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NIRF Data: Top-100 Engineering Institutions have 81% Faculty with PhDs compared to 35% in the Remaining - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 28, 2023
Data from the NIRF indicates stark differences in various parameters of the top-100 institutions in various categories compared to the remaining. In 2023, at an overall level, over 77% of the faculty in top 100 institutions (all types) had PhDs while it is only 51% in remaining institutions. This difference is stark in engineering where it is 81% in top-100 compared to 35% in the remaining.
In the first part of the NIRF series, we looked at the overall ranking framework, the methodology behind such rankings, and the evolution of the framework over the years. In this second part of the series, we look at the parameters and see how the top 100 institutions perform vis-à-vis the rest of the institutions. In a way, this could potentially show the characteristics that set apart the top-ranked institutions. In addition to this, we also look at a few other overall trends.
Growing share of faculty with PhD in engineering institutions; more dominant in top 100 institutions
The landscape of engineering education in India has undergone phenomenal growth over the last two decades, giving rise to a multitude of engineering institutions across the nation, be it in the private or government domain. This surge has spotlighted engineering as the focal point for delving into faculty data, aiming for a panoramic view of the country’s higher education establishments.
The finer details of the faculty data reveal that less than half of the faculty in applicant engineering institutions have doctoral qualifications. In 2023, only 45% of the total faculty in engineering institutions had doctoral degrees. The progress on this front has been decent, with the proportion rising from 28% in 2017 to 45% in 2023.
Further, a discerning observation reveals a doctoral degree dominance within the top 100 institutions, leaving the remaining establishments with a shortage of faculty holding such esteemed qualifications. In 2023, at an overall level, over 77% of the faculty in the top 100 institutions (all types) had doctoral qualifications, while it is only 51% in the remaining institutions. This difference is stark in engineering, where the top 100 institutions had 81% of the faculty with doctoral qualifications as compared to 35% of the faculty in the rest of the institutions.
This imbalance poses a critical setback, given that the invaluable mentorship garnered during doctoral pursuits significantly shapes faculty members for their journey into higher education teaching careers.
Approximately 6 out of 10 research publications are from top 100 institutions.
An institution’s research productivity is assessed using various quantitative and qualitative measures. Among these, the publication of research papers stands out as a pivotal and decisive factor in evaluating the calibre of a higher academic and research establishment.
NIRF rankings also evaluate institutions based on their research productivity.  For the purposes of such assessment, NIRF uses a third-party source- “Web of Science”, to extract information on scholarly output. It is observed that, in 2023, approximately 62.48% of research publications originated from the top 100 institutions within the “Overall” category, while the remaining eligible institutions collectively contributed the remaining 37.52%. This trend is consistent across all domains, except for Colleges. The data reflects a resemblance to Pareto’s principle, indicating that the majority of research publications stem from the top 100 institutions in each category.  In absolute terms, an average of 377 research publications per institute are published in the ‘overall’ category in 2023 rankings.
On the flip side, the emphasis on publishing had also led to unethical practices and waste full research, with the current trend moving towards the creation of more publishable research. To remove such categories in evaluation, we also look at the share of highly cited publications of the top 100 institutions. It is observed that the top 100 institutions in the ‘overall’ category account for approximately 64.39% of the highly cited publications. Similar trends can be seen in the top 100 institutions of other disciplines, accounting for more than 70% of highly cited publications.
Additionally, delving into a major discipline like Engineering unveils that IITs stand out, securing a dominant position by claiming nearly 35.79% of Engineering publications. They are followed by deemed-to-be-universities, contributing 22.10%, and NITs, accounting for 18.82% of the publications in this field.
Only 1/3rd of the engineering institutions have the desired faculty-student ratio.
The faculty-student ratio (FSR) is a crucial determinant of the quality of education. It directly influences individual student experiences, the academic environment, and the overall quality of education. A better FSR means a lower burden, thereby more focus on research and academics. On the flip side, it also poses a significant financial burden on the colleges and pressurize colleges to prioritize quantity over quality.
It is observed that only one-third of the total engineering institutions have the stipulated FSR norms of 1:20, as mandated by the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). In 2023, out of the total of 1239 engineering institutions, there are 421 institutions (33.98%) that qualify for the AICTE-prescribed FSR of 20 students per faculty whereas the remaining 818 institutions are trying to achieve the norms prescribed by the AICTE. This proportion has largely remained the same since 2017.
Expenditure per student remains uniformly low across all disciplines.
The NIRF rankings have an indicator for financial resource utilization (FRU). It considers the average annual capital and operational expenditure per student for the previous three years.
A lower FRU indicates a lesser expenditure per student, further impacting the quality of education. The data show that the median FRU across different domains has relatively been stagnant for the past six years. At an overall level, the median FRU grew from Rs. 65,098 in 2017 to Rs. 65,380 in 2023, while for the Engineering domain, it grew from Rs.61,007 to Rs.67,165 during the same period. The management domain registered a greater increase from Rs. 67,156 to Rs. 90,713, along with the Pharmacy domain, which rose from Rs. 56,894 to Rs. 74,649 during the same period.
About 50% growth in median salary of graduated engineering students
Median salary is an important indicator under the graduation outcome parameter in the NIRF ranking. The data from the NIRF rankings reveal that the median salary of engineering graduates grew by more than 50% between the academic years 2016-17 to 2021-22. It grew consistently from Rs. 3,02,431 to Rs. 4,57,575 during the corresponding period. On average, the median salary grew by almost 9% every year.

created: November 28, 2023


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Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech said 35 crore LED bulbs, not 35000 crore LED bulbs - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 8, 2019
A post with an image of a TV screenshot is being shared on Facebook with a claim that Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech has said that the government distributed nearly thirty-five thousand crore LED bulbs. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Nirmala Sitharaman in the Budget-2019 speech: “35,000 crore LED bulbs have been distributed”.
Fact: Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government under the UJALA scheme has distributed 35 crore LED bulbs, not 35000 crore LED bulbs. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The budget speech document of the Finance Minister can be found on the India Budget website. When searched for the words ‘LED bulb’ in the document, the info on the LED bulbs can be found in the 74paragraph. The document reads, “Approximately 35 crore LED bulbs have been distributed under UJALA Yojana leading to cost saving of 18,341 crores annually.”
It is clear that it is 35 crore bulbs, not 35000 crore bulbs. But, the Finance Minister may have misread the document in her speech. To check that, her budget speech in the parliament can be seen on the PIB YouTube channel. In the video, she refers to the number of LED bulbs twice, at 1:05:40 and 1:06:07. Both times she said that the government distributed ’approximately 35 crore LED bulbs’. So, she did not misread the document and she clearly said ’35 crore bulbs’, not 35,000 crore bulbs.
Also, the LED’s Distribution Dashboard on the official website of UJALA shows the number to be around 35 crores.
To sum it up, Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech said 35 crore LED bulbs, not 35000 crore LED bulbs.
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source: news-factly

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

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


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Nissan commercial is shared as visuals of a truck driver rescuing an airliner from crashing - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 18, 2021
A video is being shared on social media claiming it as the visuals of a brave truck driver rescuing an airliner that had a problem with its front wheel. This post describes the truck driver as a real hero for saving this plane from crashing. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Driver uses his truck to safely land an airplane with the failed landing gear.
Fact: The video shared in the post is not a real one. This video shows the Nissan Frontier commercial created by Zoic Studio visual effects company in 2011. This video was created using VFX technology. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search, videos with similar visuals found published on YouTube at least since 2011. They can be seen here, here, and here. The description of the videos mentioned it as the  2011 commercial advertisement of Nissan Frontier.  It is mentioned as a fictional video. A user shared the better version of this video on which a watermark ‘Fictionalization. Do not attempt.’ can be seen on it.
When we searched for further details using the keywords, we found a commercial showing similar visuals on the ‘Nissan UK’ YouTube channel. This advertisement was presented like a breaking news story that included the witness reports and an interview with the driver. This commercial was created by ‘Zoic Studios’ visual effects company in the United States. ‘Zoic Studios’ created this commercial using VFX technology.  ‘Zoic Studios’ published the making video of this commercial on their YouTube channel.
News articles published about the 2011 Nissan Frontier commercial can be seen here and here. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the video shared in the post is a commercial of Nissan Frontier.
To sum it up, an old commercial of Nissan Frontier is shared as visuals of a brave truck driver rescuing an airliner from crashing.


