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533	Circular prohibiting protest in Parliament House is not new - Alt News Kalim Ahmed 16th July 2022 / 11:57 am On July 15, several prominent politicians tweeted a circular called Parliamentary Bulletin Part II. According to this decree, members cannot use the Parliament House premise for any demonstrations, dharnas, fasts, etc. It is undersigned by the Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha. Politicians such as Manish Tewari and Jairam Ramesh of the Indian National Congress and Sanjay Singh of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) took to Twitter to express their disappointment regarding this circular. Manish Tewari wrote that Presiding Officers were setting the stage for a confrontation with the members. He further referred to the list of words that were recently declared unparliamentary. It is important to note that unparliamentary expression does not mean that these words have been banned. Why are the Presiding officers setting the stage for confrontation with the Members ? First the word war & now this. It is indeed unfortunate. @ombirlakota @MVenkaiahNaidu pic.twitter.com/FFXJUs5wFf — Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) July 15, 2022 Jairam Ramesh tweeted the decree with a wordplay. Vishguru’s latest salvo — D(h)arna Mana Hai! pic.twitter.com/4tofIxXg7l — Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) July 15, 2022 Sanjay Singh tweeted this circular with a caption in Hindi, calling it an insult to the MPs. संसद का नया फ़रमान, सांसदों का है अपमान। pic.twitter.com/g4Le7xJqGO — Sanjay Singh AAP (@SanjayAzadSln) July 15, 2022 Mahua Moitra of All India Trinamool Congress also shared this circular on Twitter. Why not just remove Gandhiji’s statue from the premises? And erase Article 19 (1) a of the constitution. pic.twitter.com/PriwGof3rE — Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) July 15, 2022 Several media houses such as The Indian Express, The Print, NDTV, The Hindu, National Herald, India TV, Live Mint, Firstpost, etc., have published reports based on the tweets by opposition leaders. Most of these outlets have attributed the Press Trust of India (PTI) for the story. Almost all media outlets mentioned have reported as if this is a new rule. We performed a keyword search that took us to the Parliament Bulletin Part-II page present on the website of the Rajya Sabha. Rummaging the page for the month of July, we found the circular titled, “Demonstration, Dharna, Strike, Fast, etc., within precincts of the Parliament House”. This circular read exactly like the one viral on social media. Reacting to the news of this decree, NCP Chief Sharad Pawar said that there is no such “restriction”. “We have received a statement from Parliament speaker that there is no such restriction. Leaders of all political parties will sit together tomorrow in Delhi and discuss,” said Pawar. Moreover, we also found a statement from Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla appealing to all political parties to abstain from making such allegations without ascertaining the facts. “It (such circulars to members) is a process. This practice has been carried on for a long time. My appeal to all political parties is that in Parliament or the Assemblies, they should abstain from making charges and counter-charges without ascertaining the facts…” said Birla. Taking Speaker Birla’s words as a clue, we probed further and found the same decree issued in 2019, 2020, 2021, and even in January 2022. Journalist Rajdeep Sardesai tweeted the same decree issued in 2009 i.e., during the UPA era. Like Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha has also issued this circular several times in the past. (check here). The no dharna, no religious ceremony rule in parliament precincts is not new. Has been there from UPA times. This is Feb 2009. pic.twitter.com/Vp9Q8eMrZN — Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) July 15, 2022 This circular can also be found on Rajya Sabha’s website issued in 2012 and 2013. The handbook for members of Rajya Sabha (2010), has this instruction under the topic of General Matters. To sum it up, a decree regularly issued by both the houses of the parliament that instructs the members not to use the Parliament House premise for demonstrations or dharnas was selectively shared by several prominent politicians. Multiple media outlets also reported on the statements by opposition members however, they did not clarify that the circular isn’t new. Kalim is a journalist with a keen interest in tech, misinformation, culture, etc Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	16th July 2022 / 11:57 am	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/circular-prohibiting-protest-in-parliament-house-is-not-new/", "author": "Kalim Ahmed" }
534	Claim by BJP members that Hindus were killed in Birbhum violence is false - Alt News Archit 24th March 2022 / 5:58 pm On March 21, Bhadu Sheikh, a TMC’s deputy pradhan in Bogtui village of West Bengal’s Birbhum district, died after four men on two motorcycles allegedly lobbed crude bombs at him. This incident sparked off a chain of events that led to at least eight houses in the area being attacked and set on fire, resulting in eight deaths, including that of women and children, reported The Indian Express. Police told The Indian Express two FIRs have been filed – one over Bhadu’s killing and the other over the attack on the houses. Eleven people have been arrested in the second case. Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee is expected to visit the violence-affected district on March 24, and the centre has sought a report of the violence within 72 hours. Against the backdrop of this, BJP MLA Raja Singh released a video statement saying “innocent Hindus were burnt to death in Bengal”. He requested Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to enable a law that “provides guns” to every Hindu in Bengal for “self-defence” because they face threats from the increasing population of Bengali Muslims, Rohingya and Pakistan Muslims under Mamata Banerjee. These claims have been shared on social media with various hashtags, such as ‘#बंगाल_में_हिंदू_जल_रहा_है‘, ‘#BengalBurning‘, and others. Multiple Facebook accounts have shared this clip on pro-BJP Facebook groups and pages such as — I Support Raja Singh [86K followers] and Sudarshan News Fans [56K followers]. बंगाल के हिंदू परिवारों को गन लाइसेंस दे आत्मरक्षा के लिए। #BirbhumMassacre #HinduLivesMatters pic.twitter.com/bKkIbUhld8 — Raja Singh (@TigerRajaSingh) March 23, 2022 Ranjit Savarkar, chairman at Swatantryaveer Savarkar Rashtriya Smarak, also made the same claim and reminded that this was a wake-up for