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Station bail is not abolished. Central government hasn’t made any changes to section 41A CrPC - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 21, 2020
A post claiming that ‘to curb the abuse of power by the police, the central government has made changes to section 41A CrPC and abolished station bail’ is being shared on social media platforms. But is station bail really abolished? Did the central government make any changes to section 41A CrPC? Let’s find out through this article.
Union Law Department has amended Section 41A of CrPC and cancelled the police station bail in order to check corruption in the police department.
Fact:  The Law Ministry has not made any recent changes to section 41A of CrPC. Even though the 2008 & 2010 CrPC amendment acts were repealed in 2015, according to the General Clauses Act (1897), repealing an amendment act does not repeal or have any impact on the changes made through the amendment act to the original act. The amendments made to the original act will be intact until and unless the original act is repealed/amended explicitly. Hence the claim made is FALSE
The URL of the article provided in the post is now deleted, but the archived version of the same indicates that it was originally published in the year 2015. We analysed why this went viral in 2015 and found that it is because of the misinterpretation of the Repealing and Amendment (Second) Act, 2015 which repealed the CrPC amendment acts made in 2008 & 2010 among many other acts. The passage of this repealing act in 2015 had created quite a buzz on social media back then, claiming that the power of police to grant a station bail for the accused has been curbed and thereafter everyone, for every case, has to approach the court to get bail. This message has once again gone viral now.
But does the repealing of an amendment act repeal the contents of the amendment to the original act which it was intended to amend? Let’s find out.
What is an Amendment?The modification of materials by addition of supplemental information;  the deletion of unnecessary, undesirable, or outdated information; or  the correction of errors existing in the text.
According to the General Clauses Act, 1897 “Repeal of act making textual amendment in act or regulation- Where any central act or regulation made after the commencement of this act repeals any enactment by which the text of any central act regulation amended by the express omission, insertion or substitution of any matter then, unless a different intention appears, the repeal shall not affect the continuance of any such amendment.”
The above clearly explains that repealing an amendment act does not in any way repeal the provisions which were introduced to the original act through the amendment act. The amendments made to the original act will remain intact unless any particular provision or the act in toto is repealed/amended explicitly. According to the Reference Note of the Parliament library, having imparted the amendments to the main act, the amendment acts have served their purpose and have no further reasons for their existence. Hence, repealing acts are intended to excise such dead matter (like the amendment acts) from the statute book and to reduce its volume. Here is more about the repealing of the amendment acts from the central government appointed two-member committee report, available on the website of the Legislative Department of the Union Ministry of Law & Justice.
Let’s understand this through an example. The Hindu Succession Act, 2005 (passed in 2005) had amended the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. According to the amendments made in 2005, on and from the commencement of the act, in joint Hindu family governed by the Mitkarshara law, the daughter of the coparcener shall
The Repealing and Amending (Second) Act, 2015 had also repealed The Hindu Succession Act, 2005. However, this doesn’t mean that the amendments made through that 2005 act are also repealed, as is evident from the various court judgements delivered after 2015 based on the amendments introduced in 2005. The supreme court in Dannama @ Suman Surpur Vs Aman & others in 2018, delivered the judgement in accordance with the Hindu Succession Act, 2005.
Similarly, the Delimitation Amendment Act,2002 which is intended to redraw the boundaries of the Lok Sabha and the State assembly constituencies according to the 2001 census to represent the change in the population is repealed by the Repealing and Amending act, 2015. This doesn’t mean that the amendments made were repealed as the current day state assembly and Lok Sabha constituency boundaries are demarcated based on the provisions added through the delimitation amendment act.
What are the amendments made to CrPC in 2008 ?
This CrPC amendment act passed in 2008 has amended the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, 1973 and introduced three new sections (41A, 41B,41C) into it.
41A. Notice of appearance before police officer –
(1) The police officer may, in all cases where the arrest of a person is not required under the provisions of sub-section(1) of section 41, issue a notice directing the person against whom a reasonable complaint has been made, or credible information has been received, or a reasonable suspicion exists that he has committed a cognizable offence, to appear before him or at such other place as may be specified in the notice.
(2) Where such a notice is issued to any person, it shall be the duty of that person to comply with the terms of the notice.
(3) Where such person complies and continues to comply with the notice, he shall not be arrested in respect of the offence referred to in the notice unless, for reasons to be recorded, the police officer is of the opinion that he ought to be arrested.
(4) Where such person, at any time, fails to comply with the terms of the notice or is unwilling to identify himself, the police officer may, subject to such orders as may have been passed by a competent Court in this behalf, arrest him for the offence mentioned in the notice.”
41B. Procedure of arrest and duties of officer making arrest Procedure of arrest and duties of officer making arrest. – Every police officer while making an arrest shall-
(a) bear an accurate, visible and clear identification of his name which will facilitate easy identification.
(b) prepare a memorandum of arrest which shall be-
(i) attested by at least one witness, who is a member of the family of the person arrested or a respectable member of the locality where the arrest is made.
(ii) countersigned by the person arrested and
(c) inform the person arrested, unless the memorandum is attested by a member of his family, that he has a right to have a relative or a friend named by him to be informed of his arrest.
Supreme Court observations on 41A CrPC in the background of Section 498A IPC
The above amendments have become the bone of contention because of the allegations over abuse of power of arrest by the police especially in cases involving IPC Section 498A, which being a cognizable and non-compoundable offence did not need a warrant for arrest. In the light of these allegations, the central government amended the 2008 act and substituted the word “may” with “shall” through the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment), 2010. Notwithstanding these amendments, there have been instances of abuse of power by the police, as noted by the Supreme Court,  where the police repeatedly summoning those who are not accused of the crime to appear before them.
In the wake of the supreme court judgement in 2014 in Arnesh kumar Vs State of Bihar which involves Section 498A of IPC, which is a non-bailable offence, the Supreme Court felt that section 498A IPC is being used as a weapon rather than a shield by the disgruntled wives. The court directed all the state governments to instruct its police department not to automatically arrest when a case under Section 498A of the IPC (dowry harassment) is registered but to satisfy themselves about the necessity for arrest under the parameters laid down flowing from Section 41 CrPC. It also said that the police officer shall furnish the reasons and materials which necessitated the arrest before the magistrate. The Central Ministry of Home Affairs has issued some guidelines in 2014 to all the states and the union territories in this regard.
Despite the supreme court judgement and the guidelines from the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2014, as noted in Rajesh Sharma vs State of U.P and in other sporadic events elsewhere in the country, the Supreme court and few other state High courts made similar observations regarding the misuse of power through section 41A of CrPC in the background of 498A IPC.
According to the 2018 report of National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) more than one lakh cases have been reported under Sec 498A were reported in India in 2018. These cases made up for 27.3% of all the cases of crime against women reported in 2018, though the conviction rate under sec 498A has decreased and is at 13% in 2018. However, to conclude that this section is misused just because of the low conviction rate would not be fair.
What does all this mean?
The above explanation proves that the amendments made to any act remain untouched until and unless the original act in toto or in particular any part of the act is repealed/amended explicitly. Even in 2018 & 2019,  many states have issued similar guidelines regarding section 41A CrPC. And with this, we can conclude that even though the Repealing and Amendment (Second) Act, 2015 had repealed both the CrPC amendment acts passed in 2008 & 2010, the provisions under CrPC Section 41A introduced through these amendments are intact and there is no change in the procedure. Also, the Law Ministry had not made any changes to this section in recent times. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Update (19 July 2020):
The title and structure of the article is changed for easier understanding of the reader.
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USA didn’t open any library in the name of Baba Saheb Ambedkar - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 19, 2023
A post accompanying a few pictures of a large white building is being widely circulated across social media platforms with the claim that the USA has opened the world’s largest library in the name of Dr B.R. Ambedkar. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: The USA opened the world’s largest library in the name of Dr B.R. Ambedkar.
Fact: The Viral images show China’s Tianjin Binhai library. It is in no way connected to Dr B.R. Ambedkar. Further, no reports were found regarding any library in the USA that was named after Dr B.R. Ambedkar. However, recently on 14 October 2023, the tallest statue of Dr B.R. Ambedkar outside India was unveiled in USA. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the viral photos, we found an article from CNN which stated that these images are from the Binhai Library located in Tianjin city of China.
Following this, through keyword searches, we discovered news articles about this library (here, here). According to these reports, the library was commissioned by Tianjin Binhai Municipality and is located in the cultural centre of Binhai district in Tianjin, a coastal metropolis outside Beijing, China. Tianjin Binhai Library was designed and built in a record-breaking time of only three years due to a tight schedule imposed by the local municipality.
This Library is in no way connected to Dr B.R. Ambedkar. Further, we searched to see if any libraries in the USA are named after Dr B.R. Ambedkar. No reports were found regarding any library in the USA that was named after Dr B.R. Ambedkar. However, we found that recently on 14 October 2023, the tallest statue of Dr B.R. Ambedkar outside India was unveiled in the USA.
To sum it up, the USA didn’t open any library in the name of Dr B.R. Ambedkar. The viral pictures show a library in China.

