text:
Is there a Process or Policy in place for renaming Cities or places?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 3, 2018
Allahabad was recently renamed Prayagraj. But is there a process in place for renaming places? Here is a detailed guide.
Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh was recently renamed as ‘Prayagraj’. There were occasions in the past when names of major cities were also changed. Madras was renamed Chennai, Bombay as Mumbai, Calcutta as Kolkata etc. But, is there a policy or process in place for changing names of places? Based on the information obtained from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) using the Right to Information, we have compiled the important steps in the process. He is a short guide.
What is the process?
The detailed process for changing the name of a place was originally listed in a letter written by Sardar Fateh Singh, the then Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, on 11th September, 1953. This was modified in 2005 to include an exception. This letter was sent to all the State Governments who are expected to send proposals for change in names based on the broad criteria listed in this letter. The letter mentions in the very beginning that changes in names of villages, towns etc. should be discouraged as far as possible unless there are compelling reasons to justify the change. The letter also mentions that all such proposals should be sent to Ministry of Home Affairs before any change is made.
What are the broad principles based on which change in names is allowed?
The letter mentions that the State Governments should keep the following five (5) broad principles in mind when making proposals for change in names.
In the same letter, the government also mentions that restoring names of ancient places is eminently desirable. The letter says, ‘When an ancient place has fallen into decay and with that the old place name has also disappeared, the ancient name should be restored. To cite an instance, the village now called Gandhawal in the old Dowas state near Ujjain has been built on the ruins of an ancient town populous and flourishing in the times of Vikramaditya, and mentioned in the ancient scriptures and other books as Gandharvapuri. The present name is a corruption of Gandharvapuri. The government of Madhya Pradesh many consider restoring the ancient name.’
Is this process followed for all places?
As per the government’s guidelines, this process has to be followed for change in names of villages, towns, cities etc. This process has to be followed even for the change in name of Railway Stations. In the case of a change in the name of a road in a city, the municipal authority is authorized to do it. The change in the name of a state requires a legislation in parliament.
Once the proposals for renaming a town/ city/ village/ railway station are submitted by the State Governments to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry considers the proposals in consultation with other agencies and issues a ‘no objection’ in case where the proposal is approved. Once the approval is received, a Gazette Notification is issued by the relevant state government.
As per data shared by the government, 51 such proposals have been submitted by various states since April 2017. Of these, 41 are approved, one from Nagaland is rejected and the rest are under process.
Featured Image: Changing names of places

created: November 3, 2018


text:
Islam determines Ramadan festival dates depending on the moon sight because they follow a lunar calendar - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 4, 2022
A photo is being shared on social media claiming that even after 1400 years, Muslims were still standing on Mosques and looking for the moon to determine their festivals. This post claims that Hindus, with the knowledge provided by their ancestors, could pre-determine the dates of festivals 100 years early. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Muslims still cannot accurately state the dates of their festivals.
Fact: Muslims follow the Hijri calendar (Islamic calendar), a date-keeping system based on lunar cycles. The Ramadan fasting month starts on the new moon day of the 9 month and ends with the next appearance of a new moon on the 10 month of the Islamic calendar every year. During Prophet Mohammed’s days, astronomical calculations weren’t as precise. Hence, people went by what they could see with the naked eye. But now there are precise scientific calculations available to tell exactly when the new moon begins. However, some Islam scholars still believe that they should wait until the slight crescent moon is visible in the night sky while attributing it to a saying from Prophet Mohammad. Muslims could determine specific dates for other festivals like Muharram. Hindu festivals are determined based on a lunisolar calendar. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, the same photo was found published in an article with a description, “Scholars looking at the moon of Eid”. When we searched for the details of the Eid festival, we found that Muslims celebrate their festivals based on the Hijri calendar (Islamic calendar), a date-keeping system based on lunar cycles. The beginning of each new month in the Islamic calendar starts on the new moon. The year is 354 days long which is 11 days shorter than 365 days of the Gregorian calendar. The Ramadan fasting month starts on the new moon day of the 9 month and ends with the next appearance of a new moon on the 10 month of the Islamic calendar every year. Every year Ramadan moves backwards by 11 days and so, the starting day of the Ramadan festival changes every year accordingly.
Back in the sixth century, during Prophet Mohammed’s days, astronomical calculations weren’t as precise. So, people went by what they could see with the naked eye. Since the new moon isn’t super visible in the night sky, Muslims traditionally waited to start fasting until the small sliver of the crescent moon became visible. There’s even a saying attributed to the Prophet Mohammed about waiting to start the fast until you see the crescent. Things like clouds or just the difficulty of spotting the moon in some locations often led to different groups starting their fast on separate days, even within the same country. However, now there are precise scientific calculations that tell us exactly when the new moon begins and there is no need to wait until someone spots a tiny crescent in the sky. But a few Muslim scholars believe they should still wait until the slight crescent moon is visible in the night sky because that’s what Mohammed said to do. The Markaz Chand Committee usually decides Ramadan dates in India. Muslims determine specific dates for other festivals like Muharram and others.
Hindu festivals are determined according to the lunisolar calendar with many regional variations. Although the Hindu calendar was also based on the moon’s movement around the earth, for every 2-3 years, 33 additional days (11 extra days * 3) are added by creating one extra lunar month (Adhika Mas) of 29 days and the remaining four days are adjusted. Different states tend to use different versions of the Hindu calendar that emphasize festivals that are important to their communities. Although holidays for a few festivals like Maha Shivarathri, Diwali, and others occur on the same day in all regions, their dates in the calendar can vary, depending on the variant of the Hindu calendar that they are using.
To sum it up, determining the festival dates in Muslim and Hindu communities differ from the type of calendars they are using.

source: news-factly

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

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


text:
Islam is not banned, and there is no destruction of Mosques in Angola - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 17, 2023
Multiple posts (here and here) claiming that Angola banned Islam, and Muslims and is destroying mosques are being circulated on social media. Let’s verify the claim made in these posts.
Claim: Angola, an African Nation banned Islam and is destroying mosques.
Fact: There are no recent news reports or credible sources confirming a ban on Islam or the destruction of mosques. This same claim has been in circulation since 2013. The government of Angola, in the past, clarified that there is no ban on Islam. However, it has also been clarified that certain mosques were destroyed or closed in the past because they were built without government permission. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
With the relevant keyword search regarding the claim, we did not come across any recent news reports or authentic sources stating the ban on Islam or the destruction of Mosques. However, we found that the claim has been in circulation since 2013 with misleading pictures of destroyed buildings and that it has resurfaced again (here, here, and here).
From the news reports, we found that clarification regarding the claim was given by the Angola government in 2013 (here and here). The officials confirmed that there is no ban on Islam and that there is no war in Angola against Islam or any other religion. They also clarified that few mosques were destroyed or closed down because they were constructed without government approval or proper permission, while at the same time, there are mosques that are being run without any problem in the country.
According to the 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom by the U.S. Department of State, Angola’s constitution makes it a secular state, guaranteeing freedom of religion and preventing discrimination. For government recognition, religious groups need to meet specific criteria, and those not registered may be shut down. INAR officials mentioned that the government hasn’t recognized Islamic groups because they lack a unified leadership. Government officials in the past cited concerns about certain Islamic practices, such as polygamy, conflicting with the country’s constitution.
The law in the country for acknowledging official religions mandates that religion must be practiced by over 100,000 people and be present in at least two-thirds of the nation. However, individuals are free to follow any faith, even if it’s not officially recognized.
To sum up, Islam is not banned, and there is no destruction of mosques in Angola.

created: November 17, 2023


text:
Islamic flag in Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Anil Desai’s election campaign falsely portrayed as Pakistan National flag - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 15, 2024
A video showcasing Anil Desai, the Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate from Mumbai South is circulating widely, alleging that Pakistan flags were waved during his Chembur campaign (here & here). The video depicts a green flag with a crescent and a star. This article fact-checks the claim presented in the post.
Claim: Video showing the waving of a Pakistani flag during the election campaign of Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Anil Desai in Mumbai.
Fact: The flag captured in the viral video is a generic Islamic flag, not the Pakistan national flag. It differs from the Pakistan flag in several ways: it does not include a white stripe, and it contains numerous small stars, a feature absent in the Pakistan flag. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The video shows the election campaign of Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Anil Desai in Chembur, Mumbai. However, the flag shown in the video is not that of Pakistan but an Islamic flag.
A comparison between the Pakistan national flag and the one observed in the video makes it clear. There are noticeable differences between the two flags. The flag in the viral video does not have a white stripe, unlike the Pakistan flag. Additionally, the viral video’s flag features multiple small stars which are absent from the Pakistan flag.
This confirms that the flag is a generic Islamic flag, akin to those available on various e-commerce platforms. Additional search led us to a news report that covered the same video as it gained traction on social media. According to this report as well, the flag in the video is an Islamic flag, not the national flag of Pakistan.
To sum up, the waving of an Islamic flag during Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Anil Desai’s election campaign is falsely shared as a Pakistan national flag.


text:
Islamic flags displayed during the Milad un-Nabi rally in Kerala are portrayed as Pakistan flags - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 10, 2023
A video is being shared on social media claiming it shows visuals of Kerala Muslims rallying in Pakistan defence uniforms with Pakistan flags on the occasion of Milad un-Nabi. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of Muslims marching a rally with Pakistan flags in Kerala.
Fact: The video shows an Islamic rally conducted on the occasion of Eid-e-Milad un-Nabi near the Balla beach in Kanhangad, Kerala. The video shows Muslims marching to a rally holding a flag of Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama Islamic organization. The rally has nothing to do with Pakistan. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
On reverse image search of the screenshots of the video, a video showing similar visuals was found published by a few users recently on TikTok and YouTube. They can be seen here, here, and here. These YouTube users published the video reporting it is the visuals of a rally conducted on Eid-e-Milad un-Nabi in Kanhangad, Kerala.
On observing the video carefully, one could see a board with ‘Balla Beach’ text written on it. Balla Beach is located in Kanhangad town in the Kasaragod district of Kerala. When we searched for the details of the flag displayed in the rally, we found it is a flag of the Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama, an Islamic organization in Kerala. The flags seen in the video look similar to the flags of the Samastha Kerala Sunni Yuvajana Sangham (SYS), a sub-part of the Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama.
On searching for further details using the relevant keywords, we found an extended version video of this rally conducted in Kanhangad on 28 September 2023, on the occasion of Eid-e-Milad un-Nabi. A few other videos showing rallies conducted on Milad un-Nabi in Kerala can be seen here and here.
Earlier, Factly debunked similar fake posts that misrepresented Islamic flags being showcased during rallies in Kerala as flags of Pakistan. Those articles can be seen here, here, and here.
To sum it up, Islamic flags displayed during the Milad un-Nabi rally in Kerala were falsely portrayed as Pakistan flags.