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Nita Ambani did not tweet supporting NRC and CAB. The tweets are from a ‘fake’ Twitter handle - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 20, 2019
A post on Facebook which claims that Nita Ambani has tweeted supporting National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB). Let’s check the authenticity of the tweet in the post.
Nita Ambani has tweeted supporting National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB).
Fact: Nita Ambani does not have an official Twitter account. The tweets in the screenshot are from a fake Twitter handle. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When searched for the account of Nita Ambani on Twitter, it was found that she does not have any official Twitter account. So, when searched for the twitter handle (@NitaAmbaani) given in the post, it was found that the account ‘@NitaAmbaani’ has been suspended by Twitter for violating its rules. As per Twitter policy, it generally takes down the accounts on the grounds of authenticity, safety, and privacy.
Earlier, when another tweet was also circulated in the name of ‘Nita Ambani’, ‘FACTLY’ has debunked it and the article can be seen here.
To summarize, Nita Ambani did not tweet supporting NRC and CAB. The tweets are from a ‘fake’ Twitter handle.
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created: December 20, 2019


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Nita Ambani has not tweeted criticizing the government for the money being spent on the Haj pilgrimage every year - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 7, 2020
A post with the screenshot of a tweet purportedly made by Nita Ambani is making rounds on social media. The tweet is from the Twitter handle ‘@0NitaAmbani’ and has a profile picture of Reliance Foundation Chairperson Nita Ambani. In the tweet, the government is criticized for spending 35,000 crores every year on the Haj pilgrimage as there would have been an AIIMS in every district of India if that money was used properly. But FACTLY has found the Twitter handle ‘@0NitaAmbani’ to be of a fan-page of Nita Ambani. A tweet with the same content can also be seen on a Twitter account with the username ‘@0Nita_ji’. That account was also found to be run by fans of Nita Ambani. When searched if Nita Ambani has an account on Twitter, it was found that she does not have any official Twitter account. So, Nita Ambani did not tweet criticizing the government for its spending on the Haj pilgrimage; the tweet is from a fan-page. Earlier, when screenshots of multiple tweets went viral on the name Nita Ambani, FACTLY has debunked them and those fact-checks can be read here, here and here.
Sources:
Claim – Facebook post (archived)
Fact –
1. Twitter account – https://twitter.com/0NitaAmbani
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Nita Ambani has not tweeted suggesting the selling of land enclosing three graves of Nehru family to revive Economy - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 21, 2020
A post with the screenshot of a tweet purportedly made by Nita Ambani is shared on social media. The tweet is from the Twitter handle – ‘@0Nita_ji’ and has a profile picture of Reliance Foundation Chairperson Nita Ambani. In the tweet, the Congress party is criticized for its suggestion to the government to borrow gold from the religious trusts. Also, as a counter, she suggested that the government must sell the land enclosing three graves of Nehru’s family members to improve the economic situation in the country. But FACTLY has found the Twitter handle – ‘@0Nita_ji’ to be a fan-page of Nita Ambani. When searched if Nita Ambani has an official account on Twitter, it was found that she does not have an official Twitter account. So, Nita Ambani did not tweet what is being shared and it is from a fan-page. Earlier, when screenshots of multiple tweets went viral on the name Nita Ambani, FACTLY has debunked them and those fact-checks can be read here, here and here.
Sources:
Claim – Facebook post (archived)
Fact –
1.  Twitter account – https://twitter.com/0Nita_ji
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Nita Ambani hasn’t donated Gold and Silver ornaments for the construction of Ram Temple at Ayodhya - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 11, 2020
A message which claims that 111 kgs of Silver and three Gold crowns weighing 33 kgs were donated by Reliance Foundation Chairperson Nita Ambani for the construction of Ram Temple at Ayodhya is being shared on social media. Let’s analyze the authenticity of the claim.
Nita Ambani has donated Gold and Silver ornaments for the construction of Ram Temple at Ayodhya.
Fact: The news that Nita Ambani has donated Gold and Silver ornaments for the construction of Ram Temple at Ayodhya is fake. The ‘Trust’ which has to foresee the construction of the temple is yet to be set up completely. So, the claim is FALSE.
When searched on Google if Nita Ambani has made any donations to the Ram Mandir that is to be constructed at Ayodhya, no information confirming it was found. Earlier, when a few posts went viral claiming about donations to Ram Mandir, ‘FACTLY’ had debunked them and those articles can be seen here and here.
In the Ayodhya’s mandir-masjid case verdict, the Supreme Court has directed the central government to set up a trust that would foresee the construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya. Recently,  PM Modi has announced in the Parliament about the setting up of a 15-member trust – ‘Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra’ for the construction of Ram temple. But, in ‘The Hindu’ article, it can be read that the trust is yet to be set up completely as few members are yet to be selected.  The trust has also not solicited any funds.
To conclude, Nita Ambani hasn’t donated Gold and Silver ornaments for the construction of Ram Temple at Ayodhya.
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created: February 11, 2020


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Nizam did not donate 5000 kg of gold and Modi did not transfer 280 kg of the country’s gold for collateral. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 10, 2019
A post is being shared on Facebook with the claim that while Nizam has donated his gold to save the country, Modi has used the country’s gold as collateral. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Nizam donated 5000 kilograms of Gold to save the country
Fact: The government responded to an RTI query that it has no information on any such donation. Hence the claim made in the post remains Unverified.
When searched with the keywords “Nizam’s 5000 kg gold donation” on Google, a ‘The Hindu’ article on this issue can be found in the search results. According to the article, the government responded to an RTI query on this issue saying that it has no information on any such donation from Nizam. The same article provides information about an investment of 425 kg of gold by Nizam in National Defence Gold Scheme, which was floated in 1965 to overcome the economic crisis. So, Nizam did not make 5000 kg gold donation; he just made some investments (425 kg, not 5000 kg) into a Gold scheme which had an interest rate of 6.5 per cent.
Modi has used the 280 tonnes of the country’s gold as collateral.
Fact: India’s gold reserves are stored with the RBI. It clarified that no gold was shifted by RBI to other countries in 2014 or thereafter. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When searched for the issue on Google, it was found that RBI’s Chief General Manager Yogesh Dayal issued a press release to counter the media reports on this issue. In the press release, he said, “We have come across reports in certain sections of the print and social media regarding RBI shifting abroad a part of its gold holding in 2014. It is a normal practice for Central Banks world over, to keep their gold reserves overseas with Central Banks of other countries like Bank of England for safe custody. It is further stated that no gold was shifted by the RBI from India to other countries in 2014 or thereafter. Thus the media reports cited above are factually incorrect.” So, Modi did not use the country’s gold as collateral.
To sum it up,  Modi did not transfer 280 kg of the country’s gold for use as  collateral.


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No 24-hour lockdown in Telangana state is announced immediately after Eid - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 24, 2020
Several people on social media are sharing an article claiming that the Telangana State Chief Minister, worried over the hike in the number of coronavirus cases in India and in order to maintain sanity immediately after Eid, has decided for a 24-hour lockdown on 26 May 2020. The archived version of the article can be found here. FACTLY found that the Telangana State Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao has not made any announcement in this regard, and no other official statement has been issued on the same. Telangana State Police through their official Facebook page has clarified that no such announcement was made and termed the news being in circulation as fake.
Sources:
Claim – Weblink (archived)
Fact –
1. Telangana State Police Post – https://www.facebook.com/1441398846131540/posts/2693638794240866
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No, 28000 people were not murdered in Uttar Pradesh in one year (2017) - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 24, 2019
A post is being shared widely on Facebook with a claim that 28000 thousand people were murdered in one year in Uttar Pradesh. The post also claims that Uttar Pradesh has topped in crimes under the Yogi government. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
28000 people were murdered in Uttar Pradesh in one year.
Fact: According to the latest report (‘Crime in India – 2017’) released by the National Crime Records Bureau, over 28,000 people were murdered in India in 2017, not in Uttar Pradesh. The number of people murdered in Uttar Pradesh in 2017 was less than 5000. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When searched on Google with the keywords ‘28000 murders’, an article by ‘India Today’ on the murders in India was found in the search results. The title of the article is ‘Around one lakh people kidnapped, over 28,000 killed in India in 2017, says NCRB data”.
Also, in the ‘Crime in India – 2017’ report (recently released by the National Crime Records Bureau), it can be read that ‘a total of 28,653 cases of murder were registered during 2017’ in India.
In the same report, it can be found that only 4324 cases of murder were registered during 2017 in Uttar Pradesh. While the number of murder cases was highest in Uttar Pradesh, the crime rate (murders) was 1.9 (per lakh population), which is lower when compared to other states like Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.
Also, it should be noted that the report is based on the crime data for the year 2017 (1 Jan- 31 Dec 2017) and Yogi Adithyanath took oath as the chief minister in March 2017.
To sum it up, 28000 people were not murdered in Uttar Pradesh in one year (2017).
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created: October 24, 2019