source: news-factly

created: December 19, 2023

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

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


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American cartoonist Ben Garrison didn't draw this cartoon depicting the current state of Indian media - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 7, 2020
A cartoon with the title ‘Lipstick on a pig’ is being widely shared on social media claiming that American Cartoonist Ben Garrison has drawn the cartoon to depict the current state of Indian media. The cartoon showcases a mother pig who has a caricatured face of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and many piglets that are represented with the logos of few Indian news channels feeding on the mother pig. In the background, there is a dog with the name ‘Bhagwat’, to represent RSS Chief Mohan Bhagawat. Another cartoon is also being shared on Facebook with the same claim that American Cartoonist Ben Garrison has drawn the cartoon to depict the current state of Indian media. The cartoon (archived) showcases a pack of dogs whose heads are replaced with pen nibs looking anticipatedly at a bone held in hand. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
American Cartoonist Ben Garrison’s cartoons depicting the current state of Indian media.
Fact: The cartoons were found to exist on the internet for many years and Ben Garrison didn’t draw them. Ben Garrison issued a clarification that he never drew any cartoons on Indian Politics, and the cartoons with his signature were fake. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Cartoon-1:
When we subjected the photo to reverse image search technique, the original cartoon of the one in the photo was found in the search results. The original cartoon has a mother pig with a caricatured face of Hillary Clinton and many piglets represented as ‘Lies’, ‘Criminality’, ‘Theft’, ‘Graft’ etc., feeding on it. The dog in the background is represented with the name ‘Bill’. The cartoon was drawn by American Cartoonist Ben Garrison in March 2016 during the US Presidential Elections. So the cartoon in the post is a photoshopped one.
Indian Cartoonist Satish Acharya tweeted in 2017 that the caricature of Modi’s face in the photoshopped cartoon was taken from a cartoon drawn by him in 2010 when Narendra Modi had turned 60 years old.
The truth about Ben Garrison's Modi cartoon orbiting the web world! pic.twitter.com/VR0zuJnkUG
Cartoon-2:
When we subjected the image to reverse image search technique, the cartoon was found to exist on the internet at least since 2009. It was first found in an article of Persian website ‘adeli-af.com’ that was written about the scholars and writers in Afghanistan. In the article, no exact details of the cartoonist who drew that cartoon were mentioned.
When we looked on the website (grrrgraphics.com) of Ben Garrison, no such cartoon was found to be drawn by him depicting the situation of Indian media. In 2017, Ben Garrison has also tweeted that he never drew any cartoons on Indian Politics, and all such cartoons with his signature are fake.
No- I have never drawn any cartoons on India politics- there are some cartoons with my sig going around- Not mine
Earlier, when another cartoon was shared on the social media as the one drawn by Ben Garrison targeting the Indian National Congress party’s rule, FACTLY has debunked the claim and written the fact-check article.
To sum it up, American cartoonist Ben Garrison hasn’t drawn any cartoons depicting the state of current Indian media.
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American ice dancers in this video were actually performing to Bollywood songs, not to Indian devotional songs - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 13, 2022
A social media post claiming that a foreign couple danced to the tune of Radha-Krishna is being widely circulated . The post accompanies a video of a couple, dressed in Indian attire, ice dancing to lord Krishna song. Through this article let’s fact-check the authenticity of the video shared in the post.
Claim: Video of a foreign couple dancing to Lord Krishna song.
Fact: The viral visuals actually show US ice skating dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White, performing to Bollywood songs in the 2010 AT&T U.S. figure skating championship. Several news articles have reported their performance to Bollywood songs back then. The duo also performed to Bollywood songs during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games held in Vancouver. The lord Krishna song is digitally added to their 2010 U.S. figure skating championship, performance visuals.  Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
The viral visuals show American ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White, performing in the 2010 AT&T U.S. figure skating championship. However, in this competition, the duo danced to Bollywood songs and not to Lord Krishna’s song as claimed.
Reverse image search of the screen shots of the viral visuals yielded a lengthier version of the viral video on YouTube. This video was uploaded on YouTube in 2011 and the accompanying description of the video reads ‘The Final Performance of Meryl Davis & Charlie White at 2010 AT&T U.S. Figure Skating Championship.’
Further, the video footage displays a pop up disclaimer in line with the description of the video. However,  the lengthier version shows the duo dancing to Bollywood songs but not to Indian devotional songs.
Taking a cue from this YouTube video, Google search with relevant keyword yielded multiple news articles which reported the 2010 U.S (here, here & here) figure staking championship. Even these articles have reported that Meryl Davis and Charlie White have danced to Bollywood songs like ‘Kajra Re’, ‘Silsila Ye Chahat Ka’, and ‘Dola Re Dola’.
Further, the duo danced to the same Bollywood songs during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games held in Vancouver. Visuals related to this event can be seen here and here.
The above information implies that Lord Krishna devotional song is digitally added to a video of Meryl Davis & Charlie White’s performance in the 2010 Figure Skating Championship. Further, we could not find any visuals of the duo dancing to any Indian devotional songs.
To sum it up, these visuals actually show American ice dancers performing to Bollywood songs in 2010; The devotional song is digitally added to this performance.


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American police did not employ UP's 'bulldozer model' to arrest the accused - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 23, 2023
A post is being shared claiming that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s ‘bulldozer model’ is being used by the American police in the process of detention of a man who shot four police officers. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: American police employed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s ‘bulldozer model’ to arrest a person who shot four policemen.
Fact: The SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team damaged the house from where Terran Green, the man who reportedly shot four police officers, was shooting at them to capture him and end the long stand off. Moreover, Green is neither the owner nor the one who leased the house. Michael Hill, the owner of the house was contacted by the FBI officials before the attack seeking floor plans to the residence. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, information related to the claim was found to be reported by several news channels. From the reports (here, here, and here), it is clear that a man named Terran Green shot Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy, Joseph Anderson during a traffic stop and was also accused of wounding three law enforcement officers. To end the long standoff and arrest Green, the SWAT team used heavily armoured vehicles to capture him.
Finally, Green was captured using the hydraulic arm of the vehicle called the Rook, smashing into the residence. Besides, Green was not the owner of the house, in fact, public records show that the house was rented by a woman. Michael Hill, the owner of the house was contacted by FBI officials before the attack seeking floor plans for the residence.
To sum up, American police did not employ UP’s ‘bulldozer model’ to arrest a man accused of shooting four police officers.


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Amidst fears of a slowdown in the Economy, Tax Revenues of many States shrink in the first four months of 2019-20
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 20, 2019
For the first time in last 5 years, the tax revenue earned in the first four months of 2019-20 by 21 states is 2.3% less than the revenue earned during the same period in 2018-19. 13 of the 21 states have seen a fall in cumulative tax revenue in 2019-20 (till July 2019)
Government (both Central & State) spending has a significant bearing on the Indian economy.  The salaries paid out to the government employees, spending on various government run schemes, payments to various services providers, huge capital expenditure of the government etc. greatly contribute towards economy & hence the GDP. The extent of revenue generated by the government has a significant bearing on this expenditure.
State governments need to invest ininfrastructure, spend on different schemes etc. And to meet the increasedexpenditure year after years, it is critical that the tax revenues of statesincrease accordingly in addition to the central grants & devolution of taxrevenue by the centre. Tax revenues form a key component of state government revenueswith the sources being various state-level taxes and the state’s share incentral taxes as decided by the finance commission.
About the Data
In this story we look at the tax revenue earned by states in the first four months of 2019-20 (till July 2019) and compare it with the tax revenues earned during the same period in the last financial year, to understand the trends. The data of tax revenue of states between April & July 2019 for financial year 2019-20 is compared with the tax revenue during the same period in 2018-19. The data for state tax revenues is taken from the account statements submitted by respective states with Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).
The details for the states of ArunachalPradesh, Assam, Bihar and Sikkim are not available for the current financialyear 2019-20 on the CAG website and hence are excluded from the analysis alongwith Delhi and Goa which do not have reports for both the years. Data for few otherstates is not available on the CAG website for specific months which would behighlighted in the story as necessary. In all, data was completely availablefor 21 states.
Together in the 21 states for whichdata was available, tax revenue in the first four months of 2019-20 is ₹ 4.92 lakh crores compared to ₹ 5.04 lakh crores in 2018-19 i.e.fall of 2.3%.
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala,
Punjab, Gujarat among the states with reduced Tax Revenue during this period
Among the larger states, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Karnataka have reported a fall in the tax revenue for this period in 2019-20 compared to the same period in 2018-19.  The total tax revenue earned by Andhra Pradesh during these 4 months in 2019-20 is ₹ 15,017 crores while during the same period in 2018-19, it was ₹ 26,114 crores i.e. fall of 42.7% in the tax revenue.
The other states do not have such a steepfall in the tax revenue, but the difference is significant. Gujarat andKarnataka, which are among the higher tax earning states by volume have alsoreported a fall in the revenue when compared to same period in 2018-19 by 8%and 12% respectively.
The tax revenues of Karnataka fellby ₹ 5,057 crores in the first four months of 2019-20 compared to the sameperiod in 2018-19. Among other states, Gujarat’s tax revenue fell by ₹ 2,823 crores, Punjab’s by ₹ 1,636 crores and Kerala’s by ₹ 1,581 crores, in the first four months of 2019-20 compared to the sameperiod in 2018-19. Many other states like Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,Odisha, Rajasthan & Tamil Nadu have also reported a marginal fall in taxrevenue during this period.
West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh,
Telangana and Jharkhand among states with increase in Tax revenue during this
period
West Bengal has reported asignificant increase in Tax revenues during the first four months of 2019-20compared to the same period in 2018-19.  Tax revenue of West Bengal for these fourmonths in 2019-20 has increased by ₹ 6,810 crores compared to 2018-19i.e. an increase by 26.4%.  Uttar Pradeshalso reported an increase of ₹ 5,486 crores while Telangana has reportedan increase of ₹ 902 crores during this period.Uttar Pradesh’s tax revenue increased by 7.4% while Telangana’s tax revenueincreased by around 3.8% during this period.
Among smaller states, Manipur
reported a  significant increase in Tax
revenues
In the case of smaller states, taxrevenue for Manipur has increased by ₹ 336.9 crores in the first fourmonths of 2019-20 compared the same period in 2018-19. Even in the case ofHimachal Pradesh, tax revenues have increased by ₹ 121.9 crores during the same period.
The figures for July’19 are notavailable for Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and Uttarakhand. However, duringthe period April to June 2019, tax revenue reported by J&K is ₹ 5,231 crores which is ₹ 264 crores more than the revenuereported during the same 3-month period in 2018-19.  Meanwhile, Uttarakhand has only a smallvariance with ₹ 4,486 crores during 2019-20compared to ₹ 4475 crores during the same periodlast year.
Except for Uttar Pradesh & West Bengal,
all the other states reported drop in Tax revenue in July 2019 compared to July
2018.
The number of states with tax revenues less than the previous year up to a specific month have increased as the months progressed in 2019-20. The total number of states with a comparative negative tax revenue until the month of June 2019 compared to same month in 2018 was 5. This number increased to 13 states by July 2019. In other words, 13 of the 21 states for which data is available have reported fall in tax revenues in the first four months of 2019-20 compared to the same period in 2018-19.  The increase in the number of states could be a reflection of the slowdown.
Except for Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Manipur, the rest of the states (18 of the 21) have reported fall in tax revenues in July 2019 compared to July 2018. For instance, Gujarat earned ₹ 3,451 crores less in July 2019 compared to July 2018. Maharashtra, which is among the highest tax earning states reported a revenue of ₹ 20,380 crores in July 2018, but only ₹ 17,332 crores in July 2019.
Among the higher tax revenue states,Karnataka’s tax revenue for July 2019 was only ₹ 8,756 crores compared to ₹ 12,207 crores in July 2018.Kerala’s tax revenue for July 2019  was ₹ 3698.8 crores i.e. 41% less than July 2018’s tax revenue. Punjab,Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh also reported a substantial fall in July 2019 taxrevenue compared to July 2018 with 34.6%, 38.6% and 39.8% respectively.
Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telanganaare among the other states with higher volume of negative tax revenues comparedto July 2018 with a short fall of ₹ 3,047 crores, ₹ 2,530 crores and ₹ 1,919 crores respectively.
On the other hand, West Bengal andUttar Pradesh have earned more revenue in July 2019 compared to July 2018. WestBengal’s tax revenue for July 2019 was 150% more than ₹ 3,586 crores earned in July 2018.
What about the previous
years?
To analyse if this decreasing trend is specific to 2019-20, we looked at the cumulative tax revenue data  for these 21 states starting from 2015-16. This is the first time in these 5 financial years that the cumulative tax revenue of the 21 states up to the month of July has decreased when compared to the same period in the previous year. The revenue in 2019-20 in these four months is ₹ 4.92 lakh crores compared to ₹ 5.04 lakh crores in 2018-19 during the same period. This decline follows an increasing trend in the previous years where the tax revenue up to July of the respective years was ₹ 3.76 lakh crores, ₹ 4 lakh crores and ₹ 4.65 lakh crores for 2015-16, 2016-17 & 2017-18 respectively.
The decline incumulative tax revenue up to July in this financial year is a reflection of thefall in tax revenues compared to previous years across most of the states.
The number of states whose cumulative tax revenue increased by more than 10% in the first four months of the financial year was 8 in 2016-17, which increased to 17 in 2017-18. In 2018-19, a total of 11 states reported an increase of more than 10% in cumulative tax revenue in the first four months. In a sign of the slowdown in the current financial year, only 2 states have reported an increase in cumulative tax revenue of more than 10% in the first four months of 2019-20.
On the other hand, the number of states with a negative growth in the first four months of a financial year was only 4 in 2016-17. This has now increased to 13 states in 2019-20, states which have reported a negative growth or a decrease in cumulative tax revenues in the first four months of the financial year.
Clear sign of slowdown?
The month on month comparison of2019-20 with 2018-19 shows an increasing short fall in the tax revenues earnedby the states. The comparative shortfall for July 2019 has impacted a greaternumber of states resulting in the fall of cumulative revenues earned by 13 ofthe 21 states.
As can be seen from the data, the trend of fall in tax revenue is more prominent in June & July 2019. If this trend continues, even those states which are on the positive side of tax revenue in 2019-20 compared to 2018-19, could see a fall in their cumulative revenues impacting government spending and thereby the economy. The fall in tax revenue could be a clear sign of the slowdown.
Featured Image: Fears of economy slowdown