the Hindus. He also tweeted two images, of which one of them shows charred bones. This tweet has gained over 2,000 likes. Twitter user @doctorrichabjp made the same claim on Twitter. BJP leader Uday Pratap Singh shared identical text as posted by Doctor Richa in form of a screenshot. Alt News has documented multiple instances of misinformation shared by Richa in the past. Hindu Yuva Vahini Gujarat in charge Yogi Devnath, Sudarshan News journalist Santosh Chauhan, RSS member Sunil Mittal. The Telegraph published reports on March 23 and March 24. The latter includes details narrated by Mihilal Sheikh, whose family members were killed in the above-mentioned attack. He ran over 10km through paddy fields, along with his elder brother Banirul, after their homes were set ablaze. Mihilal told The Telegraph that [sic] he had “lost faith” in police and would back whichever party that brought the CBI to investigate the killings. The eight deceased include Sheli Bibi, 32 (Mihilal’s wife), Tuli Khatun, 7 (his daughter), Nurnehar Bibi (his mother who Mihilal claimed was a 75-year-old widow), Rupali Bibi, 44 (his elder sister), Jahanara Bibi, 38 (his sister-in-law), Lili Khatun, 18 (his niece), Kazi Sajidur Rahman, 22, (Lili’s husband) and Mina Bibi, 40 (Mihilal’s sister-in-law). As per March 23 report, the first seven were relatives and their bodies were found in the one-storey house of Sona Sheikh. Kazi Sajidur and Lili Khatun were the newlyweds. These names establish they were from the Muslim community. Thus, social media claim that Hindus were targeted in Birbhum violence is false. The March 24 report added [sic] that Mihilal, Banirul and two other survivors of the massacre are currently at Gopaljal in the Sainthia police district. They were reportedly offered large amounts of money by Trinamul “agents”. A day prior, the West Bengal Police tweeted, “No Hindu Women or Children has been killed at Village- Bogtui, Rampurhat, Birbhum. Legal action is being initiated against the persons who are trying to communalize this tragic incident through misleading posts to create social unrest in the state of West Bengal.” pic.twitter.com/lCRVO04k7w — West Bengal Police (@WBPolice) March 23, 2022 Alt News spoke with a regional journalist who confirmed that over 20 accused have been arrested in relation to the incident. The journalist confirmed that all the accused are from the same community. We also gained access to the suo-moto complaint by Rampurhat police station in relation to the massacre — the complaint listed that as per preliminary enquiry, 22 suspects have been listed and charged with various Indian Penal Code sections. They are associates of Bhadu (killed on March 21). Alt News read the names of the accused and can confirm that both victims and accused in the massacre are from the same community. Thus, there is no question of the incident being communal. Additionally, Alt News spoke with Nagendra Tripathi, SP Birbhum, who confirmed that both the accused and the victims are from the minority community. To sum it up, BJP leaders and several pro-BJP social media accounts falsely gave the unfortunate deaths in the Birbhum violence a communal spin. 🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… Following Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win against Argentina in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, speculation about… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The CCTV footage of a man violently flinging a child on the ground has created… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	24th March 2022 / 5:58 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/claim-by-bjp-members-that-hindus-were-killed-in-birbhum-violence-is-false/", "author": "Archit" }
535	The claim that statue of Swami Vivekananda was 'beheaded' by Muslims in Bhadohi, UP, is fake news - Alt News Alt News Desk 31st October 2017 / 12:55 am / Last updated: 31st October 2017 “BREAKING: Statue of Swami #Vivekananda “beheaded” / destroyed allegedly by #Muslims in Bhadohi, UP. Is India Saudi Arabia ? Media silent.“, tweeted Shankhnaad. Shankhnaad is one of the most toxic accounts on social media. They have over 1.3 million followers on Facebook and 17.4 thousand followers on Twitter and have been caught multiple times spreading fake videos and images with the sole purpose of fomenting communal hatred. Is this account upto its dirty tricks again? On 26th October, at Sadar Kotwali, Nai Bazar Road in Bhadohi, Uttar Pradesh, a statue of Swami Vivekananda was found damaged with the head of the statue lying on the ground beside the statue. A rather unknown website called Akhand Bharat News was the first to report this issue. This report claimed that an anti-social element had broken the statue of Swami Vivekananda and was subsequently arrested. Patrika reported the same incident on October 27th and stated that the district administration has promised to install a new statue. Even though none of the news reports had stated anything about the religion of the accused, social media made this into a communal affair with posts on both Facebook and Twitter claiming that people belonging to the Muslim community were behind this incident. The tweet by Shankhnaad got retweeted the most number of times with over 2600 retweets at the time of writing. A rather popular website called Topyaps.com referred to Shankhnaad’s tweet and published a story titled, “Swami Vivekananda’s Statue Gets Damaged In ISIS Style In UP’s Bhadohi“. The story goes on to make innuendos completely contradictory to the prevalent news reports. The first para of the story states, “Whatever may be one’s political affiliation, the respect for Swami Vivekananda remains indistinguishable. Except, of course, the far Left and anti-Hindu religious fundamentalists, no one can even think of insulting Swami Vivekananda. But some anti-social elements have damaged a statue Swami Vivekananda located at Sadar Kotwali, New Bazar Road, Bhadohi, Uttar Pradesh.