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The new KPYCC President Nalapad took charge by performing prayers of various religions, not just Islam - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 1, 2022
A photo is posted on social media with a claim that it shows the Karnataka Youth Congress office inauguration. It is being shared widely with sarcastic comments as the leaders can be seen doing Islamic prayers in the photo. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of Congress leaders performing Islamic prayers at Karnataka Youth Congress office inauguration.
Fact: The photo is authentic, and it is true that Congress leaders performed Islamic prayers as shown in the photo. However, they have also performed other religious prayers too. A havan was also performed at the Congress Bhavan as Youth Congress leader Mohammed Haris Nalapad took charge as the KPYCC President. Only the photo of Muslim prayers is being shared selectively on social media to mock them. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When we searched for the posted photo on the internet, a similar photo was found to be tweeted by Mohammed Haris Nalapad and ‘IYC Karnataka’. So, the posted photo is authentic. However, in photos tweeted by them, it can be seen that other religious prayers were performed as well.
ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಭವನದಲ್ಲಿನ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಪ್ರದೇಶ ಯುವ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್‌ನ ಕಚೇರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇಂದು ಪೂಜೆ ಹಾಗೂ ಪ್ರಾರ್ಥನೆ ಸಲ್ಲಿಸಲಾಯಿತು. ಈ ವೇಳೆ ಶಾಸಕರಾದ ಶ್ರೀ @mlanaharis ಹಾಗೂ  ಹಿರಿಯ ನಾಯಕರಾದ ನನ್ನ ತಾತ ಶ್ರೀ ಎನ್.ಎ. ಮೊಹಮ್ಮದ್ ರವರು ಸೇರಿದಂತೆ ಹಲವು ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ನಾಯಕರು ಉಪಸ್ಥಿತರಿದ್ದರು. pic.twitter.com/5Qkjk38q9Z
In ‘The New Indian Express’ article, it can be read that a havan was also performed at the Congress Bhavan as Youth Congress leader Mohammed Haris Nalapad took charge as KPYCC President. According to the ‘Deccan Herald’ article, Nalapad ‘inaugurated his office with rituals as per Hindu, Muslim and Christian customs’. The videos related to the event can be watched here, here, and here.
To sum it up, the new KPYCC President Nalapad took charge by performing prayers of various religions, not just Islam.

created: February 1, 2022


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The New York Times did not call Narendra Modi the ‘Last, Best Hope of Earth’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 27, 2021
An image of a lead article on the front page of New York Times is being widely shared on social media through a post which claims that Narendra Modi is the ‘Last, Best Hope Of Earth.’ The article carries the headline, ‘Last, Best Hope of Earth’, followed by a sub-title which reads, ‘World’s most loved and most powerful leader, is here to bless us.’ Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: The New York Times calls PM Modi as the ‘Last, Best Hope Of Earth’.
Fact: There is no lead article on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the front page of the New York Times’ Sunday edition (26 September 2021). The actual front page of the Sunday edition of the New York Times is different and had been morphed to include the supposed article. ‘Last Best Hope of Earth’ is a phrase made popular by Abraham Lincoln, which he made in reference to the United States of America, Freedom and Democracy during the Civil War in 1862. There are no recent news articles in the New York Times which call PM Modi as the ‘Last, Best Hope Of Earth’. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
There is no lead article on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the front page of the New York Times’ Sunday edition (26 September 2021). The actual front page of the Sunday edition of the New York Times can be seen here. There are no recent news articles in the New York Times which call PM Modi as the ‘Last, Best Hope of Earth’.
When one looks at the image in the post closely, the spelling of the month of September is wrong. It is written in the image as, “SETPEMBER.” The ‘Volume No.’ and the ‘cost’ of the newspaper are different in the image when compared to the actual Sunday edition of NYT.
The sentences used in the supposed article are unlike what is used by the New York Times. The caption below the image reads, “His highness, Modiji is signing on a blank a4 paper to bless our country…har har modi.”
The font used in the image is also different and unlike the recent editions of New York Times. The font used in the caption under Modi’s image is different when compared to the font used in the caption of the image used in actual Sunday edition.
When reverse image search is done on the image of PM Modi in the post, several articles (here and here) were found with the same image. This image of PM Modi was captured on 12 March 2021 while the Prime Minister was signing the visitor’s book at Sabarmati Ashram, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
‘Last Best Hope of Earth’ is a phrase made popular by Abraham Lincoln, which he made in reference to the United States of America, Freedom and Democracy during the Civil War. On 01 December 1862, Abraham Lincoln submitted his second Annual message to Congress, in which, he used this sentence. “In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free – honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth.”
‘The New York Times’ through a tweet on 29 September 2021 has also clarified that the image shared in the post is completely fabricated.
This is a completely fabricated image, one of many in circulation featuring Prime Minister Modi. All of our factual reporting on Narendra Modi can be found at:https://t.co/ShYn4qW4nT pic.twitter.com/gsY7AlNFna
To sum it up, ‘The New York Times’ did not call Narendra Modi the ‘Last, Best Hope of Earth’, the photo shared in the post is digitally created.
Update (SEPTEMBER 29, 2021):
This article has been updated to include the clarification tweet from ‘The New York Times’.

source: news-factly

created: September 27, 2021

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

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


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‘The New York Times’ did not recently publish any article mocking PM Modi; this viral newspaper clip is fake - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 20, 2024
Several posts (here, here, and here) featuring an alleged image of ‘The New York Times newspaper’ mocking Indian Prime Minister Modi are widely circulated across social media platforms. The claim accompanying these posts is that The New York Times, published this article. The image depicts a person sitting on a throne without clothes, with an objectionable comment in English about PM Narendra Modi next to it, referencing Electoral Bonds, the Supreme Court, and SBI. In this article, let’s fact-check the image shared in the posts.
Claim: Image of the ‘The New York Times’ article mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Supreme Court judgment on Electoral Bonds.
Fact: ‘The New York Times’ did not recently publish any article mocking PM Modi. This is an edited image of ‘The New York Times’ newspaper clip created by a X(Twitter) user @EducatedBilla using MS Paintbrush to satirically suggest that the international media is mocking PM Modi following the disclosure of Electoral bonds data by SBI. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
After examining the newspaper clip shared in the viral posts, we discovered that the words ‘Satire Edition’ are written at the top, above the name of the newspaper, and ‘Reported By- @EducatedBilla’ is written at the bottom. Additionally, in some of the posts, there is a Hindi article accompanying this image supposedly mocking PM Modi. Further, there is no proper format and proportion of fonts and images. It became evident from this analysis that this newspaper clip is fake.
We then discovered that ‘@EducatedBilla’ had shared this fake newspaper clip on 15 March 2024 on X(Twitter) (Archived link). In response to a comment on this post, he stated that it is satire and that he created it himself using MS Paintbrush.
#GodiMedia Should Learn from
The "New York Times"
How to do journalism on Important Issues like#ElectoralBondsCase #ElectoralBondScam #PMCaresFund #चंदा_चोर_मोदी #VasoolRajaModi
Kudos #cjichandrachud pic.twitter.com/6isWCv5nMi
Furthermore, we visited ‘The New York Times’ website and located the front page of the 15 March 2024 edition. We discovered that this original article is entirely different from the viral newspaper clip. There was no such picture or report mocking PM Modi. From all this information, it is evident that ‘The New York Times’ did not publish any article mocking PM Modi. Below, you can see the comparison between the viral and genuine newspaper clips.
To sum it up, ‘The New York Times’ did not recently publish any article mocking PM Modi. This viral newspaper clip is fake.