created: September 20, 2019


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Amidst Russia-Ukraine crisis, Ukraine airspace is closed for all civilian flights including that of India’s - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 2, 2022
Amidst the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis, a photo through a post is being widely shared on social media claiming that the Air India plane is the only plane flying above the Russia-Ukraine war zone. The post even claims that this plane was going to airlift Indian nationals who were stuck in Ukraine. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo showing Air India plane to be the sole plane flying above the Russia-Ukraine war zone.
Fact: Ever since Russia announced military operations in Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Ukraine airspace remained closed to all civilian air traffic including India’s. The flight path of Air India’s AI121, which travels from New Delhi to Frankfurt does not go above Ukraine’s airspace since the closure of Ukraine’s airspace. The photo had been shared by a twitter user named QuebecTango on 24 February 2022, who later said the flight path shown was actually a glitch in a flight tracking application. As part of Operation Ganga, India’s evacuation flights are landing in Ukraine’s neighbouring countries like Hungary, Poland, Romania to bring stranded Indians from Ukraine. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
The photo shows the fight number as AI121. According to flightradar24, the latest flight path of Air India’s AI121 which travels from New Delhi to Frankfurt, Germany does not go above Ukraine’s airspace. The same is found true with the flight tracking website plane finder.
On 24 February 2022, Russia announced military operations in Ukraine. Since then, the Ukraine airspace remained closed to all civilian air traffic. The Air India flight AI121 mentioned in the photo could not have entered Ukraine’s air space since 24 February 2022 as it was closed for all the countries. Presently, Ukraine’s airspace is still closed to all civilian air traffic. It can be seen from a flight tracking website that none of the flights are flying above Ukraine.
United States, Canada, the European Union, and several other European nations including Switzerland have barred Russian flights from entering their airspace. In retaliation, Russia’s state aviation agency banned airlines from 36 countries like Britain, Germany, Canada, etc. but not India. As seen from the flight path of AI121 above, Russian airspace is still accessible to a few countries like India.
The photo shared in the post had been shared by a Twitter user named QuebecTango on 24 February 2022, who later said the flight path shown was actually a glitch in a flight tracking application. He says that a screengrab was taken before the application corrected the path of the flight.
End result: it was a glitch in the app. It corrected itself but not before a screengrab was taken. I saw said screengrab and immediately tweeted the Leeroy Jenkins take without realising it was a glitch. End result: cries of "fake" but still happy with the joke.
The Indian government had launched Operation Ganga to bring back Indians stranded in Ukraine. To fast-track these rescue operations, PM Modi had called in Indian Air Force to help evacuate Indian nationals. Private carriers like IndiGo, Air India Express, and SpiceJet are also operating special flights to evacuate stranded Indians from Ukraine. However, as the Ukraine airspace is closed, the evacuation flights are landing in Ukraine’s neighbouring countries like Hungary, Poland, Romania, etc.
To sum it up, amidst the Russia-Ukraine crisis, Ukraine airspace is closed for all civilian flights including that of India.


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Amidst the debate around ‘One Nation, One Election’, here is a look at other Electoral Reform proposals
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 10, 2019
The country is once
again debating ‘One Nation, One Election’ after the recent all party meeting.
But what are the other important electoral reforms proposed by the Law
Commission & Election Commission?
Soon afterNarendra Modi took over as the Prime Minister for a second successive term, hechaired a meeting of the Presidents of all political parties. Among otherthings, ‘One Nation, One Election’ or the issue of simultaneous elections wasalso on the agenda. This has onceagain brought to the fore the discussion on the rationale of havingsimultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies. The All-partymeeting presided by the Prime Minister, the statement of the President in his address to
Joint Session of the parliament , Centre setting up of a committee to study theproposal etc. are indicative of the Centre’s push in this direction.
There arearguments both for and against ‘One Nation, One Election” from various sectionsof political spectrum and civil society. The Law Commission’s Draft report on
simultaneous elections observes that while holding simultaneous elections isideal and desirable, a workable formula needs to be provided in the constitution.
While theCentre positions this as a necessary Electoral reform, there are other electoralreforms, the discussion of which has taken a back seat. We discuss some otherimportant electoral reforms proposed by the Law Commission of India and theElection Commission previously.
Law Commission
& ECI’s proposed reforms
The ElectionCommission of India (ECI), and the Law commission have over the years haveprovided proposals which could bring in much needed reforms in the electionprocess of the world largest democracy.
The Law
Commission of India’s report on Electoral Reforms in 2015 andreport published by the ECI in 2016  “Proposed
Electoral Reforms”, have suggested various reforms.
Here’s a snapshot of the key recommendations suggested by ECI and Law Commission of India.
Date of Notification instead of Date of Nomination as start date for ceiling on expenditure.
As per section 77 of Representation of People Act , 1951 there is a ceiling on the expenditure of the candidate from the date of nomination to the date of declaring the results. However, most of the candidates have subverted the ruling by filing the nominations on the last day of filing. The amount spent by the candidates prior to the nomination forms a major chunk of the overall expenditure.
Hence, a changeis recommended by the Law Commission
of India where the ceiling needs to be placed from Date of election
Notification to the Date of Declaring results.
This would helpin having a ceiling on the total amount being spent through the process ofelection campaigning. The change also needs to be made in regard to the rulesaround the disclosure of the electoral expenditures, in tune with the change inthe date.
Disclosure of all contribution amounts (subject to a cap of 20 Crores or 20% of total contribution to be Anonymous)
The Representation of People Act, 1951, Section 29 C lays out the current rules regarding the disclosure of contribution amounts. As per this, the political parties are required to report contributions which are in excess of Rs. 20,000. Furthermore, the transparency guidelines of ECI require all the cash transactions to be accounted for. Though there have been amendments that disallow any cash transactions of more than Rs. 2,000, the limit for reporting contributions hasn’t changed and remains at Rs. 20,000.  It is also common knowledge that Political parties have a way around by showing multiple receipts of less than Rs. 2,000 and thereby avoiding any disclosure of the donors.
The Association for
Democratic Reform’s analysis says that only 43% ofparty funding is said to comprise donations from known sources (contributionsupwards of 20000, contributions from electoral trusts etc.) and nearly 53% ofthe funding sources are undisclosed for the year 2017-18, in the case ofnational parties.
To avoid this evasion of disclosure, it is recommended that disclosure needs to be made of all the contributions. (Subject to cap of Rs. 20 Crore of 20% of total contribution – whichever is less, can be anonymous). But the implementation of this reform will not be possible without amending the rules for the recently introduced Electoral Bonds as these bonds provide a way for anonymous donations.
Proportional representation instead of First-Past-The-Post System (FPTP)
The current Electoral system followed in the elections to Lok Sabha and respective State Assemblies is the First-Past-The-Post System (FPTP). In this, each voter has a single vote which can be casted in favour of a candidate in the election. The candidate with the greatest number of votes wins the respective Lok Sabha/Assembly Seat irrespective of the percentage of votes in his favour. This is one of the simplest forms of Electoral System. The simple nature and greater scope of stability through majority governments, were the reasons to pick this system for India.
However, overthe years, various demerits of the system have been highlighted. Especially inregard to the vote share not reflecting in the number of seats won by a party.Multiple instances over the electoral history of India are found where a slightchange in vote share has resulted in a massive change in the number of seatswon by a political party.
Proportional
Representation System is recommended as an alternative where the number ofseats won by a party is proportionate to its vote share. This is a complexsystem and many variants of the same are followed across the world.
There aremultiple models through which a Proportionate Representation System can beimplemented, however a detailed study into these models in Indian context needsto be done. The Law Commission of India Report recommends a hybridsystem to be explored which benefits from the merits of these systems andmitigates the demerits.
Two years of Imprisonment without alternative clause for filing a false affidavit
The candidates contesting the elections are required to file an affidavit (Form 26) which contains the details regarding their assets, liabilities, educational qualification, criminal record etc. In case of any false affidavit, as per Section 125A of Representation of People’s Act, 1951, the offence is punishable with 6 months of imprisonment or fine or both.
The electoratehas the right to know the true information of the candidates contesting in theelections. Hence a false affidavit is an issue of propriety which is a minimumexpectation from a candidate.
In view ofthis, The Law Commission in its 244 report recommended
that the punishment for filing false affidavits should be the following. Ithas also mentioned that these should not be applied in the case of trivialerrors.
President/Governor to have the power to disqualify in case of defection on the advice of the Election Commission
Originally, the Constitution of India did not have any mention of political parties. However, political parties are now an integral part of India’s democratic setup. Political defections of elected members  has necessitated the introduction of Anti Defection Law, in 1985. This has also led to the insertion of 10th Schedule in constitution of India through the 52nd Amendment Act.
Among others, the law provides for the speaker of the house (Lok Sabha/ Legislative assembly) to decide upon the disqualification of defected members. However, over the years, multiple instances of the alleged misuse of this decision making authority have been witnessed which brings into question the non-partisanship of The Speaker.
In view of this Law Commission
recommends for:
Thisrecommendation is in line with other provisions of disqualification (other thanthe 10 schedule) where the Election Commission decides on theseissues.
While there are many other reforms proposed in these two reports, the ones mentioned above are some of the important ones. It’s time the government and the parliament explores these also in addition to ‘One Nation, One Election’