“. However, when a Twitter user tagged UP Police on Twitter, urging them to take action, Bhadohi police’s Twitter account responded stating that the accused had already been arrested, his name being Premchandra Gautam, son of Neeraj Gautam. Bhadohi police further stated that the accused was arrested at 12:55 pm on 26th October. Fact-checking website BoomLive.in who was the first to do a fact-check regarding this claim also spoke to additional SP of Bhadohi, Sanjay Kumar, who rubbished the claims on social media and stated that the accused was mentally challenged. Another day, another rumour, another set of right-wing Hindutva accounts using fakery to further their hate agenda. At what point will the police smoke out the anti-social elements behind accounts like Shankhnaad? At what point will Twitter finally decide to close their accounts for repeated fake news that foments hatred? Who would be responsible if rumours from one of these usual suspects leads to a riot yet again? Follow @free_thinker Following Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win against Argentina in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, speculation about… Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery. Several users have shared images of the… The brutal murder of Shraddha Walker has been widely covered across news media over the… A 1:34-minute-long CCTV camera clip is being widely circulated on social media in which viewers… The teaser of a movie titled ‘The Kerala Story’ is being widely shared on social…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	31st October 2017 / 12:55 am / Last updated: 31st October 2017	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/claim-statue-swami-vivekananda-beheaded-muslims-bhadohi-fake-news/", "author": "Alt News Desk" }
536	News18 cameraman's scuffle with journalist used by News18, Amit Malviya to target farmers - Alt News Priyanka Jha 28th July 2021 / 8:31 pm A group of farmers started a Kisan Sansad at Jantar Mantar in Delhi as soon as the monsoon session of Parliament commenced on July 22. The Delhi police made heavy security arrangements at Jantar Mantar during the protest. On the first day of the Sansad, News18 anchor Amish Devgan claimed in his show ‘Aar Paar’ that his cameraman reporting on the ground was ‘attacked’. “This is a picture of News18 cameraperson Nagendra Gosain. A News18 cameraperson goes out to get coverage as usual. When he hears a man hurling abuses at the media there, he tells them such language should not be used, also because there are women present too. And in response, he is himself beaten up. They try to hit him on the head with an iron rod. He tries to shield himself with his hands, which get injured in the process. He is then rushed to the hospital for treatment.” [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slNw3WAvYz8] The channel tried to suggest that farmers were behind the attack. At one point in the video, Amish Devgan can be heard saying, “Attacking this News18 video journalist is no way to protest.” Amish Devgan also tweeted that News18 cameraperson Nagendra had been attacked. न्यूज़ 18 के कैमरा मैंन नागेन्द्र पर हमला . #bignews #FarmersProtest_AtParliament pic.twitter.com/IQWbtH2vXx — Amish Devgan (@AMISHDEVGAN) July 22, 2021 Amit Malviya, head of the BJP IT cell, shared the visuals, writing, “News18’s cameraman Nagendra beaten up at farmer protest…” (Archive link) News18’s cameraman Nagendra beaten up at farmer protest… There is little doubt that this protest is not what it portrays to be. Targeting media, vandalising the Red Fort, holding the capital to ransom, blocking borders at a time when sowing and harvesting seasons are at peak? pic.twitter.com/mxcvdHcbNC — Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) July 22, 2021 Some social media users who have been found spreading misinformation on several occasions in the past amplified the video. They wrote that farmers attacked media personnel and beat them up. These include Rishi Bagree, Atul Ahuja, and @ExSecular. In addition, OpIndia claimed that a female protester had attacked a News18 cameraperson. In order to verify this claim, we first assessed how the incident was covered by other media channels. A July 22 report by India TV stated, “The cameraperson of a leading Hindi news channel was injured after he was allegedly attacked by a freelance journalist.” It also quoted Nagendra Gosain as saying that the assailant Prabhjot Singh was abusing a woman while recording her. When she protested, he attacked her. We came across a video posted by a Facebook page titled ‘Pyara Hindustan’. The 9-minute clip depicts the entire incident before the cameraperson was injured and the aftermath. A few seconds after the 1:56 mark, cameraperson Nagendra gets injured. Rakesh Tikait के गुंडों ने Jantar Mantar पर महिला रिपोर्टर से की मारपीट किसान नहीं गुंडे हैं Farmers Rakesh Tikait के गुंडों ने Jantar Mantar पर Pyara Hindustan की महिला रिपोर्टर से की मारपीट किसान नहीं गुंडे हैं Farmers मीडिया पर हुआ हमला आज की घटना पर बड़ा खुलासा VIDEO LINK-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HuBDsuZGbg Posted by Pyara Hindustan on Thursday, July 22, 2021 The chronology of the incident is as follows. Reporting for Pyara Hindustan, a female correspondent says in an impassioned voice “There is heavy barricading on all sides of the site, including a complete ban on the movement of vehicles. This protest will now run from July 22 to August 9. You can see that for all these days the common people of Delhi may have to run into the protesting farmers. They will not be able to drive their vehicles through this route and will have to divert. They may even get late for work. It will pose a lot of challenges for them. It has been posing lots of challenges, because this agitation has been going on for over 8 months now, with no end in sight…” It is at this moment that the camera pans to another reporter who is filming this correspondent. She turns to him and asks, “What did you just call me?” While continuing to record her, he replies, “Shameless.” The two subsequently get into a heated argument. A group of bystanders snatch freelance journalist Prabhjot Singh’s phone from his hands and begin stomping on it when it falls on the ground. News18 cameraperson Nagendra can also be spotted. We noticed that a Facebook page called ‘Ambedkar Mission News Channel’ was covering the incident live. This video captures the same incident from a different angle. It clearly shows how Nagendra was injured. You can watch the first few seconds of this video below. ਸੰਸਦ ਵੱਲ ਜਾ ਰਹੇ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ ਮੀਡੀਆ ਕਰਮੀਆਂ ਨਾਲ ਗੋਦੀ ਮੀਡੀਆ ਨੇ ਕੀਤੀ ਬਦਸਲੂਕੀ Posted by Ambedkar mission news channel on Thursday, July 22, 2021 Prabhjot then picks up his phone, swings his tripod a few times and injures Nagendra in the scuffle. A few seconds later, Nagendra can be seen holding up his injured hand. A fight that broke out between two journalists was portrayed by News18 as an ‘attack’ on a channel cameraperson by farmers. Alt News reached out to Nagendra Gosain. “He was not a farmer but a supporter of farmers. He was taking a video recording of media personnel and hurling abuses at them. And he also verbally attacked a woman. When we tried to stop him, he attacked me with a light stand. When I tried to shield myself using my hands, the stand unfolded and fell on my hand. And that’s how I was injured. He had a United Kisan Morcha ID card around his neck,” he explained. We