created: October 10, 2023


text:
Israel has no written constitution to mention India on its first page - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 11, 2021
A post is being shared on social media claiming that Jewish majority Israel had described India with words of praise on the first page of its constitution. This post claims that Israel’s constitution mentioned India as the only country that stood beside them during tough times. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Israel described India with words of praise on the first page of its constitution.
Fact: Israel has no written constitution. Since 1948, Israel made various attempts to draft the formal document but they were not successful.  Israel has evolved as a system of basic laws and rights, which enjoy semi-constitutional status. In May 2003, the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee of the Israel Parliament (Knesset), initiated the Constitution by Broad Consensus Project which aims to write a constitution for the State of Israel. This committee was chaired by the Member of Knesset, Michael Eitan. This committee has been meeting every week since then. Israel has no written constitution to date to write words of praise about India. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
According to the information provided on the Israel Government website,   Israel has no written constitution. Since 1948, Israel made various attempts to draft the formal document for its constitution but was not successful. Through the years, Israel evolved as a system of basic laws and rights, which enjoy semi-constitutional status.
In May 2003, the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee of the Israel Parliament (Knesset) initiated the ‘Constitution by Broad Consensus’ Project, which aims to write a constitution for the State of Israel. This committee was chaired by the Member of Knesset, Michael Eitan. This committee has been meeting every week since then. From this information, it can be concluded that Israel has no written constitution. So, there is no chance of writing words of praise about India in a non-existent constitution.
In 2018, ‘India Today published an article reporting that Jews have been living in India without any discrimination or incidents of anti-Semitism for over 2000 years. This article reported that in 1948, around 70,000 Jews migrated to Israel after it was established as a modern state. According to the 2001 Census, the population of Jews in India was 4,650.
The Israel Embassy in Delhi published a statement made by the Israel Ambassador, Daniel Carmon on Jews living in India. In his statement, Daniel Carmon said that Jews have been living peacefully in India for over 2000 years without any discrimination or incidents of anti-Semitism
To sum it up, Israel has no written constitution to write words of praise about India on its first page.


text:
ISRO has nothing to do with Radio Garden, a portal that enables one to listen to several radio stations live - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 5, 2021
A post claiming that ISRO has developed a portal to listen to live radio of any country from anywhere is being shared across social media platforms. The viral post which shared the link radio garden portal reads ‘Now you can listen to world wide radio even without ear phone!!!! This is from @isro (ISRO) when you click the link, you can see the globe rotating. There are green dot on which you simply touch you can start listening to live radio from that place’. Through this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: ISRO has developed a portal (Radio Garden) to listen to live radio of any country from anywhere.
Fact: Radio Garden is an outcome of Transnational Radio Encounters (TRE), a research project on the influence of radio on transnational forms of culture and identity by the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision. It was designed and developed by Studio Puckey and Moniker in 2016. Multiple news agencies have also reported the same. While it is true that Radio Garden enables one to listen to several radio stations live from various countries,  ISRO has nothing to do with this. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
As per the information available on the Radio Garden portal, it is based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was designed and developed by Studio Puckey and Moniker in 2016 as an exhibition project commissioned by the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision in the context of the research project Transnational Radio Encounters. While it is true that Radio Garden enables to listen to several radio stations live from various countries, ISRO has nothing to do with this.
Taking a cue from the portal, a search on Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision yielded more information related to Radio Garden. As per this information, Radio Garden is an interactive website, which is one of the outcomes of Transnational Radio Encounters (TRE), a research project on the influence of radio on transnational forms of culture and identity. Further, it is stated that Transnational Radio Encounters (TRE) project is financially supported by the HERA Joint Research programme. Also, ISRO did not find any mention in this information.
Further Google search with relevant keywords yielded us many news articles which reported about Radio Garden. According to an article by The Guardian, Radio Garden was an initiative launched in 2016 by Jonathan Puckey and was originally commissioned as a temporary project by the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision as part of research looking at how radio has fostered ‘transnational encounters’.
Another article by NPR reported Jonathan Puckey stating that Radio Garden is funded with public money from the Netherlands Institute of Sound and Vision. Also, there are no news articles or other information attributing Radio Garden to ISRO.
Further, when the same news went viral back in 2017, The New Indian Express has reported that Radio Garden enables to listen to several radio stations live from various countries but ISRO has nothing to do with it.
To sum it up, ISRO has nothing to do with Radio Garden, a portal which enables to listen to several radio stations live from anywhere.


text:
Indian Space Research Organization
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 23, 2016
ISRO broke its own record by successfully launching 20 satellites into space with the 36th flight of the PSLV. It carried a Cartosat-2 series satellite along with 17 foreign satellites and 2 student made satellites. In the last 20 years, ISRO has launched 59 Indian and 74 foreign satellites.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) successfully launched the 36 flight of its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). This time around, the 727.5 kg Cartosat-2 (earth observation satellite) Series Satellite along with 19 co-passenger satellites were successfully launched. Since 1996, ISRO has launched 59 Indian Satellites and 74 foreign satellites including the current launch.
Importance of the Current Launch
This is the first time that the PSLV has successfully launched 20 different satellites in a single launch. The previous record was launching 10 satellites in a single launch in 2008. The 20 satellites comprise a Cartosat-2 along with 19 co-passenger satellites. Out of the 19, two – SATHYABAMASAT weighing 1.5 kg and SWAYAM weighing 1 kg are University/Academic institute satellites and were built with the involvement of students from Sathyabama University, Chennai and College Of Engineering, Pune, respectively.  The remaining 17 co-passenger satellites were international customer satellites from Canada (2), Germany (1), Indonesia (1) and the United States (13). The total weight of all the 20 satellites carried is about 1288 kg.
According to a press release by ISRO, the imagery sent by the Cartosat-2 series satellite will be useful for cartographic applications, urban and rural applications, coastal land use and regulation, utility management like road network monitoring, water distribution, creation of land use maps, precision study, change detection to bring out geographical and manmade features and various other Land Information System (LIS) and Geographical Information System (GIS) applications.
With this successful launch, the total number of satellites launched by PSLV has reached 113, of which 39 are Indian and the remaining 74 from abroad.
59 Indian Satellites launched in the last 20 years and 35 are operational
During the last 20 years (1996 till date), ISRO has launched 59 Indian satellites, which include
As per government information, 35 satellites are operational in the country currently out of which 13 are Communication Satellites, 13 are Earth Observation Satellites, 7 are Navigational Satellites namely and 2 are Space science Satellites.
74 Foreign Satellites launched in the last 20 years
In the last 20 years, ISRO has launched 74 foreign satellites from 20 different countries. Out of the 74 satellites, 17 are from the USA, 10 each from Germany & Canada, 8 from Singapore, 6 from UK, 3 each from Indonesia & Japan and 2 each from Austria, Denmark, France & Switzerland. One satellite each of 9 other countries was also by ISRO.
ISRO also has MOUs with 37 different for exploration and use of outer space. The MOUs include various fields like Joint development of advanced scientific instruments to observe earth and universe; joint realization of satellite missions; jointly carrying out calibration and validation experiments etc.  ISRO has agreements to launch 25 foreign satellites in 2016-17 from 7 different countries.
ISRO earned a revenue of 80.6 Million Euros from 2013-15
The commercial arm of ISRO, Antrix has earned total revenue of 80.6 Million from satellite launches during 2013 and 2015. Antrix earned 6.9 Million Euros in 2013, 18.2 Million Euros in 2014 and 55.5 Million Euros in 2015. As per government data, Antrix is likely to earn a revenue of USD 4.54 Million and Euros 63.91 Million by launching 25 satellites from 7 countries during 2015-2017.
ISRO’s ambitious space program for 2022
The following space program is proposed to be executed by the year 2022.
Image Source: ISRO


text:
ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 mission finds no evidence of aliens on the moon - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 4, 2023
In the context of the recent deployment of Chandrayaan-3’s Pragyan Rover onto the lunar surface for scientific studies, a video is being widely on social media claiming that the rover has transmitted footage of aliens to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and alleges that the ISRO Chairman Dr. S Somnath has stated they discovered approximately 700 aliens on the moon. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Pragyaan rover transmitted the footage of aliens to ISRO and ISRO chairman stated that they discovered 700 aliens on Moon.
Fact: ISRO has not released any statement confirming the presence of aliens on the moon based on the footage received from Chandrayaan-3’s Pragyaan rover. Furthermore, there is no indication of aliens in the footage sent by Chandrayaan-3. Moreover, the visuals shown in the video are animates stock videos. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
First, we conducted a search on the official website and social media handles of ISRO to determine if the organization has issued any statements regarding the discovery of aliens on the moon, based on the footage received from the Chandrayaan-3 mission. We also examined the footage sent by the Pragyaan rover and Vikram lander, but there is no evidence of the aliens as claimed in the viral video.
According to the official statements released by ISRO (here and here), the Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument and Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) aboard the Chandrayaan-3 Rover have successfully conducted the first-ever in-situ measurements of the elemental composition of the lunar surface near the south pole. Preliminary analyses have unveiled the presence of Aluminium (Al), Sulphur (S), Calcium (Ca), Iron (Fe), Chromium (Cr), and Titanium (Ti) on the lunar surface. Further measurements have revealed the presence of manganese (Mn), silicon (Si), and oxygen (O). A thorough investigation into the presence of hydrogen is currently underway, and a detailed scientific analysis of these observations is in progress.
Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
In-situ scientific experiments continue …..
Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) instrument onboard the Rover unambiguously confirms the presence of Sulphur (S) in the lunar surface near the south pole, through first-ever in-situ measurements.… pic.twitter.com/vDQmByWcSL
Furthermore, we also discovered that the visuals of the aliens shown in the video have been taken from various animated stock sources (here, here, and here) on the internet. These visuals, along with footage from Chandrayaan-3 and other visuals from Mars, have been combined to create an unfounded story.
To sum it up, ISRO has not issued any statement confirming the existence of aliens on the moon based on the footage received from Chandrayaan-3’s Pragyaan rover.