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Amidst the tussle between Govt & EC, the Citizen suffers
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 15, 2017
In the last 9 months, the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) have been writing to each other about RTI Online. While the ECI wants its name to be removed from the RTI Online portal, the DoPT has other plans. In the midst of this tussle, 100s of RTI applications addressed to the ECI remain unanswered on the RTI Online portal.
Factly had earlier reported on how the ECI is reluctant to be part of RTI Online, the online portal of the Government of India that is used for filing Right to Information (RTI) applications online. It is now known that close to 2000 RTI applications addressed to the ECI remain unanswered on the RTI Online portal. Amidst the ongoing tussle between the government & ECI, the citizen is the ultimate sufferer.
‘Remove our name from the portal: ECI’
In February 2017, the Under Secretary and the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the ECI wrote to the DG of the National Informatics Center with a request that the ECI’s name be immediately removed from the RTI Online portal since it was not a part of it.
In response to that letter from the ECI, the Under Secretary in the DoPT said that it is not possible to remove ECI’s name from the portal since it was not an exempted organization (as per sec 24 of the RTI act). Further, he offered training to the nodal officers in ECI in case they face difficulties in using the RTI Online portal.ECI writes one more letter to DoPT in April 2017
The ECI had written one more letter to the DoPT in April 2017 with a similar request, that its name be removed till the ECI approves using RTI Online. He further asked the DoPT to inform all the applicants whose applications are pending on the RTI Online portal to file them in physical form once again.
It has to be noted that the DoPT has not informed even a single applicant whose RTI application is pending with the ECI that the ECI is not accepting applications filed through the online portal. In fact, the DoPT had once again written to the ECI in August 2017 reminding them that a number of applications filed with the ECI are pending and the nodal officer is not forwarding them to the relevant CPIO.
In response to another complaint, the ECI in November 2017 has categorically stated that it is not part of the RTI Online portal and that it is developing its own facility for online applications.The Citizen is the ultimate victim
In this tussle between the ECI & Government, it is the citizen who is ultimately suffering. Both the organizations have done precious little to help the hundreds of applicants who have filed applications on the portal. The ECI could have easily accepted the existing applications while notifying on its portal about it not being a part of RTI Online. The DoPT on the other hand could have informed all the applicants that the ECI is refusing to accept such applications.  With their hardened positions, neither is helping the citizen.

created: December 15, 2017


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Amit Shah did not fly to New York for Avian Sarcoma treatment - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 1, 2020
A post claiming that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has flown to New York due to a health emergency and that his condition is critical is doing rounds on social media. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Due to health emergency, Amit Shah has flown to New York and his condition is critical.
Fact: On 30 September 2020, Amit Shah through video conference interacted with the beneficiaries of the electric chalks under Potter Empowerment Scheme from New Delhi. Images of the event are shared on Amit Shah’s official Twitter and Facebook accounts. PIB also reported the event. Also, Avian Sarcoma is a type of cancer that affects chickens, there is no scientific evidence to prove that the virus transmits to humans from chickens. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Google search with the keyword ‘Amit Shah latest’ led us to a tweet posted on Amit Shah’s official twitter account on 30 September 2020 in which Amit Shah can be seen interacting with the beneficiaries of the electric chalks under the Potter Empowerment Scheme via video conference from New Delhi on the same day.
The Press Information Bureau (PIB) also reported the event on 30 September 2020. Hence, it is clear that Amit Shah is fine and is in India. We also could not find any news articles regarding Amit Shah’s medical emergency and his travel to New York.
Also, Avian Sarcoma is a type of cancer that affects chickens. There is no scientific evidence to prove that the virus transmits to humans from chickens.
In the wake of Amit Shah’s hospitalization due to post COVID ailments, posts like these have been circulating on social media with misleading claims.
To sum it up, the news that Amit Shah has flown to New York due to a medical emergency is not true.

created: October 1, 2020


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Amit Shah didn’t mistreat Advani at the BJP National Council Meet 2014 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 25, 2019
Many Facebook users are sharing a post  with a photo in the upper part that portrays as if BJP President Amit Shah has mistreated LK Advani and a video in the lower part that strengthens the claim made. Let’s try to analyze the veracity of the claim made in the post.
Amit Shah disrespected LK Advani at the BJP National Council Meet.
Fact: The video in the post is a truncated part of the original video taken during the BJP National Council Meet-2014. On watching the prior and later parts of the video, we can conclude that the post is MISLEADING.
When the searched for the ‘BJP National Council Meet’ on Google, the full version of the video can be found in the search results. When the video is watched at the time of 21min 30 secs, one can clearly see that, Amit Shah appears to be asking Advani to address the meeting sitting on the chair, but Advani proposes to address the gathering from the podium. So, Shah points towards the direction of podium to Advani, who then walks over to the podium and makes the speech. The video which was viral on social media  was truncated at that specific time to mislead viewers.
Finally, Amit shah didn’t mistreat Advani at the BJP National Council Meet 2014.


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Amit Shah has not commented that Veer Savarkar participated in the 1857 revolt - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 21, 2019
A post is being shared widely on Facebook with a photo of India today’s article on Amit Shah ‘s speech, with a claim that  without Veer Savarkar, 1857 revolt wouldn’t become historic. The post also says that Savarkar was born in 1883. By mentioning Savarkar’s birth year, the post claims that Amit Shah has commented that Veer Savarkar participated in the 1857 revolt. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post
Amit Shah has said that Veer Savarkar participated in the 1857 revolt.
Fact: In a speech at Varanasi, Amit Shah said, “Had it not been for Veer Savarkar, the rebellion of 1857 would not have become history, we would have seen it from the point of view of Britishers. Veer Savarkar was the one who named the 1857 rebellion as the first independence struggle”. Amit Shah has not said in his speech that Savarkar participated in the 1857 revolt.  Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
The photo in the post was taken from the ‘India Today’s article. So when we looked into the article, it was found that Amit Shah has said in a speech at Varanasi that “without Veer Savarkar, revolt of 1857 wouldn’t become historic”. It was nowhere written in the article that Amit Shah has said that Savarkar participated in the 1857 revolt.  The same information was also found in a tweet made by ANI channel: “Had it not been for Veer Savarkar, the rebellion of 1857 would not have become history, we would have seen it from the point of view of Britishers. Veer Savarkar was the one who named the 1857 rebellion as the first independence struggle”. Also, when a video related to his speech is seen carefully, the same information mentioned in the tweet was found
Lastly, Amit Shah did not comment in his speech that Veer Savarkar participated in the 1857 revolt.
Did you watch our new Episode of the DECODE series?

created: October 21, 2019


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Amit Shah's old Speech is being misrepresented as a recent statement on Mukhtar Ansari's death - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 3, 2024
A video clip (here, here, and here) featuring a speech by Amit Shah is making rounds on various social media platforms. The short clip shows him stating that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) liberated people from gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari in Uttar Pradesh. This clip is being shared in light of Mukhtar Ansari’s recent death, insinuating that Shah’s comments are regarding this event, and that he has a hand in Ansari’s death. We will fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: Amit Shah, in a recent speech, stated that BJP liberated people from Mukhtar Ansari after Mukhtar Ansari’s death.
Fact: The clip is from an old speech by Amit Shah in a 2019 rally in Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh, where he used the acronym NIZAM (which includes ‘M’ for Mukhtar Ansari). Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
To fact-check the authenticity of this viral clip, we initially conducted a reverse image search on the keyframes of the video. This led us to the original speech from which the viral clip was extracted. The entire speech was uploaded to BJP’s official YouTube channel in 2019.
In the 2019 speech (here, here and here) delivered in Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh, Amit Shah used the acronym ‘NIZAM,’ comprising the initials of Nasimuddin Siddiqui, Imran Masood, Azam Khan, Atique Ahmed and Mukhtar Ansari. Shah asserted that the BJP liberated Uttar Pradesh from the so-called ‘NIZAM’ rule, targeting these individuals.
Cross-checking with other public records revealed that Amit Shah used the same ‘NIZAM’ reference in a public rally in Uttar Pradesh in 2021. This consistent usage of the acronym and the fact that the original video on BJP’s YouTube channel was uploaded in April 2019, confirms that the video is not a recent comment on Mukhtar Ansari’s death.
To sum up, the viral video showing Amit Shah making a statement about Mukhtar Ansari is not recent and does not pertain to Ansari’s recent demise. It is a part of Shah’s old speech from 2019.