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The news of a Woman giving birth to 17 babies in a single delivery is fake - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 24, 2019
Update (20 January 2023):Another post sharing an image claims that a woman in Mexico is pregnant with 13 babies. However, as explained below, the image is a morphed one and the original version of the photo can be found on ‘deviantart.com’ website. The news about a Mexican women being pregnant with 13 babies is reported by a few media outlets in June 2022, but there are no further reports to confirm if a woman in Mexico indeed deliver 13 babies
A Facebook post with the pictures of a pregnant woman and a person with many kids has gone viral in the past few days. In the post it is alleged – “Catherine Bridge holds the World Record for the most babies in a lone pregnancy by giving birth to 17 babies. Catherine Bridge gave birth to 17 beautiful and identical boys.Catherine and her husband choose the names for the boys with an obvious continuity of thought: James, Jacob, Jarod, Jarvis, Jason, Jeffrey, Jeremy, Jerome, Jesse, Jimmy, Joachim, Jonathan, Jonas, Joseph, Julian, Jimbo and surprisingly, Darth.What will you do if such blessing of 17 boys comes your way?”.  Let’s try to check the veracity of the claims made in the post
An American woman, Catherine Bridge has set a world record by giving birth to 17 babies in a single delivery
Fact: The news that Catherine Bridge has given birth to 17 children in a single delivery was published by an American ‘satirical’ website “World News Daily Report”. Hence, the claims made in the post is FALSE.
When Googled about information regarding the above claim, it was found that such news was first published by an American satirical website “World News Daily Report (WNDR)”.
Later on, “Women Daily Magazine” has clarified in an article that, ‘a woman giving birth to 17 children in a single delivery’ is a fictional article written by WNDR.
A few netizens are enclosing two morephotos in addition to the one in the article of WNDR (babies in blue dress) andare spreading this misinformation.
When the image of the pregnant woman was searched through TinEye Reverse Image Search technique, it was found that the photo is a photoshopped one. In ‘deviantart.com’, the source image and the edited image were found.
When the image of a person holding babies was searched using Google Reverse Image search technique, it was found in an article of “Huff Post’. Based on the article, the man holding the babies was American Obstetrician ‘Dr. Robert Biter’.
As per the Guinness World Records, the most number of babies born in a lone delivery is eight.  To summarise, the news of a woman giving birth to 17 babies in a lone delivery is fake
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The news of Petrol Pumps in Wayanad refusing fuel to Indian Army during rescue operations is False - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 18, 2019
An image claiming that petrol pumps in Wayanad, Kerala refused fuel to Indian Army who were there for rescue operations during recent Floods in Kerala has gone viral on several social media platforms. The content in the image goes on to say that the army seized the petrol pumps with the special powers they have for disaster management and left after fueling their vehicles. Let’s verify the authenticity of these claims.
Petrol pumps in Wayanad refuse fuel to Indian Army for rescue operations during Kerala Floods.
Fact Petrol pumps in Wayanad did not refuse fuel to Indian Army during rescue operations recently. Both the Wayanad collector and Sulthan Bathery Bharat Petroleum office have termed this as Fake News. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
It can be noted from the posts that the news is picked up from keralakaumudi.com website. When searched for the news on this website, it can be found that the post has be updated with comments from an empolyee of Sulthan Bathery petrol pump and the Sulthan Bathery police. The employee said that the army had not approached them for fuel and as transportation was disrupted, the stock was over by afternoon. Sulthan Bathery police said that they have not received any complaint against the petrol pumps.
When Factly contacted the District Collector’s office of Wayanad and the Bharat Petroleum office of Sulthan Bathery to check the authenticity of the claims going viral on social media, both termed the news of petrol pumps refusing fuel to Indian Army as fake.
Wayanad District Petrol Dealers Association had also filed a complaint with the Kerala government and the district police regarding this false news. A copy of the complaint can found in this article.
Finally, there is no truth in the claim that petrol pumps in Wayanad refused fuel to Indian Army during rescue operations in Kerala.
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The news regarding toll exemption at toll booth when you come back in 12 hours is fake - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 24, 2022
Update (24 August 2022):PIB through a tweet has clarified that no order has been issued by Union Minister, Nitin Gadkari that states one need not have to pay any toll tax on return journey if they return within 12 hours.
एक सोशल मीडिया पोस्ट में यह फर्जी दावा किया जा रहा है कि केंद्रीय मंत्री @nitin_gadkari के आदेशानुसार अगर आप अपनी यात्रा के दौरान 12 घंटे में वापस आ सकते हैं तो आपको रिटर्न जर्नी का कोई टोल टैक्स नहीं देना होगा #PIBFactCheck
▶ @MORTHIndia द्वारा यह आदेश जारी नहीं किया गया है pic.twitter.com/2vJGpdrJYB
Published (25 March 2019):
A post is being shared on Facebook by many users claiming that there would be toll exemption at toll booth for vehicular users if they return in 12 hours. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
The archived version of the post can be found here.
Vehicular users would be exempted from paying toll charges at toll booths if they return in 12 hours.
There is neither an official letter from National Highways Authority of India(NHAI) nor any mention by Minister of Road Transport & Highways Sri Nitin Gadkari anywhere regarding the exemption from paying toll charges if the vehicular users return in 12 hours. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When searched in the National Highways Authority of India website there is no letter issued by it regarding the toll exemption for vehicular users if they return in 12 hours. The message seemed to be on the name of Sri Nitin Gadkari, but there was no mention of such a thing in media or any other social media platforms by him regarding the claim. It was also found that such the message has been in circulation on Whatsapp and Facebook since the past 2 years. Last year when the same message went viral, India today has communicated with Sri Nitin Gadkari’s office, which outrightly denied the existence of any such order or statement.
Finally, the news regarding toll exemption at tollbooth when you come back in 12 hours is false.


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The news regarding torching of a Muslim boy for not chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' in Chandauli is fake - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 30, 2019
“Teenager_Refuses_To_Chant_Jai_Shri_Ram_Set_Ablaze_In_UP. Innocent Muslim burnt alive in UP. A 15-year-old Muslim boy was set on fire by four people in Chandauli district” claims a Facebook post that enclosed a video showing a man with burnt injuries in it. Let’s try to verify the authenticity of the claim made in the post.
In U.P.’s Chandauli district, a 15-year-old Muslim boy was set on fire by four people for not chanting ‘Jai Shree Ram’.
Fact: The Uttar Pradesh Police have investigated the incident and found the version alleged by the boy and his family as baseless, fabricated and malicious. They said that the boy has set himself ablaze with fire. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When one goes through the comments section of the Facebook post, a certain user termed the news as ‘fake’ by enclosing a screenshot of ‘ANI News’ tweet that reported about the incident.
From the information available from the screenshot, when performed Twitter Advanced Search in ‘ANI News’ Twitter account, that particular tweet was found. In its tweet, ‘ANI News’ has written- “Chandauli: Family of a 17-yr-old boy, Khalid, alleged he was set ablaze by some people when he refused to chant ‘Jai Sri Ram’.SP Chandauli says that boy has given different statements which were found to be false in investigation, eye witness saw him setting himself ablaze”.
Chandauli: Family of a 17-yr-old boy, Khalid, alleged he was set ablaze by some people when he refused to chant ‘Jai Sri Ram’.SP Chandauli says that boy has given different statements which were found to be false in investigation, eye witness saw him setting himself ablaze.(28.7) pic.twitter.com/KpfaepUGBj
The U.P. police after their investigation of the incident have also tweeted regarding the incident. In that tweer, they uploaded the video of S.P. speaking about the incident and have written- “We have come across news regarding torching of a Muslim boy for not chanting religious slogans in Chandauli. The incident was investigated & found to be baseless,fabricated & malicious. Legal action shall b taken against rumour mongers on#SocialMedia. SP chandauli Santosh k Singh”.
We have come across news regarding torching of a Muslim boy for not chanting religious slogans in Chandauli. The incident was investigated & found to be baseless,fabricated & malicious. Legal action shal b taken against rumour mongers on #SocialMedia. SP chandauli Santosh k Singh https://t.co/p8EUQKUBGV pic.twitter.com/resZ7QYy6B
Many news channels have reported about the incident on their websites and Twitter accounts as per the statements of the injured man and his family members. But later on, knowing the truth of the incident, they have corrected themselves.
To conclude, the news regarding the torching of a Muslim boy for not chanting Jai Shri Ram in Chandauli isn’t true.
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The news regarding UPSC cancelling examinations is false - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 16, 2020
A piece of news is being shared widely on social with a claim that UPSC has cancelled the examinations due to COVID-19 outbreak. FACTLY has found that UPSC has not cancelled any examination. It issued a press release on 15 April 2020 clarifying the status of various examinations conducted by it. There was no mention of cancelling any examination in the press release. Also, as the news went viral, the Press Information Bureau has clarified that the news is false and any rescheduling, if necessary, will be notified on the UPSC website.
Sources:
Claim – Facebook post (archived)
Fact –
1. UPSC Press Release – https://www.upsc.gov.in/sites/default/files/press_release_april_15_2020.pdf
2. PIB Maharashtra tweet – https://twitter.com/PIBMumbai/status/1250782647288127489
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The news that the newly appointed TTD Chairman YV Subba Reddy is a converted Christian is fake - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 18, 2019
On Facebook, a few users made posts questioning the religion of the newly appointed TTD Chairman YV Subba Reddy. In it, they are even alleging that his full name is Yehova Vincent Subba Reddy and he is a Christian evangelist. Let’s try to check the veracity of the claims made in the post.
The newly appointed TTD Chairman YV Reddy is a converted Christian and his full name is Yehova Vincent Subba Reddy (YV Subba Reddy).
Fact:  YV Reddy himself has stated in an interview to a newspaper that he has been Hindu by religion right from his birth. And also, the full name of YV Subba Reddy is Yarram Venkata Subba Reddy and not Yehova Vincent Subba Reddy as alleged in the post. Hence, the claims made in the post are FALSE.
Ever since YV Subba Reddy, a close relative of YS Jagan, has been appointed as the new Chairman of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams(TTD) Board, the rumour that YV Subba Reddy is also a converted Christian and is a Christian evangelist is doing rounds in social media. YV Subba Reddy in an interview to a news channel has clearly stated that he has been a ‘Hindu’ right from his birth. Recently, in a tweet, he has also enclosed a newspaper clip of an interview about his religious status to a newspaper agency.
pic.twitter.com/js6GyfRwCg
YV Reddy was an Ex-MP from Ongole Constituency in 2014. In his election affidavit filed in 2014 with the Election Commission of India, it can be found from it that his full name is Yarram Venkata Subba Reddy.
To sum it up, the newly appointed TTD Chairman YV Subba Reddy is a Hindu by religion and his full name is Yarram Venkata Subba Reddy.
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The newspaper article clip that claims Modi is the son of Asaram Bapu is Fake - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 7, 2019
Many Facebook users are sharing a  post that has a newspaper clip which claims that Narendra Modi is the son of Asaram Bapu. Let’s try to analyze the authenticity of the newspaper clip.
Modi is the son of Asaram Bapu
Fact: No such newspaper article claiming Modi as the son of Asaram Bapu was found. It is a digitally created one. Hence, the claim made is FALSE.
When googled for any news regarding “Modi is Asaram’s son”, no information is found either in the print or the broadcasting media. In the newspaper clip, it was mentioned that Dr. Martin Sijo held a press conference and revealed shocking facts about the identity of Modi’s father. As Modi is the Prime Minister of a country, no such conference goes unnoticed without any media coverage. In the post, it is also said that Dr. Martin Sijo is an American DNA expert, but no search results were found with his name. So, the newspaper clip in the Facebook post is a fake one.
Earlier this year, a similar newspaper clip was in circulation with similar claims on Rahul Gandhi, which was later on proved to be false. So, this newspaper clip on Rahul Gandhi is now edited and circulated in the name of Narendra Modi.
Hence, the newspaper article clip claiming Modi as the son of Asaram Bapu is a fake one.