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No, 297 birds did not die in the Netherlands due to a 5G test - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 25, 2019
A post is being shared on Facebook with a claim that 297 birds have died during a 5G frequency test in the Netherlands. Let’s try to analyze the claims made in the post.
On attempt to test 5G in the Netherlands 297 birds died due to high frequency.
Fact: Over 300 birds died in Hague but the reason for their death was not a 5G frequency test. WBVR Laboratory in Lelystad and National History Museum have concluded that the cause of death was not due to harmful viruses or experiments conducted by humans. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When searched for the news on Google with the keywords “Birds died in the Netherlands”, it was found that the news regarding the deaths of birds went viral last year. Hundreds of birds died in Hague last year at Huijgenspark, close to Hollands Spoor station. While it is true that birds died, the reason for their deaths was not found. Many fact-checkers have written articles at that time debunking the hoax that the 5G experiment has caused the deaths. According to the Snopes article, the 5G experiment as a reason for birds’ deaths was first posted by John Khules, an anti-5G activist. Later on, he posted saying that he was not serious when he said that 5G experiment was behind the deaths of birds. But, his initial comments went viral by then. In an additional investigation by Snopes, it was found that no 5G test was conducted in the surrounding areas on the day of the deaths.
According to the latest information available on the internet, ‘The Holland Times’ published an article in February 2019 explaining the reason behind the mass deaths of starlings. According to the article, WBVR Laboratory in Lelystad and National History Museum have concluded, ‘the starlings must have forcefully flown towards and collided with the ground in a sudden fit of panic, upon arrival or departure from their resting places, and these impacts were fatal.’ They have eliminated any possibility of harmful viruses or human experiments as the reason behind the deaths of birds. The article concludes saying, ‘the assumed cause of death is that the birds collided with deadly force with each other, with tree branches or with the ground due to being panicked and disoriented.”
To sum it up, 297 birds did not die in the Netherlands due to a 5G test.
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No, 6 lakh of votes polled for Rahul Gandhi were not deleted - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 24, 2019
The 17th Loksabha election results have given a majority to BJP.  Since the declaration of results, a post is going viral on social media with a claim that 6 lakh votes polled to Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad constituency were deleted and the post raised questions on BJP IT cell having access to ECI backend database. Let’s analyse if the said number of votes were actually deleted.
6 lakh of votes polled for Rahul Gandhi were deleted.
Fact: The total votes polled in the Wayanad constituency during the 3rd phase of elections is only 10,90,072 and hence there is no way Rahul Gandhi could have got about 13,37,438 votes. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
During the counting for 17th parliamentary elections yesterday, at one point of time, the ECI website displayed the vote polled to Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad constituency as 13,37,438 and later updated it to 7,05,034 by the end of counting. The has give rise to speculations that about 6 lakh votes polled to Rahul Gandhi were deleted by BJP IT cell and hinting it has access to ECI backend database.
If we download the VOTER TURNOUT Android mobile app launched by Election Commission of India and filter the votes polled for Wayanad constituency during the 3rd phase of General Election 2019, you will find out that the total votes polled across the Wayanad constituency stands at 10,90,072 out of a total eligible voters of 13,57,819. So  The ECI could have displayed the votes polled to Rahul Gandhi at 13,37,438 by mistake as there is no way for Rahul Gandhi to get more than the votes polled in the constituency. The ECI later updated the actual numbers which is about 6 lakh votes less than earlier figure.  Even the document released by the Chief Electoral Officer, Kerala in January 2019 puts the total number of registered voters in Wayanad as 13.25 lakh.
To sum it up, the votes polled to Rahul Gandhi for Wayanad constituency never stood at 13,37,438. It could be a technical error by Election Commission of India. Hence the claim that 6 lakh votes polled to Rahul Gandhi were deleted is False.
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No, a letter demanding Kingfisher beer was not found in the ballot box - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 13, 2019
A post with an image of a letter is being shared on Facebook with the claim that it was found in the ballot box used for the Telangana local Elections. The letter is from an anonymous person written to Telangana Chief Minister asking him to provide for Kingfisher beers in their district. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
A letter written by a voter to KCR demanding Kingfisher beers in their district was found in the ballot box used for local elections in Jagtial. In the letter, the voter even asked to merge their district in Karimnagar district, as the beer was available in that district.
Fact:  The Joint Collector of Jagitial clarified that a letter demanding proper road was found in the ballot box but nothing related to beer was found. He said that there is no truth in the claim being virally spread on social media and other platforms.  Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When searched with the keywords ‘Beer letter in ballot box’ on Google, it was found that not only individuals on social media, but also prominent media houses (India Today, Hindustan Times, Times of India, Bangalore Mirror, The Hans India ), both regional and national, published the same news on their portals.
It was also found in the search results that a similar incident happened in the district last year when a person wrote to the District Collector to look into the non-availability of Kingfisher beers in the district. But the letter which went viral last year is not the same as the letter which is being claimed to be found in the ballot box. Also, if the letter was found in a ballot box, the letter should have been folded but if the letter is properly observed, it can be found attached to a notebook.
To check whether any letter related to beer was found in the ballot box in Jagitial, FACTLY contacted the Joint Collector of Jagitial on the telephone. He clarified that no such letter was found in the ballot box. He also said that a letter demanding a road was found in the ballot box but nothing related to demand for beers was found.  So, the news being circulated on various media channels and social media is fake.
To sum it up, a letter demanding Kingfisher beer was not found in the ballot box
Telangana Local Elections .
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No, Aamir Khan did not call out people for wasting milk on Shiva ling - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 29, 2022
A social media post attributing purported comments to Bollywood actor Aamir Khan is being widely circulated across social media platforms. The English translation of the viral comments reads ‘it is better to fill the stomach of a poor person than to offer milk on Shiva ling.’ Through this article let’s fact-check the veracity of the claim made in the post.
Claim: ‘It is better to fill the stomach of a poor person than to offer milk on Shiva ling’ – Aamir Khan.
Fact: Aamir Khan never made these comments in real life calling out people for wasting milk on idols. There are no reports of attributing such comments to Aamir Khan. However, another actor Akshay Kumar made similar comments on multiple occasions in the past. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Google search with relevant keywords did not yield any such reports attributing these comments to Aamir Khan. Had Aamir Khan indeed made these comments, media would have reported it, however, we could not find any such reports.
Even earlier, similar comments were attributed to the actor (here & here), alleging that Aamir Khan insulted Lord Shiva by saying ‘not to waste milk on idols’ in the Satyameva Jayate show. However, Aamir Khan did not make these comments in any of the episodes (here & here).
However, in one scene of Aamir Khan’s 2014 film ‘PK’, it is portrayed that instead of feeding milk to the Shiva lingam, the hunger of poor children could be satisfied. But in real life, he never made these comments. Similar viewpoint on questioning the bathing of Shiva ling with milk, instead of providing it to the poor was mentioned in other movies like ‘Oh My God’ too.
Also, during the time of film PK’s release when there was criticism against Aamir Khan saying he insulted Hindu beliefs, he himself clarified that he never insulted any religion in the movie and he has utmost respect for Lord Shiva.
However, another Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar made similar comments in the past (here, here & here). On multiple occasions, he called out people for wasting milk and oil on idols. He instead opined that these could used to feed the poor.
To sum it up, Aamir Khan did not call out people for wasting milk on idols.


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Abdul Kalam did not say that he wanted to ban Madrasas to curb terrorism in India - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 8, 2021
A post is being widely shared on social media claiming that Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam wanted to ban all the madrasas running in India, to curb terrorism. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: APJ Abdul Kalam said, “To curb terrorism in India, madrasas must be banned”.
Fact: There is no evidence to prove APJ Abdul Kalam wanted to ban madrasas to curb terrorism in India. There are no news reports that prove Kalam said such a thing. In early 2019, Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board Chairman Waseem Rizvi had written to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi warning him against indoctrination in madrasas. He also advocated for a ban on madrasas to curb the influence of ISIS (a terror organisation) in India. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
We could not find any news articles that say that Abdul Kalam had said such things about madrasas in the past. If APJ Abdul Kalam had actually said such a thing, it would have been reported by all major news outlets. We could not find any evidence from searching online, that Abdul Kalam wanted to ban madrasas in India.
However, to curb terrorism, Abdul Kalam advocated the need for a stringent law so that perpetrators of terror attacks are punished in a time-bound manner. According to Kalam, “India has to have positive counter-terrorism methods so that we can end terrorism once for all. If evil minds combine, good minds have to cooperate and combat them.” According to Srijan Pal Singh, former OSD to Abdul Kalam and who co-authored several books with him, “Dr Kalam’s dream was to make the nation terrorism-free.”
In early 2019, Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board Chairman Waseem Rizvi had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi warning him against indoctrination in madrasas. He advocated for a ban on madrasas to curb the influence of ISIS – a terror organisation – in India. But there are no news reports which state that Abdul Kalam wanted to ban madrasas.
To sum it up, Abdul Kalam did not say that he wanted to ban madrasas to curb terrorism in India.

created: September 8, 2021


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No, Abhijit Banerjee has not defended the Nirbhaya rapists - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 24, 2019
A post is being shared on social media with a claim that Nobel Laureate Abhijit Banerjee had justified the rape of Nirbhaya in 2012 saying that her ‘rapists had no access to sex hence they raped’. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Abhijit Banerjee has defended the Nirbhaya rapists.
Fact: Abhijit’s article on rapes were published in October-2012 whereas Nirbhaya rape incident took place in December-2012. In his article, Abhijit has explicitly said that ‘none of this should be read as a defence of rape’.  Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
In the photo posted, it can be seen that the article was published by ‘TFIPOST’. So, when searched for that article, it was found that ‘TFIPOST’ has now deleted the article from its website. The archived version of that article can be read here.
In the ‘TFIPOST’ article, a link to Abhijit Banerjee’s 2012 ‘Hindustan Times’ article can be found. Abhijit’s article on rapes was published by the ‘Hindustan Times’ on 30 October 2012, whereas the Nirbhaya rape incident took place in December-2012. So, Abhijit’s comment on rapes before the Nirbhaya rape incident is being twisted to portray that he justified the Nirbhaya rape.
In his article, he commented on the inequality of access to sex but he also explicitly stated that ‘none of this should be read as a defence of rape’.
To sum it up, Abhijit Banerjee has not defended the Nirbhaya rapists.
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No, Abhinandan did not make comments blaming BJP for the Pulwama attack. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 13, 2019
From the time of his capture, there are a lot of things attributed to Wing Commander Abhinandan on social media. The recent one is his alleged comments on the Pulwama attack. A post on Facebook claims that Abhinandan blamed the BJP government for the Pulwama attack. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Abhinandan said, ‘Pulwama attack has been planned by the BJP government. Imran Khan is helping Modi to win elections by allowing fake bombings at Balakot’.
Fact: Abhinandan did not make any such comments. No credible source has been found to authenticate the claim. Also, Abhinandan did not give any interview after his release. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When searched for any comments on Pulwama by Abhinandan on Google, it was found that he did not make any such comments. Actually, he did not give any interview since his release from Pakistan’s custody. Only a few photos posted by Defence Ministry and a recent selfie video related to Abhinandan can be found on social media. Even if he had really commented on Pulwama, it would have been reported by all the major newspapers and channels in India. So, the comments in the post were not made by Abhinandan.
Hence, comments blaming BJP for the Pulwama attack have been falsely attributed to Abhinandan.


