ones related to clashes between the two communities, at Barakar, during the Ram Navami rally.


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The pictures of JD(S) member Najma Nazeer are falsely shared as burqa-clad Muskan Khan - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 10, 2022
In the context of the hijab row in Karnataka, a lot of people are posting few comparison pictures claiming that they show different attires of burqa-clad woman who reacted by shouting ‘Allah-hu-Akbar’ in response to a group of men shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ at her in Karnataka. The girl’s name is Muskan Khan. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Pictures of Muskan Khan in a burqa at school and without a burqa at other places.
Fact: The woman without a burqa in the posted pictures is not Muskan Khan. While the burqa-clad woman in the pictures is Muskan Khan, the woman without a burqa is Najma Nazeer (a politician who is a member of Janata Dal (Secular) – Karnataka). Also, one of the viral pictures is an edited one. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On searching about the women without a burqa in the photos, it was found that she is Najma Nazeer. Some of the posted pictures can be found on her social media account. She is a politician who is a member of Janata Dal (Secular) – Karnataka. A few more pictures of her can be seen here, here, here, and here.
Also, one of Najma Nazeer’s pictures in the post is an edited one. The original picture can be found here and here.
Similarly another image of JDS leader Najma Nazeer, in which she can be seen along with Prakash Raj, Kanhaiya Kumar, Shehla Rashid and many others is also being shared identifying Najma Nazeer as Muskan Khan. However, the same photo was found on Najma Nazeer’s Facebook profile back in 2019.
More information regarding burqa-clad Muskan Khan and her interview with news agencies can be found here, here, and here.
To sum it up, the woman without a burqa in the posted pictures is JDS leader Najma Nazeer, not burqa-clad Muskan Khan.

created: February 10, 2022


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The plant in the image is ‘Sikkim Rhubarb’, it blooms every year in the Himalayas - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 8, 2019
An image is being shared widely on Facebook with the claim that it shows Mahameru flower that blooms once every 400 years in the Himalayas. Let’s check the authenticity of that claim.
Image of Mahameru flower that blooms once every 400 years in the Himalayas.
Fact: The plant in the image is ‘Rheum Nobile/ Sikkim Rhubarb/Noble Rhubarb’, it blooms every year in the Himalayas. So, the claim is FALSE.
When the image in the post is subjected to reverse image search technique, it was found on the website of Amazon. From here, the name of that plant was found to be ‘Rheum Nobile/ Sikkim Rhubarb/Noble Rhubarb’.
When searched on Google with the name of that plant, a website ‘Flowers of India’ was obtained in the search results. On that website, more details about the plant can be seen. From here, it was found that the plant grows in the Himalayas. From the website of ‘Plants for a future’, it can be found that those plants bloom every year during July- August.
In the post, ‘Pagoda Flower’ was also mentioned and the details of it can be seen on the website of ‘Almost Eden Plants’. By looking at the picture of ‘Pagoda flower’, it can be concluded that the plant in the post is not ‘Pagoda flower’.
During the search process, no information was found about the existence of ‘Mahameru Flowers’ in the Himalayas. Earlier, when a different image was also circulated as that of ‘Mahameru Flower’, FACTLY has written a fact-check article and it can be read here. Also, when an image of sea creature was shared on social media as that of ‘Cobra flower’, ‘FACTLY’ had debunked it and that can be read here.
To conclude, the plant in the image is ‘Sikkim Rhubarb’, it blooms every year in the Himalayas.
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created: November 8, 2019