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The Nirbhaya Helpline number ‘9833312222’ service was discontinued in 2018 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 30, 2019
A message that informs women to contact the Nirbhaya Helpline number ‘9833312222’ in case of emergency is doing the rounds widely on social media in the aftermath of the gruesome rape & murder of a veterinary doctor in Hyderabad. Let’s check to what extent the message is true.
‘9833312222’ is the Helpline number for women safety during an emergency.
Fact: The Nirbhaya Helpline number ‘9833312222’ was started by the Mumbai Railway Police in 2015 for the safety of women travelling on the city’s trains. And, the helpline has been discontinued in February- 2018. So, the claim is FALSE.
When searched on Google with the text ‘nirbhaya helpline number 9833312222’, many search results of it were obtained. A link among them had the information that the Nirbhaya Helpline number ‘9833312222’ was started by Mumbai Railway Police for the safety of Mumbai women. When searched on Google with this information, an article of ‘Mumbai Mirror’ was found. The information in the article corroborated that, in 2015, the Mumbai Railway Police started the Nirbhaya Helpline number ‘9833312222’ for the safety of women travelling on the city’s trains.
When searched if the Nirbhaya Helpline service is still operational, a search result indicated that the Mumbai railway police had closed the helpline number in 2018. That webpage is not currently functional, but the same can be noticed in their archived version.
To conclude, the Nirbhaya helpline number ‘9833312222’ was started by the Mumbai Railway Police in 2015 for the safety of women travelling on the city’s trains. Its services were discontinued in 2018.
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created: November 30, 2019


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The NOTA story of 2018 Karnataka elections
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 16, 2018
Ever since the ‘None of the Above (NOTA)’ symbol was introduced on the EVMs in 2015, there is considerable interest on the number of votes polled for NOTA in every election. In the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections, NOTA polled only 0.9% of the total vote and NOTA count was more than the victory margin in only few constituencies.
The 2018 Karnataka elections resulted in a hung assembly with BJP emerging as the single largest party and Congress winning the popular vote. Here is a compilation of some important highlights of the election results.
JD(S) was in fray in only about 70 seats
Though the JD(S) has emerged as the king maker in this election, it was seriously in contention only in about 70 odd constituencies, concentrated around the Old Mysuru region. The BJP won 104 seats and stood 2nd in 66 constituencies while the Congress won 78 seats and stood 2nd in 112 constituencies. The JD(S) on the other hand won 37 seats and stood 2nd in only 36 constituencies.
BJP won more than 70% of the seats by a margin of more than 10000 votes
In terms of margin, a total of five (5) seats were won with a margin of less than 1000 votes. Four of these were won by the Congress and the remaining by the BJP. The lowest victory margin was 213 votes in Maski. Further, a total of 13 seats were won with a margin of less than 2500 votes. Out of these, Congress won 9, BJP won 2 and the JD(S) won the remaining two. BJP won more than 70% of the seats with a margin of more than 10000 votes. In fact, of all the seats where the victory margin was more than 10000 and more than 25000 votes respectively, BJP won more than 50%.
More than 150 seats were won with a margin of more than 5%
Karnataka 2018 was not one of those closely fought elections in terms of victory margin. If one looks at the victory margin in terms of percentage of votes polled, in only 5 constituencies, the victory margin was less than 1% of the votes polled. In 13 other constituencies, the margin was between 1% & 2% while in 44 constituencies, the margin was between 2% & 5%. The margin was more than 20% of the votes polled in 31 constituencies and more than 30% in eight constituencies. Overall, the margin was more than 5% in 160 constituencies. The greatest victory margin in terms of percentage of votes polled was in Pulakeshinagar where the Congress candidate won by a whopping margin of 64.6% of the votes polled. This is the greatest margin even in terms of the absolute votes (majority of more than 80000 votes).
NOTA polled only 0.9% vote
NOTA accounted for just over 3 lakh votes in this election which is 0.9% of the total votes polled. The 0.9% for NOTA in the 2018 Karnataka election is on the lower side when compared to the votes polled for NOTA in other state elections. For instance, NOTA polled 1.8% of the votes in Gujarat (2017). 2.5% in Bihar (2015) and 1.52% in West Bengal (2016).
NOTA polled the highest in Bangalore South constituency.  Here, NOTA polled 15829 votes and was in the 4th place after the three major parties. In 28 other constituencies, NOTA polled more than 2000 votes. Majority of these constituencies are in the urban areas.
NOTA count more than victory margin in Seven constituencies
The votes polled for NOTA was more than the victory margin only in seven constituencies of which six were won by the Congress. These include Aland, Badami, Gadag, Hirekerur, Kungdol, Maski and Pavagada. Badami is where the former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah contested from and won. This number in Karnataka is less than what it was in other state elections. In Gujarat 2017, there were 30 constituencies where the NOTA count was more than the victory margin. In Bihar 2015, this happened in 21 constituencies and in the 2016 elections to West Bengal & Tamil Nadu, this happened in 24 constituencies in each of the states.


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The notice asking people to restrain from sharing political posts is not issued by the government - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 27, 2019
A video is being shared by many Facebook users which run with a narration that Government of India’s Crime Prevention Council of India has issued a notice asking people to restrain themselves from sharing political posts on any social media platform ahead of the 2019 General elections. Let’s try to analyze the authenticity of the notice and claims made in the video.
The archived version of the post can be found here.
Indian government’s affiliate, Crime Prevention Council of India has released a notice asking online users to abstain from posting political propaganda content before the elections 2019.
The notice is issued by the Crime Prevention Council of India, an NGO that works towards reducing crime in the country through awareness programs and workshops. The government of India has nothing to do with it. Hence the claims made in the video are quite MISLEADING.
The name of the organisation ‘Crime Prevention Control of India’ might make one think that it is affiliated to the government but it is actually the name of an NGO. When visited the website address in the notice “cpcindiaonline.com”, a letter addressing this issue was found in the ‘News and Events’ section. In the letter, its Chairman S K Pandey has clearly mentioned that CPCI is an NGO that works towards reducing crime in the country. He further went on to clarify that the notice with reference no. 0322 was not issued by the organisation but by a faulting officer Narendra Singh, who had been sacked for doing so.
Lastly, the notice is not issued by any affiliated organisation of the government of India but it’s from an NGO.


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National Creche Scheme - Number of creches down by 60% in 5 years
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 6, 2020
The National Creche Scheme was formulated to serve an important need of the working mothers from poor & low-income families. Because of change in the scheme pattern and the consequent changes in funding pattern, the number of operational creches in the country has fallen by more than 60% in 5 years.
With the objective to empower women by providing day-care facilities to their children, the Indian Government implements National Creche Scheme across the country. Through the scheme, not only does the government aims to provide a safe place for the mothers to leave their wards while they are off at work, but also attempts to improve the health of children while promoting holistic development of children. The scheme serves an important need of working mothers from poor & low-income families.
This story takes alook at the evolution of the National
Creche Scheme and why the numbers fellover the years.
National Creche Scheme is the continuation of
erstwhile Rajiv Gandhi National Creche Scheme launched in 2006
Named after theformer Prime Minister of India, Rajiv
Gandhi National Creche Scheme was launched on 01 January 2006, to provide day-care facilities to children ofworking women and other deserving women based on their net annual income.Children aged between 6 months to 6 years are nurtured here.  The central sector scheme was later revised andmade a centrally sponsored scheme called National Creche Scheme in 2017. Thescheme now falls under the umbrella of Integrated Child
Development Services under the Ministry of Women and
Child Development.
The facilities are provided for seven and a half hours each day for 26 days a month.
In addition to daycare facilities, nutrition, health and education are also looked into
Under this scheme, daycare facilities, including facilities to sleep are provided to children. In order to optimize cognitive, physical, emotional, and social skills for the holistic development of the child, for children below three years of age, early stimulation programs are also implemented. For those children above three years of age, pre-school education is provided.
In addition tothis, to provide nutrition and improve their health, the government alsoprovides locally sourced supplementary nutrition to the kids. Regular healthcheck-ups and immunization (such as polio vaccines) are also a part of thescheme. Further, educational programs are to be conducted to educate parentsabout childcare.
Funding structure was revised in 2017
The current funding
structure of the scheme is split among theCentral government, State governments and Non-Governmental Organisations orVoluntary Organisations.
Who can avail facilities under this scheme?
The children ofthose women who are employed for a minimum period of fifteen days in a month orsix months in a year, from both rural and urban areas are eligible to avail thefacilities under the scheme. A nominal
fee of Rs. 20 per child per month iscollected from BPL families. In case of families with a total income up to Rs.12,000 (both parents), Rs. 100 is collected per month per child. For familieswith income greater than Rs. 12,000 a fee of Rs.200 per month is collected foreach child.
Government has fixed honorarium for those employed in
creches
It is mandatoryfor each crèche to have at least one crèche worker and a helper. An ex-gratiapayment of Rs. 3000 is given to the crèche worker every month. The helper ispaid Rs. 1500 per month. An annual provision of Rs. 2000 is also allocated forthe Pre School Education Kit. Every day, each child’s nutrition supplement isallocated Rs.12 for the 26 days a month.
7930 creches are functional under the scheme across
the country
As on 03 June2019, a total of 7930 functional creches were operating under the scheme. Inthe Himalayan and North Eastern states, there were 3024 functionalcreches.  A total of 4672 were operatingin other states. UTs accounted for the remaining 234 creches.
West Bengalreported the maximum with 770 creches followed by Maharashtra with 757 creches.Tamil Nadu and Karnataka reported 611 each. The states of Bihar, Jharkhand,Odisha, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh did not report any functional crèche.
Among the Himalayan and North Eastern states, Jammu and Kashmir had the highest number of creches (670), followed by Assam (640) and Manipur (533). In the case of Union Territories, Puducherry had 104 functional creches under the scheme and Delhi reported 85 creches.
Huge difference between data shared by the government
in 2015 & 2017
Under the erstwhile Rajiv
Gandhi National Creche Scheme,a total of 23,588 creches were operating covering over 5.9 Lakh children. Ofthese, more than 15,000 creches which covered more than 3.78 Lakh children wereoperating in rural areas. This information was provided in response to aquestion in the Lok Sabha 2015. However, this number is down to 7930 as per the information
provided by the ministry in 2017. Reasons formore than 60% drop in the number of creches are known.
Number of creches under the scheme has declined over
the years
As per the dataprovided by the Ministry
of Woman and Child Development in 2017 in Lok Sabha, it was observed that the number of creches under the scheme decreasedfrom 2013-14.  This set of data is alsodifferent from the data shared in response to another question as notedearlier. Despite such variance in data, the drop in the number of operationalcreches is clearly observed.
The number ofbeneficiaries has also dropped owing to the decrease in the number ofoperational creches. From 4.74 lakh beneficiaries in 2013-14, the number ofbeneficiaries came down to 4.46 lakhs in 2014-15, 4.2 lakhs in 2015-16 and 2.9Lakhs in 2016-17.
The revamped scheme is now implemented through the
State Governments since 2017
From the year 2017,following the change in scheme, the government is implementing the schemethrough the state
governments. The reason for thedecline in number of creches could be because of the change in funding pattern.Earlier the central government took care of 90% of the expenses but now it hasbeen reduced to 60%.
Owing to thedecline in the number of operational creches, the budget allocation to thescheme has also reduced over the years.
Change
in scheme guidelines & visible lack of awareness leading to reduced uptake
The scheme serves an important need for working mothers from poor & low-income families. The scheme if implemented properly could also encourage greater participation of women in the workforce. But two broad issues seem to be affecting the implementation on the ground.
Firstly, since the scheme was modified from being a central sector scheme with 90% central funding to a centrally sponsored scheme with 60% central funding, state governments do not seem to be showing the same level of interest in implementing the scheme. Secondly, the list along with the address of such creches in various parts of the country is not available in the public domain. Such lack of publicity seems to be affecting the beneficiary numbers as well.
Featured Image: National Creche Scheme