also contacted Prabhjot Singh who said, “Godi media was spreading misinformation about farmers. That’s why I went live on social media and called them shameless. This enraged bystanders and they dropped my phone. I was only doing a Livestream. They tried to break my phone. In response, I also hit back with the tripod to get my phone back. The cameraperson got hurt in all of this. Afterwards, the police held me for nine hours for questioning. I was eventually released.” DCP Deepak Yadav confirmed to Alt News that the scuffle was between two journalists. They were both carrying recording equipment. The DCP also said that no complaint was filed in the matter. She specializes in information verification, examining mis/disinformation, social media monitoring and platform accountability. Her aim is to make the internet a safer place and enable people to become informed social media users. She has been a part of Alt News since 2018. Inter-faith relationships between Hindu women and Muslim men have been a sore point for the… Following Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win against Argentina in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, speculation about… Right after Elon Musk took over the reins of microblogging site Twitter, the organization carried… A six-second-long clip of a civilian slapping French President Emmanuel Macron while he is interacting… Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery. Several users have shared images of the…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	28th July 2021 / 8:31 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/clash-between-news18-cameraperson-and-freelance-journalist-shared-with-false-claim-that-farmers-attacked-mediaperson/", "author": "Priyanka Jha" }
537	Video of locals in Rajasthan's Dholpur stone-pelting at cops given false communal spin - Alt News Kalim Ahmed 26th May 2022 / 8:56 pm / Last updated: 26th May 2022 A video of locals in Rajasthan’s Dholpur pelting at policemen is circulating on social media. Sharing the video footage, various users blamed Muslims for the attack. करौली और जोधपुर के बाद अब ‘धौलपुर’ में शांतिप्रिय समुदाय की पत्थरबाज़ी.. अब कौन भड़काऊ नारेबाजी हो रही थी या कौनसा रामनवमी का DJ बज रहा था जो पत्थरबाज़ी हो रही है ?@TajinderBagga @beingarun28 @MODIfiedVikas @IamAjaySehrawat @AjiHaaan @AnujBajpai_ pic.twitter.com/7OZ3DrkQis — Vikas Faujdar (@VikasFaujdar) May 26, 2022 करौली और जोधपुर के बार अब धौलपुर में शांतिप्रिय समुदाय की पत्थरबाज़ी.. अब कौनसा रामनवमी का DJ बज रहा था जो पत्थरबाज़ी हो रही है @ashokgehlot51 जी?@DrSatishPoonia @gssjodhpur pic.twitter.com/4rPnmZ3mEZ — BJP Bharatpur (@bjp4btp) May 26, 2022 Journalist Pradeep Bhandari and certain BJP supporters shared the video on Twitter with different captions essentially implying the same. These tweets now stand deleted. We performed a keyword search in Hindi and came across a tweet by Giriraj Agrawal, editor of Dainik Bhaskar. As per Giriraj, the clash broke out over alleged police brutality. धौलपुर के बाड़ी में बवाल; पुलिस कस्टडी में युवक की बेरहमी से पिटाई को लेकर फूटा लोगों का गुस्सा, जमकर हुआ पथराव। पुलिस कर्मियों ने भी फेंके पत्थर। pic.twitter.com/hXrpB42tZP — Giriraj Agrawal (@girirajagl) May 26, 2022 Upon doing a keyword search on Google, we came across a news report by News NCR, which provided a detailed account of the events. As per News NCR, the public gathered at around 11 am after they received information about the alleged assault of a youth who was accused of ‘rape’ and was under police custody. According to Dainik Bhaskar, Bari and Basedi roads were blocked by the public using stones and wood. ASP Bachchan Singh Meena of Dholpur, accompanied by the police of Sarmathura, Kanchanpur, Basedi, Sadar police stations, reached the spot and tried to control the situation using mild force, which made the public angrier, leading to the clash. The report further adds, that Krishna, son of Hari Singh, was accused of attempted rape by his younger brother’s wife about three months ago. He was arrested at that time but released on bail. Two days ago, when police officers went to his house for questioning, he was nowhere to be found and his family members were asked to send the youth to the police station. While locals claim that the accused was beaten in police custody, the police’s version differs. A statement by SP Narayan Togas was shared by journalist Avdhesh Pareek. According to the SP, Krishna reached the Bari Kotwali police station under the influence of alcohol. He started abusing police officials and was taken to the Bari Hospital for medical treatment. During this treatment, Krishna fell unconscious, after which he was further taken to the Dholpur Hospital. The SP also added that he spoke to the medical examiner and the doctor has confirmed that the youth is in good health. धौलपुर SP नारायण टोगस – pic.twitter.com/Ac225msZ32 — Avdhesh Pareek (@Zinda_Avdhesh) May 26, 2022 Therefore, a clash broke out between the police and locals in Rajasthan’s Dholpur due to allegations of police brutality. There are no reports that suggest that the violence was communally-motivated. Kalim is a journalist with a keen interest in tech, misinformation, culture, etc In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The CCTV footage of a man violently flinging a child on the ground has created… A minute-long video clip of a woman being physically assaulted is viral on social media…. Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery. Several users have shared images of the… The brutal murder of Shraddha Walker has been widely covered across news media over the…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	26th May 2022 / 8:56 pm / Last updated: 26th May 2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/clash-between-police-and-locals-in-rajasthans-dholpur-given-false-communal-spin/", "author": "Kalim Ahmed" }