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The PMO India YouTube channel did not disable the comment section after Mann Ki Baat video drew more dislikes - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 8, 2020
A post claiming that PMO India has turned off the comments section for the Mann Ki Baat video released on 30 August 2020 on YouTube after it drew more dislikes, is being widely shared on social media. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
PMO India YouTube channel has turned off the comments section for the Mann Ki Baat video released on 30 August 2020 after it drew more dislikes.
Fact: The PMO India Youtube channel has disabled the comments section for all the videos. Even the oldest archived video of this channel which was archived on 12 May 2017, has the comment section disabled. Also, according to a YouTube policy update, if any channel or video’s audience is set as ‘made for kids’ the comment section will be automatically disabled. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
If we scroll down the channel, we can see the comment section is disabled for all the videos on this channel. The PMO India channel has disabled the comment section for all the videos on this channel and not for this specific video.
When we searched for the archived videos from this channel on the Wayback machine, we found a video from this channel which is archived on 12 May 2020, 14 July 2017 and 10 April 2019. Even in these archived versions, we can see that the comments section is disabled. With this, we can conclude that the disabling of comments section is not a recent development.
According to YouTube guidelines, comments may be turned off on a video in four possible cases which are listed below.
YouTube has released a policy update in January 2020 and according to this update, if any channel or video’s audience is set as ‘made for kids’ the comment section will be automatically disabled. In order to comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) which prohibits data collection associated with children under the age of 13 without the parent’s consent. Hence, we can say at the comment section has been disabled because of one of the above reasons but not after the particular Mann ki Baat video dated 30 August 2020 drew more dislikes.
In the light of the central government’s decision to conduct the NEET 2020 examination amid the corona pandemic, the government faced flak from many students as is evident from the dislikes. It is in this background that posts such as the one mentioned in this article are being widely shared across social media platforms.
To sum it up, the PMO India Youtube channel has diasbled the comments for all the videos.

created: September 8, 2020


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The PMO refuses to share information about Sachin Tendulkar's donation to PMNRF
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 31, 2018
In April this year, it was reported in the media that Sachin Tendulkar, the former Rajya Sabha MP, donated his entire salary & allowances he earned during his Rajya Sabha stint to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF). The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has now refused to share any information about the donation citing the privacy clause in the RTI act.
In April this year, it was reported in the media that Sachin Tendulkar, the former Rajya Sabha MP, donated his entire salary and allowances he earned during his Rajya Sabha stint to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF). Factly sought to know the quantum of the donation and filed a RTI application with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The PMO has now refused to share any information about the donation citing the privacy clause in the RTI act.
Sachin Tendulkar as Rajya Sabha MP
As Factly reported previously, Sachin Tendulkar rarely attended the Rajya Sabha during this 6-year tenure and rarely participated in the proceedings of the house. His attendance was a mere 7% by the time his tenure finished. He asked 22 questions and did not participate in any debate. He was supposed to initiate a short duration discussion in the Rajya Sabha on 21 December 2017 on sports, his first in six years. But he could not because of the disruptions in the house. He did make good utilization of his MPLAD funds though and recommended works to the tune of more than Rs 30 crore.
His donation & the PMO’s response
In April this year, media reported that Sachin Tendulkar donated his entire salary to the PMNRF. Factly sought to know the quantum of donation and filed a RTI with the PMO. The PMO refused to share any information and responded by saying that the information sought is exempted under Sec 8(1)(j) of the RTI act.
What is problematic with this response of the PMO?
Sec 8(1)(j) of the RTI act states that ‘information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual unless the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information’  will be exempted.
But in this case, the information that the donation was made and the approximate amount of donation is already in the public domain through media stories. In fact, the media also made a mention of a letter of acknowledgment from the PMO along with text of such a letter. It is outright irrational to assume that part of the information that is already in the public domain would cause unwarranted invasion of privacy of an individual. Moreover, the amount donated by Sachin Tendulkar is not his personal wealth, but the salary he earned as a MP. So the larger public interest also justifies such a disclosure. There is no reason for the PMO to hide such information and such secrecy only raises doubts about the quantum of the donation.


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The police were thrashing the person in this video on charges of theft, not for hurting a calf - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 28, 2022
A video is being shared widely on social media with a claim that it shows police beating a person who was previously seen hurting a calf. Both video clips can be seen in the posted video. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video shows police beating a person for hurting a calf.
Fact: The person was beaten by the police over charges of theft in a mobile shop; not because of his ill-treatment towards a calf. As the posted video went viral, the Chandauli Police have clarified the same. However, the exact details of the person who was hurting the calf in the video were not found. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When the screenshots of the video clip in which police can be seen beating a person were run through Google Reverse Image Search, the video was found to be related to an old incident. The news reports regarding the incident can be read here and here. It has been reported that the police personnel beat them up as they were caught over charges of theft in a mobile shop. After the video of the incident went viral, SP Amit Kumar had suspended Kailawar outpost in-charge Shivanand Verma and head constable Dilip Kumar of the Balua Police Station (in Chandauli district of UP). So, the incident has no connection with another video clip in the posted video where a person can be seen hurting a calf.
As the posted video went viral, the Chandauli Police have clarified the same. They replied to many social media users that the ‘policemen beating a person’ video is related to a robbery incident. However, we could not find the exact details of the person who was hurting the calf in another video clip. FACTLY has previously debunked the same beating video when it went viral with a false claim that it shows UP Police thrashing a person for saying ‘Pakistan Zindabad’.
To sum it up, the police were thrashing the person in the video on charges of theft, not for hurting a calf.