created: January 6, 2020


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The numbers in the post comparing terrorist activities during the UPA and NDA governments are Wrong - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 23, 2019
A Facebook post with an image containing total incidents of terrorist attacks, soldiers killed, civilians killed and line of control violations are being widely shared on Facebook. Let’s try to verify the facts behind the statistics in the post.
Total terrorist attacks under UPA & NDA govt. are 109 & 626
Fact: Total terror related incidents under UPA & NDA govt. are 9739  & 1219. So, the claim is FALSE.
According to the  2004-05  & 2013-14   annual reports of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the total terrorist attacks (terror related incidents) under the UPA government between 2004-2014 are 9739. And the total terrorist attacks (terror related incidents) under NDA government between 2014-2018 are 1219, of these 1213 have occurred in Jammu & Kashmir. So, the total number of terrorist attacks (terror related incidents) under the UPA govt. are more than that of NDA govt.
Claim 2: Total soldiers killed under UPA & NDA govt. are 139 & 483
Fact: Total soldiers killed under UPA & NDA govt. are 1059 & 813.So the claim is FALSE.
A total of 1059 security personnel died under the UPA government in 10 years, according to 2004-05  & 2013-14   annual reports of Ministry of Home Affairs, whereas a total of 813 security personnel died under the NDA government in 4 years, according to a Lok Sabha answer. So, the numbers given in the post are wrong.
Claim 3: Total civilians killed under UPA & NDA govt. are 12 & 210
Fact: Total civilians killed under UPA & NDA govt. are  2081 & 1482. So the claim is FALSE
A total of 2081 civilians were killed under the UPA government in 10 years, according to 2004-05  & 2013-14   annual reports of Ministry of Home Affairs, whereas a total of 1482 civilians were killed under the NDA government in 4 years, according to a Lok Sabha answer. So, numbers mentioned in the post are wrong.
Claim 4: Total Line of control violations under UPA & NDA govt. are 563 & 5596
Fact: Total Line of control violations under UPA & NDA govt. are 517  & 2847. So the claim is FALSE
A total of 517 Line of Control violations occurred under the UPA government between 2004-2013, whereas a total of 2847 Line of control violations occurred under the NDA government in 4 years, according to the South Asian Terrorism Portal SATP . So, even here, the numbers mentioned in the post are wrong.
Finally, thenumbers in the post comparing terrorist activities during the UPA and NDAgovernments are fake.


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The objects in this photo are 19th-century male anti-masturbation devices - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 17, 2022
A photo with some wearable armour guards is being shared on social media with a claim that Islamic jihadis wear them before blowing themselves up. It is being claimed in the post that they wear these guards to “protect their penises for the 72 virgins Allah provides for them in his Islamic paradise”. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of armour guards worn by Islamic jihadis before blowing themselves up to protect their penises.
Fact: The objects in the posted photo are not armour guards worn by Islamic jihadis before blowing themselves up to protect their penises. They are 19th-century male anti-masturbation devices. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the photo is cropped and run through Google Reverse Image Search, the details regarding each object in the photo was found in the search results. The first object can be found on the ‘Shutterstock’ website with the following description – “19th-century anti-masturbation device….”. More details regarding the Victorian anti-masturbation devices can be seen here.
The other two objects in the posted photo were also found on different websites with similar descriptions. They can be seen here and here.
To sum it up, the objects in this photo are 19th-century male anti-masturbation devices.


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The Old Oxford Dictionary did not define people of India as ‘Old-fashioned people, criminals, and stupid.’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 6, 2023
A post is being shared on social media, which claims that the old Oxford Dictionary mentioned the meaning of the word Indian as Old-fashioned people, criminals, and stupid people on page number 789. The post also claims that the dictionary changed the meaning of India to Bharat when the British gave this name to India.  Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: The old Oxford Dictionary mentioned the meaning of the word Indian as Old-fashioned people, criminals, and stupid people.
Fact: The word India was not found on page number 789 in the Oxford Dictionary of the year 1934. However, page 580 defines the term India as a country of South Asia east of the river Indus and south of the Himalayas. The word India in fact is derived from the name of an ancient river Indus or Sindhu in Sanskrit and was mentioned in Greek and Roman writings. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
When we searched for the 1900s edition of the Oxford Dictionary using relevant keywords, we found the publication of the Oxford Dictionary of the year 1934. The word India was not found on page number 789. However, page 580 defines the term India as a country of South Asia east of the river Indus and south of the Himalayas.
On subsequent search of the meaning of the term India in Oxford online dictionary website, we found that the word India is defined as ‘a country in South Asia that used to be a part of the British empire. It became independent and a member of the Commonwealth in 1947.’
Whereas, the term Indian is defined as (old-fashioned, sometimes offensive) a member of one of the indigenous (= original) peoples of America, especially North America. However, the website clearly mentions Native American as a synonym for the term Indian.
The post further claims that ‘the British gave the name India.’ The word India in fact is derived from the name of an ancient river Indus or Sindu in Sanskrit. The origin of the term India can be traced back to ancient Greek and Roman writings such as Herodotus who referred to the land east of the Indus River as India.
According to an article by The Hindu titled Herodotus’s Histories is probably the first text to refer to Indians by that name, as‘Indon, Herodotus used the word Indians (Indon in Greek) in his work Histories many centuries before we called our land India. He describes India’s geographical location, people, customs, and their wealth
To sum up, the old Oxford Dictionary did not define people of India as ‘Old-fashioned people, criminals, and stupid.’

created: September 6, 2023


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The original video is slowed down to falsely portray that PM Modi is drunk - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 6, 2022
A video is being shared widely on social media with a claim that it shows PM Modi talking to media in a drunken state. In the comments, it can be seen that many users point out that PM Modi is drunk. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of PM Modi talking to media in a drunken state.
Fact: The posted video is a tweaked version of the original video posted by ‘The Lallantop’. The original version has been slowed down to falsely portray as if PM Modi is drunk. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched for the video on the internet, similar videos were found to be posted by many social media users and opposition party members mocking PM Modi for his ‘Oh my god’ comment in the video. The video was taken during PM Modi’s recent visit to Germany. However, he does not appear to be drunk in those videos. The posted video was found to be a tweaked version of the original video posted by ‘The Lallantop’ on their YouTube channel. The original version has been slowed down to falsely portray that PM Modi is drunk.
It can be seen that the original clip is around 19 seconds whereas the posted video is 26 seconds. So, it can be concluded that the posted video has been tweaked.
To sum it up, the original video is slowed down to falsely portray that PM Modi is drunk.


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The obese person playing with the ball in the video is not the real Diego Maradona. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 3, 2020
A video of an obese man playing with a ball is being shared on social media with a claim that the man in the video is Diego Maradona, the former Argentina football player who is considered as one of the greatest footballers of all time. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post
Video of an obese Diego Maradona playing with the ball.
Fact: The man in the video is not Diego Maradona. It is Roly Serrano who played the character of Diego Maradona in the Italian movie – ‘Youth’, which was released in 2015. The clip is also from the movie. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When screenshots of the video were run through Google Reverse Image Search, a similar video was found in the search results. It was posted in 2015 with the title – ‘Youth (2015) dir: Paolo Sorrentino’. The ‘Youth’ is an Italian movie which was directed by Paolo Sorrentino and was released in 2015.
When searched with the keywords, an extended version of the same video was found on YouTube with the title – ‘Maradona PELICULA Juventud played by Roly Serrano HD’ (translated in English). So, when searched for the character of Roly Serrano in the ‘Youth’ movie, it was found that he played the character of Diego Maradona and the posted video is related to the movie. The interview of Roly Serrano regarding his character (as Maradona) in the movie can be watched here.
To sum it up, the obese person kicking the ball in the video is not the real Diego Maradona. It is Roly Serrano playing the character of Diego Maradona in an Italian movie.
Did you watch our new video?