539	Clip of a street play on social distancing viral with false communal angle - Alt News Archit 14th May 2020 / 9:21 pm / Last updated: 14th May 2020 A two-minute clip of a street play on the importance of social distancing during the pandemic has gone viral. In the play, we can see police officers requesting a Muslim man, who insists on visiting a mosque, to offer prayers at his home. The man doesn’t listen to the police and starts to pray in public. That’s when three men enacting the coronavirus enters the scene and infect the man. Subsequently, the Muslim man is taken by the medical staff and quarantined. The skit ends with a police officer instructing people to do puja or read namaz at home. The message shared with the viral video suggests that Bhopal Police claimed that Muslims are responsible for the spreading COVID19. The viral text in Hindi reads, “This video is from Bhopal where the police created a play and blamed Muslims for spreading coronavirus. (ये वीडियो भोपाल का है जुसमे police द्वारा एक नाटक बनाया गया कोरोना फेला ने के लिए मुस्लिमो को नाटक में जिमेदार बताया गया इसको इतना फैलाओ के सब के सब सस्पेंड हो सके इन पुलिस वाले ने अगर किसी ओर धर्म को इसतरह से दिखया होता तो??”) Alt News has received several requests to fact-check this on WhatsApp (+917600011160) and on our official Android application. The street play was organised by Shiksha Samadhan, a Dhanbad-based NGO. The NGO is an initiative by Damodar Prasad Saw. While looking for clues on Twitter, Alt News came across Saw’s tweets where he has posted multiple videos from the play. In one of the tweets, he wrote, “On the behalf of Shiksha Samadhan Trust, I’m uploading all the proper videos that we performed with Katras Thana on 4-05-2020. Please don’t be misled by haters. We are mainly spreading awareness of COVID-19.” On the behalf of Shiksha samadhan trust I am uploading all the proper videos that we performed with Katrash Thana on 4-05-2020. Plz don’t be misleaded by haters. We are mainly spreading awareness for covid-19.@HemantSorenJMM @JharkhandCMO pic.twitter.com/26gCWBQzmT — Damodar Prasad Saw (@Damodar65212309) May 9, 2020 Saw tweeted the viral video on May 8 and wrote, “Please don’t take in other ways. It was only a drama act for social awareness.” This is the full video which is been misguided to you people. Please don’t take in other ways. It was only a drama act for social awareness. pic.twitter.com/CKlbz5K4yz — Damodar Prasad Saw (@Damodar65212309) May 8, 2020 While speaking with Alt News, Saw said, “The play was performed on May 4, around 4 pm, near Katras Police station. Since the lockdown, we have performed ten such plays in Dhanbad. The play’s theme was Go Corona, it was divided into four parts — people visiting temples, people visiting mosques, people playing cards and people playing cricket.” As per Saw, since the lockdown, the NGO has organised 8 to 10 such street plays. Saw added, “Unlike other characters, the police officers in the play are also police in real life. We thought having police officers in the play would lift their moods and add a dash of realism in the play.” Bhai jara isko v Dekho … pic.twitter.com/Z42sYSYrbu — Damodar Prasad Saw (@Damodar65212309) May 8, 2020 On May 11, Saw also posted a video statement on the NGO’s Facebook page informing about the misleading narrative used to share the video. मैं जागरूकता फैलाने की कोशिश कर रहा हूँ , कृपया इसे कोई धर्म से ना जोड़े। कृपया आप लोग भी इस वीडियो को ज्यादा से ज्यादा फैलाये ताकि लोगो में कोई भ्रांति पैदा ना हो। पूरा विडिओ देखने के लिए मेरे ट्वीटर अककॉउंट पे या फेसबुक अककॉउंट पे जाए। धन्यवाद Posted by Damodar Saw on Monday, May 11, 2020 Alt News also spoke with Sanjeev Kant Mishra, Katras Police inspector. He said, “The NGO wanted to collaborate with the police to perform nukkad natak (street play) and spread the importance of social distancing.” Mishra informed that no complaint has been registered yet against the misleading video. Thus the two-minute clip from the street play is shared with a false and misleading narrative that Bhopal police organised a play to portray that Muslims are behind the spread of coronavirus, The play was organised by an NGO in Dhanbad and also featured temple-goers. [Update: An earlier version of the title of this report suggested that the play was organised in Bhopal. The same has been rectified.] 🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023. In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The CCTV footage of a man violently flinging a child on the ground has created… A minute-long video clip of a woman being physically assaulted is viral on social media…. Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery. Several users have shared images of the… The brutal murder of Shraddha Walker has been widely covered across news media over the…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	14th May 2020 / 9:21 pm / Last updated: 14th May 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/clip-of-a-street-play-on-social-distancing-performed-in-bhopal-viral-with-false-communal-angle/", "author": "Archit" }
540	Clipped image of e-paper shared with false claim of RBI scrapping Rs 2000 note after Dec 31 - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 9th December 2019 / 1:22 pm / Last updated: 9th December 2019 An image of what appears to be a newspaper article has been shared widely on WhatsApp. The headline of this article is ‘31 दिसंबर के बाद बदले नहीं जा सकेंगे 2000 रूपये के नोट !’ (2000 rupee notes will not be exchanged after December 31- translation). The ‘report’ states that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is withdrawing the Rs 2000 currency note from circulation. Alt News has received numerous requests on its official app for verification of this information. The image in question has been taken from an e-paper Dainik Purvoday, a Hindi daily published in the northeast. The article in question was published in the Guwahati edition on December 1. Alt News found that a portion of the report was clipped and circulated on WhatsApp with the intention of misleading readers into believing this as genuine news. This report was a clarification of the said rumour, stating that the information of RBI withdrawing the Rs 2000 note after December 31, 2019, is false. This is evident from the e-paper of December 1, where the full report is visible. As can be seen, the report clearly states in a box, “सोशल मीडिया पर वायरल खबर है फ़र्ज़ी ” (The information viral on social media is false- translation). Alt News contacted Mr Ravi Shankar, editor of Dainik Purvoday who clarified, “Someone has done mischief. A part of our report was clipped and circulated on WhatsApp, and this soon became viral. The report clearly stated that this information is false. A portion of it has been clipped and misused to mislead readers.” The newspaper published another report on December 8 asking readers not to be misled by the viral, clipped image of the newspaper report of December 1. It is NOT true that the RBI will be withdrawing the Rs 2000 currency note after December 31, 2019. There has been no such announcement from the Reserve Bank of India. Any communication put forward by the RBI is published on the official website of the Central Bank, where no such notification has been put up. The misinformation was viral in October 2019. Alt News had contacted the Reserve Bank of India for clarification. Department of Communication, RBI had stated, “These are all rumours. There has been no such notification (by the RBI). Please refer to the website for all communication”. Moreover, Anurag Singh Thakur, Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs, stated in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on December 3 that there is no government proposal to phase out Rs 2000 notes. The false news was also circulated through a morphed screenshot of a broadcast by Aaj Tak channel. It may be reiterated that there is no truth to the claim that the Rs 2000 note introduced after demonetisation in November 2016 is going to be scrapped by the end of the year. Arjun Sidharth is a writer with Alt News. He has previously worked in the television news industry, where he managed news bulletins and breaking news scenarios, apart from scripting numerous prime time television stories. He has also been actively involved with various freelance projects. Sidharth has studied economics, political science, international relations and journalism. He has a keen interest in books, movies, music, sports, politics, foreign policy, history and economics. His hobbies include reading, watching movies and indoor gaming. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	9th December 2019 / 1:22 pm / Last updated: 9th December 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/clipped-image-of-e-paper-shared-with-false-claim-of-rbi-scrapping-rs-2000-note-after-dec-31/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
541	Clipped video of Barkha Dutt's 2004 report on plight of Kashmiri Pandits viral as justifying their massacre - Alt News Jignesh Patel 12th November 2018 / 8:19 pm / Last updated: 22nd July 2020 A hashtag #ApologiseBarkha is trending on micro-blogging platform Twitter. Several users have shared a video of the journalist claiming that she justified the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits. Barkha Dutt justifying the horrific Kashmiri Pandit genocide! #ApologiseBarkha Her other crimes against India: 1) Radia tapes conspiracy – portfolio fixing 2) Kargil – army positions leaked 3) 26/11 – critical information leaked 3) Gujrat riot fake news & inflammatory coverage pic.twitter.com/NE4LfEwTYt — Saurabh (@Saurabh74246564) July 22, 2020 The hashtag picked up after an Instagram page ‘Kashmiri Youth Movement’ shared a video of a man claiming to show the same video to his grandmother, a Kashmiri Hindu, who demanded an apology from Dutt. Barkha Dutt has justified the ethnic cleansing, mocked and hurt our community. We demand an apology. She must apologise. #ApologiseBarkha A post shared by Kashmiri Youth Movement (@kashmiriyouthmovement) on Jul 19, 2020 at 5:48am PDT That the journalist suggested “Kashmiri Pandits were rightly massacred in 1990s” is a recurring claim. On November 9, 2018, Chayan Chatterjee tweeted the clip with the same narrative. This 23-second clip has been projected as a justification for the massacre of Kashmiri Pandits. Barkha Dutt suggesting that Kashmiri Pandits were rightly massacred in 1990s pic.twitter.com/CHOVD3n54q — Chayan Chatterjee (@Satyanewshi) November 10, 2018 In the 23-second clip, Dutt can be heard saying, “Today hapless victims, they were once privileged elites of the valley. They may have been a minority but at that time, they had monopolised government jobs, plum postings and other such social benefits. In fact, the sharp economic disparity between the Pandits and the poor Muslim majority was one of the earliest reasons for popular discontent in the state.” On basis of the clipped video, social media users claimed that Barkha Dutt defended the massacre of Kashmiri Pandits. The oldest instance of the same clip that Alt News could find was from 2015. A known fake news purveyor Facebook page Shankh Naad had shared the video on November 6, 2015. It had received more than 2.37 lakh views and 5,400 shares. The message shared along with the video stated, “Barkha Dutt justifying Kashmiri Pandit’s genocide”. Alt News found the full-length video published on NDTV’s website on May 7, 2013. The title of the video – “Kashmiri pandits: The forgotten minority (Aired: October 2004)” – itself is in absolute contradiction to the claims made on social media. Here, Dutt talked about the plight of Kashmiri Pandits, a minority in the Valley. Moreover, the summarized caption published along with the video further confirms that Dutt’s reportage was not a justification of the massacre but focused on the impoverished conditions of Kashmiri Pandits since they were forced out of the Valley in 1990. “Despite all the attention on the state of Jammu and Kashmir, one issue often forgotten is that of the Kashmiri pandits. Ever since the pandits were forced out of the Valley, they have stayed on the margins of public and political attention. In this episode of Reality Bites, Barkha Dutt investigates the events that led to this mass exodus and also how the danger of a declining population is only made worse by a life in exile, as assimilating to new cultures and new cities means discarding an old ethos and embracing new rituals,” read the caption. This clearly suggests that the claims on social media are false. Barkha Dutt introduces the report by explaining the misery of forgotten and marginalised Kashmiri Pandits. She starts off by saying, “The Prime Minister will fly to Srinagar in early April, announcing this after meeting with him in Delhi, Jammu Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said a new political dialogue at the highest level should get off the ground soon. But in all the attention on the state, often forgotten is the community of Kashmir Pandits. It was exactly 13 years ago, this very month that the Pandits where forced out of the valley and have since stayed on the margins of public and political attention.” At 5:15, a representative of an organization of displaced Kashmiri Pandits ‘Panun Kashmir’ can be heard saying, “A Kashmiri Pandit monetarily may not be so well-off that’s not important. It is the identity, the ethnic identity of the Kashmiri Pandit… Kashmir Pandit was a well-known identity in India. A Kashmiri Pandit has different rituals, it has a different language, it has a different culture. We think we have lost that.” The aforementioned quote of Dr Shakti Bhan provides context to the part (5:36) where Dutt says, “In fact, history has turned full circle for the Kashmiri Pandits…”. This statement was intentionally clipped before Dutt begins to say – “Today hapless victims, they were once privileged elites of the valley. They may have been a minority but at that time, they had monopolised government jobs, plum postings and other such social benefits…” Just reading these lines gives the impression that Dutt’s commentary portrays Kashmiri Pandits in poor light, however, the journalist was attempting to give her viewers a contrast between their lives before and after their exodus. In a conversation with Alt