created: September 4, 2023


text:
It is a 2016 video. ‘Snickers’ chocolates were destroyed because they might have had plastic, not because they cause cancer - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 9, 2019
A video is being shared widely on social media with a claim that ‘Snickers’ chocolates are being destroyed in the video because they cause cancer. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
‘Snickers’ chocolates are banned in 65 countries and are being destroyed in the video because they cause cancer.
Fact: It is an old video. In 2016, ‘Snickers’ chocolates produced at a Dutch factory were recalled after a piece of plastic was found in one of its chocolates. Also, the video was taken in Gaza in 2016. So, the ‘Snickers’ chocolates were destroyed in the video because they might have had plastic, not because they cause cancer. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
In the video posted, it can be seen that the news was reported by ‘euro news’. So, when searched for that video, it was found that the same video was uploaded by ‘euro news’ on YouTube in March 2016.  The description below the video reads: “Authorities in Gaza say they have destroyed 15 tonnes of chocolate in response to last month’s mass recall by the manufacturer”. So, when searched for the news on ‘Mass recall of Snickers’, an article by ‘Aljazeera’ on this issue can be found. According to the article, ‘Mars’ and ‘Snickers’ bars were recalled by the ‘Mars’ chocolate company after they received a complaint that a piece of plastic was found in a ‘Snickers’ chocolate produced at its Dutch factory. Talking to AFP News, in 2016, Eline Bijveld (Mars Corporate Affairs Coordinator for the Netherlands) said: “As far as we know there are 55 countries involved… recall only involves the products that are made in the Netherlands”.
To sum it up, ‘Snickers’ chocolates were destroyed because they might have had plastic, not because they cause cancer.
Did you watch our new Episode of the DECODE series on Parliament?

created: August 9, 2019


text:
It is advisable to be cautious when making online transactions related to old coins and notes - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 21, 2024
Several posts (here, here, & here) claiming that individuals possessing specific types of old coins and currency notes (such as one Rupee note, Rs.5 notes with a Tractor image, coins with Vaishno Devi images, etc.) can earn lakhs of rupees by selling them are being widely shared across social media platforms. In this article, let’s fact-check the claims made in these posts.
Claim: People can earn lakhs of rupees by selling old coins and currency notes.
Fact: E-commerce sites like India Mart, Quikr, Earn Money, Coin Bazaar, and OLX facilitate brisk business in old coins and notes. These platforms serve solely as intermediaries in this trade, without involvement in actual buying or selling. They hold no responsibility for any transactions or fraudulent activities in this sector. Therefore, exercising caution is advisable when engaging in such transactions. In August 2021, the Reserve Bank of India also issued a press release warning against online buying and selling of old coins and notes. According to reports, there have been numerous instances where the public has been cheated in the name of purchasing old coins. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
To verify the accuracy of the viral claim, we conducted a relevant keyword search on the internet, which led us to several reports. According to Zee News articles (here, here), old coins and notes are being auctioned on many websites. The article states that the Rs. 5 or Rs. 10 coins issued by the RBI in 2002 with Vaishno Devi’s photo are worth up to Rs. 10 lakhs in online auctions. Similarly, Rs. 5 currency notes with tractor images can earn lakhs in online auctions. However, at the end of the article, it mentions that the RBI has warned against the sale and purchase of old coins and notes online.
Similarly, TimesNow and News18 also mentioned websites that auction old currency notes and coins with specific features, such as coins with the number 786 and coins with Vaishno Devi images, etc. However, these articles also mention the RBI’s warning against the sale and purchase of old coins and notes online. According to reports, before proceeding with an exchange, you should verify whether the websites actually offer the amount mentioned for a particular note/coin. Also, there are times when no such exchange offers are made by the websites.
Subsequently, we also came across the press release from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in August 2021, warning about the sale and purchase of old coins and notes online. The RBI press release stated, “It has come to the notice of the Reserve Bank of India that certain elements are fraudulently using the name/logo of the Reserve Bank of India and seeking charges/commissions/taxes from the public in transactions related to buying and selling of old banknotes and coins through various online/offline platforms. It is clarified that RBI does not engage in such matters and never seeks charges/commissions. RBI has also not authorized any institution/firm/person, etc., to collect charges/commissions on its behalf in such transactions. RBI advises members of the public to remain cautious and not to fall prey to elements using the name of the Reserve Bank of India to extract money through such fictitious/fraudulent offers.”
Collecting old coins and currency notes is a hobby for some people, while others collect them as mementoes. Some individuals gather these old coins from various regions within the country and even from other countries. Regardless of the cost, they pursue their passion without hesitation. Occasionally, events are organized involving these collections, not only in India but also worldwide. Sometimes, people hold auctions for these collections of antique coins and notes, and they may receive a huge amount of money in auctions (here, here, & here).
It’s important to note that while certain old or rare banknotes and coins may have collector’s value, the buying and selling of such items typically occur in the numismatic or collectors’ market rather than through official government channels. E-commerce sites like IndiaMart, Quikr, Earn Money, Coin Bazaar, and OLX engage in brisk business involving old coins and notes. These e-commerce websites serve as platforms for this business, acting solely as third parties. They have no involvement in the buying and selling process and are not responsible for any transactions or frauds within this business. Therefore, it is advisable to exercise caution while engaging in such transactions. According to reports (here & here), there are many instances where the public has been cheated in the name of buying old coins from them. IndiaMart refuted claims that people could earn lakhs of rupees by selling old coins on the B2B online marketplace.
To sum it up, it is advisable to be cautious when making transactions related to such old coins and notes online


text:
It is RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav who stood on the tricolour podium, not PM Narendra Modi. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 29, 2020
A photo is being shared on social media claiming that PM Narendra Modi insulted Indian tricolour flag by standing on the tricolour podium. This photo is shared in response to a tweet posted by Rashtriya Lok Samta Party criticizing RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav for standing on a similar tricolour podium. Ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, this photo is going viral on social media. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: PM Narendra Modi standing on a tricolour podium.
Fact: Photo shared in the post is the morphed version of the original photo. In the original picture, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav stood on the tricolour podium during a rally at Jahanabad. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
This photo in the post shared in response to a tweet posted by the official Twitter account of Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP). In the tweet, they shared a photo of RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav standing on a similar tricolour podium as shown in the post. On observing carefully, we can see a similar group of men in the background in both these photos.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the RLSP party tweet, we found the same visual in a video posted by ‘News Tak’ channel on ‘22 October 2020’. In the video, it is mentioned that the RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav insulted Indian flag by standing on the tricolour podium. This incident took place during an election rally in Jahanabad on ‘21 October 2020’. Similar visuals were also found in a video posted by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) official YouTube channel on ’21 October 2020’. So, it can be concluded that the photo of PM Narendra Modi standing on the tricolour podium is a morphed one.
In response to the same tweet posted by RLSP party, few users also shared the morphed picture of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar standing on the same tricolour podium. Ahead of Bihar elections these morphed photos going viral on social media.
To sum it up, morphed version of Tejashwi Yadav’s photo is falsely portrayed as PM Narendra Modi standing on the tricolour podium.