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Acharya Pramod Krishnam’s original name is not Gul Shamad Khan, and he is a Hindu by birth - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 29, 2021
A social media post claiming that congress leader and Godman Acharya Pramod Krishnam’s original name is Gul Shamad Khan is being shared widely. The post shares an image of wiki data that states Acharya’s original name is Gul Shamad Khan in support of the claim. Through this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Congress leader and Godman Acharya Pramod Krishnam’s original name is Gul Shamad Khan.
Fact: Election affidavit of 2019 Lok Sabha general elections states his name as Acharya Pramod Krishnam and his father’s name as Late Jaswanth Singh. Wikidata information about Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam stating that he belongs to a Muslim family was added by a user through editing which was later removed. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam contested in the 2019 general elections from Lucknow Parliament constituency. In the election affidavit filed by him, he mentioned his name as Acharya Pramod Krishnam and his father’s name as Late Jaswanth Singh. He did not mention any other aliases to his name.
Information about Acharya Pramod Krishnam which was until then available on wiki data is edited on 04 May 2021 and a sentence ‘He belongs to a Muslim family and his original name is Gul Shamad Khan’ is added. This edited version of wiki data information is the source of the viral post. However, the info is again edited on 13 July 2021 and the sentence about his muslim name is deleted.
News article which published an interview with Acharya Pramod Krishnam stated that he was born in a Brahmin family in Bihar. All these establish that Acharya Pramod Krishnam is Hindu by birth.
To sum it up, Acharya Pramod Krishnam’s original name is not Gul Shamad Khan and he is a Hindu by birth.


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No, actor Ashutosh Rana did not appeal to vote for BJP in this video - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 21, 2023
A widely circulated video features Bollywood actor Ashutosh Rana encouraging citizens to vote during elections. The accompanying claim suggests that the actor is urging people to vote for the BJP. In this article, we will fact-check the accuracy of this assertion.
Claim: A video showcases Bollywood actor Ashutosh Rana encouraging people to vote for the BJP.
Fact: The original video reveals that his appeal is aimed at encouraging people to vote in general and not in favour of any specific political party. The BJP’s symbol is digitally added to the video, alleging that he appealed to vote for BJP. Additionally, there are no reports of  Ashutosh Rana endorsing the BJP in the recent Madhya Pradesh state assembly elections. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The presently trending video does depict Bollywood actor Ashutosh Rana encouraging citizens to vote. However, the original video reveals that his appeal is about voting in general and not in favour of any specific political party.
Search on the actor’s social media profiles led us to the identical video on his Facebook account. However, unlike the viral video, this version lacks the BJP’s symbol or any mention of BJP in the video. This implies that the BJP’s symbol is digitally added to the video.
Additionally, there are no reports of  Ashutosh Rana endorsing the BJP in the recent 2023 Madhya Pradesh state assembly elections, though he had a casual meeting with the BJP minister, earlier in 2022. According to news sources, Ashutosh was included in the list of star campaigners for the Congress party in 2003.
Although there were speculations in 2019 about Congress potentially fielding Ashutosh Rana from Madhya Pradesh, this did not materialize. In response to the 2019 rumours, Ashutosh addressed the speculations through a Facebook post, explicitly dismissing them.
To sum it up, actor Ashutosh Rana did not appeal to vote for BJP in this video.

created: November 21, 2023


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No, Advani hasn’t made any statements asking Modi to build at least a water kiosk on his name - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 8, 2019
An image with a photo of BJP leader LK Advani and an accompanying message is being shared widely on Facebook. The message is in Hindi and its English translation is- ‘Modiji, I(Advani) have worked hard to build BJP, you should at least built a water kiosk on my name’. Let’s try to analyze the claim.
Till the time of writing this article, the post has been shared more than 9,800 times and also, many users are reacting to those statements purportedly made by Advani.
Lal Krishna Advani: “Modiji, I have worked hard to build BJP, you should at least build a water kiosk on my name”.
Fact: LK Advani hasn’t made these comments. Information from no credible source was found which confirms that the comments were made by him. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When searched on Google with keywords ‘Advani asked Modi to build a water kiosk on his name’, no relevant information was obtained in the search results about Advani making those statements.
If Advani had really made such statements, they would have been reported by all the major newspapers and channels in India. But no news agency has reported anything about Advani making those comments. So, false statements are being attributed to Advani.
To conclude, Advani hasn’t made any such statements asking Modi to build at least a water kiosk on his name. False statements are being attributed to him.
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created: November 8, 2019


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No, Akshay Kumar did not tweet about ‘Godse killing Gandhi’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 9, 2019
A Facebook post with the screenshot of a tweet by Twitter handle ‘@kumarakshay_1’ that has the username ‘Akshay Kumar’ (written in Hindi) and profile picture of actor Akshay Kumar is doing the rounds on social media claiming that the tweet is from the official Twitter account of film actor Akshay Kumar. Let’s analyze the authenticity of that claim.
In the comments section, it can be seen that the users are commending Akshay Kumar for that tweet.
Actor Akshay Kumar tweeted on ‘Godse killing Gandhi’.
Fact: The official Twitter handle of Akshay Kumar is ‘@akshaykumar’, not ‘@kumarakshay_1’. The Twitter handle ‘‘@kumarakshay_1’ has been suspended by Twitter for violating its policy. So, the tweet is not from the account of actor Akshay Kumar and the claim is FALSE.
The tweet has the following text in Hindi and its English translation is- “ I wouldn’t say Godse killing Gandhi is correct or not. But, I would say, whenever there is a mention of Godse killing Gandhi in the books, reasons behind his murder also have to be mentioned including his statement to the court. Let the future generations decide whether the act is the right one or not”. When looked for the Twitter handle ‘@kumarakshay_1’, it was found that the account has been suspended by Twitter for violating its policy. As per Twitter policy, Twitter generally takes down the accounts on the grounds of authenticity, safety, and privacy.
The official Twitter handle of Akshay Kumar is ‘@akshaykumar’. So, the tweet was definitely not made by him.
To summarize, that tweet about ‘Godse killing Gandhi’ isn’t from the official account of Akshay Kumar. The account ‘@kumarakshay_1’ was found to be suspended by Twitter for violating its policy.
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created: October 9, 2019


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No, all the kids in the photo are not the children of that old man - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 17, 2019
A photo of an old man with many kids around him is being shared widely with the claim that the man in the photo has 3 wives and 32 children, who all live in a single hut. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Photo of an old man with his 3 wives and 32 children.
Fact: The photo shows an old man with his 37 other family members that includes his children and grandchildren. Not all the kids in the photo are his sons and daughters. Hence, the claim is FALSE.
When the image in the post was subjected to Yandex reverse image search technique, it was found in a video of ‘The Print’ news channel. The video has the title ‘एक झोपड़ी में रहते हैं 38 लोग, सरकारी योजना के तहत घर न मिलने से नाराज़’. The English translation of it is- ‘38 men live in a single hut and are disappointed as the government isn’t sanctioning a house to them’.
In the video, the old man said that he lives in the hut along with his 4 children and grandchildren, but hasn’t stated anywhere that he has 3 wives and 32 children (his sons and daughters). So, it is a false claim.
To summarize, not all the kids seen in the photo are the children of that old man.
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created: September 17, 2019


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Fraudulent weblinks shared under the guise of 'news reports' on famous tech companies launching Cryptocurrency platforms - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 18, 2023
Update (18 January 2022):
Another social media post with a link to a news article similar to the fake article about Amazon launching a new bitcoin is being shared across social media. According to this news article purportedly published by the BBC, Tesla has allegedly launched a new cryptocurrency trading platform called ‘360 Bit Pro Soft.’ Let’s verify this information through this article.
Claim: Tesla launches a new cryptocurrency trading platform called ‘360 Bit Pro Soft.’
Fact:  No media outlets have reported about the alleged cryptocurrency trading platform by Tesla. The website on which the news article is published is a clone of the BBC News website. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
We first looked for news reports about the launch of the alleged cryptocurrency trading platform known as ‘360 Bit Pro Soft’ by Tesla. However, there are no news reports about the same. Tesla is one of the largest companies in the world right now, and any product launched by them would generally garner the attention of the news media. Further, we looked at the social media handles of Tesla and Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, to check for any information about this trading platform. None of them had any information about the so-called ‘360 Bit Pro Soft.’
Keenly observing the website in which this news article is published about the launch gave away a few things which reveal the fakeness of it. Although the page is designed to look like the BBC News website, instead of leading to other pages or news articles, clicking on any hyperlink on the website leads to a sign-up box which says ‘change your life today,’ Even the domain name of the website if some ‘frumilonline.top‘ which is not the domain name of BBC News (‘www.bbc.com.’) Entering any details on such fake websites is not advisable as personal information may get compromised.
Published (05 August 2022):
A post on social media claims that Amazon has launched a new platform named BitcoinPrime. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Amazon launches its new platform called BitcoinPrime.
Fact: Amazon has not launched any platform called BitcoinPrime. The link mentioned in the post leads to fraudulent website which at first glance looks like a Financial Times article. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The post has a link attached to it, and clicking on that led us to a website which on first glance looked like the Financial Times website. But the URL of the website is not of Financial Times.  Besides that, clicking on any of the hyperlinks in the website only leads to the sign-up box on the website where it says ‘change your life today.’ Under that are three columns: First Name, Last Name and Email.
To cross-check, we searched on the internet with relevant keywords to understand if the Financial Times website had published any such article. We found that the website has not published anything about Amazon launching BitcoinPrime. Further, we searched on the internet to check the same, but we did not find any credible information. Since Amazon is a well known multinational Corporation, any new service or product launched by them would get extensive media coverage. Since there is no such coverage,  it can be concluded that Amazon has not launched any new platform named BitcoinPrime.
Also, there is an image in the article with a caption that reads ‘Interview with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, about BitcoinPrime.’ A reverse image search on the image led us to a tweet from Jeff Bezos. The tweet contains a short video in which Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan and Director Zoya Akhtar sit with him. This is an event organised by Amazon Prime Video in January 2020, and the full video can be seen here.
To summarise, Amazon has not launched a new platform called BitcoinPrime; the link given in this post is fraudulent.