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These social media posts on free giveaways of damaged goods for commenting below them are fake - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 14, 2023
Update (14 March 2023):
Sharing a picture of American television host Oprah Winfrey with her partner Stedman Graham, a post is being circulated on social media claiming that the couple is giving away 300 Honda civic cars that could not be sold because of minor scratches and damages. The post asks users to write “Done” in the comment section to grab Oprah’s free car giveaway. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Oprah Winfrey and her partner Stedman Graham announced that they are donating 300 Honda Civic cars.
Fact: Neither Oprah Winfrey nor her partner Stedman Graham made such an announcement of donating 300 Honda Civic cars to the people. In 2004, as part of the promotion of General Motors company’s Pontiac G6 car, Oprah Winfrey presented 276 brand new Pontiac G6 cars to the audience present in her show. Lately, Oprah Winfrey did not make any such announcement of a free-car giveaway. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
When we searched to check whether Oprah Winfrey or Stedman Graham had made any such announcement on donating minorly damaged 300 Honda Civic cars, we could not find any such announcements on the official social media handles of Oprah Winfrey and Stedman Graham. In 2004, as part of the promotion of General Motors company’s Pontiac G6 car, Oprah Winfrey presented 276 brand new Pontiac G6 cars to the audience in her show. Several news websites published articles about Oprah’s free car giveaway in 2004. The cars Oprah Winfrey gifted to the audience in her show were General Motor company’s Pontiac G6 and lately, she did not make any announcement about donating 300 Honda Civic cars.
Published (14 September 2022):
A post is being widely shared on social media claiming that the Palam Metro Station in New Delhi is donating 670 refrigerators and stoves that could not be sold because of minor scratches and other damages. Sharing a collage of images, this purported Facebook post of Palam Metro Station states, “We are happy to announce that we will be donating 670 refrigerators And stoves that cannot be sold due to minor scratches and minor damage, all machines are working, so we will randomly send to someone who wrote, “Done”. before September 24th.!!” Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: A Facebook post of Palam Metro Station announcing the donation of 670 refrigerators and stoves that could not be sold due to minor damages.
Fact: Neither the Palam Metro Station nor any of the Metro stations under the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation announced such a donation of minorly damaged refrigerators and ovens. The same message was shared by many other parody Facebook pages while attributing to different companies like Target, Walmart, Haier, and others. All these posts are shared as part of a survey scam to obtain the personal and sensitive details of users. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched to check whether the Palam Metro Station had announced any such donation of minorly damaged refrigerators and ovens to people, we could not find any credible reports confirming such an announcement from the Palam or any other metro stations under the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation did not publish any such tweet announcing the donation of 670 refrigerators and ovens. The purported post was published from a parody Facebook account of Palam Metro Station.
On searching for further details using keywords, we found that several Facebook fan pages with the names of Target Fans, Walmart Fans, Haier Fans, and Elektra Fans have shared the same messages attributing them to the respective companies. But we could not find any such announcements on the official social media handles of Target, Walmart, and other companies. Apart from asking the users to reply ‘Done’ in the comment section, these Facebook posts shared a link asking users to register their names.
On clicking the link, it led to a dubious website asking the users to register their name, mobile number, and e-mail address. A fan page named ‘Walmart Fans’ published another similar fake message announcing the donation of bicycles.
‘Snopes’ published a fact-check article related to these fake donation announcements attributed to different companies. ‘Snopes’ in its article confirmed that all these messages offering free refrigerators and ovens are part of a survey scam. A few e-commerce websites like Amazon and Walmart do provide gift cards as prizes for customers who complete online surveys about their shopping experience. But these companies never ask participants to provide sensitive personal data.
To sum it up, the Palam Metro Station in New Delhi did not make any announcement about the donation of minorly damaged refrigerators and ovens.


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The pastor in this photo is not the new State Election commissioner of Andhra Pradesh, Justice V. Kanagaraj - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 16, 2020
A photo of a pastor is being shared on Facebook with a claim that the person in the photo is the new State election commissioner of Andhra Pradesh, Justice V. Kanagaraj. Let’s verify the authenticity of the claim made in the post.
The new election commissioner of Andhra Pradesh, Justice V. Kanagaraj is a pastor.
Fact: The person in the photo is not the new state election commissioner of Andhra Pradesh, Justice V. Kanagaraj. The name of the pastor seen in the photo is ‘Rt. Rev. S. Edwin Jayakumar’. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the photo in the post was searched using Google reverse image technique, the search result showed that the person in the photo is ‘Bishop Edwin Jayakumar’. When other photos of Edwin Jayakumar were compared with the person in the posted photo, it was confirmed that the person in the photo is ‘Rt. Rev. S. Edwin Jayakumar’. The other photos of  Edwin Jayakumar can be seen here and here.
Also, the state election commission has reported to the police about the negative information that is spread about Justice V.Kanagaraj on social media. News articles about police filing a case on this issue can be read here.
To sum it up,  the pastor seen in the photo is not the new election commissioner of Andhra Pradesh, Justice V. Kanagaraj.
Did you watch our new video?


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The people caught by China SWAT team in this video don't have Coronavirus. It's a 'Mock drill' video - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 28, 2020
A video is being shared on Facebook with a claim that coronavirus patients in China are being caught on a highway by officials. Let’s try to analyze the authenticity of the claim made in the post.
Coronavirus patients in China are being caught by officials on a highway.
Fact: The video in the post is the video of a ‘Mock drill’. The China SWAT team in the video is ‘practising’ to deal with Coronavirus patients. ‘Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
In the video, it can be seen that the officials’ dress has ‘SWAT’ written on it. So, when searched on Google with the keywords ‘SWAT team Coronavirus’, a ‘Global News’ article with the same video was found. From the article, it is understood that the China SWAT team is practising to deal with Coronavirus patients. The same information is also found in a video from the ‘Telegraph’.
To summarize, a mock drill video is shared as the China SWAT team is catching Coronavirus patients on a highway.
Did you watch our new video in the DECODE series?

created: February 28, 2020


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The people dancing to the ‘Kacha Badam’ tune in this video are actors, not real Police - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 11, 2022
A video is being shared on social media with a claim that it shows cops dancing to the tune of ‘Kacha Badam’. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video shows cops dancing to the tune of ‘Kacha Badam’.
Fact: The people dancing in the video are not real police officers; they are actors. Actress Preeti Goswami posted the same video on her Instagram profile in March 2022. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When the screenshots of the video were run through Google Reverse Image Search, the same video was found to be shared by some media agencies as Kerala cops dancing to the tune of Kacha Badam. So, on searching with some Malayalam keywords on the internet, an article published by ‘Mathrubhumi’ in March 2022 was found in the search results. They reported that the ‘Hotel Dewland’ (the hotel name can be seen in the viral video) has clarified that the video shows actors dressed in police uniforms and the actors were part of the film – ‘Rakachhashi’.
We found that actress Preeti Goswami, who is part of the film and is seen in the viral video, posted the same video on her Instagram profile in March 2022.
A post shared by Preeti G Goswami (@preetigoswami555)
She has also posted another video where she can be seen dancing to the same tune in the same location. A video of another actress (from the same movie) in the same location can be seen here.
The other photos of actress Preeti Goswami at the ‘Hotel Dewland’ can be seen here. The other visuals related to the movie can be seen here, here, and here.
To sum it up, the people dancing to the ‘Kacha Badam’ tune in the posted video are actors, not real cops.


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The People disrespecting the Indian flag are not farmers protesting in India, but Khalistan supporters from Canada - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 21, 2024
A video of a few people holding the flag of Khalistan tying the Indian tricolour to a ball and playing football in an act of disrespect is being shared on social media claiming them to the farmers from ongoing Farmer protests in Delhi. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Amidst the ongoing (2024) farmer protests in India, farmers disrespected the Indian flag by tying it to a ball and playing football.
Fact: In June 2023, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistani terrorist, was killed in Surrey City, situated in the British Columbia province of Canada. In reaction to this, Khalistani supporters protested outside the Indian consulate, alleging the involvement of Indian envoys in his murder, while also showing disrespect to the Indian flag. The viral videos shows this protest from Canada and has nothing to do with the protesting farmers in India. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On conducting the reverse image search using the keyframes of the video, we found that the viral video has been in circulation since July 2023 (here and here). These posts indicated that this incident took place in Canada. Upon careful examination of these videos, we observed that the word ‘CANADA’ was written in English on the bus in the background, along with individuals holding Khalistani flags. On the other hand, farmer associations geared up for a massive protest on 13 February 2024.
The video was initially found to be posted on X on 10 July 2023 by Devanshu Narang an Indo-Canadian resident. Devanshu, on his Facebook page, gave a detailed narrative about the incident by stating “In front of the Indian consulate in Toronto, there was opposition to Khalistani supporters. About 50 people came out in support from India’s side. When Khalistanis arrived, they disrespected the Indian flag by using it as a football. Amidst the standoff between the two sides, I intervened to prevent the disrespect of the flag. Despite being hit by Khalistani supporters, I held onto the flag until the police intervened. The police ensured that the disrespect did not happen again.” He posted a video of himself stopping the group from disrespecting the Indian flag on X. A comparison between the viral video and the video posted on X by Devanshu can be seen below.
Subsequent research based on this information led us to the news reports published by Canadian as well as Indian media (here, here and here). As per these reports, in June 2023, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistani terrorist, was killed in Surrey City, situated in the British Columbia province of Canada. In reaction to this, Khalistani supporters protested outside the Indian consulate, alleging the involvement of Indian envoys in his murder, while also showing disrespect to the Indian flag. The viral video is related to this protest. In a video highlighted by the media, Devanshu is seen engaging in an argument with members of the Khalistan group. The comparison between the video posted by Devanshu on X and the Media report can be seen below.
Several photographs capturing this incident were also posted on Getty Images.
It is clear from the investigation, that the viral video originates from the protest staged by Khalistan supporters outside the Indian Consulate in Toronto, Canada, on 8 July 2023. This incident is not related to the ongoing (2024) farmers’ protest in India.
To sum up, the people disrespecting the Indian flag are not farmers protesting in India, but Khalistan supporters from Canada.

created: February 21, 2024


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The people getting beaten in this video are reportedly prisoners, not Sri Lankan Ministers - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 16, 2022
A video is being shared widely on social media with a claim that it shows Sri Lankan Ministers getting beaten by the public. The video is being shared in the context of the recent economic crisis in Sri Lanka which led to clashes between various groups. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of Sri Lankan Ministers getting beaten by the public.
Fact: The half-naked people kneeling in the video are not Sri Lankan Ministers. Several Sri Lankan media agencies have reported that the people in the video are alleged prisoners who have been brought to attack the protesters. While there were some attacks directed at the ruling party, the visuals in the video do not show them. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the screenshots of the video were run through Google Reverse Image Search, many similar videos were found in the search results. ‘Lankadeepa’, a media agency in Sri Lanka, has posted the same video and said– “It is reported that prisoners have been brought to attack the protesters in Gota” (translated into English). Many other Sri Lankan media agencies have also posted the video saying that the people in the video are reportedly prisoners who have been brought to attack the protesters. Some of those news reports can be read here, here, here, and here. The clarification from the Prison officials regarding the alleged escape of the prisoners can be seen here and here.
While there were some attacks directed at the ruling party, the visuals in the video do not show them. Some of the news reports regarding those attacks can be read here and here.
To sum it up, the people getting beaten in this video are reportedly prisoners, not Sri Lankan Ministers.