created: October 29, 2020


text:
PUC పరీక్షలో స్టేట్ ఫస్ట్ ర్యాంక్ సాధించిన అమ్మాయి, హిజాబ్ వివాదంలో నిలబడిన అమ్మాయి ఇద్దరూ వేరు - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 15, 2023
హిజాబ్ అల్లర్లలో ధైర్యంగా తన గొంతెత్తి నిలబడిన తబస్సుమ్ షేక్, పీయూసీ 2వ సంవత్సర పరీక్షల్లో 593/600 మార్కులు సాధించి స్టేట్ ఫస్ట్‌గా నిలిచింది అని చెప్తున్న పోస్ట్ ఒకటి సోషల్ మీడియాలో విస్తృతంగా షేర్ అవుతోంది. ఈ పోస్టులో తన ఫోటోను కూడా షేర్ చేసారు. ఈ కథనం ద్వారా అందులో ఎంత నిజముందో చూద్దాం.
క్లెయిమ్: హిజాబ్ అల్లర్లలో ధైర్యంగా తన గొంతెత్తి నిలబడిన తబస్సుమ్ షేక్, పీయూసీ 2వ సంవత్సర పరీక్షల్లో 593/600 మార్కులు సాధించి స్టేట్ ఫస్ట్‌గా నిలిచింది.
ఫాక్ట్(నిజం): హిజాబ్ అల్లర్లలో నిలబడింది, PUC పరీక్షల్లో మొదటి ర్యాంకు సాధించింది ఒక్కరు కాదు.  ‘అల్లా-హు-అక్బర్’ అంటూ నిలబడిన అమ్మాయి ముస్కాన్ ఖాన్ కాగా, ఇప్పుడు 2nd PUCలో మొదటి ర్యాంకు సాధించింది తబస్సుమ్ షేక్.  వీరిద్దరికీ సంబంధంలేదు. ముస్కాన్ ఖాన్ మాండ్యాలోని ప్రీ-యూనివర్శిటీ కాలేజీలో బీకాం రెండో సంవత్సరం చదువుతుంది. కాగా మొదటి ర్యాంకు సాధించిన తబస్సుమ్ షేక్ బెంగుళూరులో చదువుకుంది. కావున పోస్టు ద్వారా చెప్పేది తప్పుదోవ పట్టిస్తుంది.
గత నెలలో కర్ణాటకలో 2nd ప్రీ-యూనివర్శిటీ కోర్సు (పీయూసీ, ఇంటర్‌తో సమానమైనది) పరీక్ష ఫలితాలు విడుదలైయ్యాయి. ఈ ఫలితాలలో 18 ఏళ్ల తబస్సుమ్ షేక్ ఆర్ట్స్ స్ట్రీమ్‌లో టాపర్‌గా నిలిచింది. బెంగలూరులోని N.M.K.R.V PU కాలేజీలో చదివిన తబస్సుమ్ షేక్ ఈ పరీక్షలో 600కి మార్కులకు గాను 593 సాధించింది.
అంతకు ముందు హిజాబ్ వివాదం చెలరేగడం, కోర్టు హిజాబ్ బ్యాన్‌ను సమర్ధించడంతో తాను రెండు వారాలు కాలేజీకి వెళ్లలేదని, ఆ తరవాత హిజాబ్ లేకుండానే కాలేజీకి వెళ్లినట్టు తబస్సుమ్ షేక్ మీడియాతో చెప్పింది.
ఐతే తబస్సుమ్ షేక్ ఫస్ట్ ర్యాంక్ సాధించడంతో హిజాబ్ వివాదం సమయంలో  ‘అల్లా-హు-అక్బర్’ అంటూ ధైర్యంగా తన గొంతెత్తి నిలబడిన అమ్మాయి తనే అని సోషల్ మీడియాలో వార్తలు షేర్ అయ్యాయి.  తబస్సుమ్ షేక్ మొదటి ర్యాంకు సాధించిన వార్తను రిపోర్ట్ చేసిన చాలావరకు వార్తా కథనాలలో ‘అల్లా-హు-అక్బర్’ అంటూ నినాదాలు చేసిన అమ్మాయి ఫోటోను పబ్లిష్ చేయడంతో ఈ కన్ఫ్యూషన్ మొదలైంది (ఇక్కడ మరియు ఇక్కడ).
హిజాబ్ అల్లర్లలో ధైర్యంగా గొంతెత్తి నిలబడింది తబస్సుమ్ షేక్ కాదు:
కానీ నిజానికి ఆ వివాదంలో ‘అల్లా-హు-అక్బర్’ అంటూ నినాదాలు చేసింది తబస్సుమ్ షేక్ కాదు. పైగా ఆ ఘటన జరిగింది మాండ్యాలోని ప్రీ-యూనివర్శిటీ కాలేజీలో,  తబస్సుమ్ షేక్ చదువుకున్నది బెంగుళూరులో.
మాండ్యాలోని ప్రీ-యూనివర్శిటీ కాలేజీలో బీకాం రెండో సంవత్సరం చదువుతున్న ముస్కాన్ ఖాన్ హిజాబ్ ధరించి కాలేజీకి రావడాన్ని వ్యతిరేకించిన కొందరు కాషాయ కండువాలు ధరించిన యువకులు ‘జై శ్రీరాం’ నినాదాలు చేస్తూ ఆమె వైపు రావడంతో,  అప్పుడు ఆమె ‘అల్లా-హు-అక్బర్’ అంటూ వారికీ బదులు చెప్పింది.
అప్పట్లో ఈ ఘటన దేశవ్యాప్తంగా చర్చనీయాంశం అయ్యి, ముస్కాన్ ఖాన్ హిజాబ్ వివాదానికి సంబంధించి పోస్టర్ గర్ల్‌గా మారింది. వైరల్ అవుతున్న ఈ పోస్టులో షేర్ చేసింది ఆ ఘటన సమయంలో తీసిన ముస్కాన్ ఖాన్ ఫొటోనే. ఐతే హిజాబ్ వివాదం నేపథ్యంలో ముస్కాన్ ఖాన్ పరీక్షలు రాయలేదని మీడియా రిపోర్ట్ చేసింది.
హిజాబ్ వివాదంలో నిలబడిన అమ్మయికి, ఇప్పుడు మొదటి ర్యాంకు సాధించిన అమ్మాయికి ఎటువంటి సంబంధం లేదు. ‘అల్లా-హు-అక్బర్’ అంటూ నిలబడిన అమ్మాయి ముస్కాన్ ఖాన్ కాగా, ఇప్పుడు 2nd PUCలో మొదటి ర్యాంకు సాధించింది తబస్సుమ్ షేక్.  ముస్కాన్ ఖాన్ మాండ్యాలోని ప్రీ-యూనివర్శిటీ కాలేజీలో బీకాం రెండో సంవత్సరం చదువుతుంది. కాగా మొదటి ర్యాంకు సాధించిన తబస్సుమ్ షేక్ బెంగుళూరులో చదువుకుంది.
చివరగా, పీయూసీ పరీక్షలో స్టేట్ ఫస్ట్‌గా సాధించిన అమ్మాయి, హిజాబ్ వివాదంలో నిలబడిన అమ్మాయి ఇద్దరూ వేరు.


text:
It is the Jeeyar Educational Trust, not Modi or BJP, who built a 216 feet huge statue of Ramanujacharya in Hyderabad. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 8, 2022
A post accompanying the video of an online news report is going viral across social media platforms. The news report claims that PM Narendra Modi and BJP have built a huge statue of Saint Ramanuja Charya, known as ‘Statue of Equality’, close to Asaduddin Owaisi’s place in Hyderabad. The post further details the specifications of the statue and also displays images of the statue. The news is being shared in the context of UP elections. Through this article, let’s get the lowdown on the details of this statue and fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: PM Narendra Modi and BJP have built a huge statue of Saint Ramanujacharya in Hyderabad.
Fact: It is the ‘Jeeyar Educational Trust’, that has built a huge 216 feet statue of  ‘Saint Ramanujacharya’ in Hyderabad. Neither PM Modi nor BJP has anything to do with the construction. It is Rs. 1000 crores project, and the trust is raising funds through donations. Annual financial reports of the trust are available on the trust website. As per the reports, PM Modi is going to unveil the statute on 02 February 2022, upon the request of  Chinna Jeeyar Swamy, Trustee, Jeeyar Educational Trust. However, the construction of the statue has nothing to do with PM Modi or BJP government or the party. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
As part of the Sahasrabdi (1000th anniversary) celebrations of ‘Saint Ramanujacharya’, a 11th-century Hindu theologian and philosopher, Jeeyar Educational Trust has built a 216 feet statue of the saint in the premises of the Sri Tridandi Chinna Jeeyar Swamy ashram in Muchintal village, on the outskirts of Hyderabad and the foundation stone of the project was laid on 02 May 2014 by Chinna Jeeyar Swamy, Trustee, Jeeyar Educational Trust. The Jeeyar Educational Trust is a global non-profit.
It is a 1000 crore rupees project and the trust has been raising funds in this regard from the devotees in the form of donations. This is evident from the annual financial statements of the trust (here & here). The annual financial reports also have details of the ‘State of Equality’ project.
News articles related to the donations collected for the project can be read here.
‘The statue is named as ‘Statue of Equality’ as ‘Saint Ramanuja’ had fought for equality of all creatures and not just humans, but also trees, birds and animals’ said Chinna Jeeyar Swamy. The statue is set to be inaugurated on 02 February 2022 by Prime Minister Modi, after accepting the request of Chinna Jeeyar Swamy. As per the news reports, President of India along with State Chief Ministers, Central Ministers, and other dignitaries are also going to participate in the event.
However, the construction of the huge statue has nothing to do with PM Modi or for that matter the BJP government. It is purely a private construction, which is being managed by the Jeeyar Educational Trust through funds raised by donations. The project has a dedicated portal, and information related to the project can be accessed on this portal. Specifications and news reports of the project are shared on the portal. The website also has a dedicated page for donations.
To sum it up, it is the Jeeyar Educational Trust, not PM Modi or the BJP, who built a 216 feet huge statue of ‘Saint Ramanujacharya’ in Hyderabad.

created: January 8, 2022


text:
IT & ITES Exports from India (2014-15) - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 10, 2016
In the last decade or so, Information Technology (IT) and IT Enabled Services have made a significant contribution to the Indian Economy. As per data available with the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, the quantum of IT & ITES exports from India in 2014-15 stood at 5.94 lakh crore.IT bellwether Karnataka and India’s newest state of Telangana clocked the highest growth rate in exports in 2014-15.


text:
IT raids on Believers Eastern Church: Press release states around Rs. 6 crores unexplained cash found. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 23, 2020
A post is being shared widely on social media with a claim that Rs. 7000 crores black money has been seized from the Believers Eastern Church (Kerala) by the Enforcement Directorate. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Rs. 7000 crores black money has been seized from the Believers Eastern Church (Kerala) by the Enforcement department.
Fact: The Income Tax department has not seized Rs. 7000 crores black money from the Believers Eastern Church (Kerala). The official press release by the IT department states – ‘unexplained cash of approximately Rs. 6 crores has also been found during the search, including Rs 3.85 crore in a place of worship in Delhi.’ But the IT department has found evidence which indicates that ‘the siphoning of funds in cash may be running into hundreds of crores of rupees’. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When we searched about the raid mentioned in the post, several news articles were found in the search results. In ‘The Hindu’ article published on 6 November 2020, it can be read that ‘a crackdown by the Income Tax Department on the Thiruvalla-based Believers Eastern Church has allegedly brought to light several irregularities’. On the official website of Income Tax Department, the press release regarding the raids can be found. In the official press release, it is written – ‘Unexplained cash of approximately Rs. 6 crore has also been found during the search, including Rs 3.85 crore in a place of worship in Delhi. Substantial electronic computing and data storage has been found, which is being examined. Further investigations are going on.’ It also stated – ‘The evidence found so far indicate that the siphoning of funds in cash may be running into hundreds of crores of rupees’. Several news articles have reported the same. Some media agencies reported that official sources said a total of Rs 14 crore was seized (an extra Rs 8 crores in addition to Rs. 6 crores) but there has been no official confirmation.
The ‘Mathrubhumi’ has reported that ‘the department found that the church received Rs 6000 cr as foreign aid within the last 5 years’.  But it is yet to be confirmed as other news agencies have reported that ‘it has been alleged that the Church had received over Rs 1,000 crore in foreign funds over a period of 18 years’. So, it is not Rs. 7000 crores cash seized in the raids. The statement by the Believers Eastern Church can be read in ‘The Hindu’ article.
To sum it up, the official press release by the IT department states that approximately Rs. 6 crores cash has been found during the search.

created: November 23, 2020


text:
Italian Air Force air show of Italian flag tri-colours in Rome is falsely shared as Indian Independence Day celebrations in London - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 19, 2019
A video is being shared widely on social media with a claim that the video shows India’s Independence day celebrations at Trafalgar Square, London. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Video of India’s Independence day celebrations at Trafalgar Square, London.
Fact: The video was taken at Altare della Patria building in Rome (Itlay), not in London (UK). Also, the tri-colours in the video represents the Italy flag, not the Indian flag. The air show in the video is a demonstration by the aerobatic team of Italian Air Force called ‘Frecce Tricolori’ (Tricolor Arrows) and it usually takes place on the Republic Day of Italy. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the screenshots of the video were run through Google Reverse Image Search, it was found that the building shown in the video is Altare della Patria, which is located at Piazza Venezia (Rome) in Italy, not at Trafalgar Square (London) in the UK.
Also, it was found that the air show in the video is a demonstration by the aerobatic team of Italian Air Force called ‘Frecce Tricolori’ (Tricolor Arrows) and it is usually organized on the Republic day of Italy. Some more pictures of ‘Frecce Tricolori’ can be seen here. The three colours (Green, White, Red) in the ‘Frecce Tricolori’ demonstration represents the Italian flag.
Flag of Italy:
To sum it up, Italian Air Force air show of Italian flag tri-colours in Rome falsely shared as Indian Independence Day celebrations in London.
Did you watch our new Episode of the DECODE series on Parliament?