created: January 18, 2023


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No, Amit Shah hasn’t made these controversial remarks on Jawans - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 8, 2019
On Facebook, a few users are sharing posts alleging that Amit Shah has said- “We politicians do great work than Indian Jawans, getting ‘Martyr’ status isn’t that great”. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Amit Shah has said- “We politicians do great work than Indian Jawans, getting ‘Martyr’ status isn’t that great.”
Fact: Amit Shah hasn’t made any such comments degrading Indian Jawans. No credible source was found to authenticate the claim. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When googled to check if Amit Shah has made such bizarre statements, an article of Hindi online newspaper “Pal-Pal India” that was published on April 7, 2015, was found. In the article, it was reported that Amit Shah during his speech at an event that marks the completion of 35 years of BJP, has said he was doing greater work than Indian Army Jawans and getting ‘Martyr’ status wasn’t that great. BJP cadre has organized an event on April 6, 2015, to celebrate the completion of 35 years to their party. When one goes through the speech of Amit Shah that was video graphed during this event, it was found that he has not made any such controversial statements as claimed in the post. And almost all the major news channels have covered the event but none have reported of Amit Shah making any statements of this kind. Amit Shah said that dying for the country is a big sacrifice in itself, but living for the country is more difficult and that living like that is the responsibility of party workers.
During the search, it was found that such statements attributed to Amit Shah are doing the rounds on social media since 2016.
To summarize, Amit Shah hasn’t made any controversial statements degrading Indian Army Jawans, instead he said that living for the country is more difficult than dying for the country.
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No, Amul did not fire 1.38 lakh workers for eating beef - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 15, 2021
A post is being widely shared on social media claiming that Amul Milk’s owner Anand Seth had fired 1.38 lakh workers for eating Beef. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Anand Seth, Amul Milk’s owner had fired 1.38 lakh workers for eating Beef.
Fact: Amul is the flagship brand of Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF), an apex organisation of the Dairy Cooperatives of Gujarat. Since it is a cooperative society, it is not owned by any one individual. There are 36 lakh milk producer members in the GCMMF. There are no recent news reports about Amul firing any of its workers. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Amul is the flagship brand of Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF), India’s largest food products marketing organisation. Amul Milk is one such brand. GCMMF is the Apex organisation of the Dairy Cooperatives of Gujarat, popularly known as ‘AMUL’. Since it is a cooperative society, it is not owned by any one individual. In fact, its present chairman is Shamalbhai B Patel, Vice Chairman is Valamjibhai R Humbal. The Managing Director of the cooperative is RS Sodhi. So, there is no mention of Anand Seth as the owner of Amul Milk.
There is no recent news report about Amul having fired its workers. Amul is one of the most popular brands in India. If at all it fired 1.38 lakh workers, it would have been reported by various news organisations. Even official social media handles of Amul, on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram did not mention anything about firing its workers recently.
When Aajtak approached RS Sodhi, the Managing Director of GCMMF, he refuted the claim. ‘Amul doesn’t even have 1.38 lakh employees, then how can we fire them. Amul is a cooperative with no owner. Amul is owned by lakhs of farmers who supply milk to it. Amul doesn’t discriminate based on caste and religion,’ he told Aajtak.
To sum it up, Amul did not fire 1.38 lakh workers for eating beef.


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No announcement was made by Russians that if Indians place the Indian flag over their homes, they will be safely evacuated - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 2, 2022
A post is being shared widely on social media with a claim that the Russian army has asked Indians to place Indian flags on their houses and vehicles and said that they will not harm Indians and evacuate Indians to safe places. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Russian army has asked Indians to place Indian flags on their houses and vehicles and said that they will not harm Indians and evacuate Indians to safe places.
Fact: No such announcement was made by the Russian army. In its advisory, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine has asked Indians to print out the Indian flag and paste it prominently on vehicles and buses while traveling. However, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy said that Russia has promised that it will not harm Indian students. Recently, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine advised Indians to leave Kyiv immediately. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When we searched on the internet about the claim, no such announcement by the Russian army was found in the search results. If the Russian army made any such announcement, most of the media agencies would have reported about it. But no reputed news agency published any such news. Also, the ‘Embassy of India in Russia’ did not tweet any such advisory.
On 25 February 2022, an advisory was issued to all Indian Nationals in Ukraine by the Indian Embassy in Ukraine. In the advisory, it was written – “Print out Indian flag and paste prominently on vehicles and buses while traveling”. There was no mention of the Russian army evacuating the Indians to safe places.
Important Advisory to all Indian Nationals/Students in Ukraine as on 25 February 2022.@MEAIndia @PIB_India @DDNewslive @PIBHindi @DDNational @IndianDiplomacy @PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/79124Ks0Sm
Talking to ‘ANI’, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy said – “We have asked the students who are travelling on bikes, cars, and buses to display the Indian flag prominently on the vehicles. People who are not carrying pictures of flags have been sent flags through social media. Russia has promised that it will not take any action against Indian students. We have asked them to reach the Ukraine border carrying the Indian Flags“.
Recently, on 01 March 2022, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine tweeted – “All Indian nationals including students are advised to leave Kyiv urgently today”. They did not advise Indians to keep the Indian flags on their houses so that the Russian army can evacuate them to safe places (as claimed in the post).
Advisory to Indians in Kyiv
All Indian nationals including students are advised to leave Kyiv urgently today. Preferably by available trains or through any other means available.
Also, on 01 March 2022, Arindam Bagchi (Official Spokesperson – Ministry of External Affairs) has confirmed the death of an Indian student during an attack in Kharkiv.
With profound sorrow we confirm that an Indian student lost his life in shelling in Kharkiv this morning. The Ministry is in touch with his family.
We convey our deepest condolences to the family.
However, talking to ‘ANI’, the Indian students who reached Bucharest (Romania) from Ukraine said – “We were told in Ukraine that being Indians and carrying Indian flag, we won’t have any problems”, “The Turkish and Pakistani students were also using the Indian flag”.
#WATCH | "We were easily given clearance due to the Indian flag; made the flag using a curtain & colour spray…Both Indian flag & Indians were of great help to the Pakistani, Turkish students," said Indians students after their arrival in Bucharest, Romania#UkraineCrisis pic.twitter.com/vag59CcPVf
To sum it up, no announcement was made by the Russian army that if Indians place the Indian flag over their homes, they will be safely evacuated.


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No, Article 370 has not been extended to Nagaland - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 27, 2019
A post is being shared on Facebook with a claim that the applicability of Article 370 has been extended to Nagaland by the Modi government. Let’s try to analyze the claims made in the post.
Article 370 applicability extended to Nagaland. Modi gave a green signal to Nagaland for having separate flag and passport. Now, Indians cannot buy land in Nagaland.
Fact: Article 371 A in the Indian constitution deals with Nagaland, not Article 370. Even, if the government want to extend the applicability of Article 370, it can only do that by amending the constitution. No such amendment was introduced in the Parliament. Also, there are already existing restrictions on buying the land in Nagaland by Indians from other states. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When searched for the special provisions of Nagaland and Article 370 on Google, it was found that special provisions to Nagaland are given under Article 371-A whereas Article 370 deals only with the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Both Article 370 and 371-A can be found in the Part XXI (Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions) of the Indian Constitution. Article 370 does not deal with Nagaland. Even if the government wants to extend the applicability of Article 370 to Nagaland, it can only do that by amending the constitution. But no such amendment was introduced in the Parliament.
BJP in its 2019 Lok Sabha Manifesto has mentioned that it supports the abrogation of Article 370 and also, the annulment of Article 35A. So, it is very unlikely that it will extend the Article 370 to Nagaland.
The post says that Indians cannot buy land in Nagaland after Modi extended Article 370 to Nagaland. But even if Article 370 is not extended to Nagaland, Indians from other states cannot buy land in Nagaland due to some special provisions provided to the state.
It can be found on the internet that similar news related to Facebook post was published by an online site – ‘E-Pao’. The news on the website is titled ‘GOI approves separate passport and flag for Nagas: Reports’ but does not give any proper source for the information provided. Also, the same news was found on another website – ‘Imphal Times’ without any proper source. Both the websites write that the demands were approved under the Naga Peace Accord but nothing was reported in the mainstream media about the finalization of the accord.
To sum it up, Article 370 has not been extended to Nagaland.
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Arvind Kejriwal did not make any tweet concerning leaders evading summons from investigative agencies - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 13, 2024
Given Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s repeated non-attendance in response to summons issued by investigative agencies in various cases, a screenshot has surfaced alleging to be from a 2012 tweet by Kejriwal. In this tweet, he purportedly expresses frustration over leaders avoiding summons from investigative agencies regarding corruption allegations and suggests that leaders should resign when such allegations arise. This article aims to fact-check the authenticity of the screenshot.
Claim: Screenshot of Arvind Kejriwal’s tweet expressing his anguish over leaders avoiding summons from investigative agencies.
Fact: Arvind Kejriwal did not post any tweets regarding leaders evading summons from investigative agencies. The alleged screenshot displays inconsistencies in both the ‘date’ and ‘features’, indicating that it is likely digitally manipulated. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Initially, conducting a Twitter advanced search with time and specific keyword filters failed to uncover any tweet matching the purported tweet. Additionally, we searched for archived versions of Kejriwal’s account to determine if he had shared this post in 2012 but subsequently deleted it. However, this search also yielded no relevant results, indicating that Kejriwal likely did not make such a tweet.
It’s worth noting that in 2012, Twitter had a character limit of 140 characters. Users were restricted from sharing content within this limit. Subsequently, in 2017, the character limit was doubled to 280. Additionally, following Elon Musk’s takeover, the limit was further extended to 4,000 characters.
Nonetheless, the viral screenshot depicting a supposed 2012 tweet contains more than 140 characters, indicating that it’s highly unlikely Kejriwal authored it, thus suggesting the screenshot has been manipulated.
Moreover, comparing the viral screenshot with an archived version of a random tweet by Virat Kohli from November 2012 reveals discrepancies related to formatting. The viral screenshot displays ‘like’ and ‘repost’ options, whereas the archived tweet shows ‘favourite’ and ‘retweet’ options instead. Additionally, the archived tweet follows AM & PM time conventions, which are absent in the viral screenshot. These differences strongly suggest that the viral screenshot has likely been digitally manipulated.
To sum it up, Arvind Kejriwal did not tweet in 2012 regarding leaders evading summons from investigative agencies.