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The people in the images weren’t faking injuries. They were showing Solidarity - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 8, 2020
A post with a screenshot of a tweet that has few photos is being widely shared on social media with a claim that the protestors seen in the picture were faking injuries to play the victim card. Let’s analyze the authenticity of that claim.
Protestors faking injuries with bandage over Hijab to play the victim card.
Fact: The people in the images were portraying victims & showing solidarity with those who were injured during protests. One protest was held in solidarity with victims of pellet guns in Kashmir while the other was held in solidarity with Minhajuddin, a Jamia Student who lost an eye during the CAA protests. Hence the claim is FALSE.
The post has a screenshot of a tweet and that tweet can be found here. When the four photos in the tweet were subjected to Google reverse image search, they were found to be of persons portraying as victims who were injured during protests.
When they get admitted in Madarsa and treated by a Mullah for gynecological problem😂 pic.twitter.com/1bixchpUzW
Images 1, 2 & 3 :
The images (1, 2 & 3) are that of Kashmiri doctors and paramedics with their eyes covered by patches to emulate the plight of victims of pellet guns who were injured during the protests in Kashmir sparked after the death of Burhan Wani in August 2016.
The last photo shows one of the protestors who wore bandages over an eye in solidarity with Minhajuddin, a Jamia student who lost an eye during the CAA protests. Earlier, when the same image went viral with the same claim of ‘protestor faking injuries’, FACTLY has debunked it and the fact check article can be found here.
The method of protesting by portraying the victims is not new. Many people around the world protest against various actions by dressing up to portray the victims. The news articles regarding those protests can be read here, here, here and here.
To sum it up, the people in the images weren’t faking injuries. They were portraying victims who were injured during protests against some actions.
Did you watch our video on the 10 Most Ridiculous Fake News of the Year 2019?

created: January 8, 2020


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The people in the picture are not heads of state, but CEOs and the picture is from Davos not Britain. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 8, 2019
A post with an image of Modi walking through many people is being shared on Facebook by many users claiming that the heads of 53 countries are standing for welcoming Modi. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
The archived version of the post can be found here.
In Britain, the country which ruled India for 200 years, Modi was the head of the meeting which was attended by the heads of 53 countries.
The picture was taken at the International Business Council event – 2018 in Davos, Switzerland; not in Britain. Also, the people standing are not the heads of countries but CEOs of various companies. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the image in the post is run through Google Reverse Image search, it can be found that the photo was taken at the International Business Council event – 2018. The Press Information Bureau of the government has published the exact photo with the title “The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi interacting with the top global CEOs, at the International Business Council event, in Davos on January 23, 2018.” on its website. So it can be concluded that the photo was not taken in Britain and the people standing before Modi are top global CEOs, not heads of various countries.
Finally, the photo was taken at the International Business Council event – 2018 in Davos, Switzerland; not in Britain.


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The people in this video alleging that the murder of Harsha was a BJP conspiracy to win elections in UP are not Bajrang Dal activists - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 24, 2022
A video through a post is being widely shared on social media claiming that PM Narendra Modi had sacrificed Bajrang Dal workers to win the election in UP. In Karnataka, a Bajrang Dal activist named Harsha was stabbed to death on 20 February 2022 and the police so far have arrested six individuals in connection with the murder. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Bajrang Dal workers allege that the murder of Harsha was a BJP conspiracy to win elections in UP.
Fact: The people who allege that the BJP government had sacrificed the Bajrang Dal worker in Karnataka are not Bajrang Dal activists. Sanjay Garg and Rabi Kant Bharti, who allege that BJP kills Hindus as a strategy for their political gains, belong to the Swarna Bharat Party which claims itself to be India’s first liberal party. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
There is a logo of Loktantra TV on the top right-hand corner of the video. When reverse image search is done on the screenshots of the video with relevant keywords, the same video was found in the official YouTube channel of Loktantra TV. The title of the YouTube video says that Narendra Modi sacrificed Bajrang Dal workers as a conspiracy to deteriorate the atmosphere in UP. The person at 4:33 timeframe alleges that the BJP government had sacrificed the Bajrang Dal worker in Karnataka as a tactic to win the election in UP. However, the person in the video does not claim himself to be a Bajrang Dal activist.
In fact, in other videos uploaded in the same YouTube channel, the same person (identified as Rabi Kant Bharti) and another man (identified as Sanjay Garg) allege that BJP kills Hindus as a strategy for their political gains. They even claim that Kamlesh Tiwari was killed by Yogi Adityanath’s government. However, nowhere do they claim themselves to be Bajrang Dal activists.
Sanjay Garg and Rabi Kant Bharti belong to the Swarna Bharat Party, which claims itself to be India’s first liberal party. According to its website, Sanjay Garg is the Vice President of Swarna Bharat Party. Rabi Kant Bharti is the state coordinator of the Uttar Pradesh unit.
Party's leaders in Bhadohi were delighted to welcome Sanjay Garg (@Sgargofficial), Vice President of Swarna  Bharat Party, today – he has arrived to assist in the Assembly election campaign in all three seats n Bhadohi district. pic.twitter.com/pFq4EjU8PF
To sum it up, the people in this video alleging that the murder of Harsha was a BJP conspiracy to win elections in UP are not Bajrang Dal activists.

created: February 24, 2022


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The person accused of sexually assaulting a woman in this video is Giovanni Quintella Bezerra, not Islam Mohammad - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 6, 2023
A video is being shared on social media with a claim that it shows Doctor Islam Mohammad raping an unconscious pregnant woman in the operation theatre. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video shows Doctor Islam Mohammad raping an unconscious pregnant woman in the operation theatre.
Fact: While the incident is true, the name of the accused is not Doctor Islam Mohammad. He is Giovanni Quintella Bezerra, a Brazilian anaesthetist. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the screenshots of the video were run through Google Reverse Image Search, many articles with similar visuals were found in the search results. In one of the articles, it can be read that the person seen in the viral video is “Giovanni Quintella Bezerra, a 32 year old Brazilian anaesthetist who has been accused of raping a woman during a C-section and is believed to have been involved in five similar incidents”.
Many other reputable news agencies have also reported on the incident. Some of those articles can be read here, here, and here. They also reported the same – “The accused has been identified as Dr Giovanni Quintella Bezerra who orally raped a woman after heavily sedating her in the hospital in Rio de Janeiro.”
To sum it up, the person accused of sexually assaulting a woman in this video is Giovanni Quintella Bezerra, not Islam Mohammad.


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The person beaten in this video is neither a 'Naga Sadhu' nor was beaten by a 'Muslim' - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 21, 2020
A video of a person beating a naked man is being shared on social media with a claim that a Muslim man is beating a saint. But, FACTLY found that the information shared in the post about the video is false. The name of the person who was being beaten in the video is ‘Somanath’; police have said that he works as a snake charmer in Dehradun. In 2018, police tweeted about the incident and said that when Somanath went to beg dressed as a ‘Naga Sadhu’ and misbehaved with a woman, he was beaten up by the woman’s brother, ‘Subham’. Subham is not a Muslim. Therefore, the person who was seen beaten up in the video is neither a ‘Naga Sadhu’ nor the person who beat him is a ‘Muslim’.
Sources:
Claim – Facebook post (archived)
Fact –
1. Dehradun police tweet – https://twitter.com/DehradunSsp/status/1035195417758056449
2. Dehradun police tweet – https://twitter.com/DehradunSsp/status/1036204730781917189
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The person being attacked by a mob in this video is Amandeep Singh Boparai, not Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 17, 2024
A video (here, here, and here) claiming to show the CM of Punjab, Bhagwant Mann, getting beaten by a mob is doing its rounds on social media. In the video, we see a man getting attacked by a mob as police try to protect him. We fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: Viral video shows a mob attacking the Chief Minister of Punjab, Bhagwant Mann.
Fact:  The person being attacked by the mob in the video is not Bhagwant Mann, but Amandeep Singh Boparai, the president of Yuva Jatt Sabha. He was reportedly attacked by a mob in April 2024 during a rally in Jammu. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
Firstly, we performed a keyword search on the internet to check for any news reports about such an attack on Bhagwant Mann. This search did not yield any such reports that validate the claim that the person featured in the video is the CM of Punjab.
Further, we performed a reverse image search on a few of its keyframes to learn more about the viral video. This search led us to a video (archive link) published on Facebook by ‘JK Rozana News,’ which contained the same visuals. According to the description of this video, the person being attacked in the video is the president of the Yuva Jatt Sabha, Amandeep Singh Boparai.
As per various reports, (here, here, and here), he was attacked by a mob on 13 April 2024 during a ‘Jatt Divas’ rally in Gole Bazar, Jammu. He was later detained by the police that day. Speaking to Punjab Kesari on this incident, Amandeep Singh Boparai said that around 20 people came with sticks and attacked the rally.
Boparai detailed the event in a Facebook video, which can be found here (archive link).
To sum up, old visuals of an attack on the president of Yuva Jatt Sabha,  Amandeep Singh Boparai in Jammu are falsely shared as a recent video of a mob attacking Bhagwant Mann.