text:
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni did not donate a 21 kg gold bow and arrow to Ayodhya Ram Mandir. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 5, 2024
A viral social media post claims that the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, donated a 21kg gold bow and arrow to Ayodhya Ram Mandir, and Italy has set up the World’s Largest Bhagavad Gita. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni donated a 21kg gold bow and arrow to Ayodhya Ram Mandir, and Italy has set up the World’s Largest Bhagavad Gita.
Fact: There are no reliable reports about that Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni donating a 21kg gold bow and arrow to Ayodhya Ram Mandir. If such a donation had indeed been made by Italian PM Meloni, it would have been widely reported. According to news reports, Ayodhya based Amava Ram temple has donated 2.5 kg gold bow and arrow, and Patna’s Mahavir Temple Trust also donated gold bow and arrow to Ayodhya temple. The world’s largest and heaviest Bhagavad Gita is located at Delhi’s ISKCON temple. Hence, the claims made in the post are FALSE.
Claim 1:
To check the veracity of the viral claim, we conducted a relevant keyword search on the internet. We did not find any reliable reports confirming that the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni donated a 21kg gold bow and arrow to Ayodhya Ram Mandir. If such a donation had indeed been made by the Italian PM Meloni, it would have been widely reported.
During this search, we came across several media reports about various donations made to Ayodhya Ram Mandir. According to an NDTV report, Ayodhya-based Amava Ram temple is set to donate a 2.5 kg gold bow and arrow to Shri Ram Janma Bhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. The bow and arrow have been crafted by skilled artisans based in Chennai, following the description mentioned in the Valmiki Ramayana, who have been in this profession for the last 200 years. 23-carat gold has been used to make the bow. About 600-700 grams of gold has been used to make the bow weighing 2.5 kg. Several other media reports regarding this can be seen here & here.
We also found news reports (here & here) stating that Patna’s Mahavir Temple Trust will also offer gold bow and arrows to Lord Rama in Ayodhya, symbolizing the sacred connection between Mithila and Ayodhya.
Claim 2:
We have conducted a relevant keyword search on the internet regarding the world’s largest Bhagavad Gita, which led us to a news report by Sansad TV. According to this report on 26 February 2019, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the world’s largest and heaviest Bhagavad Gita at Delhi’s ISKCON temple. As per ISCKON, the holy book measuring 2.8 meters by 2 meters has 670 pages and weighs 800 kg. It is also recognized as the world’s largest sacred book. Several other media reports regarding this can be seen here, here & here.
To sum it up, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni did not donate a 21 kg golden bow and arrow to Ayodhya Ram Mandir.

created: February 5, 2024


text:
Italian 'San Boldo Pass' Falsely Portrayed as a Ghat Road in Himachal Pradesh - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 6, 2023
An image of a ghat road with multiple hairpin bends is being widely shared on social media claiming that it is in Himachal Pradesh, India. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: An image of a ghat road in Himachal Pradesh with multiple hairpin bends.
Fact: Image shows the ‘San Boldo Pass’ located in the Veneto region of Italy. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
A reverse image search of the viral image led us to several social media posts (here & here)  where users mentioned the same image as the ‘San Boldo Pass’ in Italy.
The San Boldo Pass in Italy pic.twitter.com/DbzTvHmn3z
Taking a cue from this, we conducted further research to gather more information about this road, which resulted in the discovery of various stock images and vlogs showcasing this route.
The San Boldo Pass is a small mountain pass located in the Veneto region of Italy, nestled between the towns of Trichiana and Tovena within the Cison di Valmarino region. Spanning a distance of 17 km, it is situated at the southern edge of the Alps. This pass acts as a vital link between the Val Belluna and the Val Mareno, ascending to an impressive height of 706 m. Its notable features include five tunnels that have been carved into the rock, each exhibiting distinctive hairpin turns or loops, accompanied by six bridges.
Furthermore, visualizations of this road can be seen on Google Maps and Google Earth.
To sum it up, the viral image shows the ‘San Boldo Pass’ in Italy and not a ghat road in Himachal Pradesh.


text:
Italy has neither found the cure for COVID-19 nor published the findings mentioned in this viral post - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 9, 2020
A post is being shared by multiple users on social media with a message that Italy has finally found the cure for COVID-19. Also, a video (archived) with the same message is being shared. There are multiple findings given in the post.  Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
The COVID-19 findings by Italy’s Ministry of Health including the cure for COVID-19.
Fact: The findings given in the post were not issued by Italy’s Ministry of Health. Most of the findings in the post are false. Also, some of them were debunked by the Ministry itself. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Found the cure?
On Italy’s ‘Ministero della Salute’ (Ministry of Health) website, it can be read that there is no specific treatment for the COVID-19 disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is mentioned that ‘treatment remains mainly based on a symptomatic approach, providing supportive therapies (e.g. oxygen therapy, fluid management) to infected people, which can nevertheless be highly effective. Several clinical trials are underway for the treatment of COVID-19 disease’. The same can be read on the WHO website.
Also, it is found that Italy’s Ministry of Health has itself debunked the claim that the cure for COVID-19 was found in Italy.
Virus or Bacteria?
On the ‘Ministero della Salute’ website, it can be seen that COVID-19 disease is caused by a virus named SARS-CoV-2. Also, they have debunked the claim that the disease is caused by a bacterium. So, they have not claimed anything against the existing view.
Did WHO ask countries not to conduct autopsies of patients dead with COVID-19?
No such guidelines were released by WHO. Also, in the Interim guidance document released by WHO with the title – ‘Infection Prevention and Control for the safe management of a dead body in the context of COVID-19’, it can be seen that a list of safety measures was suggested to be followed while conducting an autopsy.
Aspirin – the miracle cure?
In the post, it is given that the cure is with the ‘antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and anticoagulants’ (Aspirin). But on the ‘Ministero della Salute’ website, it can be read that ‘no drug has yet proven their effectiveness in treating COVID-19’. There is no specific drug for COVID-19.  Some of the drugs made available to COVID-19 patients can be seen on the Italian Medicines Agency – AIFA website. In a scientific brief released by WHO with the title – ‘The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in patients with COVID-19’ on 19 April 2020, it can be read that ‘at present there is no evidence of severe adverse events, acute health care utilization, long-term survival, or quality of life in patients with COVID-19, as a result of the use of NSAIDs’.
Also, the Press Information Bureau (India) has tweeted that the message claiming Aspirin as a cure for COVID-19 is fake.
Claim- A widely circulated video on social media claims that #Covid19 is a bacteria & which can be treated with aspirin#PIBFactCheck– This is #Fake. Coronavirus is a virus and there is no specific medicinal cure available yet. pic.twitter.com/ESPzEZ6WgT
Multiple research studies and news reports can be found regarding thrombosis in COVID-19 patients. Contrary to the claim made in the post, it can be read in various news articles that patients were kept on ventilators in Italy.
To sum it up, Italy has neither found the cure for COVID-19 nor published the findings given in the post.
Did you watch our new video?


text:
Italy PM Giorgia Meloni’s old statements on compatibility challenges between Islam and Europe shared as a recent one - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 20, 2023
A post is being shared on social media claiming that Italy Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, in a recent statement, mentioned Islam’s incompatibilities with Europe and said there will be no place for Islam in Europe. The purported statement of Giorgia Meloni says- “Islam and Europe have a compatibility problem.” Several Indian media houses recently published articles reporting the same. A few of those news articles can be seen here, here, and here. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Italy PM Giorgia Meloni, in a recent statement, said, “Islam and Europe have compatibility problem”.
Fact: Giorgia Meloni made similar statements in 2018, much before she became the Prime Minister of Italy. Giorgia Meloni, during an interview in 2018, said that Islam certainly presents incompatibilities with the values and the civilization of Europe. Lately, Giorgia Meloni made statements admitting her government’s failure in controlling irregular migration. But lately, she had not made any such comments on Islam’s incompatibility with Europe. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
When we searched to check whether Giorgia Meloni had made any such statements about Islam, we found a news article, published in 2018, reporting Giorgia Meloni making similar statements about Islam. Supporting Matteo Salvini’s comments stating, “Islam incompatible with European values”, Giorgia Meloni, the President of the Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, in 2018 said, “Salvini is right. Islam incompatible with our culture“.
Giorgia Meloni, during an interview in 2018, said, “I believe that Islam certainly presents incompatibilities with our values and our civilization, and what happens in Islamic centers demonstrates this. This does not mean generalizing, but there is an incompatibility with our culture”.
Giorgia Meloni was elected as Italy’s First Female Prime Minister in September 2022. Lately, while addressing supporters at a far-right political festival in Rome, Giorgia Meloni admitted the government’s failure in curbing irregular migration. However, she again did not make any statements related to the incompatibility issues between Islam and Europe.
To sum it up, Giorgia Meloni’s old statement about the incompatibility between Islam and Europe was shared as the recent one.

created: December 20, 2023


text:
Italy PM Giorgia Meloni has not made this Tweet in support of the Indian Islands. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 16, 2024
A screenshot of a purported tweet of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is being shared on social media, in which she allegedly posted a picture of PM Modi along with a caption that reads, “Cancelled my trip to Maldives. Will prefer Lakshadweep or Andaman instead. #ExploreIndianlslands.” This screenshot is doing the rounds on the internet amid the India-Maldives row. This article aims to fact-check this claim.
Claim:  On 7 January 2024, PM of Italy Giorgia Meloni tweeted announcing her cancelled trip to the Maldives in support of the Indian Islands.
Fact: Italy PM Giorgio Meloni did not post the purported tweet on her ‘X’ handle on 7 January 2024. There are no reports about her voicing support for the Indian islands. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
To check the veracity of the viral photo, we first carefully went through the timeline of Italian PM Meloni’s ‘X’ handle. But, we could not find such a tweet posted on 7 January 2024.
Social Blade, an online tool that monitors posts, including deleted ones, on a particular social media account, shows that she made one tweet on 7 January 2024, but it’s not about the Indian islands but about Italy’s flag.
Further, performing an advanced search on ‘X’ has not yielded any credible information that could link her to the content of the viral post. Additionally, we checked on Meloni’s other social media accounts to see if she had voiced her opinion on the India-Maldives row supporting the Indian Islands, but we could not find any. If the prime minister of a country makes such statements, the media would generally report on it, but there are no such news reports of Meloni supporting Indian islands. All of this evidence makes it clear that the viral screenshot of her tweet is a digital creation.
To sum up, an edited graphic is viral as a screenshot of Italian PM Meloni’s tweet supporting the Indian Islands.