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No evidence to say Asle Toje endorsed PM Modi as the top contender for Nobel Peace Prize - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 16, 2023
A social media post attributing viral statements on PM Modi to Asle Toje, deputy leader of the Nobel Prize Committee is being widely shared. The post claims that “Asle Toje observed that PM Modi is the biggest contender for the Nobel Peace Prize”.  Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: PM Modi is the biggest contender for the Nobel Peace Prize – Asle Toje
Fact: Asle Toje during his interactions with Indian media agencies showered high praise for India and PM Modi in particular. However, he did not endorse Modi, as the top contender for Nobel Peace prize, as claimed by multiple media agencies. Further, the Nobel prize statutes enforce secrecy with respect to the details of nominations and nominees. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Asle Toje, deputy leader of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, is on his India tour. Toje attended a roundtable discussion on “Alternative Development Model & Peace”, organised by India Center Foundation at the India International Center (IIC) in New Delhi on 14 March 2023.
In this conference, Toje spoke about global peace, against the backdrop of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Following the conference, he interacted with multiple news agencies.
During his interactions with media, Toje took high praise for India and PM Modi in particular. He further went on to praise PM Modi for his intervention in stopping Russia from using nuclear weapons, during ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Following his praise for Modi, multiple prominent news agencies shared articles attributing the viral statements to him. News agencies like Hindustan Times, Economic Times, TOI, ABP, CNBC, WION, Mint, ZEE, ABN, Jagran, ASIANET shared article attributing such a statement to Asle Toje.
Further, ABP went on to run a TV debate, on the prospects of Modi winning a Nobel peace prize, in the backdrop of Asle Toje’s alleged statements.
Did Asle Toje endorse Modi as top contender for Noble Prize?
However, neither in his talk at the IIC nor during any of his interviews to Indian media agencies, he explicitly affirmed Modi as the top contender for the Nobel Peace Prize.
In fact, during one of his media interactions, when he was categorically asked about Modi’s prospects of becoming Nobel peace ambassador, Toje reply’s saying “well, I think, any leader in the world should aspire to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, any leader should try to do enough for peace in the world to deserve this award, but the world comes first, and award comes next.”
What does the Nobel Prize rules stipulate?
It is also noteworthy to mention that the statutes of the Nobel Peace Prize enforce secrecy with respect to the details of the prospective candidates. Generally, the details of the nominees and nominators are not revealed until after 50 years. And this restriction applies even to the investigations and opinions related to the award of a prize.
Further, the website of the Nobel Prize rules out the speculations with respect to any contender, as sheer guess work. The website categorically states that “the committee does not itself announce the names of nominees, neither to the media nor to the candidates themselves. In so far as certain names crop up in the advance speculations as to who will be awarded any given year’s prize, this is either sheer guesswork or information put out by the person or persons behind the nomination. Information in the Nobel Committee’s nomination database is not made public until after fifty years.”
Detailed statutes of the Nobel foundation can be viewed here & here. Considering this statute, it is highly unlikely that Asle Toje being the ‘Deputy Leader of the Norwegian Nobel Committee’  makes such speculative statements about PM Modi being a top contender for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Thus, in this context, all the media reports in this regard could be regarded as an exaggerated interpretation of Toje’s statements.
Business Standard published an article stating that Asle Toje while speaking to news agency ANI had denied the claims made by the media that he referred to PM Modi as the biggest contender for the Nobel Peace Prize. Factly had written to Asle Toje seeking clarifications on these reports, and this article will be updated once he responds.
To sum it up, Asle Toje did not endorse Modi as the top contender for Nobel Peace Prize.


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No, banks will not charge 173 rupees per ATM transaction beyond the permissible limit - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 19, 2021
A post is being shared on social media claiming that banks will charge 173 rupees for every Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transaction beyond the permissible limit. This post claims that beyond four free ATM transactions, banks are going to charge ₹ 150 tax and ₹ 23 additional service charge for every transaction. Also, the post claims that beyond four free bank transactions, banks will charge ₹ 150 rupees per additional bank transaction. According to the post, these new guidelines will come into force from 01 August 2021. Let’s verify the claims made in the post.
Claim: Banks are now going to charge 173 rupees for every ATM transaction beyond the permissible limit.
Fact: On 10 June 2021, RBI issued a notification by revising the interchange fees and customer service charges of Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transactions. According to the new RBI regulations, customers are eligible for five free transactions every month from their own bank ATMs and three free transactions in other bank ATMs in metro centres. Beyond the free transactions, banks are allowed to charge 21 rupees for every additional ATM transaction. These RBI guidelines will come into force from 01 January 2022. The charges mentioned in the post are related to the cash transfer charges (does not include ATM transactions) in few private banks including ICICI, HDFC and HDFC. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When we searched to check whether RBI had issued any such new regulations on their website, we found out that on 10 June 2021, RBI had issued a notification by revising the interchange fee structure and customer service charges of Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transactions. Considering the increasing cost of ATM deployment, expenses towards ATM maintenance and the need to balance the expectations of stakeholders, RBI decided to increase the interchange fees and customer service charges of ATM transactions.
According to the new RBI guidelines, customers are eligible for five free transactions every month from their own bank ATMs. They are also eligible for three free transactions in other bank ATMs in 6 metro centres, and five free transactions in non-metro centres. Beyond the free transactions, banks are allowed to charge ₹ 21 for every ATM transaction. These RBI new guidelines will come into force from 01 January 2022. Currently, banks are charging ₹ 20 for every ATM transaction beyond the permissible limit. Several news websites published articles reporting the new guidelines issued by RBI. They can be seen here and here.
The charges mentioned in the post are related to the cash transfer charges (does not include ATM transactions) in few private banks including ICICI, HDFC and AXIS banks. ICICI recently issued a notification by revising the limits of cash transactions, ATM interchange and chequebook charges. These new regulations reportedly came into force from 01 August 2021. According to the ICICI regulations, ICICI allows their customers four free cash transactions (cumulative of both deposit and withdrawals) per month. Thereafter, it will charge 150 rupees for every cash transaction. HDFC and AXIS banks are also charging the same cash transfer fees from their customers.  ICICI, HDFC and AXIS banks are charging ₹ 20 for every ATM transaction beyond the free limit. The ATM interchange and cash transaction charges in these banks can be seen here, here, and here.
To sum it up, banks will not charge 173 rupees for every ATM transaction beyond the permissible limit.


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No, Benjamin Netanyahu hasn’t made any comments asking Hindus to become ‘Parashuram’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 18, 2019
An image with a photo of Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu with an accompanying message  is being shared widely on Facebook. The message is in Hindi and its English translation is- “Proofs about the existence of Ram will be sought from Hindus until one stays calm like Ram, the day they turn to be aggressive like Parashuram, even the children of Babar would say Jai Sri Ram”. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Benjamin Netanyahu: “Proofs about the existence of Ram will be sought from Hindus until one stays calm like Ram, the day they turn to be aggressive like Parashuram, even the children of Babar would say Jai Sri Ram”.
Fact: Netanyahu hasn’t made these comments. Information from no credible source was found which confirms that the comments were made by him. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When searched on Google with keywords ‘Benjamin Netanyahu about Hindus being sought for the proofs of ram’s existence’, no relevant information was obtained in the search results about Netanyahu making those statements.
If Netanyahu had really made such statements, they would have been reported by all the major newspapers and channels in India. But no news agency has reported anything about Netanyahu making those comments. So, false statements are being attributed to Netanyahu.
To conclude, Benjamin Netanyahu hasn’t made those comments. False statements are being attributed to him.
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created: October 18, 2019


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There is no evidence of Bhagat Singh making these statements praising Mughals during his trial - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 30, 2022
A video is being shared on social media in which a person claims that Bhagat Singh praised Mughals while responding to a British judge during his trial. ‘The Siasat Daily’ has also published an article based on the same video. It is being claimed that Bhagat Singh said to the judge – “Your rule is like a sponge which sucks the jewels and diamonds of Ganga and squeezes it at the Thames in England. You get rich by our wealth and progress. The Mughals ruled our hearts and unlike you, they did not take India’s wealth outside. They spent it here, they enriched India, made monuments and died and got buried in its soil. They made India a Golden Bird opulence of which brought you here from across the seven seas.” Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Bhagat Singh said – “Your rule is like a sponge which sucks the jewels and diamonds of Ganga and squeezes it at the Thames in England….The Mughals ruled our hearts and unlike you, they did not take India’s wealth outside.”
Fact: No authentic evidence attributing these statements to Bhagat Singh was found. The person in the posted video claims that the same can be found in the ‘Grover and Grover’ book. But no such statements by Bhagat Singh were found in the BL Grover’s Modern Indian History book. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched on the internet if any such statements were made by Bhagat Singh during his trial, no authentic evidence attributing these statements to Bhagat Singh was found. The documents related to his trial can be found here.
The person in the posted video claims that the same can be found in the ‘Grover and Grover’ book. We could not find any such book containing the same statements. However, there is a Modern Indian History Book written by BL Grover and Alka Mehta. Even in that book, no such statements by Bhagat Singh were found. However, a similar statement with respect to the Thames and Ganga rivers – “Our system acts very much like a sponge, drawing up all the good things from the banks of the Ganges, and squeezing them down on the banks of the Thames”, is attributed to John Sullivan (President, Board of Revenue, Madras), not Bhagat Singh, in that book.
To sum it up, there is no evidence of Bhagat Singh making these statements praising Mughals during his trial.