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Amity University student ‘Madhav Chaudhary’ is not dead - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 5, 2019
A post is being shared widely on social media with a claim that Madhav Chaudhary, one of the Amity University students beaten up during a fight between the two groups at the Amity University (Noida) on August 28, has died in ICU. Let’s try to check the claim made in the post.
Madhav Chaudhary, an Amity University student who was beaten up in a college fight, has died in ICU.
Fact: Madhav Chaudhary is not dead. The Noida police has confirmed that he has been discharged from the hospital and is fine. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When searched about the issue on Google, it was found that the Noida Police have already posted about the issue on their official Twitter handle. In the tweet, Noida SP Vineet Jaiswal (IPS) mentions that Harsh and Madhav, who were beaten up in a fight between the students at Amity University, are fine and were also discharged from the hospital. He also condemns the fake news being spread about students being in ICU and Madhav’s death. More about the issue can be read here.
एमिटी यूनिवर्सिटी में हुई मारपीट के संबंध में Ps-सेक्टर 39 में दोनों पक्षों की तरफ से FIR पंजीकृत है,पूरे प्रकरण की शीघ्रता से निष्पक्ष जांच कर साक्ष्य के आधार पर दोषियों के विरुद्ध कानूनी कार्यवाही करने हेतु I.O को निर्देशित किया है
उक्त संबंध में @spcitynoida द्वारा दी गई बाइट pic.twitter.com/WwtkG2wNkh
Also, an interview of Madhav Chaudhary by a web channel (‘Dilli Tak’) was found to be uploaded on YouTube yesterday i.e. on Sept 04.
To sum it up, Amity University student ‘Madhav Chaudhary’ is not dead.
Did you watch our new Episode of the DECODE series on Indian Rivers?

created: September 5, 2019


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Amount involved in Bank Fraud cases increased 35 times in 10 years
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 5, 2019
The latest annual report of the RBI paints a
very grim picture as far as bank fraud cases are concerned. The amount involved
in fraud cases detected in a particular year has increased by over 35 times
between 2009-10 and 2018-19.
RBI has recently released its annual report for the year 2018-19. Among other things, one of the highlights from the annual report is the increase in the number of cases detected relating to banking fraud.
RBI annual report observes that for the year 2018-19, the number of bank fraud cases detected has increased by 15% and the amount involved in bank fraud cases has increased by 73.8%. Is this a continuing trend over the years or a one-off increase for the year 2018-19?
How does RBI count the bank fraud data?
It has to be noted that the numbers in the RBI report are cases where the amount involved in fraud is ₹ 1 lakh or more. It also has to be noted that the number of fraud cases in the RBI report are those that are detected & reported in that particular year and not necessarily the ones committed in that year.  This is also mentioned in an answer provided in the Lok Sabha by the government where it said that  ‘fraud data is by the year of reporting and not the year of occurrence of the fraud or sanction of loan, Letter of Undertaking etc., which may be of an earlier period’. One of the other answers also goes onto mention that ‘it is not possible from this data to arrive at year-wise increase in banking frauds’.
The Amount involved in fraud cases has
increased over the last decade
As per RBI data, the number of cases identified asbank fraud has increased over the years. For the year 2009-10, the total numberof cases recorded was 4,669 and in the year 2018-19 this number is 6801.
The number of cases reported has consistentlyincreased over the years, barring 2010-11 & 2011-12 where the number ofcases were 4534 and 4093, less than the 4669 cases recorded in 2009-10. Post2011-12, the number of cases has seen a gradual increase every year.
The highest increase in the year onyear cases compared to previous year was observed over the last two years. In2017-18 there was in increase by 840 cases and in 2018-19 there was an increaseof 885 cases compared to the previous year.
Apart from the increase in the numberof fraud cases, the exponential increase in the total value of the fraud casesis matter of concern. In 2009-10, the total value of the frauds reported was ₹ 1,999 crores. The value of the bankfrauds reported for 2018-19 went up to ₹ 71,543 crores i.e. an increase byapproximately 35 times. While there has been a year on year increase in thevalue of the bank frauds, the years of 2012-13, 2014-15, 2017-18 and 2018-19have witnessed a substantial increase in the amounts involved in those frauds.
2015-16, is the only year where the amountinvolved in fraud (₹ 18,699 crores)was less than the previous year, 2014-15 when the amount involved in fraud was ₹ 19,455 crores.
Different numbers mentioned in the
Rajya Sabha
Responding to a question asked in the Rajya Sabha on 23 July 2019, the Finance ministerfurnished the details of the banks frauds of select Scheduled Commercial Banksand Financial Institutions.  The detailsprovided as per the answer is Rajya Sabha are given below. It has to be noted thatthese numbers are very different from the data quoted in the RBI report becausethe Rajya Sabha answer covers frauds committed in a particular year and not theones reported in that year.
Public Sector Banks account for majority share of Banking fraud cases
As per the RBI annual report (2018-19), 54.4%  of the bank  fraud cases in 2018-19 were reported inpublic Sector Banks (PSBs), a total of 3,766 cases. The number of cases in PSBsfor the year 2017-18 was 2885.  As forthe amount involved in these cases, PSBs account for a whopping 90.2% of thetotal amount involved in bank fraud cases for the year 2018-19. This amounts toa total of ₹ 64,509 crores, anincrease in 68.6% over the amount involved in fraud cases in 2017-18 which was ₹ 38,261 crores.
The number of fraud cases in PSBs as reportedby RBI varies from the data provided in an answer in Lok Sabha on 01 July 2019, where it is specified as 1545. Thisdifference is again on account of the way of reporting these cases. The LokSabha data is based on based on date of occurrence of the fraud and not thedate on which the fraud was reported.
The next highest number of fraud casesin 2018-19 was reported by private sector banks followed by foreign banks.There were 2,090 cases of fraud in private sector banks where the total amountinvolved was ₹ 5,515 crores.Comparatively in 2017-18, the total cases reported by private sector banks was1,975 and the total amount involved was tune of ₹ 2,478 crores. In other words, theamount involved in fraud cases in private banks increased by 122.5% in 2018-19compared to 2017-18.
Although the number of fraud casesinvolving foreign banks has come down in 2018-19 to 762 from 974 in 2017-18,the amount involved in these cases has nearly tripled. In 2017-18, the totalamount was ₹ 256 crores whileit increased to ₹ 955 crores in2018-19. During the same period, the amount of bank fraud in financial institutionsincreased multifold with the amount for 2018-19 being ₹ 553 crores (28 cases) compared to ₹ 165 crores in 2017-18 (12 cases).
Exponential increase in the total amount
of fraud involving advances
For the year 2018-19, a total of 3606cases of fraud were detected involving ‘advances’ extended compared to 2525cases in 2017-18. The amount of fraud under ‘advances’ for 2018-19 is ₹ 64,548 crores compared to ₹ 22,558 crores in 2017-18.
Comparatively, the amount of fraud inother areas of banking has reduced in 2018-19 compared to 2017-18.  The number of cases relating ‘Off-BalanceSheet’ banking fraud in 2018-19 was 33 compared to 20 cases in 2017-18.However, the value of the fraud was lower in 2018-19 with ₹ 5,538 crores compared to ₹ 16,288 crores in the previous year of2017-18.
Similarly, the value of frauds under‘foreign exchange transactions’ for 2018-19 is ₹ 695 crores compared to ₹ 1,426 crores in 2017-18.  Although the value is lower for ‘Card &Internet related’ frauds, the number of cases recorded in this area are nextonly to the cases related to ‘advances’ extended. The number of ‘card &internet related’ fraud cases in 2017-18 was 2059 which came down to 1866 casesin 2018-19.
Huge amount of delay in detecting fraud
cases
Inits annual report for 2018-19, RBI observed that the time lagbetween the occurrence of fraud and the detection by the banks is almost 22months. The report further observes that the lag time increases to 55 months incases where the value of the bank fraud is more than ₹100 Crores. The total amount of suchhigh value frauds reported in 2018-19 is ₹ 52,200 crores.
As per Central Vigilance Commission’s report in 2018,  a total of 689 complaints were received in bankingsector of which 591 cases were disposed and 98 cases are pending. Of thepending cases, 32 cases are pending since more than 6 months. CVC has also compiledan analysis in 2018 on top 100 frauds, which provides the details of thevarious frauds including modus operandi, anomalies, loopholes etc.
What is the government doing to reduce
the bank frauds?
In a response to a question in Rajya Sabha, the Finance Minister highlighted thesteps taken by the government to reduce  bankfrauds. As per the response, the following is reportedly being done by thegovernment.
While the government has listed down anumber of steps to prevent these frauds, the increasing amounts of fraudreported every year is a cause for concern. It remains to be seen if the stepstaken by the government result in any reduction in the number of bank fraudcases in the coming years.


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Amul Ice Cream does not contain Pig Fat - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 1, 2021
A video of a person explaining the E471 ingredient used in Amul ice cream is being shared on social media. In the video, he claims that Amul ice cream contains an E471 emulsifier which is manufactured from pig fat. He asks people not to consume Amul ice cream as it is Haram in Islam. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Amul ice cream contains an E-471 emulsifier which is manufactured from pig fat.
Fact:  The E-471 emulsifier can be manufactured both from plant oils (soybean oil or palm oil) as well as from animal fats. In a press release, Amul clarified that they use the E-471 emulsifier manufactured only from plant oils. Amul ice-cream is Halal certified and is getting exported to various countries based on this certification. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched for the manufacturing details of the E-471 emulsifier, we found out that the E-471 emulsifier can be manufactured by direct esterification of glycerol with the fatty acids. E-471 is commonly known as Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids. This E-471 emulsifier can be manufactured both from plant oils (soya bean oil or palm oil) as well as from animal fats.
In a press release,  Amul clarified that they use E-471 emulsifier manufactured only from the plant oils. It is mentioned that all the ingredients used by Amul viz. colours, stabilisers, emulsifiers, additives, enzymes in cheese, are of 100% vegetarian origin. Every Amul Product reportedly has a Veg. logo on the pack as per the mandate of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the food regulator of India. The green dot on the product indicates that the product is 100% vegetarian.  Amul also mentioned their ice cream as Halal certified and provided the links of their certifications in the press release. They can be seen here and here.
R.S. Sodhi, the Managing Director of Amul clarified the same through a video. He reiterated that all the products from Amul are 100% Vegetarian. Amul shared this video on their Twitter handle. The news article published on Amul clarification can be seen here. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the Amul ice cream uses the E-471 emulsifier produced only from the plant oils.
To sum it up, Amul ice cream utilises the E-471 emulsifier produced from plant oils, not from animal fats.