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The Policy disallowing reservations for SC, ST, and OBCs in private institutions predated the Yogi Adityanath government's tenure in UP - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 9, 2024
A viral message claims that the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has terminated reservations for SC, ST, and OBC candidates in private medical colleges as a measure to phase out unfair caste-based reservation policies. In this article, we aim to fact-check the accuracy of the viral claim.
Claim: Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has terminated reservation for SC, ST, and OBC candidates in private medical colleges.
Fact: According to the existing policy, there are no reservations for SC, ST, and OBC students in private medical and dental colleges, nor in any private unaided institution in the state of Uttar Pradesh. This policy existed long before the Yogi Adityanath government assumed office in the state and was consistent with the directives issued by the Allahabad High Court on this matter. The confusion arose from a 2017 order implemented by the Yogi Adityanath government reiterating that no reservations would be applicable in private institutions. However, it’s important to note that the order was originally issued by the previous Samajwadi Party government, with the Yogi Adityanath government continued. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Private medical & dental educational institutions in Uttar Pradesh indeed do not provide reservations for SC, ST, and OBC categories. However, it’s important to clarify that this absence of reservations is not an initiative of the Yogi Adityanath government, as claimed in viral messages. Rather, such reservations have never been in place to begin with.
The news first emerged in 2017:
The currently viral news first emerged in 2017, following the issuance of an order by the then-newly established BJP government. This order implemented a policy for NEET-based admissions to PG courses, effectively discontinuing reservations for SC, ST, and OBC students in private medical and dental colleges.
However, the specific policy wasn’t initiated by the Yogi Adityanath government; rather, it merely executed an order put forth by the preceding Samajwadi Party government led by Akhilesh Yadav. According to reports dated 10 March 2017, just a day before the UP election results, the Akhilesh Yadav administration issued an order introducing the NEET-based admission policy for PG courses. Clause 7 of the Government Order explicitly stated that there would be no provision for reservation for SC, ST, and OBC students in the admission process of private medical and dental colleges.
The Yogi Adityanath government implemented this order upon assuming power. However, the media overlooked the fact that the order was initially issued by the SP government, presenting reports as if it were a new initiative introduced by Yogi Adityanath.
However, in response to the widespread dissemination of news, casting aspersions on the Yogi Adityanath government, state government authorities clarified that the news was based on an order issued by the previous SP government. Addressing the issue, Dr. VN Tripathi, Director General of Medical Education, stated, “Reservation was never a part of the admission process in private sector medical and dental colleges as per the prevalent policy made in 2006. There has been no change in any policy whatsoever.”
After receiving clarification from relevant authorities, some media organizations revised their articles accordingly. Consequently, over the years, the same news has circulated attributing the removal of reservations to the Yogi Adityanath government. Nonetheless, as previously mentioned, the absence of reservation implementation was already a component of an existing policy and not a new initiative by the Yogi Adityanath government.
Allahabad High Court struck down reservations :
Back in 2006, the Uttar Pradesh government enacted ‘The U.P. Admission to Educational Institutions (Reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes) Act, 2006’, which enabled reservations in both state-aided and unaided private educational institutions. Section four of the act stipulated a reservation of 21% for SC, 2% for ST, and 27% for OBC.
However, several petitions were filed against the ordinance mandating reservations in private institutions. Ultimately, in 2011, the Allahabad High Court ruled that unaided private educational institutes were not obligated to adhere to the reservation rules, as doing so would violate the basic structure of the Indian Constitution. The court rendered its judgment in the Sudha Tiwari vs. Union of India case, which challenged Section 4 of the aforementioned act.
It is possible that after this verdict, the Uttar Pradesh government amended the law, discontinuing reservations in private unaided institutions. The 2006 policy referenced by the authorities during the clarification regarding the non-implementation of reservations could be linked to this judgment. Furthermore, the government order mentioned above in 2017 aligned with this judgment.
To sum it up, the policy disallowing reservations for SC, ST, and OBCs in private institutions predated the Yogi Adityanath government’s tenure in Uttar Pradesh.