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No, Bhagavad Gita classes were not made compulsory for primary school students in Netherlands - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 4, 2021
A post is being widely shared on social media claiming that Bhagavad Gita classes were made compulsory for Dutch students from grade 5. The post also displays an image of two young girls holding the Bhagavad Gita. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Bhagavad Gita classes were made compulsory for Dutch students.
Fact: Bhagavad Gita classes were not made compulsory for Dutch Students. There is no mention of Bhagavad Gita in the list of compulsory subjects to be taught in Primary schools in Netherlands. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When reverse image search is done on the image in the post, the same image was found published on 20 September 2013 on the website ‘ISKCON Desire Tree’. Several other images of children with Bhagavad Gita were also found on the website, with the title ‘Beautiful little Vaisnava!!!!’ There is no mention of the Netherlands making Bhagavad Gita compulsory for its students. The same image had been circulating in social media since 2014.
We searched in the government of Netherlands website to look for compulsory subjects being taught to Primary school students. There was no mention of Bhagavad Gita in this list of compulsory subjects to be taught in Primary schools in the Netherlands.
A private member’s bill was moved by BJP Member of Parliament Ramesh Bidhuri to make the Bhagavad Gita reading compulsory in schools in 2017. News articles about the bill can be seen here. The Compulsory Teaching of Bhagavad Gita as a Moral Education Text Book in Educational Institutions Bill, 2019 is being introduced in the ongoing parliament session by Ramesh Bidhuri.
To sum it up, Bhagavad Gita classes were not made compulsory for Dutch primary school students.

created: August 4, 2021


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No, Bharath Jain, a wealthy beggar from India, is not an IIM alumni - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 13, 2023
A post is being shared on social media accompanied by a photo of Bharath Jain, a wealthy beggar from India, claiming that he is an alumnus of IIM Calcutta. Allegedly, Bharath runs a begging empire that constitutes around 18000 beggars, and the post’s description also claims that he is expanding his business Internationally. Lets face check this claim through this article.
Claim: Bharath Jain, one of the wealthiest beggars in India, is an IIM Calcutta graduate who runs a colossal begging empire.
Fact: Although media reports state that Bharath Jain is one of the wealthiest beggars in India, earning around 60-70k per month, he reportedly did not have any formal education. None of the media reports that covered his story mentioned anything about him being a graduate of IIM Calcutta. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
To learn more details about Bharath Jain, we performed a keyword search on the internet, which led us to many news reports (here, here, and here) about him, which contained the photo identical to the one in the viral post.
In July 2023, Financial Express reported that Bharath Jain’s income’..ranges between Rs. 60,000 and Rs. 75,000..’, and the report further states that Bharath did not pursue formal education.
Media reports that covered the story mention that he owns a flat worth Rs. 1.2 crores and has a net worth of Rs. 7.5 crores but none of them state that he is an IIM Calcutta graduate and runs a begging empire and is expanding overseas, which is being claimed in the viral post. Since the media reports contradict the claims made in the viral post, we could conclude that the viral post cooked up version of Bharath Jain’s story.
To sum up, there is no evidence online to prove that Bharath Jain is a kingpin of a begging empire in India and is an IIM Calcutta graduate.


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No, Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Ravan’s actual name isn’t Naseemuddin Khan - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 21, 2019
On Facebook, since a few days, many users are alleging that Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekar Ravan’s actual name is Naseemuddin Khan and he has been masking his true name so that he can divide the Hindus. Let’s try to check the veracity of the claims made in the post.
Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekar Ravan’s actual name is Naseemuddin Khan.
Fact: Chandrashekar Ravan himself tweeted rubbishing the allegations over his name.  Moreover, the bail order from Allahabad High Court also lists his name as ‘Chandrashekar Ravan’. So, the claim made in the post stands FALSE.
When one looks at the Twitter account of Chandrashekar Ravan if he has given any clarification regarding the rumours over his real name, a tweet by him rubbishing such rumours was found. In his tweet, he referred to a tweet that made allegations over his name and has written, “I have not stopped laughing since I have read this post. Well, the name ‘Naseemuddin’ is not bad”.
जबसे ये पोस्ट पढ़ी है मेरी तो हंसी नही रुक रही है।
वैसे नसीमुद्दीन नाम बुरा नही है 😂😂😂 https://t.co/N4bPpOlnjn
To verify his name in any of the official records, we accessed  a copy of bail order granted by Allahabhad High Count after his arrest  regarding the Saharanpur violence in 2017. It can be noted that even in the bail order his name is mentioned as ‘Chandrashekhar @ Ravan‘. Hence there is no evidence to claim Bhim Army Chief Chandra Shekar Ravan’s actual name is Naseemuddin Khan.
When BOOM contacted Chandra Shekar on Twitter, he said, “The BJP does these things to defame me.” (“ये भाजपा के लोग बदनाम करने के लिए ऐसी चीजें करवाते है”). Finally, there is no truth in the rumours that Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekar Ravan’s actual name is Naseemuddin Khan.
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No, Bill Gates did not demand the withdrawal of COVID-19 vaccines - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 17, 2022
A news report is being widely shared on social media claiming that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates had called for the withdrawal of all COVID-19 vaccines. This article reported that in a recent 19-minute television interaction, Bill Gates said, “We committed a calamitous error. We looked to protect people from possibly lethal contamination. In any case, the contamination ends up being undeniably less hurtful than we initially dreaded. Moreover, the inoculation is fundamentally more hurtful than anybody expected”. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Bill Gates called for the withdrawal of all COVID-19 vaccines.
Fact: This article was first published by ‘The Daily Expose’ website on 29 August 2021. ‘The Daily Expose’ website attached a disclaimer clarifying that the article is satire. Bill Gates did not make any such statement demanding the withdrawal of COVID-19 vaccines. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched to check whether Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates had made any such statement demanding the withdrawal of all COVID-19 vaccines, we could not find any such news report on the internet. If Bill Gates had made any such statement, several international mainstream news portals would have published articles reporting that information. But we could not find even a single news article reporting such information. In 2020, while responding to several COVID-19 conspiracy theories linked to him, Bill Gates said, “In a way, it’s so bizarre you almost want to see it as something humorous but it’s really not a humorous thing. It’s almost hard to deny this stuff because it’s so stupid or strange that even to repeat it gives it credibility”.
When we searched for the details of the article shared in the post, it is found out that this news report was first published by ‘The Daily Expose’ website on 29 August 2021. This website attached a note in the article stating, “The following satire is fictional in that Mr. Gates has made no such speech and the Gates Foundation has not established any funds to compensate vaccine victims or to make available effective, inexpensive COVID-19 remedies. All the rest of the article is factual”. When this satirical article was re-published by several websites assuming the news as true, ‘The Daily Expose’ website attached a disclaimer top on their article clarifying the article is satire. The text in the disclaimer reads, “When we first published this article we should have made it clear at the beginning that it was satire rather than at the end. We did not do this and we apologise”.
The ‘About Us’ section of the website states, “The Daily Expose is run by extremely ordinary, hardworking people who are sick and tired of the fear-mongering, lies, and propaganda perpetuated by the mainstream media. We felt it was our duty to bring you the facts that the mainstream refuse to, and now here we are”. Several similar articles questioning the safety of COVID-19 vaccines were found published on this website.
To sum it up, Bill Gates did not demand the withdrawal of COVID-19 vaccines; the article reporting this information is a satirical one.

created: January 17, 2022


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No, Bill Gates has not tweeted supporting animal slaughter during Eid. It is a photoshopped one - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 16, 2019
On several social media platforms, a screenshot with a tweet attributed to Bill Gates is going viral. The content of that tweet reads as follows- “I don’t want to see any tweet hating on Muslims for slaughtering animals, about 1 million animals killed each day by KFC, McDonald’s, Burger King etc. too feed the rich & making hella money out of it. During Eid Muslims sacrifice them to feed the poor for Free & y’all lose ur mind”. Also, on Facebook, the screenshot of that tweet is being shared widely by many users. Let’s try to analyze the veracity of the tweet enclosed in the post.
Bill Gates has tweeted- “I don’t want to see any tweet hating on Muslims for slaughtering animals, about 1 million animals killed each day by KFC, McDonald’s, Burger King etc. too feed the rich & making hella money out of it. During Eid Muslims sacrifice them to feed the poor for Free & y’all lose ur mind”.
Fact: No such tweet was found on the official Twitter account of Bill Gates with the Twitter handle “@BillGates”. When searched for such a tweet using Twitter’s advanced search technique, no search results were obtained. Hence, the tweet seen in the screenshot is a photoshopped one and the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When searched on the official Twitter account of Bill Gates, with the handle “@BillGates”, if Gates has tweeted supporting animal sacrifices by Muslims for Eid, no such tweet was found. When a Twitter advanced search was done using the keywords seen in the screenshot, that also yielded no search results. If Bill Gates has expressed his opinion on practices or rituals of any religious community it would have been surely reported by the media. But no such information was found. So, the screenshot circulating with the tweet of Bill Gates is a photoshopped one.
During the search process ‘FACTLY’ has found that a Twitter user ‘Kurdistani’ with the Twitter handle @WolfieBabiee was the first to post such a message on Twitter. She put that tweet on August 10, 2019.
Earlier, when a screenshot of a tweet attributed to Bill Gates wishing Chandra Babu Naidu for his birthday was in circulation, ‘FACTLY’ has written a fact-check article on it terming it to be false and this can be seen here.
To conclude, Bill Gates hasn’t tweetedsupporting animal slaughtering for Eid. It is a photoshopped one.
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No, Bill Gates hasn’t tweeted wishing Chandra Babu Naidu on his birthday - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 22, 2019
Many Facebook users are sharing a post with a tweet alleged to be that of Bill Gates wishing Nara Chandra Babu Naidu on his birthday. Let’s try to analyze the veracity of the tweet enclosed in the post.
Bill Gates has tweeted wishing Nara Chandra Babu on his birthday.
Fact: No such tweet is found on the official twitter page of Bill Gates with the handle “@BillGates”. Even when one searches for such a tweet using twitter’s advanced search, nothing is found. Hence it is a photoshopped post and the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Chandra Babu Naidu celebrated his 69th birthday on April 20, 2019. When one searches the official twitter page of Bill Gates with the handle “@BillGates” regarding wishes to Chandra Babu Naidu on and after Apr 20, 2019, no such tweet was found. There is also no information about the launch of Windows 69 and no such thing was found to have been launched. Bill Gates has last tweeted on April 20, 2019, regarding Melinda Gates new book “#MomentofLift”.
Finally, the tweet from Bill Gates wishing Chandra Babu Naidu on his birthday is a fake one.