created: January 16, 2024


text:
ITDC Hotels - Number of Tourists to India is increasing steadily, Government Tourism Hotels are losing money
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 3, 2015
Successive Governments at the Center have made efforts to promote India as a tourist destination internationally. Even within India, states are competing with each other to promote their state as the ultimate tourist destination. The importance of tourism is evident from the fact that government of India estimates show that Tourism accounts for about 11.5% of the total employment in the country as on 2011-12 (direct & indirect).
These campaigns by the central & state governments seem to have had an impact. The number of foreign as well as domestic tourists has been steadily increasing. Tourism numbers are released every year under three different heads.
Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTA): This is counted at the national level and is based on the number of disembarkations.
Foreign Tourist Visits (FTV): This is the number of foreign tourists visiting a State/UT. These numbers are counted at the state level. FTV is always greater than FTA since one foreign tourist might visit more than one state.
Domestic Tourist Visits (DTV): This is the number of domestic tourists visiting a particular State/UT.
The All India Picture
According to the figures available with the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India for the years 2011 to 2013, the number of tourist visits has been steadily increasing. DTV have been increasing continuously while FTV saw a decline in 2012 and bounced back in 2013. While there were a total of 864 million DTV in 2011 followed by 1045 million in 2012 and 1145 million in 2013. There were 19 million FTV in 2011 followed by 18 million in 2012 and then close to 20 million in 2013. The total DTV increased by 32% between 2011 & 2013 while FTV increased by about 2.3% during the same period. The increase in total tourist visits during this period was also 32%.
What about the Government run hotels?
The India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) Ltd. runs fifteen hotels in the country. In 2011-12, these hotels realized a profit of 947 lakh rupees. The very next year (2012-13), the profits turned into losses with the overall loss at 617 lakh rupees. The losses continued in 2013-14 with the overall losses at 510 lakh rupees. The hotels in New Delhi, Patna, Bhopal, Itanagar & Guwahati are making profits while the others are making a loss.
The Government believes the following to be the reasons for such losses
Tourist Visits Vs ITDC Hotels performance
While the tourist visits have grown year on year, the ITDC hotels are losing money. In fact, the ITDC hotels have lost the most amount when the number of tourist visits have grown the highest.
We will look at individual states & their performance in the subsequent articles.
Data Sources
Answer to Unstarred Question Number 4801, Ministry of Tourism answered on 22-12-2014.
Answer to Unstarred Question Number 621, Ministry of Tourism answered on 15-07-2014.
Featured Image: http://www.pib.nic.in/


text:
ITLF's Apology Letter to Kuki Community over Manipur Conflict Proven Fake - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 13, 2023
A purported press release, allegedly issued by the Indigenous Tribal Leader’s Forum (ITLF), a conglomerate of recognized tribal groups in Manipur, is being widely circulated on social media claiming that the organization has issued an apology on 12 July 2023 to the Kuki people for misguidance and conflicts with the Meitei people. Additionally, some users are sharing a screenshot of a Times of India news article that reported on this letter. Let’s now verify the authenticity of the claims made in the post.
Claim: Press Release issued by the Indigenous Tribal Leader’s Forum (ITLF) on 12 July 2023 apologizing to the Kuki people for misguidance and conflicts with the Meitei people.
Fact: ITLF has clarified that the press release attributed to them on 12 July 2023 was fabricated and falsely associated with their organization. This press release was then turned into a news story by both the ANI news agency and the Times of India. Subsequently, ANI retracted the story and issued an apology. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
To verify the credibility of the press release, we have examined the official website of the ITLF. Our findings indicate that there is no such press release offering an apology to the Kuki community. On the contrary, we discovered that they have released another statement clarifying that a fabricated press release falsely attributed to the ITLF on 12 July  2023, was transformed into a news story by the ANI news agency. This story was subsequently published on the Times of India website under the headline: “Manipur violence: Indigenous Tribal Leader Forum extends apology to Kuki Zo people for ‘misguidance, conflict with Meitei people“
The letter additionally mentions that they had requested the media and others to contact them directly or refer to their official social media accounts and website for clarification. However, they expressed their disappointment as the ANI news agency published a news article without verifying its authenticity or reaching out to them for clarification. The letter emphasizes that, following standard journalistic practices, they demand an immediate retraction of the story by ANI & TOI and the issuance of a clear statement announcing the withdrawal.
Subsequently, ANI retracted the story and offered an apology for the inaccurate reporting. However, as of the time of writing this article, the Times of India’s article has not been retracted.
#CORRECTION | An ANI story, "Manipur violence: Indigenous Tribal Leader Forum extends apology to Kuki Zo people for "misguidance, conflict with Meitei people" has been retracted as the source of the press release is questionable. Error regretted. pic.twitter.com/D7hwlQrtnX
Furthermore, in a conversation with The Quint, Ginza Vualzong, the spokesperson of ITLF, whose signature appeared on the viral letter, clarified that he did not sign any such letter and declared it to be entirely fake.
In conclusion, a fabricated letter is being falsely attributed to the ITLF, claiming to offer apologies to the Kuki community for their alleged misguidance and conflicts with the Meitei people.


text:
It’s a fake tweet. Prashant Kishor has not tweeted against Y.S. Jagan. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 11, 2019
A post is being shared on Facebook claiming that Prashant Kishor (Poll Strategist for YSRCP) has tweeted against Y.S. Jagan, the head of YSRCP, on the election day. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
The archived version of the post can be found here.
Prashant Kishor: “All the hard work our team has been doing for past 2 years is now going in vain. Since Y.S. Jagan is not sure of magic figure, he has turned his back and bringing in all the commercials. Working with Jagan Reddy’s party will be a regret for a lifetime.”
The tweet is fake. Prashant Kishor has himself tweeted saying that the post is fake. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When looked for this tweet on his Twitter account, it is found that Prashant Kishor has himself tweeted on this issue saying: “.@ncbn when you lose trust of the people and your faith in their wisdom, after abuses and lies, you stoop down to circulating fake news. Few hours left for the polling to close but it’s clear that people of AP have decided their verdict. It is time to say #ByeByeBabu”. Also, before Kishor has tweeted the above tweet on his account, FACTLY has contacted IPAC’s Digital Media Head Mr. Brahma, who has clarified that the tweet is fake and is a cheap trick coming from the opposition parties on the election day. So, the post claiming that Prashant Kishor has tweeted against Jagan is FALSE.
Finally, it’s a fake tweet. Prashant Kishor has not tweeted against Y.S. Jagan.


text:
It's official: 95% of the Electoral Bonds purchased in 2017-18 went to the BJP
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 30, 2018
Data from the annual audit report submitted by the BJP substantiates the assumption that the ruling party at the center would be the biggest beneficiary of the anonymous donations through electoral bonds. BJP was the beneficiary of 95% of the electoral bonds purchased in 2017-18.
The Electoral Bonds were first announced in the 2017-18 budget and the scheme was subsequently notified in January 2018. Factly had earlier written about the bonds, their impact on transparency etc. It was also anticipated that the ruling party at the center would be the biggest beneficiary of these anonymous donations. Data from the annual audit report submitted by the BJP to the Election Commission of India (ECI) further substantiates this assumption. BJP was the beneficiary of 95% of the electoral bonds purchased in 2017-18.
Electoral Bonds worth  ₹ 222 crore were purchased in 2017-18
The electoral bonds scheme was notified in January 2018. March 2018 was the first month when these bonds were available for purchase from four different branches of SBI (Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai & New Delhi).
Data obtained from SBI using the Right to Information (RTI) revealed that a total of 520 electoral bonds worth ₹ 222 crore were purchased in March 2018. Hence in the year 2017-18, these were the only bonds that were purchased. Most bonds (in terms of number) were purchased in Kolkata where 212 bonds were purchased. In terms of value, most bonds (worth  ₹ 122 crore) were purchased in Mumbai.
BJP received  ₹ 210 crore out of the  ₹ 222 crore
As per the 2017-18 annual audit report submitted by the BJP to the ECI, the party received ₹ 210 crore worth contribution in the form of electoral bonds.  This is a whopping 95% of all the electoral bonds purchased in 2017-18. Since the design of the scheme does not allow for the disclosure of names of the contributors, it is impossible to find out who contributed these ₹ 210 crore to the BJP. Out of the total voluntary contribution of  ₹ 989.7 crore received by the BJP in 2017-18, more than 21% or ₹ 210 crore is through electoral bonds. Even in terms of the total income of the BJP in 2017-18, more than 20% is through electoral bonds.
45% of BJP’s income in 2016-17 was from unknown sources as per ADR’s analysis. This would further increase in 2017-18 because of the anonymous nature of electoral bonds.
What happened to the remaining ₹ 12 crore worth electoral bonds?
None of the national or state parties that have submitted their annual audit report for 2017-18 have declared any income from electoral bonds. It also has to be noted that the Congress & NCP are the only two national parties that are yet to submit their annual audit report for 2017-18. It is possible that the rest of ₹ 12 crore worth electoral bonds have gone to either the Congress or NCP or other state parties. It is also possible that a large part of these electoral bonds may not have gone to any party since data obtained using RTI also revealed that bonds worth ₹ 11 crore were not encashed by July 2018.
Corporates may be purchasing these bonds, not common citizens
Data of electoral bonds purchased in all the cycles till October 2018 clearly indicates that there is no demand for bonds of lower denomination. In terms of value, bonds of  ₹ 1 crore denomination accounted for  ₹ 782 crore or 89.6% followed by bonds of  ₹ 10 lakh denomination that accounted for  ₹ 89.6 crore or 10.3%. Together, they have accounted for close to 99.9% of total value of bonds purchased till date. Even in terms of the number of bonds purchased, 1678 out of the 1795 or 93.5% electoral bonds purchased till date are in the denomination of  ₹ 10 lakh and  ₹ 1 crore. Though there is no concrete information on the type of purchasers since SBI has refused to share such information, it is highly likely that the ₹ 10 lakh & ₹ 1 crore denomination are purchased by corporates than individuals.