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The person being beaten up by the crowd in this video is not Kanhaiya Kumar - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 25, 2020
A video is being shared on Facebook with a claim that the person being beaten up by a crowd in the video is CPI leader, Kanhaiya Kumar. Let’s try to analyze the authenticity of the claim made in the post.
A video of CPI leader, Kanhaiya Kumar being beaten up by a crowd.
Fact: The person who was being beaten up by the crowd is not Kanhaiya Kumar, his name is Chandan Kumar.  He was thrashed by the crowd as he had thrown a chappal at Kanhaiya Kumar when he was giving a speech at Lakhisarai, Bihar. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Since the posted video has ‘Kashish News’ logo on it, when searched for that video on their channel’s youtube account, the original video was found.  From the title of the video, it is understood that a person was beaten up by the crowd when he tried to obstruct Kanhaiya’s speech at Lakhisarai (Bihar). In another video of the same event, it can be seen that Kanhaiya Kumar wore a ‘blue’ shirt, while the person who obstructed the speech and got beaten up by the crowd wore an ‘orange’ shirt. According to the article of ‘Dainik Bhaskar’, when Kanhaiya Kumar was giving a speech at an event in Lakhisarai, a person named Chandan Kumar had thrown a chappal on the stage who as a result was beaten up by the crowd around him.
To summarize, the person who was being beaten up by the crowd in the video is not Kanhaiya Kumar.
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created: February 25, 2020


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The person carrying a woman in his arms in this photo is actor Jamie Dornan, not Rahul Gandhi - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 19, 2022
A photo is being shared on social media with a claim that it shows Rahul Gandhi carrying a woman in his arms. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of Rahul Gandhi carrying a woman in his arms.
Fact: The person carrying a woman in his arms in the posted photo is not Rahul Gandhi, he is Jamie Dornan, an actor. The woman in the photo is Dakota Johnson, an actress. The photo is related to a scene in the ‘Fifty Shades Freed’ movie. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the photo was run through Google Reverse Image Search, the same photo was found on the ‘Alamy’ stock images website. The photo has the following description – “JAMIE DORNAN and DAKOTA JOHNSON return as Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele in “Fifty Shades Freed,” the climactic chapter based on the worldwide bestselling “Fifty Shades” phenomenon. (2018) Universal Studios”.
The same photo can be also found in several articles written on the ‘Fifty Shades Freed’ movie. Some of them can be seen here, here, and here.
To sum it up, the person carrying a woman in his arms in the posted photo is actor Jamie Dornan, not Rahul Gandhi.


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The person dancing in this video is not Rajasthan's BJP president CP Joshi - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 3, 2023
A video of a man dancing to the song Titliaan is being shared on social media, claiming that the person in this video is Rajasthan’s newly appointed BJP chief, Chandra Prakash Joshi. Let’s fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: A dance video of Rajasthan’s newly appointed BJP President CP Joshi.
Fact: The person dancing in the video is a teacher from Uttar Pradesh named Ajay Kumar Sharma. The video of his dance to the song Titliaan went viral on social media in December 2022. Hence the claim made in the post is False.
To know whether the person dancing in the viral video is the newly appointed state chief of BJP, CP Joshi, we ran the footage through the InVid tool and performed a reverse image search using the keyframes acquired in the process. This search led us to media reports (here and here) from December 2022, which contained screenshots of the viral video.
Reportedly, a video of an elderly man grooving to the song Titliaan went viral on social media in December 2022. According to an article published by India Today on 20 December 2022, the person in the video is Ajay Kumar Sharma. He is a teacher hailing from Uttar Pradesh.
Sharma also spoke about this viral video in a short interview uploaded on YouTube by a channel named Rebel Vlogs. An Instagram page under his name also contains the same interview; this page also contains some of his other dance videos.
Meanwhile, Chandra Prakash Joshi was appointed as the president of BJP, Rajasthan, on 23 March 2023. You can see the difference between Mr Shama and Mr Joshi in the collage posted below.
To sum up, a dance video of a teacher named Ajay Kumar Sarma is peddled as that of the newly appointed chief of BJP, CP Joshi.


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The person dancing with a woman in this photo is not Mahatma Gandhi, but an Australian artist - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 6, 2022
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it as the visuals of the Mahatma Gandhi cheerfully dancing with a British woman at a party during the Indian freedom movement. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of Mahatma Gandhi dancing with a British woman at a party.
Fact: The photo shared in the post shows an Australian artist dressed up in Mahatma Gandhi’s attire and dancing with a woman during an old charity gala event held in Sydney, Australia. The person dancing in the photo is not Mahatma Gandhi. 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 by the ‘Bollywood Life’ website on 21 February 2012. This article reported it as the visuals of an Australian artist dressed up exactly like Mahatma Gandhi and dancing with a woman in a charity gala event held in Sydney, Australia. This article clarified that the person dancing with a foreigner is not the real Mahatma Gandhi. Reporting the same, several news websites have published articles. They can be seen here and here.
On observing the photo carefully, we could see that the person in Mahatma Gandhi’s attire has a different build, unlike the real Mahatma Gandhi, with strong muscles. Mahatma Gandhi was naturally very skinny. Also, the footwear the person is wearing in the photo is modern when compared with the footwear Mahatma Gandhi had during the Indian Freedom Movement. On comparing the photo shared in the post with original pictures of Mahatma Gandhi, we can confirm that the person dancing with a woman in the photo is not Mahatma Gandhi.
Earlier, when a morphed image of Mahatma Gandhi posing in close proximity with a woman was circulated on social media, FACTLY published a fact-check article debunking that claim.
To sum it up, the person dancing with a woman in the photo is an Australia-based artist dressed up as Mahatma Gandhi.

created: January 6, 2022


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The person falling at the feet of the police and surrendering in this video is not a former BSP MP - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 10, 2021
A video is being shared widely on social media with a claim that it shows how a former BSP MP surrendered before the Uttar Pradesh police. In the post, it is also written that he is a wanted gangster, and he surrendered after police announced a reward over his head. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of a former BSP MP surrendering before the UP police by falling at the feet of an officer.
Fact: The person surrendering before the police in the video is not a former BSP MP. His name is Naeem, a gangster. There is no former BSP MP with the name – ‘Naeem’. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched about the posted video on the internet, many similar videos were found in the search results. The same video was posted by the ‘CRUX’ YouTube channel in September 2020 with the title – ‘Fearing Encounter Gangster Walks-In To Sambhal Police Station With Placard ‘Please Don’t Shoot Me’’. In the description of the video, it can be read that the name of the gangster in the video is Naeem. The articles published by several news agencies on the incident can be read here, here, and here.
‘Sambhal Police’ have also tweeted on the incident. The tweets can be seen here and here. None of them mentioned that Naeem is a former BSP MP. Also, when we searched on the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha websites, no former BSP MP with the name – ‘Naeem’ was found.
गैंगस्टर एक्ट में वांछित ₹15,000 के इनामी बदमाश ने आज दिनांक 27.09.2020 को थाना नखासा पर स्वयं चलकर गले में आत्मसमर्पण की तख्ती डालकर आत्मसमर्पण किया।@Uppolice @dgpup @CMOfficeUP @KPGBJP pic.twitter.com/1hbiEiH4Wb
However, recently, a former BSP MP Dhananjay Singh surrendered before a Prayagraj court after Lucknow police announced a reward on him. More information regarding his arrest can be read here, here, and here.
To sum it up, the person falling at the feet of the police and surrendering in this video is not a former BSP MP.


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The person getting slapped in a TV studio in this video is not Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 20, 2024
A viral video (here and here) alleges to show that Cardiologist Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty was beaten by a representative of a pharmaceutical company on live television. It is being claimed that the pharma representative got riled up after Dr. Shetty said that big pharma companies are playing with the lives of old people by selling harmful drugs. We fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: Visuals of Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty getting attacked by a pharma company representative on live television.
Fact: This is an old video from 2017 that shows a brawl between the panelists on a show by News Nation. This debate did not feature Dr Devi Shetty. Also, the bit in the viral video where Dr. Shetty allegedly explains the attack and further talks about a drug created by Natural herbs is also fake; it is created by adding a fake voiceover on Dr. Shetty’s interview that he gave to ‘NDTV.’ Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
To verify the authenticity of the viral claim, we performed a keyword search on the internet to see if media outlets had reported any such attack on Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty on live television. This search yielded no credible news reports on Aaj Tak( the logo of this channel is in the viral video) or any other media outlet.
We then performed a keyword search online to learn more about the viral video. This search led us to a video uploaded by ‘News Nation’ on their official verified YouTube channel, which contained the visuals of a man getting attacked in a TV studio.
This video, uploaded in January 2017, is a clip from a TV debate held by News Nation featuring Bigg Boss fame ‘Swami Om.’ This panel did not feature Dr. Shetty. The person getting slapped in the video is actually an associate of Swami Om.
A search about the clip of the viral video where Dr. Shetty allegedly speaks about the attack on him and then talks about natural medicine that allegedly cleans cholesterol in the body led us to the original video from which this clip was taken.
This is an interview that he gave to ‘NDTV Profit’ in November 2022, in which he speaks about Heart attacks. Nowhere in this whole interview, he spoke about this alleged attack in a TV studio. This makes it clear that his video clip from this interview was used, and a fake voice-over was added to peddle a false narrative of Dr. Shetty getting attacked by a pharma representative on live television and him talking about it and a drug that gets rid of body cholesterol.
To sum up, the person getting slapped in a TV studio in this video is not Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty.


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The person in the photo is not ‘Moinuddin', his name is ‘Pankaj’. He joined JNU in 2019 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 24, 2019
A post with a photo is being widely shared on Facebook with a claim that the person in the photo is a 47-year-old Moinuddin from Kerala, and he has been studying in JNU since 1989. Let’s try to analyze the authenticity of the claim made in the post.
Photo of a 47-year-old Moinuddin who has been studying in JNU since 1989.
Fact: The person in the photo is not ‘Moinuddin’, his name is ‘Pankaj’.  He has not been studying in JNU since 1989. He is just 30 years old. So, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Responding to the tweet which mentions similar information in the post, a user ‘Pankaj Anarchio’ tweeted that he is the person in the photo. He also mentioned in the tweet that he is a research scholar from JNU’s Center of Social Medicine and Community Health. Also, from a video published by a news website called ‘janjwar’, it can be seen that his name is Pankaj.
Dear Troll and Bhakt, I am here only, I am Social Medicine and Community Health Research Scholar. I took admission after working 4 years in Community health in UP and Bihar.  Do you have any problem.. will you people decide when one person should study?@AltNews @AMISHDEVGAN https://t.co/EA75YtJeuh
From his Facebook profile, it is learnt that he joined JNU in 2019. If he were a student in JNU since 1989, as mentioned in the post, his name would have been seen in the JNU’s website under 2016-17 list of M.Phil and Ph.D. registered students in ‘Center of Social Medicine and Community Health – CSMCH’ section, but it was not found.
To summarize, the name of the person in the photo is not ‘Moinuddin’, his name is ‘Pankaj’. He joined JNU in 2019.
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created: November 24, 2019