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No, BJP did not emerge as the third-largest party in Tamil Nadu local body elections 2022 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 24, 2022
Results of the Tamil Nadu local body elections 2022 were announced recently. It is in this context a social media post that claims that  BJP has emerged as the third-largest party is being widely circulated across all the social media platforms. Another post that details the results claims that BJP has won 5 Corporations, 46 Municipalities, and 188 Town Panchayats. Through this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in these posts.
Claim: BJP has emerged as the third largest party in the Tamil Nadu local body elections 2022.
Fact: As per the data released by the Tamil Nadu state election commission, BJP won 308 out of the total 12838 corporators/ward members/town panchayat members, making it the fourth largest individual party in terms of win percentage. If we consider independents, BJP stands fifth, as the total seats won by independents places them in third position, above INC and BJP.  The State Election Commission did not release vote share figures as of 24 February 2022. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The State election commission of Tamil Nadu has released the information related to the total wards won by any political party but did not release vote share figures
As per the information available on the Tamil Nadu state election commission website, BJP won 22 of the total 1374 Corporation wards, 56 of the 2843 Municipal wards, and 230 of the total 7621 Town Panchayat wards. This result of BJP winning the wards in different local bodies is misrepresented as it is winning the entire Corporation/ Municipality/Town Panchayat in the claim made in the post.
However, in total, the BJP won 308 wards out of 12838 wards (comprising all Corporations, Municipalities, and Town Panchayats) which went for elections. This makes BJP the fourth-largest individual party in terms of the wards elected (win percentage).
The ruling DMK leads the race by winning 7701 wards, followed by AIDMK winning 2008 wards. Independents have bagged 1945 wards making them the third-largest in terms of seats. Congress party stands third within parties with 592 wards.
If we consider the results of only those wards where candidates are elected in a competitive election and leaving out those where candidates were elected unanimously,  a total of 12818 wards went for elections excluding the wards where the election is cancelled or postponed. As of now, DMK with 7701 wards bagged 60.08% of the total 12818 wards. AIDMK win percentage stands around 15.7% with 2008 wards. INC stood third with win percentage standing at 4.62% with 592 wards. BJP stands as fourth-largest individual party with a 2.4% win percentage by winning  308 wards.
However, it is noteworthy to mention that if we consider the total seats won by independents as a whole, BJP stands fifth in terms of win percentage, as the total seats won by independents places them in the third position, above INC and BJP. News articles that reported the election result also prove that BJP is not the third-largest party in terms of win percentage as claimed in the post.
To sum it up, BJP did not stand out as the third-largest party in Tamil Nadu local body elections 2022.

created: February 24, 2022


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No BSF Jawan died in the bus accident at Darbhanga in Bihar - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 11, 2020
A photo is being shared on social media claiming that a Bus carrying the BSF Jawans overturned at Darbhanga on their way to Bihar election duty. In the post, it claims that Nine BSF Jawans died in this accident. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Nine BSF jawans died in a bus accident at Darbhanga, Bihar.
Fact: A bus carrying BSF Jawans on election duty indeed overturned at Darbhanga in Bihar. But, no BSF jawan died in this accident. Ten persons, including nine BSF jawans, got injured in this accident. So, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo is found in an article published by Lokaarpan news website on ‘05 November 2020’. In the article, it is reported that a bus carrying BSF Jawans to Bihar election duty overturned at the Darbhanga city of Muzaffarpur district. It is reported that many Jawans were injured in this accident.
In Dainik Bhaskar’s article about this accident, it is reported that ten persons, including nine BSF Jawans and a driver, got injured in this accident.  It is mentioned in the article that the lack of location knowledge is the prime reason for this accident. Sharing the same photo, ‘Punjab Kesari’ news website also published an article about this incident.
To sum it up, no BSF Jawan died in the bus accident at Darbhanga city in Bihar.

created: November 11, 2020


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No BSF jawan has died in Meghalaya’s bus accident. Injured jawans are receiving treatment. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 7, 2019
A video and a couple of photos are being shared on Facebook with a claim that 12 jawans who were travelling on a bus have died in a road accident in Meghalaya. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
12 jawans have died in a bus accident in Meghalaya.
Fact: BSF authorities have clarified to FACTLY that all jawans are ‘safe and undergoing treatment at various hospitals’. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When searched on Google with the keywords ‘Meghalaya bus accident jawans’, several news articles with similar visuals were found in the search results. According to an article on the ‘Northeast Now News’ website, ‘one person died and 22 others including 20 BSF jawans received injuries as a bus fell down in a gorge at Umtyrra in East Jaintia Hills on Wednesday’. All the news agencies have reported about the incident but none of them reported about any BSF jawan succumbing to the injuries.
So, FACTLY has written to the authorities at BSF-Meghalaya to get a clarification on the viral posts. In his clarification to FACTLY, Randhir Ranjan (2IC – Operations, Ftr HQ BSF Meghalaya) wrote, ‘there was no casualty of any BSF jawan in the bus accident. However, 01 helper of the civil bus, which was carrying the BSF jawan, died in that accident. All jawans who sustained injuries during the accident are safe and undergoing treatment at various hospitals’.
Also, in an article by the ‘Northeast Now News’, it can be read that BSF jawans injured in the bus accident are being treated at North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS), Shillong.
To sum it up, no BSF jawan has died in Meghalaya’s bus accident. Injured jawans are receiving treatment.
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created: November 7, 2019


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No, Burj Khalifa is not lit up in Israeli flag - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 17, 2020
A post with the image of Burj Khalifa lit up in Israeli flag is doing rounds on social media with the claim that, in the light of landmark UAE-Israel deal, Burj Khalifa is lit up in Israeli flag. Through this article lets fact-check the claim made in the post.
Burj Khalifa is lit up in Israeli flag in the wake of UAE-Israel deal.
Fact: We could not find any news article reporting this incident. Even the official social media accounts of Burj Khalifa did not share any image or video of Burj Khalifa lit up in Israeli flag. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Every time Burj Khalifa is lit up with a specific image or a flag etc., it  is posted on the official social media platforms of Burj Khalifa like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.  Hence, we searched those social media accounts but we could not find any video or image of Burj Khalifa lit up in Israeli flag on the timelines of respective social media accounts. Also, we could not find any news article reporting this. Even on the Independence Day of India and Pakistan, Burj Khalifa was lit up in Indian Tricolor and Pakistan flag. With this, we can say the photo in the post is digitally morphed.
On reverse searching the image in the post on Yandex, we found the image of Burj Khalifa shared in the post, but without the Israel flag. The Israel flag would have been added digitally to this image using a tool like photoshop.
In the light of the landmark UAE-Israel peace deal signed on 13 August 2020, posts like these are being widely shared across all social media platforms.
To sum it up, morphed image is shared as Burj Khalifa is lit up in Israeli flag.
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No, Cairo tower was not lit up with colours of Palestinian flag in solidarity with Palestine - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 21, 2021
Amidst the exchange of airstrikes between Israel and Hamas for eleven days which ended with a cease-fire agreement, a social media post accompanying an image of Cairo tower is being widely shared with a claim that Cairo tower is lit up with colours of the Palestinian flag as an act of solidarity. The image shows the Cairo tower lit up with the Palestine flag. Through this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Cairo Tower lit up with Palestinian flag.
Fact: Cairo tower was not lit up with Palestinian flag colours. This image is actually a digitally edited version of an image of Cairo tower adorned with LED bulbs by Bulb America. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
There are no news reports or any other information saying that Cairo tower was lit up with the Palestine flag. Further, reverse image search of the photo in the post led us to an image of Cairo tower on Wikimedia commons that has close resemblance to the one in the post. By juxtaposing this image with the one in the post, we can spot many striking similarities like the crescent moon, the background hue of the sky, and the outline of the trees. With this, we can conclude that this image of Cairo tower (perhaps from another source) is digitally edited so as to look like it is lit up with colours of the Palestinian flag.
The image of Cairo tower on Wikimedia is credited to Ahmedsantos. Taking a cue from here, further search led us to the same image in a blog of Bulb America, an online bulb retailer. As per the blog, the image shows the Cairo tower adorned with LED bulbs by Bulb America upon the request of the Egyptian government. Hence this image could be the origin of the viral image.
Previously on 09 Feb 2021, celebrating the occasion of  UAE’s mars probe ‘Hope’ entering the Mars orbit, Cairo tower was lit up in red, referring to Mars planet upon which phrases like “Hope Probe” & “#Arabs to_Mars” are superimposed in Arabic.
Earlier in 2020, the Cairo tower was also lit up with phrases “protect yourself”, “stay at home”, and “be safe” as an act of solidarity with governments in their fight against COVID-19. These images can be seen here. By all this, we can conclude that the Cairo tower is not lit up with the Palestinian flag, and the image in the post is created digitally.
To sum it up, Cairo tower was not lit up with colours of Palestinian flag in solidarity with Palestine.