created: November 30, 2018


text:
Jacques Attali did not write about World’s depopulation through a pandemic - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 9, 2021
A post is doing rounds on social media which claims that French economist Jacques Attali who served as a counselor to President François Mitterrand from 1981 to 1991 proposed that COVID-19 is a man-made created pandemic aimed at world depopulation. Let us now verify the claims made in the post.
Claim: Jacques Attali wrote about depopulation through pandemics in his 1981 book Verbatim.
Fact: Jacques Attali has not written the above mentioned quote anywhere in his memoir Verbatim and the quote is completely fabricated. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Jacques Attali is a noted French economist, social theorist, political adviser among other things and served as a counselor to President Francois Mitterrand from 1981-1991. He was also the first head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in 1991-1993. His memoir book ‘Verbatim’ (1981-1986) is a collection of his memories, dialogues and routine activities. He has authored more than 50 books.
The post claims that the new world order would focus on world’s depopulation; not through executions or concentration camps but through man-made pandemic that will eliminate the old, weak and the fearful while ‘stupid’ will seek treatment and walk into the ‘slaughterhouse.’ This quote is now being equated to the coronavirus as a man-made pandemic that would kill the old and the weak while the COVID-19 vaccinations would kill stupid people.
However, the quote read in the above post does not appear anywhere in his memoir book Verbatim, which has conversations between President Mitterrand and the world leaders. In fact, the word pandemic does not appear anywhere in the entire book. Similar fact-checks have been done by Snopes, AFP Factual and Poynter.
His other book, “The future of Life” written in French & authored by Michael Salomon is a collection of interviews with Jacques Attali, cites a conversation on old age. According to AFP Factual, to Salomon’s question of “Is it possible and desirable to live 120 years?”, Attali responds “But as soon as we pass 60/65 years, man lives longer than he produces and then costs society more” and “From the point of in view of society, it is preferable for the human machine to stop abruptly before it gradually deteriorates”. He is also seen to quote in a translation that “Euthanasia will be one of the essential instruments of our future societies in all cases.” However, this has be falsely misinterpreted that promotes euthanasia from the age of 65; a depopulation measure. In fact, Attali earlier in 1984 was accused of being a supporter of the genocide of the old for which he went on to file and win a defamation lawsuit against a medical journal through The Paris Court of Appeals.
On the other hand, the recent COVID-19 which first appeared in China in December 2019, is a type of coronavirus.  While older people, and those with underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, heart and lung problems, diabetes, or cancer, are at higher risk of developing a serious illness, there is no correlation to Attali’s comments on euthanasia.
In summary, the quote in the post has been fabricated and falsely attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic & Jacques Attali. It is merely a conspiracy theory, and it is suggested that any information related to COVID-19 must only be accessed through credible health authorities.

created: August 9, 2021


text:
‘Jai Bhim’ is not the first Indian film to be featured in Oscars’ YouTube channel - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 20, 2022
A post is being widely shared on social media claiming that Jai Bhim had become the first Indian movie to be featured on the official YouTube channel of Oscars. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Jai Bhim is the first Indian movie to be featured on the YouTube channel of Oscars.
Fact: Jai Bhim is the first Tamil movie to have been featured in the official YouTube channel of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, under its ‘Scene At The Academy’ category. ‘Two’, a shortfilm by Satyajit Ray was featured in Oscars’ YouTube channel in 2016, as part of a restoration project. ‘Scene At The Academy’ section on the official ‘Oscars’ channel focuses on filmmaking and breakdown of important scenes; this is not related to the official entry into Oscars. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
On 18 January 2022, ‘Jai Bhim’ was featured on the official YouTube channel of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. When we searched in the official YouTube channel of Oscars for any Indian films that were featured before ‘Jai Bhim’, ‘Two’ by Satyajit Ray was found uploaded on 03 May 2016.
‘Two’ is a 1964 short film made as part of a trilogy under the banner Esso World Theatre. The other two films featured Pandit Ravi Shankar and a ballet troupe from Mumbai. When Satyajit Ray was requested to direct an English film, as an admirer of silent cinema, he instead made a film without words. ‘Two’ was featured on the official YouTube channel of Oscars, as it was part of a restoration project by the Academy. ‘“Two,” also known as “Parable of Two,” is part of the Academy’s Satyajit Ray Collection which includes 18 feature films directed by Ray and preserved by the Archive.’ Satyajit Ray is a renowned Indian filmmaker who was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 1992.
Jai Bhim is the first Tamil movie to have been featured in the official YouTube channel of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, under its ‘Scene at the Academy’ category. ‘Scene at the Academy’, according to Oscars’ official website, is a segment that focuses on filmmaking and the breakdown of important scenes in a movie. The 12-Minute-47-second-long video clip has the opening sequence of ‘Jai Bhim’ with the Director TJ Gnanavel explaining certain sequences at some points.
Featuring in the ‘Scene at the Academy’ is not the same as being nominated to the Oscars. India’s official entry to Oscars 2022 in the international feature film category was a Tamil drama ‘Koozhangal’, but did not find a place in the films shortlisted by the Academy later. ‘Jai Bhim’ had officially entered the Golden Globes 2022 as a nomination under the ‘Best Non-English Language Film’ category.
To sum it up, ‘Jai Bhim’ is not the first Indian movie to have been featured on Oscars’ YouTube channel.

created: January 20, 2022


text:
Jail Break: Close to 6000 inmates escaped from prisons between 2004 & 2013 - Factly
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 17, 2015
The recent Tihar Jail Break attempt by two under trial prisoners raised quite a few eye brows. Data with the NCRB indicates that a total of 5879 inmates escaped from prisons in the 10 year period from 2004 to 2013. And out of this, only 31% are caught and the rest 69% are still at large.
The attempt of two under trials to escape from the High Security Tihar Jail recently raised quite a few eyebrows. While one of them was caught, the other escaped. But this is not the first time that inmates tried such escapades. Data available with the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) indicates that a total of 5879 inmates escaped between 2004 -2013. Out of this, only 1847 escapees were re-arrested which is a mere 31% of the total. The rest 69% are still at large.
An average of 587 inmates escaped from prisons in the 10 year period from 2004 to 2013. Of these 10 years, the highest number escaped in the year 2007 (913) followed by 2005 (635). The lowest number of escapees was in 2013 (417). The number of escaped was more than 600 in three different years (2005, 2007 & 2008).
The inmates escape either from inside the prison, outside the prison or from Police Custody. The highest number of escapes usually happens from Police Custody, while taking the under trials to courts etc. Between 2004 & 2013, while 1661 inmates escaped from inside the prison, only 759 escaped from outside the prison. A total 3459 escaped from Police Custody during this period. Percentage of inmates escaped from Police Custody is close to 59% of the total number of escapees.
Out of the 5879 escapees, only 1847 escapees were re-arrested. This is about 31% of the total number of escapees. 69% of the total escapees are still at large. Close to 39% of the total escapees were re-arrested in both 2006 and 2012. This is the highest for any year. The lowest percentage of re-arrests was made in 2007 (22%). This could be because of the high number of escapees in that year. The percentage of re-arrests was less than 30% in three different years (2004, 2006 & 2009).
Source: National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)
Featured Image:By Aliven Sarkar (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons


text:
James Webb Space Telescope Observations Align with, Not Disprove, the Big Bang Theory - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 26, 2023
A video is being widely shared on social media claiming that the observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have disproved the existing widely accepted Big Bang theory. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Observations from the James Webb Space Telescope have disproved the Big Bang theory.
Fact: There is no evidence to support this claim. In fact, a study based on JWST findings provides new insights into the structure and properties of galaxies in the early universe, which can help refine our understanding of the processes that drive galaxy formation and evolution over cosmic time. The study’s conclusions are actually in line with the predictions of the Big Bang theory and add to the body of evidence supporting this well-established scientific theory. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The video references a research paper published on Cornell University’s website on 19 July 2022, titled “Panic! At the Disks: First Rest-frame Optical Observations of Galaxy Structure at z>3 with JWST in the SMACS 0723 Field.” The video claims that the findings from the JWST, as presented in this paper, take a step towards disproving the Big Bang theory.
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST),  launched on 25 December 2021, is a powerful infrared observatory featuring a 6.5-meter primary mirror. Its mission is to investigate every stage of our Universe’s history. By primarily detecting infrared light, the telescope allows for the observation of sources such as the earliest galaxies and protostars, which emit radiation at these wavelengths.
Regarding the study, the title’s phrase “Panic! At the Disks” is a playful reference to the American rock band “Panic! at the Disco,” and it doesn’t suggest any genuine concern or alarm about the galaxy disks being studied. Galaxy disks are thin, rotating structures composed of gas and dust, where stars are believed to form. In this research, the authors utilized data from the James Webb Space Telescope to examine the structure and properties of these disks in a population of distant galaxies that formed early in the universe’s history. The title’s term “z>3” denotes the redshift of these galaxies, which measures the degree to which their light has been stretched by the universe’s expansion. The “SMACS 0723 Field” phrase refers to the area of the sky where the studied galaxies are located, as observed by the Space Telescope Abell Cluster Survey (STACS) Multiwavelength Survey (SMACS).
Based on the Research, the authors make several important conclusions:
Do these findings disprove Big Bang Theory?
The Big Bang Theory is a well-established scientific theory that explains the origin and evolution of the universe, including the formation of galaxies, stars, and planets, as well as cosmic background radiation. The observations made in the study are consistent with the Big Bang theory, which predicts the formation and evolution of galaxies in the early universe.
The study’s findings do not contradict or disprove the Big Bang theory in any way. Rather, the study provides new insights into the structure and properties of galaxies in the early universe, which can help refine our understanding of the processes that drive galaxy formation and evolution over cosmic time. The study’s conclusions are actually in line with the predictions of the Big Bang theory and add to the body of evidence supporting this well-established scientific theory.
After some individuals misunderstood the study’s findings and claimed that the JWST had disproved the Big Bang theory, Leonard Ferreira, one of the authors of the research paper, along with several other astrophysicists, stated that the study had been misinterpreted.
Please stop incorrectly using our work to say that the big bang `didn't happen`. That's incorrect, and only shows you did not read the paper. This is work on the evolution of galaxies. In fact, it is made possible due to the redshifting light in a expanding big bang universe.
To sum it up, while there may be ongoing debates and discussions in the scientific community about the details of the Big Bang theory, the study does not disprove the theory. Rather, it provides valuable new insights into the early universe’s structure and properties, which can help refine our understanding of the processes driving galaxy formation and evolution.