News, journalist Barkha Dutt categorically rubbished the claims viral on social media. She said, “This is an isolated comment from a larger episode. In fact, the enforced exodus of Kashmiri Pandits is something I have repeatedly spoken up against and done many shows to highlight. So I find it absolutely outrageous and downright dangerous to try and distort these comments as some sort of justification of either the horrific exodus or to suggest that I am speaking up for ethnic cleansing, which is exactly the kind of tweets that I have been getting. You could argue that my historical analysis as a young reporter is incorrect or that today I have layers of information and experience to add to it. But that’s about all that you could argue when the entire episode from which is being clipped is in fact about how terrible this exodus is and what has happened to Pandits who live in this sort of displaced reality. Falsehood is one thing but communal falsehood and putting words in my mouth is another.” It is commonplace on social media for videos to be clipped and placed out-of-context. In the past as well, we have observed that misleading videos of public figures are circulated with false narratives. In the above case, a reportage sympathetic to the plight of displaced Kashmiri Pandits was viciously truncated into a 23-second clip to suggest that journalist Barkha Dutt was justifying ethnic cleansing. [This video was updated on July 22, 2020.] Jignesh is a writer and researcher at Alt News. He has a knack for visual investigation with a major interest in fact-checking videos and images. He has completed his Masters in Journalism from Gujarat University. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… A minute-long video clip of a woman being physically assaulted is viral on social media…. Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery. Several users have shared images of the…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	12th November 2018 / 8:19 pm / Last updated: 22nd July 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/clipped-video-barkha-dutts-2004-report-on-plight-of-kashmiri-pandits-viral-as-justifying-their-massacre/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
542	Clipped video circulated claiming Priyanka Gandhi tutored kids to raise obscene slogans against PM Modi - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 1st May 2019 / 3:36 pm “What the hell is Congress teaching to these innocent kids?”, tweeted a user, along with a short video clip showing Priyanka Gandhi surrounded by children raising slogans. The video has been superimposed with text which says, “बच्चों को कैसी भाषा सीखा रही कांग्रेस मोदी से नफरत में बच्चों को तो मत बर्बाद करो ” (What language is Congress teaching these kids? Dont ruin children in your hate for Modi- translation). The video clip is twelve seconds long, and begins with the children shouting “Chowkidar Chor Hai”. Later in the clip, the children can be heard shouting, “Modi saala b**w hai”. The video clip ends there. What the hell is Congress teaching to these innocent kids? pic.twitter.com/0ittZIKz6u — Chowkidar Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) April 30, 2019 The above tweet has been retweeted over 330 times. Chowkidar Ankur Singh is followed on Twitter by Chowkidar Narendra Modi. ‘Among the prominent handles which shared this video clip included Union Minister Smriti Irani, who indirectly lashed out at Priyanka Gandhi, calling the entire proceeding “uncouth to the core”. Irani’s tweet was quote-tweeted by actor and outgoing BJP MP Paresh Rawal. It was also shared by Abhijit Majumder, editor of My Nation. Uncouth to the core. Imagine the filthiest of abuses that a Prime Minister has to endure from people whose only claim to fame is a nose. Lutyens outrage anyone ???? https://t.co/T5sPyKtmbr — Chowkidar Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) April 30, 2019 I am not surprised… ! you can’t get upset with Cong for being Cong ! https://t.co/PJ42lwqnnS — Chowkidar Paresh Rawal (@SirPareshRawal) May 1, 2019 The video in question has been clipped mischievously. It ends right at the moment before Priyanka Gandhi stopped the children from raising the objectionable slogan. “Ye wala nai, ye wala accha nai lagta. Acche acche wale, theek hai” (Not this one, this one is not good. Only good ones, okay?- translation), she says as she asks the children not to raise such slogans. This can be seen from 0:40 minutes in the longer version of the video posted below. Another version of the video showing the same was posted by the All India Mahila Congress. The video of Priyanka Gandhi surrounded by slogan-raising children was mischievously clipped to suggest that Mrs. Gandhi is encouraging the use of indecent language, whereas it was the opposite. Nonetheless, the manner in which children are being dragged into political mudslinging is disconcerting, whether they are being taught to raise obscene slogans or made to chant catchphrases like ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’. Arjun Sidharth is a writer with Alt News. He has previously worked in the television news industry, where he managed news bulletins and breaking news scenarios, apart from scripting numerous prime time television stories. He has also been actively involved with various freelance projects. Sidharth has studied economics, political science, international relations and journalism. He has a keen interest in books, movies, music, sports, politics, foreign policy, history and economics. His hobbies include reading, watching movies and indoor gaming. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	1st May 2019 / 3:36 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/clipped-video-circulated-claiming-priyanka-gandhi-tutored-kids-to-raise-obscene-slogans-against-pm-modi/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