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వియత్నాం దేశానికి చెందిన ఒక హోటల్ ప్రచార ప్రకటన వీడియోను కస్టమర్‌కు హోటల్‌లోని ఉద్యోగులు అరుదైన ఆతిథ్యం చేస్తున్న దృశ్యాలంటూ షేర్ చేస్తున్నారు - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 21, 2023
ఒక హోటల్‌లో కస్టమర్‌కు పది మందికిపైగా ఉద్యోగులు ఆతిథ్యం చేస్తున్న వీడియో ఒకటి సోషల్ మీడియాలో బాగా షేర్ అవుతోంది. ఒక ఉద్యోగి కస్టమర్ ముందు ఆహారాన్ని సర్వ్ చేస్తే, మరొకరు అందులో ఉప్పు వేస్తు, ఇంకొకరు సాస్ వేస్తూ, అలాగ, చివరిగా ఒక ఉద్యోగిని  కస్టమర్‌కు నోట్లో ఆహారాన్ని పెడుతున్న దృశ్యాలను మనం ఈ వీడియోలో చూడవచ్చు. ఆ పోస్టులో ఎంతవరకు నిజముందో చూద్దాం.
క్లెయిమ్: హోటల్‌లో కస్టమర్‌కు పది మందికిపైగా ఉద్యోగులు ఆతిథ్యం చేస్తున్న వీడియో.
ఫాక్ట్ (నిజం): వియత్నాం దేశంలోని హో చి మిన్ నగరంలోని గార్డన్ రెస్టారెంట్ తమ హోటల్ ప్రచారం  కోసం రూపొంధించిన ఒక ప్రకటన వీడియో ఇది. కస్టమర్లపై తమ సంస్థ చూపించే శ్రద్ధను చూపించడానికి ఈ ప్రకటన వీడియోని రూపొందించామని గార్డన్ రెస్టారెంట్ మీడియాకు స్పష్టం చేసింది. కావున, పోస్టులో చేస్తున్న క్లెయిమ్ తప్పుదోవ పట్టించే విధంగా ఉంది.
పోస్టులో షేర్ చేసిన వీడియో యొక్క స్క్రీన్ షాట్లని రివర్స్ ఇమేజ్ సర్చ్ చేసి వెతికితే, ఇవే దృశ్యాలు కలిగిన ఫోటోలను షేర్ చేస్తూ వియత్నాం వార్తా సంస్థ ‘Dantri’ 25 జులై 2023 నాడు ఆర్టికల్ పబ్లిష్ చేసినట్టు తెలిసింది. ఈ వీడియోని వియత్నాం దేశంలోని హో చి మిన్ నగరంలోని గార్డన్ రెస్టారెంట్ పబ్లిష్ చేసిందని ఈ ఆర్టికల్‌లో తెలిపారు.
సోషల్ మీడియాలో తమ వీడియోకి వస్తున్న మిశ్రమ స్పందన గురించి గార్డన్ రెస్టారెంట్ యాజమాన్యం మీడియాతో మాట్లాడుతూ, ఇది తమ హోటల్ ప్రచారం కోసం రూపొంధించిన ఒక ప్రకటన వీడియో అని, కస్టమర్లపై తమ సంస్థ చూపించే శ్రద్ధను చూపించడానికి ఈ ప్రకటన వీడియోని రూపొందించామని తెలిపారు. ఈ విషయాలను తెలుపుతూ మరికొన్ని వార్తా సంస్థలు కూడా ఇటీవల ఆర్టికల్స్ పబ్లిష్ చేశాయి.
సోషల్ మీడియాలో వైరల్ అవుతున్న ఈ వీడియోని గార్డన్ రెస్టారెంట్ సంస్థ 12 జులై 2023 నాడు పబ్లిష్ చేసింది. ఈ వీడియోలో కస్టమర్‌గా కనిపిస్తున్న అదే వ్యక్తి, గార్డన్ రెస్టారెంట్‌కు సంబంధించిన మరికొన్ని ప్రకటన వీడియోలలో కూడా నటించారు. ఆ వీడియోలని ఇక్కడ, ఇక్కడ చూడవచ్చు. పై వివరాల ఆధారంగా పోస్టులో షేర్ చేసిన వీడియో ఒక ప్రకటన వీడియో అని ఖచ్చితంగా చెప్పవచ్చు.
చివరగా, వియత్నాం దేశానికి చెందిన ఒక హోటల్ ప్రచార ప్రకటన వీడియోని కస్టమర్‌కు హోటల్‌లోని ఉద్యోగులు అరుధైన ఆతిథ్యం చేస్తున్న దృశ్యాలంటూ షేర్ చేస్తున్నారు.


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An AI-generated image is falsely shared as the new design of the BARC building - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 3, 2024
An image (here, here, here, and here) of a building adorned with sculptures and figures is making rounds on social media platforms. The image is being circulated with the claim that it represents the new design of the Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) building. We fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: This image represents the new design of the Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) building.
Fact: Upon thorough investigation, we found that BARC has neither released nor acknowledged such a design on their official website or social media handles. According to the Hive AI detection tool, the viral image is 100% likely an AI-generated image. Therefore, the claim made in the post is False.
Firstly, we visited the BARC official website, specifically the section where they post notifications about tenders for any new constructions or renovations. No information corresponding to the claim was found.
We continued our investigation by checking their official social media handles(here and here) for any announcements regarding a new building design. The result remained the same; no such design was featured or mentioned.
To ascertain whether the viral image was AI-generated, we utilised an AI Content Detection tool called ‘AI Classifier’ by Hive. The tool indicated a 100% likelihood that the image was generated using Artificial Intelligence.
Additionally, we have also reached out to BARC for an official statement regarding the alleged new building design. We shall update this article once we receive their response.
To sum up, it can be concluded that the viral image being shared as the new design for the BARC building is an AI-generated image and not an actual architectural design.


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An AI-generated image misrepresented as a real photo of Palestinian children sleeping in swampy tents. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 6, 2024
A photo of two children sleeping in muddy waters under a dilapidated tent is going viral on social media. The description of this post reads – ”We will NEVER stop sharing ᖴᖇᗴᗴ ᑭᗩᒪᗴSTIᑎᗴ !!🇵🇸”, which indicates that the viral photo portrays the harsh conditions in which children in Palestine are living. Let’s fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: This photo shows children in Palestine sleeping in harsh conditions.
Fact: The viral photo is not a real one. It is an image generated by an AI tool-Bing Image Creator. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
To fact-check the viral image, we carried out a reverse image search, which directed us to a tweet and an Instagram post, both containing the same photo but with a watermark, ‘BingAi by LB’.
This Pic just made me realize that I should be greatful for the little things I have.
Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. * It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it.#AFCON2023 #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 pic.twitter.com/XevldysZmJ
Further, we conducted a keyword search on the internet by adding ‘BingAi by LB’ in our keywords, which led us to the Instagram profile of a user named @lb_tengkorak. Along with the viral photo, this profile contained a series of similar images portraying people living in swampy tents, all bearing the same watermark.
A post shared by Liena Bunkerz (LB) (@lb_tengkorak)
The description of these images included hashtags such as #bingimagecreator, and #crazyimaginations, leading us to suspicion that these images were artificially generated.
To confirm our doubt, we ran the viral image through the Hive AI Classifier tool, which is designed to detect AI-generated images. The results showed that the viral image was highly likely (100%) to be AI-generated.
We further found that Boomlive reached out to the Instagram user @lb_tengkorak, also known as Liena Bunkerz. When asked if the images were AI-generated, Bunkerz confirmed, “Yes, I generated these images using the AI-powered tool, Bing Image Creator.”
To sum up, the viral photo claimed to show Palestinian children sleeping in harsh conditions is not real but an image generated using an AI tool.

created: February 6, 2024


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An AI-generated image of Vladimir Putin in monk attire is being shared to propagate false information - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 7, 2023
A photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin donned in a Buddhist monk attire is being shared widely on social media. It is claimed that he has become a Buddhist monk for a few days. Let’s understand the facts behind this photo and the claim through this article.
Claim: This photo shows Russian President Vladimir Putin in the attire of a Buddhist Monk.
Fact: This photo was generated using the Artificial Intelligence tool Mid Journey. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
To check the veracity of the claim, we searched the internet to see if Putin had truly converted into a Buddhist Monk for a few days. This search did not yield any credible news reports or any related stories.
Further, we performed a reverse image search on the viral photograph to learn more about it. This search led us to many sources, which revealed to us that this is an AI-generated image. Firstly, we found the viral photo on an online forum named Aistyle.art. This photo was uploaded on 22 March 2023. A user named Skynet posted this photo along with a few other photos of Putin and American President Joe Biden in monk attire. The caption reads, “Monks do not lie”. Users share AI-generated images on this online forum.
Through further search, we also found the same photographs on a few Facebook pages. Khaosod English, a Thailand-based new organisation, shared these photos on 19 March 2023, which clearly mentioned that these were doctored images. Another Facebook page named “AI CREATIVES THAILAND” contained the same set of photos. The user who posted these pictures clearly mentioned that these were created using the AI tool Modjourney. Also, in a YouTube video titled “Fact Check: How to spot AI images?” DW News labelled the viral photo as fake and generated using AI. With this evidence, we can conclude that the viral photo is AI-generated, not real.
To sum up, an AI-generated image of Vladimir Putin in monk attire is being shared to propagate false information about his conversion to Buddhism.

created: September 7, 2023


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An AI-generated photo of a little girl sitting beside a snow leopard is shared with a false narrative - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 12, 2024
A photo (here,here, here and here) of a little girl allegedly from the Gilgit Baltistan area, named Gulmina, sitting next to a snow leopard is being widely shared on social media. It is claimed that the little girl has raised this snow leopard, which has now grown up and often comes to visit her. Through this article, we fact-check this claim.
Claim: This photo shows a girl named Gulmina with a snow leopard she raised in Gilgit Baltistan.
Fact: This is a fabricated story, and the, photo is, in fact, an AI (Artificial Intelligence) generated image made using the tool Midjourney. This fact was stated by the creator of the photo on his Instagram account. Therefore, the claim made in the post is False.
To verify the validity of the viral photo, we first performed a reverse image search. This leads us to the original upload (archive) of this photo on Instagram, on an account named @babrakk, who posts such realistic AI-generated images; babrakk is a CGI artist.
A post shared by /babrak (@babrakk)
In response to a user query about how the photo was taken, babrakk revealed that it was made using the tool Midjourney. Midjourney is an AI tool that allows users to generate images by giving text prompts.
Babrakk further clarified this in an Instagram story, calling the photo a piece of art and mentioning Midjourney.
To sum up, the viral story of a girl named Gulmina from Gilgit Baltistan who supposedly raised a snow leopard is false. This is an AI-generated image as confirmed by the creator of the image.