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The person in the video is a Christian & a Member of Provincial Assembly of Pakistan’s Punjab, not a Hindu MP from Pakistan - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 31, 2023
In the context of multiple recent reports on forced conversion of Hindu girls into Islam in Pakistan, a video is being shared on social media claiming that a Hindu MP of Pakistan is begging for mercy on Hindus. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Speech of a Hindu MP of Pakistan pleading for Mercy on Hindus.
Fact: The name of the person in the viral video is ‘Tariq Masih Gill’. He is a Christian and a member of the Provincial Assembly (equivalent to an MLA in India) from Pakistan’s Punjab Province. During a National Minority Convention held at National Assembly Hall on 11 August 2022, he spoke about an incident of forced conversion of a young christian girl to Islam and the plight of minorities in Pakistan. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
An internet search with relevant keywords led us to the full video live streamed on the ‘PTV parliament’ YouTube channel on 11 August 2022. The title suggests that it is a National Assembly Meeting. In this video, the speaker of the house addresses the person in the viral clip by the name    ‘Tariq Masih Gill’.
Taking a cue from this, we further searched for his details on Pakistan Government websites. According to the website of ‘Provincial Assembly of Punjab’,  Tariq Masih Gill is a member of the provincial assembly(equivalent to an MLA in India) from Pakistan’s Punjab Province. He is a Christian. He has been re-elected as a Member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab for the second consecutive term in General Elections 2018 in one of the eight seats reserved for non-Muslims.
As per the media reports, a National Minority Convention was held at the National Assembly Hall on 11 August 2022 to commemorate the speech of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah regarding the freedom and equality of minorities in the then constituent assembly on 11 August 1947. Several current and former members from the minority communities of the national and provincial addressed the convention. In his speech, Gill talks about an incident of forced conversion of a young Christian girl to Islam and the overall situation of minorities in Pakistan.
To sum it up, the person in the viral video is neither a Hindu nor an MP of Pakistan; he is a Christian and a member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab in Pakistan who spoke about plight of minorities in Pakistan.

created: January 31, 2023


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The person in these election rally photos is M. K. Stalin (DMK), not Rahul Gandhi (Congress) - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 25, 2021
A couple of photos are being shared on social media with a claim that they show people of Tamil Nadu welcoming Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The Assembly Elections in Tamil Nadu are going to be conducted on 06 April 2021. It is in this context that this photo is being shared. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photos of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi being welcomed by the people of Tamil Nadu.
Fact: The person in these election rally photos is M. K. Stalin (DMK). The photos were taken at an election rally in Tamil Nadu on 19 March 2021. On 19 and 20 March 2021, Rahul Gandhi participated in the election meetings in Assam. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the photos were run through Google Reverse Image Search, the same photos were found to be uploaded by the official Facebook and Twitter handles of ‘DMK – Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’ on 19 March 2021. In other photos related to the event, it can be clearly seen that the man in the photos is M. K. Stalin, the President of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
The live video of Stalin’s election rally on 19 March 2021 from the same location in Tamil Nadu (TN) can be seen on the Facebook page of M. K. Stalin. The DMK and Congress are alliance partners for the upcoming election in TN. But Rahul Gandhi was not present at this rally on 19 March 2021.
On 19 and 20 March 2021, Rahul Gandhi participated in the meetings held in Assam, another poll-bound State. Some of the photos and videos of Rahul Gandhi in Assam on those days can be seen here, here, and here.
To sum it up, election rally photos of M. K. Stalin (DMK) are being shared as people of Tamil Nadu welcoming Rahul Gandhi (Congress).


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The person in this photo collage is Yasin Malik, not Farooq Ahmed Dar - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 17, 2022
A photo collage through a post is being widely shared on social media claiming that the photos are of Terrorist Farooq Ahmed Dar. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo collage of Terrorist Farooq Ahmed Dar.
Fact: All the images in the photo collage are of Yasin Malik, and not Farooq Ahmed Dar. Yasin Malik is a Kashmiri separatist leader who is the chief of the banned militant organisation, Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). JKLF was involved in the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits. Farooq Ahmed Dar, also known as Bitta Karate, killed many Kashmiri Pandits during the 1990 genocide in Kashmir. He is also part of the JKLF. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
There are a total of four images of the same person with well-known individuals, in the photo collage. When reverse image search is done on these images in clockwise direction from top-left, it was found that the person in these images is not Farooq Ahmed Dar but Yasin Malik.
Yasin Malik is a Kashmiri separatist leader who is the chief of the banned militant organisation, Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). JKLF was involved in the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits. He is presently in Tihar Jail; he was charged in 2020 in a case where four IAF personnel were killed in 1990.
Image with Manmohan Singh:
This image was taken in February 2006 when Yasin Malik met the then Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh in New Delhi.
Image with Arundhati Roy:
This image was taken in 2005 when Arundhati Roy is seen shaking hands with Yasin Malik in New Delhi.
Image with Farooq Abdullah:
This image was at least available since 2006 when former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah met with JKLF chief Yasin Malik.
Image with terrorist Hafeez Saeed:
This image was taken in Islamabad when Yasin Malik met Jamat-ud-Dawah (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed who is a wanted terrorist in India because of his role in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Farooq Ahmed Dar, also known as Bitta Karate, killed many Kashmiri Pandits during the 1990 genocide in Kashmir. He is a terrorist who is part of the JKLF, but the person in the photo collage is Yasin Malik and not Farooq Ahmed Dar.
To sum it up, the person in this photo collage is Yasin Malik, not Farooq Ahmed Dar.


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The person in this photo with Sonia Gandhi is ex-Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan, not Justice J.B. Pardiwala - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 4, 2022
A photo through a post is being widely shared on social media claiming that the person in the picture is the Supreme Court Judge J.B. Pardiwala. The post even claims that he was a Congress MLA earlier. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of Supreme Court Judge JB Pardiwala with Sonia Gandhi.
Fact: The photo is of Justice K.G. Balakrishnan with Sonia Gandhi. The photo was taken in January 2007 when Justice K.G. Balakrishnan was congratulated on being appointed as the Chief Justice of India. Justice J.B. Pardiwala was elevated as the Supreme Court Judge on 09 May 2022. He was never a Congress MLA, however, his father, Barjorji Cowasji Pardiwala had once served as the Speaker of Gujarat Legislative Assembly. Barjorji Cowasji Pardiwala was elected as an MLA from the Valsad Assembly Constituency on an Indian National Congress ticket. Barjorji Cowasji Pardiwala passed away in 2015 due to some age-related illness. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When reverse image search is done on the photo, a similar photo was found in a blog published in 2007. According to the Blog, the person in the picture with Sonia Gandhi was ex-Chief Justice of India, Balakrishnan.
Justice K.G. Balakrishnan was appointed as the Chief Justice of India on 14 January 2007. He retired on 12 May 2010. We could not find any information online which says that he was Congress MLA.
When we searched online with relevant keywords, a similar photo of Justice K.G. Balakrishnan with Sonia Gandhi was found in the stock photo website, Getty Images. The photo was taken when Justice K.G. Balakrishnan was congratulated on being appointed as the Chief Justice of India, in Rashtrapati Bhavan.
On the other hand, Justice J.B. Pardiwala was elevated as the Supreme Court Judge on 09 May 2022. According to his profile on the Supreme Court of India website, he was never a Congress MLA.
However, his father, Barjorji Cowasji Pardiwala had once served as the Speaker of Gujarat Legislative Assembly. Barjorji Cowasji Pardiwala was elected as an MLA from the Valsad Assembly Constituency on an Indian National Congress ticket. Barjorji Cowasji Pardiwala passed away in 2015 due to some age-related illness.
To sum it up, the person in the photo with Sonia Gandhi is ex-Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan, not Justice J.B. Pardiwala.


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The person in this video has set himself on fire due to issues with his wife, not due to hunger or joblessness - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 21, 2020
A video is being widely shared on social media with a claim that the man in the video has attempted suicide due to joblessness and hunger. But, FACTLY has found that he attempted suicide due to issues with his wife. The incident happened on 15 May 2020 in Jeedimetla (Hyderabad). According to media reports, the Police have said that the man’s wife had left him and went to her sister’s house as he was harassing her. When he went to ask her to return home, she refused and asked for a divorce. So, he set himself on fire. The locals doused the fire and took him to the hospital.
Sources:
Claim – Facebook post (archived)
Fact –
1. YouTube video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olFdEmUnJCo
2. News article – https://www.thehansindia.com/telangana/hyderabad-man-sets-self-on-fire-after-wife-refused-to-live-with-him-622808
3. News article – https://telanganatoday.com/depressed-man-attempts-suicide-in-hyderabad
4. News article – https://www.eenadu.net/districts/latestnews/Hyderabad/529/120064689
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The person performing a Hindu ritual in this viral video is a Yoga Teacher, not the Home Minister of New Zealand. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 6, 2024
A video of a man performing Hindu rituals claimed to be New Zealand’s Home Minister who has converted to Hinduism is viral on many social media platforms. Let’s verify this claim through this fact-checking article.
Claim: The video features New Zealand’s Home Minister, who has adopted Hinduism, performing a pooja.
Fact: The man in the video is actually Brent Goble, a yoga teacher. The Home Minister of New Zealand is Hon Brooke van Velden, a different person. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
The initial investigation involved identifying the Instagram watermark on the viral video “@ibrentgoble”.
A quick internet search led us to Brent Goble’s Instagram account, where we found the same video posted on 02 November 2023, marking the naming ceremony of his son Alex. He noted in the caption- ‘..While Hinduism isn’t part of my upbringing, I love taking part in the rituals that are important to my wife and in-laws…’ According to his Instagram bio, Brent Goble is a Yoga  Teacher.
A post shared by Brent Goble (@ibrentgoble)
To further confirm the claim about the New Zealand Home Minister, we referred to the official government of New Zealand website, Beehive.govt.nz. Here, it was found that Hon Brooke van Velden (check this and this) currently serves as the Minister of Internal Affairs of New Zealand and not Brent Goble.
By comparing Brent Goble and Hon Brooke van Velden’s images and identifying the person in the video, it was clear that the person performing the rituals is Brent Goble.
To sum up, the viral video does not feature New Zealand’s Home Minister but Brent Goble, a yoga teacher.

created: February 6, 2024