text:
Jamia Mosque in Gulbarga is falsely shared as the demolished Babri Masjid - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 5, 2020
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it as the picture of the demolished Babri Masjid. Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was demolished by ‘Kar sevaks’ in the year 1992. On ‘9 November 2019’, the Supreme Court granted the demolished site of Babri Masjid to Hindus to build Ram Mandir. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Photo of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.
Fact: The Photo shared in the post is the view of Jamia Mosque in Gulbarga, Karnataka and is not related to Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. 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 in an article published in Britannica website about Kalaburagi city.  Kalaburagi, also called Gulbarga, is a city in the northeastern part of Karnataka state. In the article, it is mentioned that the photo shows the view of Jamia Masjid in Gulbarga, Karnataka. When we searched for more information using these keywords, a similar photo was found on the Alamy website. In this website also, it is mentioned that it shows the view of Jamia Mosque in Gulbarga.
Following the Supreme Court verdict alloting the demolished Babri Masjid Land for constructing Ram Mandir, on ‘05 August 2020’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Opposing the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, a few people are sharing this Jamia masjid photo as the demolished Babri Masjid.
When a group of photos including this photo was shared in the past as the picture of Babri Masjid, Factly has debunked the photos and published an article. It can be read here.
To sum it up, the picture of Jamia Mosque in Gulbarga is being falsely shared as the demolished Babri Masjid.
Did you watch our new video?

created: August 5, 2020


text:
Janata Curfew: Clapping hands will not kill Coronavirus, it is just to express gratitude - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 22, 2020
A post is being shared widely on social media with a claim that there is science behind the 5 PM clapping proposed by PM Modi. While Modi has asked people to clap as a sign of gratitude to the various groups working to eradicate COVID-19, some people are posting that clapping will create vibrations which will then kill Coronavirus by making it lose all potency. Also, it is being claimed the event was planned on a Sunday (i.e. on 22 March 2020) as it is ‘Amavasya’ (New Moon Day). Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
There is science behind PM Modi’s 5 PM clapping initiative: Clapping generates vibration which can kill Coronavirus. Also, 22 March 2020 is Amavasya.
Fact: There is no scientific evidence to prove that vibration from clapping hands can kill Coronavirus. The Press Information Bureau of India has clarified that the message is fake. Also, Amavasya is not on 22 March 2020. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Astrological Claim:
First, let’s check whether Amavasya is on 22 March 2020. It was found on the internet that ‘Amavasya’ is from 23 March 220 (12:30 PM) – 24 March 2020 (02:58 PM), not on 22 March 2020. So, the theory that ‘22nd March is Amavasya, darkest day in a month. All virus, bacteria and evil forces have maximum potential and power on such days’ will not apply to 22 March 2020 as it is not Amavasya. Also, Revathi Nakshatra is from 25 March 2020 (04:19 AM) – Mar 26 March 2020 (07:16 AM). Similar dates (Amavasya on 24 March 2020 and Revathi Nakshatra on 25 March 2020) can be also found on the ‘Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams’ website. So, the astrological significance mentioned in the post is false.
Scientific Evidence:
Now, let’s check whether there is any scientific evidence to prove that clapping can kill Coronavirus. From various articles on the internet, it is found that ultrasound and laser pulses are being tested around the world to kill bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells. But no concrete evidence was found to prove that the vibration created from clapping hands can kill Coronavirus. If vibration from clapping hands could kill virus then WHO would have suggested the same. But no such preventive guidance can be found on the WHO website. Also, as the message went viral, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) has clarified that ‘the vibration generated by clapping together will not destroy Coronavirus infection’.
NO ! The vibration generated by clapping together will NOT destroy #Coronavirus infection#PIBFactCheck: The #JantaCurfew clapping initiative at 5pm is to express  gratitude towards the Emergency staff working selflessly  to counter #coronavirusinindia #Covid19India pic.twitter.com/WHfK4guxys
To sum it up, vibration from clapping hands will not kill Coronavirus.
Did you watch our new video?


text:
Japan does not provide/deny ‘citizenship’ based on religion - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 23, 2019
A post is being shared on Facebook with a claim that Japan is the only country in the world which does not give citizenship to Muslims. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Japan does not give citizenship to Muslims.
Fact: There is nothing mentioned about religion in Japan’s National Law and the Immigration Policy document. Also, Article 20 of Japan’s constitution reads: ‘Freedom of religion is guaranteed to all’. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When searched for more information on Japan’s citizenship criteria on Google, it was found that the religion of a person was not mentioned in the eligibility requirements for obtaining Japanese citizenship. Both the Immigration Attorney website and Japan’s Nationality Law do not mention religion as an eligibility condition.
The claim that the Muslims are not given houses on rent in Japan is also false as Article 14 of Japan’s Constitution reads: ‘All of the people are equal under the law and there shall be no discrimination in political, economic or social relations because of race, creed, sex, social status or family origin’ and  Article 20 provides religious freedom to all and refrains the State from involving in ‘religious education or any other religious activity’.
Other fact checking organisations like Snopes, Huffing Post and Politifact have already debunked similar claims which went viral five years back. To sum it up, Japan does not provide/deny ‘citizenship’ based on religion.
Did you watch our new Episode of the DECODE series on Parliament?


text:
Japanese pop singer Hiraku Nishida live performance is falsely shared as the video of Xi Jinping daughter - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 18, 2020
A post with the YouTube link of a live song performance is being shared on social media claiming it as the video of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s daughter singing at her graduation ceremony. In the title of the video, they mentioned her as a great singer who graduated from Harvard University with a different name. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Video of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s daughter singing at her graduation ceremony.
Fact: Video in the post shows the live singing performance of popular Japanese pop singer Hiraku Nishida. It has nothing to do with the Xi Jinping’s daughter Xi Mingze. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search, similar visuals were found in a video posted by ‘The News Talkers’ website. A Video posted by a user ‘lamlamchem’ on YouTube in 2008 is shared on this website. This video is posted on YouTube with the title ‘where the boys are – 西田ひかる’. On translating ‘西田ひかる’, we came to know it means ‘Hiraku Nishida’. In the comment section of the video also, the singer is referred to as the Japanese pop singer Hiraku Nishida. When we searched for more information using these keywords, it was confirmed that she is the popular Japanese pop singer and actress Hiraku Nishida. More live performances of Hiraku Nishida can be seen here and here. The official blog and Facebook pages of Hiraku Nishida can be seen here and here. The Complete profile of singer Hiraku Nishida was found on the website of Manase Productions.
In an article published by ‘First Post’ news website on ‘14 February 2015’, it is reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s daughter Xi Mingze made her first public appearance after her father took over power in 2013 as she joined her parents in visiting a remote village in China. Sharing the photo of Xi Mingze, the article reported that she is a graduate of Harvard University. Photo of Xi Mingze is also shared in the articles published by ‘THE INDEPENDENT’ and ‘The New Zealand Herald’ news websites. They can be seen here and here.
According to an article published by ‘The New Yorker’ website, Xi Mingze reportedly graduated from Harvard University in 2014 with a different name. But, there is no such Live singing performance featured in the 2014 Harvard University Commencement Ceremony. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the girl singing in the video is Japanese pop singer Hiraku Nishida, not the Xi Jinping’s daughter Xi Mingze.
To sum it up, Japanese pop singer Hiraku Nishida’s live performance is falsely shared as the video of Xi Jinping’s daughter.

created: September 18, 2020


text:
Jashodaben wasn’t protesting against CAA & NRC in this photo - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 24, 2020
A photo is being widely shared on social media with a claim that it shows Modi’s wife Jashodaben participating in a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizen (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR).  Let’s analyze the claim made in the post.
Image of Jashodaben protesting against CAA, NRC & NPR.
Fact: The image shows Jashodaben protesting at the Azad Maidan in Mumbai against the demolition of slums during monsoon. Hence, the claim is FALSE.
When the image is subjected to reverse image search technique, an article published by the ‘Deccan Chronicle’ with the same image, in 2016 was obtained. In the article, it can be read that the image shows Jashodaben protesting at the Azad Maidan in Mumbai against the demolition of slums during monsoon. So, the photo is not related to any anti-CAA protest.
To summarize, in the photo, Jashodaben wasn’t protesting against CAA & NRC.
Did you watch our new video in the DECODE series?

created: January 24, 2020


text:
Jawaharlal Nehru was not slapped by Swami Vidyanand Videh for allegedly referring to the people of Hindu Arya Samaj as refugees in India - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 16, 2023
A photo of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru is being shared on social media claiming that he was publicly slapped by a Hindu saint named Swami Vidyanand Videh for allegedly referring to the people of Hindu Arya Samaj as refugees in India. According to the post, Swami Vidyanand Videh slapped Nehru on the stage of a public event and said- “The people of Arya Samaj are not refugees. They are our ancestors and the original inhabitants of this country.  Your own ancestors are “Arabic”, and “Arab” blood is flowing in your body. You are not the original inhabitants of this great country… you are a refugee…” Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: A photo captured during a public event where Jawaharlal Nehru was slapped by Swami Vidyanand Videh.
Fact: The photo shared in the post was taken in 1962, during a meeting of the Congress Party in Patna, Bihar. The photo shows a security person holding Jawaharlal Nehru to prevent him from plunging into a riotous crowd at the meeting in Patna. There are no confirmed news reports indicating that Swami Vidyanand Videh had slapped Jawaharlal Nehru at a public event. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, the same photo was found published on the Outlook news website. The photo was published with the description, “Braced for the worst Nehru is prevented from plunging into a riotous crowd in 1962, before the war.”
When we searched for further details of the photo, we found that the ‘Associate Press’ had published the same photo on their website, with the description, “A security man grabbed Indian Prime Minister Nehru to keep him from plunging into a riotous crowd at a meeting of the Congress Party in Patna, India, January 1962. Later in the year, Communist China’s attack on India plunged Nehru into new troubles.” The news report confirmed that the photo was taken in 1962, during a meeting of the Congress Party in Patna.
An article published by ‘Indian Express’ in 1962 regarding this clash can be found here. The Times of India, the Press Trust of India (PTI), and a few other news organisations have issued clarifications regarding the origin of Nehru’s photo.
On searching for the details about Swami Vidyanand Videh, it was found that he is the founder of an organization named ‘Ved-Sansthan.’ Swami Vidyanand Videh is well-known as a scholar of Vedas and a proponent of the Yogic lifestyle. No information or evidence was found suggesting Swami Vidyanand Videh slapped Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru during a public meeting.
To sum it up, a 1962 photo of Jawaharlal Nehru was shared with a false claim that he was slapped by Swami Vidyanand Videh for referring to Aryans as refugees in India.

created: November 16, 2023