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An AI-generated image of Indian soldiers eating food under the sun is falsely shared as a real photo - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 2, 2024
A photo (here, here, and here) has recently gone viral on social media, with a claim that it shows women soldiers of the Indian Army eating food on the road while on duty in Barmer, Rajasthan, in the 48° sun. We fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: Photo of Indian women soldiers eating lunch in 48° temperature at the Pakistan border.
Fact: This is an AI-generated image, not a real photo of Indian soldiers eating food under the Sun. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
First, we searched the internet using relevant keywords to see if there were any news reports about this photo, but we couldn’t find any.
Next, after taking a closer look at the viral photo, we realised there were many anomalies. Such anomalies are commonly noticeable in the images generated by artificial intelligence/AI (here, here).
Let’s see the anomalies in the viral photo now.
Firstly, the shadows of some soldiers/officers walking in the background of the seated women soldiers are completely missing in the image. The person sitting at the centre of all the women soldiers has more than half of her left hand submerged/ blended with the surface of the bowl she is holding. Usually, hands, feet, and fingers are not created properly in the images generated by AI.
Also, the Indian flag on the shoulder of the front-row soldier sitting on the left side of the image looks strange. It is noteworthy that apart from the three colours present in the Indian flag, it has many sections and colours. Finally, another soldier sitting in front of this soldier has three arms.
Additionally, we ran this image through the AI-image detection tools like ‘Hive’ and ‘True Media.’ They confirmed that these images were definitely generated using AI.
To sum up, an AI-generated image is being shared as a real photo of Indian women soldiers consuming food in scorching heat near the Pakistan border in Rajasthan.


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An AI-generated video of a human-faced fish is being shared as real. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 2, 2024
A video allegedly showing a recently discovered fish that resembles a human face is being shared on social media. It is claimed that this fish was discovered in a lake named Samsara in the tropical region of Karanji. This lake is alleged to be one of the sources of the Nile River. Let’s check the authenticity of this claim through this article.
Claim: A human-face fish has been discovered near Lake Samsara near the Nile River.
Fact: The visuals in the viral video are AI-generated. There is no credible evidence to prove the existence of either a human-faced fish or a lake named Samsara near the Nile River. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
To check the veracity of the viral claim, we performed a keyword search on the internet, which led us to a YouTube video uploaded on a channel named ‘Headtap Videos.’ This is the exact same video that is being shared along with the viral claim.
According to the description of this video titled ‘The Human Faced Fish”, a fish was discovered by scientists recently in an unexplored region of Karanji in a lake named ‘Lake Samsara.’ Apparently, this was named Homo Piscis, or Human-faced fish.
First of all, a keyword search on the internet revealed that there is no lake with the name of Samsara in a region named Karanji in existence. There is a lake named Karanji in Mysuru, Karnataka, India, but there are no news reports to back the viral claim that such a species has been discovered there recently.
Also, if scientists had made such a discovery, it would have been reported widely by the mainstream media, but we found no news reports or scientific articles backing this. We also did not find the name of this alleged fish species listed in the ‘Integrated Taxonomic Information System’, which contains the ‘authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of North America and the world.’
Furthermore, we found that ‘Headtap Videos’, the Youtube channel which uploaded the viral video with this information, uploads such graphics-based videos. The channel’s description states-Experiments in video and Graphics. This could very well mean that the viral video was also a work of Computer Generated Imagery(CGI). Suspecting this, we ran a few screenshots from the viral clip through the Hive AI detector, which detects AI-generated images, and it showed that these visuals could have very likely been generated using AI, with chances of it being around 99.4%.
To sum up, there is no evidence that scientists have recently discovered a human-faced fish species named Homo Piscis.

created: February 2, 2024


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An AI Re-envisioning of an Iranian landscape is shared as a Natural optical illusion in Greece - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 19, 2024
A striking image of a landscape is being shared across social media platforms, purported to be a natural optical illusion from Epirus, Greece. Let’s verify this claim through this fact-checking article.
Claim: The photo shows a natural optical illusion captured in Epirus, Greece.
Fact: The image was actually generated using Artificial Intelligence (AI) by an Iranian artist named Hamidreza Edalatnia. Therefore, the claim made in the post is False.
To verify the authenticity of the viral image, we conducted a reverse image search. This search led us to find the same photo posted on Instagram in December 2023. The photo was captioned as a ‘Re-envisioning’ of the Iranian urban landscape featuring a spiral pattern.
A post shared by Hamidreza Edalatnia (@hamidreza.edalatnia)
The image was uploaded by an Iranian artist named Hamidreza Edalatnia, who explained that the artwork was created using an AI tool called Stable Diffusion. A review of Edalatnia’s Instagram page shows additional AI-generated images similar to the one in question.
Further analysis was conducted by us using an AI content detection tool called AI Classifier by Hive. The tool indicated that there is a 100% likelihood that the image was AI-generated, with a 94% probability that it was generated using Stable Diffusion, the same AI tool used by Hamidreza to create this image.
We further searched the internet to see if there were any such naturally formed optical illusions in Epirus, Greece but we could not gather any evidence that proves the existence of such a phenomenon.
To sum up, the image being circulated as a natural optical illusion from Epirus, Greece, is, infact an AI-generated image created by Iranian artist Hamidreza Edalatnia.


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Edited image shared as a picture of Joe Biden grabbing Volodymyr Zelenskyy by his posterior - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 23, 2022
In the wake of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington this week, a photo is being circulated on social media claiming it to be a picture of US President Joe Biden grabbing Volodymyr Zelenskyy by his posterior while posing for a photo at the White House. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of Joe Biden grabbing Volodymyr Zelenskyy by his posterior during the recent meeting at the White House.
Fact: The photo shared in the post is an edited one. The original photo tweeted by the US First Lady Jill Biden shows Joe Biden placing his hand on Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s back. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo was found to be tweeted by the US First Lady Jill Biden on 22 December 2022. The original photo shared by Jill Biden does not show Joe Biden grabbing Volodymyr Zelenskyy by his posterior while posing for a picture.
President Zelenskyy, we hope you take our love and support back to Olena and your children, and all the families of Ukraine. 💕 pic.twitter.com/z1uqAAl8B8
A comparison of the original image and the image shared in the post can be seen below.
Several news websites published videos showing US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden receiving Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House. They can be seen here and here. The visuals in these videos also do not show Joe Biden grabbing Volodymyr Zelenskyy by his posterior. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the image shared in the post is an edited one.
To sum it up, an edited image is shared as the picture of Joe Biden grabbing Volodymyr Zelenskyy by his posterior during their recent meeting at the White House.

created: December 23, 2022


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An altered photo shared as the picture of a new pregnancy test cassette showing the picture of the father - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 26, 2023
A photo is being shared on social media claiming that the new home pregnancy test can show the picture of the father. The photo shows a positive pregnancy result and a man’s picture displayed on a pregnancy test cassette. A few users shared the same photo and claim that with the application of new Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, the new pregnancy tests can now show the picture of the father on it. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of a Pregnancy test cassette showing the picture of the father.
Fact: The image shared in the post is an altered one. The original image published in 2012 does not show the picture of a man on the pregnancy test cassette. A non-invasive prenatal paternity test could determine the biological father of an unborn child. The DNA profile of the baby is determined from free-floating blood cells found in the mother’s blood sample and then compared to the DNA profile of the potential father to check whether or not he is the biological father of the child. But neither non-invasive prenatal paternity tests nor the home pregnancy test kits could show the picture of the father on them. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo was found published on the ‘depositphotos’ website in May 2012. The description of the photo states, “Woman taking a pregnancy test showing pregnant result”.  But the original image does not show the man’s picture on the pregnancy test cassette. Similar altered images showing different persons’ pictures on pregnancy test cassettes were shared in the past.
The most advanced home pregnancy test kits use antibodies to detect the levels of Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin (hCG), a hormone that develops in a person’s body only during pregnancy, in urine and could provide reliable results within just a few weeks of pregnancy. The hormone hCG is produced very early in pregnancy by trophoblast cells and after implantation, the placenta begins to develop and produce increasing amounts of hCG. The home pregnancy tests cannot be used for paternity testing and there is no such pregnancy test cassette that could show the picture of the father on it.
A Non-Invasive Prenatal Paternity Test can determine the biological father of an unborn child by testing the DNA profiles of the potential father and the baby. While the mother is pregnant, the DNA profile of the baby is determined from free-floating cells found in the mother’s blood sample and then compared to the DNA profile of the father to determine whether or not he is the biological father of the baby. For a non-invasive prenatal paternity test, the mother’s blood sample and the potential father’s cheek swab will be collected for the testing. This DNA test can be performed as early as the 7 week of the pregnancy. The testing methods of non-invasive prenatal paternity test and pregnancy test are completely different and even non-invasive prenatal paternity test does not display a picture of the father on the kit.
To sum it up, an altered photo was shared as the picture of a new pregnancy test cassette showing the picture of the father.