created: February 9, 2024


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The post claiming Muslims will be 84% of the population in India by 2041 is false - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 30, 2019
A message is being widely shared on social media claiming that a survey by ‘Institute of World Demographics Research’ has predicted that, by 2041, out of India’s total population, Muslims would account for 84%. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
A survey by ‘The Institute of World Demographics Research’ has predicted that, by 2041, out of India’s total population, Muslims would account for 84%.
Fact: No information was found about any international organisation with the name ‘The Institute of World Demographics Research’. Also, as per a report of ‘Pew Research Centre’, by 2050, out of India’s total population, Muslims would account for 18.4%. So, the claim made in the post is ‘FALSE’.
When searched on Google for ‘The Institute of World Demographics Research’, it was found that there is no such international institute with that name. When searched for information regarding the religion-wise demographic pattern of India in the coming years, an article of ‘Pew Research Centre’ was found. In the article, it was predicted that, by 2050, out of India’s total population, Muslim’s would account for 18.4%. ‘Pew Research Centre’, is an American ‘think tank’ that provides information about demographic trends in the world. The full report of ‘Pew Research Center’ on ‘The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050’ can be read here.
Also, in the post, the population of Muslims in India,in 2011, as per the official data was quoted as ‘22.6%’. But as per 2011 Census, Muslims population in the country was only ‘14.2%’.
To conclude, the posts claiming Muslims will be 84% of the population in India by 2041 is false
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created: December 30, 2019


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Posts claiming ‘Microsoft has acquired all divisions of Sony’ are false - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 30, 2020
A post is being shared on social media with a claim that Microsoft has acquired all divisions of Sony, including PlayStation, for a figure close to 130 billion dollars. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Microsoft has acquired all divisions of Sony.
Fact: Neither Microsoft nor Sony has announced about any such acquisition. The news was first published by a Spanish website as a prank, which was later picked up by others and shared as news. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched about the acquisition deal mentioned in the post, no such thing was found to be reported by any reputed international news agency. If any such deal took place, it would have been reported by all the news agencies. Only some online websites like ‘E4M’ and ‘EN24’ have published articles saying that Microsoft has acquired all divisions of Sony. It can be seen that ‘E4M’ has now deleted their article.
In their article, ‘EN24’ has given ‘Microsofters’ (a Spanish website) article as the source. At the end of ‘Microsofters’ article, which was published on 28 December 2020, one can observe that it is written – ‘¡Feliz Día de los Inocentes!’ (Google English Translation – ‘Happy Day of the Innocents’). The ‘Day of the Holy Innocents’ is celebrated on 28 December by playing jokes and pranks to trick friends. So, the article was published to fool people.
Also, Javier Gualix (the author of the article on ‘Microsofters’) has tweeted – ‘Indian media doing fact-check of the April Fool that we published yesterday in @microsofterses’ (translated by Google). The tweets made by him on this issue can be seen here and here.
To sum it up, neither Microsoft nor Sony has announced about any such acquisition. It was just a prank by a Spanish website.

created: December 30, 2020


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The Pothakudi village in Tamil Nadu did not experience a complete power outage for 35 days to protect a bird's nest - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 1, 2023
A post is being shared on social media claiming that a village in Tamil Nadu went without electricity for 35 days to protect the hatchlings of a bird that had turned the village’s community switchboard into its nest. The post claims that the villagers deliberately shut off all the electricity in their village out of concern that the heat produced by it might harm the eggs in the bird’s nest. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: A village in Tamil Nadu went without electricity for 35 days to safeguard a bird’s nest and its hatchlings.
Fact: In 2020, the people in Pothakudi village in Tamil Nadu’s Sivaganga district voluntarily shut off the streetlights in their village for 35 days to safeguard the eggs of a female oriental magpie robin that used the village’s electricity board control box as its nest. Only the control switch that powers the 35 streetlights in the village was turned off for the sake of the three eggs nestled in the bird’s nest. The village did not experience a complete power outage during those 35 days to protect a bird’s nest. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post and by searching with relevant keywords, we found an article published by ‘The Hindu’ reporting a similar incident that took place at a village in Tamil Nadu’s Sivaganga district in 2020. The article reported that the Pothakudi village in Sivaganga district went without streetlights for 35 days to safeguard the eggs of a female oriental magpie robin that used the village’s electricity board control box as its nest.
According to the article, the people of Pothakudi village had voluntarily decided to refrain from using streetlights for 35 days to protect the three eggs nestled in the bird’s nest. The robin had constructed its nest deep within the electricity box, and each attempt to access the controls reportedly startled the mother bird. Feeling that it was best to leave the mother undisturbed during the incubation period, Karuppu Raja, a villager who volunteers to turn on the main control switch of 35 streetlights after the dusk falls, convinced the villagers to keep the streetlights turned off for 35 nights.
A few other news reports published about this incident in 2020 can be seen here and here. Only the control switch that powers the 35 streetlights was turned off for 35 days for the sake of a bird’s nest. The village did not experience a complete power outage during those 35 days to protect a bird’s nest.
To sum it up, the Pothakudi village in Tamil Nadu shut off only the streetlights for 35 days to save the bird’s nest.