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An altered video of photographers aiming at a spot is shared as photographers capturing a singing bird - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 24, 2023
A video of photographers pointing their cameras at a spot is being shared claiming that they are capturing a bird singing. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photographers trying to capture a singing a bird on the tree.
Fact: From 12 seconds to 13 seconds of this viral video, the bird in the picture appeared out from among the branches and leaves. The bird’s song begins playing before the bird itself comes into view. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The image of the bird appeared to be unnatural on observation of the video. Moreover, on careful observation of the video at 0.5 speed we found that from 12 seconds to 13 seconds of this video, the bird in the picture appeared out from among the branches and leaves.
Furthermore, the tree branches and leaves surrounding the bird in the background go blurred. Additionally, the bird’s song begins playing before the bird itself comes into view.
While we couldn’t determine the focus of the people in the viral video, the Taiwan Factcheck Centre has verified that the incident occurred at Huanhuaxi Park which is also a well-known bird-watching location in China.
To sum up, an altered video of photographers aiming their cameras at a spot is shared as photographers capturing a singing bird.

created: December 24, 2023


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An altered video shared as visuals of people chanting Jayant Chaudhary slogans during Amit Shah’s campaign in Kairana - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 27, 2022
A video is being shared on social media claiming it as the visuals of a group of people from Uttar Pradesh chanting RLD Chief Jayant Chaudhary slogans during Amit Shah’s ‘Jan Vishwas Yatra’ campaign in Kairana. In the wake of the upcoming 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, this video is being shared widely on social media. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of people chanting Jayant Chaudhary slogans during Amit Shah’s recent ‘Jan Vishwas Yatra’ campaign in Kairana.
Fact: The video shared in the post is a doctored one. The original video shows people chanting ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, ‘Jai Sree Ram’ and ‘Modi, Modi’ slogans, not the name of RLD Chief Jayant Chaudhary. This video was created by altering the audio of the original video file that was shot during Amit Shah’s recent door-to-door election campaign in Kairana. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the screenshots in the video, a video with similar visuals was found published by the ‘ABC News 24×7’ news channel on 25 January 2021. The original video shows people chanting ‘Modi, Modi’ and ‘Jai Sri Ram’ slogans. A few journalists have also tweeted this original video on social media. They can be seen here and here. In no instance of the video, we hear people chanting Jayant Chaudhary slogans.
When we searched for more reliable sources using these keywords, we found a video published by the ‘Hindustan Live’ news channel on 22 January 2022. This video shows only a few seconds of the viral video. In the few seconds of the video, we can hear people chanting ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and ‘Modi, Modi’ slogans.
The BJP’s official YouTube channel published a video of Amit Shah’s door-to-door campaign in Kairana. Though we could not find the exact visuals as in the viral video,  we could hear people chanting ‘Jai Sri Ram’, ‘Modi-Yogi Zindabad’, ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ slogans during Amit Shah’s campaign in Kairana. Also, in an article published by the ‘Jagran’ news website, it is reported that slogans of ‘Jai Sri Ram’ and ‘Modi-Yogi Zindabad’ were raised during Amit Shah’s door-to-door campaign in Kairana. When the video shared in the post went viral on social media, ‘Jagran’ published a fact-check article clarifying it as an edited video. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be understood that the video shared in the post is a doctored video created by altering the audio of the original video.
To sum it up, an altered video is shared as the visuals of people chanting Jayant Chaudhary slogans during Amit Shah’s campaign in Kairana.

created: January 27, 2022


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An art performance video shared as the visuals of women being auctioned off at a slave market in Syria - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 22, 2023
A video is being shared on social media claiming it is the visuals of women being auctioned off at a slave market in Syria. The video shows an old man lifting the veils of chained burqa-clad women, who stood in a queue for sale at a market. Sharing the same video, a few posts claim it is the visuals of ISIS militants selling Yazidi women at the slave markets of Iraq and Syria. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video showing the visuals from a slave market run by ISIS in Syria.
Fact: The video shared in the post shows an art performance directed by a Kurdish artist named Aryan Rafiz. This street play by Aryan Rafiq portrays the fate of women who were kidnapped and sold as slaves by ISIS. The video does not show the real visuals of a slave auction conducted by ISIS. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
On reverse image search of the screenshots of the video, a video with similar visuals was found posted by a TikTok user. This user described it as an art performance “The Unheard Screams Of The Ezidkhan Angel” by an artist named Aryan Rafiq. When Darya Safai, a Member of the Belgian Parliament, shared the same video by describing it as the visuals of a sex slave market run by the ISIS, many news websites responded to the tweet and confirmed that the video shows an art performance depicting the slavery of women during the presence of ISIS in Iraq.
When we searched for further sources using this information, we found the Facebook page of Aryan Rafiq, in which we found a post about her art performance “The Unheard Screams Of The Ezidkhan Angel”.  Aryan Rafiq, a Kurdish artist, in her Facebook post, invited people to visit her art drama “The Unheard Screams Of The Ezidkhan Angel” at the Erbil-Parki Shar near Erbil Citadel on 08 March 2023. The Google Maps images of The Fountains of Shar Park can be seen here.
Speaking about the video to VRT News, Aryan Rafiq confirmed that the video shows an art performance demonstrated by her. Aryan Rafiq said that the video was a fragment of a longer performance about the fate of the women who were kidnapped and sold as slaves by the ISIS. Although the sex slavery of Yazidi women under ISIS is a well-reported phenomenon, the video shared in the post is only a street play by a Kurdish artist named Aryan Rafiq.
Earlier, when a video showing a similar street play performed in London was shared as the visuals of girls being auctioned off in Afghanistan, Factly published a fact-check article debunking that claim.
To sum it up,  an art performance video is shared as the visuals of Yazidi women being auctioned off at a slave market in Syria.


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An artist’s concept image of NASA’s Cassini spacecraft final dive over Saturn shared as real - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 2, 2021
An image is being shared on social media claiming it as the closest picture of planet Saturn inside its rings. This post claim that the photo was shot by Nasa’s Cassini spacecraft two weeks ago. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: The closest picture of Saturn shot by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft.
Fact: The photo shared in the post is an artist’s concept image of NASA’s Cassini spacecraft final dive in April 2017. The concept shows an over-the-shoulder view of the Cassini spacecraft making its final dives over Saturn. It is not a real photo of planet Saturn. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo is found in an article published by the ‘Space.com’ website. This article mentions it as an artist’s concept image of NASA’s Cassini spacecraft making its final dives over Saturn. This article credited the photo to NASA.
When searched for this photo using the keywords, we found the same picture on the ‘NASA’ website. The description of the photo states, ‘This artist’s concept shows an over-the-shoulder view of Cassini making one of its Grand Finale dives over Saturn’. This photo was published on 06 April 2017. The same image with a similar description was published on the ‘Fine Art America’ website. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the image shared in the post is an artist’s concept image of NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, not a real picture. More such graphics images can be seen on NASA’s website.
To sum it up, an artist’s concept image of NASA’s Cassini spacecraft final dive over Saturn falsely shared as a real one.


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An awareness video on tackling harassment is being shared as a real incident with a communal narrative - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 24, 2021
A video is being shared on social media claiming it as visuals of two brave girls resisting eve-teasing from three Muslim goons in a bus stand. This video shows a girl attacking three men with an acid spray, while the men harass a girl sitting beside her. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of two brave girls resisting eve-teasing from three Muslim goons.
Fact: The video shared in the post is a scripted one. This video was created intentionally to create awareness among girls on how to tackle harassment situations. This video does not show a true incident and it has nothing to do with the Muslim community. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the screenshots in the video, a video with similar visuals was found on a Facebook page named ‘Lobo 619’. ‘Lobo 619’ Facebook page had published this video on ‘29 February 2020’, with the title, “This was unexpected”.
At the end of the video, we could see a disclaimer displayed at the bottom of the video. The text in the disclaimer reads, “This reel life video footage is published only for the purpose of educating the public by making them understand how the real world situations will be. During this video making, we have taken real incidents and picturized to educate public. Characters in this video are entertainment and education purpose only”.  So, it is confirmed that the video shared in the post is scripted and was produced to create awareness on sexual harassment and eve-teasing.
Similar awareness videos with different concepts were found published on the ‘Lobo 619’ Facebook page. They can be seen here and here. Mohammad Khayyum, popularly known as Lobo is a comedy artist in Hyderabad, Telangana. From all this, it can be confirmed that the video shared in the post is a scripted short film, produced to create awareness on tackling harassment.
To sum it up, an awareness video on tackling sexual harassment is being shared with a false communal narrative.

created: November 24, 2021


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An Easter celebration video from Guatemala is falsely shared as Easter celebrations in the UAE - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 10, 2024
A video (here, here and here) showing a large Easter procession is viral on social media. The claim accompanying this video states it shows an Easter celebration in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). We fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: The viral video shows an Easter procession in the United Arab Emirates.
Fact: The video actually shows a Catholic procession of ‘Jesús Nazareno de la Merced’ or ‘Jesus of Nazareth of Humility’ taking place in Antigua, Guatemala. Therefore, the claim made in the post is False.
To determine the authenticity of the viral video, we split the footage into keyframes and ran a reverse image search. This led us to a longer version (Archive) of the viral video, showcasing the same procession with the statue of Jesus Christ.
The video, titled “Marcha Fúnebre “Al Señor de la Merced” Jesús nazareno de la Merced, Domingo de Ramos 2023,” was published in April 2023.
Google search results indicated that the video shows the procession of the ‘Jesús Nazareno de la Merced’ idol from the Catholic church ‘Iglesia de La Merced,’ located (archive) in the city of Antigua, Guatemala.
The flag of Guatemala (here and here) is also visible in the viral video, making it clear that the video is not from the United Arab Emirates.
‘Jesús Nazareno de la Merced’ is a statue belonging (here, here (archive) and here (archive)) to the ‘Iglesia de La’ church. It is traditionally paraded during the holy week in Antigua, Guatemala.
Additional footage of the same procession can be found here, here and here. The specific building seen in the viral video can be spotted here (archive). You can find a comparison between this building in the viral video and a few photos uploaded by Google users in the following collage.
To sum up, the video in question does not depict an Easter celebration in the United Arab Emirates as claimed. Rather, it shows a religious procession in Antigua, Guatemala.