created: September 1, 2023


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The Pottalpudur Dargah in Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu, was not originally a Hindu temple - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 9, 2024
A video is being widely shared on social media claiming it as the visuals of an ancient temple that is converted into a Mosque in Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu (here, here, here, & here). Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of an ancient temple that is now converted into a Mosque in Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu.
Fact: The video depicts Pottalpudur Dargah, situated in Tenkasi, Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. There is no evidence to suggest that the mosque was previously a temple. According to information available on the Tamil Nadu tourism website, the dargah was constructed in the memory of Islamic scholar Mohideen Abdul Qadir Jilani in the 17th century (1674 AD) and is renowned for its construction inspired by the heritage of Dravidian architecture. In Tamil Nadu, many mosques are built using Dravidian architecture, with Jumma Palli (Keezhakarai Mosque) in Kilakarai being one of the most notable examples. The Tamil Nadu government fact-checking organization also refuted the viral claim. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
To verify the accuracy of the viral claim, we conducted a relevant keyword search. This search led us to a post on (archive link) on the official Tamil Nadu government’s fact-check X handle. According to this post, “the viral claim is false, and the video actually depicts Pottalpudur Mohaideen Andavar Dargah, located in Tenkasi, Tirunelveli. This dargah was constructed in the memory of Islamic scholar Mohideen Abdul Qadir Jilani in the 17th century (1674 AD) and is renowned for its construction inspired by the heritage of Dravidian architecture. Moreover, this dargah is widely visited by Hindus and Christians for worship.“
According to information available on the Tamil Nadu state tourism website, Pottalpudur Dargah is an important religious site in Tamil Nadu. The mosque is constructed in a way that reflects the rich architectural heritage of Tamil Nadu, making it a must-see for anyone who loves art and architecture. It is believed that Sufi saints, during their travels from Iran to India, reached Pottalpudur village and decided to settle there, preaching Islam to the people. Later, after the death of the head Sufi saint, people erected a tomb for the head Sufi saint in the year 1674, which has been worshipped in the mosque ever since. A special feature of Pottalpudur Dargah is its beautiful architecture. The main entrance of the dargah is adorned with intricate carvings and beautiful calligraphy, showcasing the artistic skills of the artisans of that time. This dargah was not only built by Muslims but also by Hindus and Christians. The inner sanctum of the dargah houses the tomb, covered by an elaborate silver canopy. Devotees who visit this dargah are given holy ashes made from ghee, tamarind bark, and flowers, known as ‘Nerchai’.
In the Madras High Court’s case related to the management of the Pottalpudur Dargah trust, it is stated that the dargah, built in 1674, is the oldest one, and not only Muslims but also Hindu and Christian devotees visit it.
In Tamil Nadu, there are many mosques built using Dravidian architecture. The book “Islamic Architecture in Tamil Nadu,” written by Dr. Raja Mohammed and published by the Director of Museums, Government Museum Chennai, discusses various mosques and dargahs constructed in the Dravidian style, resembling temples. Among them, Jumma Palli (Keezhakarai Mosque) in Kilakarai stands out as the most notable example. Additionally, there are other mosques in different states of India that bear resemblance to temples. Some examples can be seen here, here and here.
Previously, Factly debunked similar claims regarding both the Jumma Palli mosque in Tamil Nadu and the Zeenath Baksh Mosque in Mangalore, Karnataka, which can be seen here and here.
To sum up, the Pottalpudur Dargah in Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu, was not originally a Hindu temple.