543	Clipped video from movie shared as Swami Vivekananda's famous speech in Chicago - Alt News Jignesh Patel 9th October 2019 / 2:41 pm / Last updated: 9th October 2019 A 2:26-minute clip supposedly of the great spiritual guru Swami Vivekananda is circulating on social media. It is being claimed that it’s an original video of Vivekananda’s iconic speech at Parliament of Religions in Chicago. Facebook user Kajalben Bhalara asserted that Vivekananda had delivered the speech on September 13, 1893. Rare video- dated 13.9.1893- Parliament of religions at Chicago addressed by swami vivekananda Posted by Kajalben Bhalara on Tuesday, 1 October 2019 A few more people on Twitter and Facebook shared the video with a similar narrative. With a keyword search on Google, Alt News found the YouTube video titled, “Swami Vivekananda -2012 New Full Movie (English)“. From 13:38 minutes in the video posted below, the relevant portion which picturises Swami Vivekananda delivering the speech in Chicago can be seen. https://youtu.be/Nkc3VfNIPyo?t=818 The same movie in Hindi was uploaded by the YouTube channel of Sri Ramkrishna Math Chennai on September 28, 2018. According to the certificate issued by ‘Central Board of Film Certification’, the name of the movie is ‘Vivekananda by Vivekananda’ produced by Beehive productions. In conclusion, a clipping from a movie based on Swami Vivekananda’s life was shared as the original footage of the spiritual guru’s speech in Chicago. Jignesh is a writer and researcher at Alt News. He has a knack for visual investigation with a major interest in fact-checking videos and images. He has completed his Masters in Journalism from Gujarat University. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	9th October 2019 / 2:41 pm / Last updated: 9th October 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/clipped-video-from-movie-shared-as-swami-vivekanandas-famous-speech-in-chicago/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
544	Clipped video: Nirmala Sitharaman did not say, "Pradhan mantri chor hai" - Alt News Jignesh Patel 5th January 2019 / 5:52 pm On January 4, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave a two-hour-long speech in the Lok Sabha answering Congress’ allegation on the Rafale deal. After her speech in Lok Sabha, a 4-second clip from the Minister’s speech is circulating on social media. The message circulated along with clip said, “आज संसद में रक्षा मंत्री निर्मला सीतारमन ने कहा प्रधानमंत्री चोर है (Today in parliament, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said pradhan mantri chor hai -translated)”. चोर 😂😂 “आज संसद में रक्षा मंत्री निर्मला सीतारमन ने कहा प्रधानमंत्री चोर है” 😂😂 Posted by With Rahul Gandhi on Friday, 4 January 2019 Facebook pages With Rahul Gandhi, News Live, Abu Taleb Khan Page and Viral Story Insight have shared the clip with an identical text. So far, they have attracted a combined view count -nearly of 11,000. During her speech in the Lok Sabha, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman attacked the Congress party for calling her a ‘liar’ and the Prime Minister a ‘thief’. In the video clip, Sitharaman can be heard saying, “Now just one little additional clarification because all of us are very very sensitive about our names being taken, even if exact quotes are produced, we are very worried about the names being taken, so am I…..I was called.. that remark is expunged now I understand.. but I was called ‘jhoothi’ (liar). I am sorry unparliamentary it might be. It was.. I heard in the melee on that day, ‘Raksha Mantri Nirmala Sitharaman jhooth bol rahi hai’, later on it was expunged, later on it was expunged… now Raksha Mantri jhooth bol rahi hai…Pradhan Mantri chor hai.. yeh bhi iss parliament mein bola gaya…Pradhan Mantri jhoothe hai yeh bhi idhar bola gaya madam.” [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvGdR9hoMA8?start=3295] A portion of the above video was mischievously clipped and circulated on social media. Jignesh is a writer and researcher at Alt News. He has a knack for visual investigation with a major interest in fact-checking videos and images. He has completed his Masters in Journalism from Gujarat University. Following Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win against Argentina in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, speculation about… Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery. Several users have shared images of the… The brutal murder of Shraddha Walker has been widely covered across news media over the… A 1:34-minute-long CCTV camera clip is being widely circulated on social media in which viewers… The teaser of a movie titled ‘The Kerala Story’ is being widely shared on social…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	5th January 2019 / 5:52 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/clipped-video-nirmala-sitharaman-did-not-say-pradhan-mantri-chor-hai/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
545	Fact-check: Did Ashok Gehlot say 'M' in 'Ram' is for 'Muhammad'? - Alt News Kinjal 9th June 2022 / 12:01 pm An 11-second video clip of a speech by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has been gathering a lot of traction on social media recently. Gehlot says in the video, “In the word ‘Ram’, ‘R’ stands for ‘Ram’ and ‘M’ represents ‘Muhammad’.” It has been claimed that the CM made the alleged statement to appease Muslim voters. Twitter user ‘Akhand Bharat Sankalp’ tweeted this video with the hashtag ‘#Congress_Mukt_Bharat’. (Archive link) @ashokgehlot51 कह रहे हैं #राम में जो “म” है, उसका मतलब मोहम्मद है। मुस्लिम वोट बैंक का लालची, हिन्दुओं की तपस्या और सहनशीलता का मजाक उड़ा रहा है। कांग्रेस की हिन्दू विरोधी मानसिकता का अंत होना निश्चित है। मलेच्छों अब निश्चित ही #कांग्रेस_मुक्त_भारत होगा। जाग उठा है हिन्दू।✊🚩 pic.twitter.com/PJXpRvvQCE — अखण्ड भारत संकल्प (@Akhand_Bharat_S) June 2, 2022 BJP Rajasthan social media head Abhishek Acharya Kulshreshtha also tweeted this video with the same claim and termed Gehlot as a “lowly chief minister”. (Archive link) इनसे घटिया मुख्यमंत्री नही देखा मुस्लिम वोट बैंक के खातिर इन्होंने 500 वर्षो की हिन्दुओ की तपस्या का मजाक बनाया है।गहलोत जी कह रहे है #राम में जो ‘म’ है उसका मतलब मोहम्मद है. गहलोत जी दिन दूर नही जब राजस्थान का हर एक हिन्दू आपको और आपकी कांग्रेस को हमेशा के लिए गद्दी से उतार देगा pic.twitter.com/W2dmsRIFhq — Abhishek Acharya Kulshrestha🇮🇳🚩 (@iAbhiAcharya) June 1, 2022 Several other users amplified the visuals with the same claim. It is also widespread on Facebook. Alt News performed a keyword search on YouTube which led us to the full video of the event posted on May 28 by Ashok Gehlot’s YouTube channel. The video description mentions that a temple of Brahmin Acharya Sri Harinarayan ji Maharaj was inaugurated in Ren village of Nagaur district. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was also present at the occasion. Scenes from the viral video appear at the 41:24 mark. Gehlot explains, “Dariyaji Maharaj had said that in the word ‘Ram’, ‘R’ stands for ‘Ram’ and ‘M’ represents Muhammad. The symbol of such Hindu-Muslim unity was Dariyav ji Maharaj.” It is evident that the CM was quoting Dariyav ji Maharaj and not making the statement himself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2482&v=96k9oDyHjVw&feature=emb_title Upon further investigation, we came across a 2017 blog post. The article quotes Dariyav ji Maharaj as stating that ‘R’ represents God himself, ‘M’ is for Prophet Muhammad. “The manifestations of both letters are in the ancient scriptures,” he added. Alt News also reached Divya Dewal Peeth for more information. Chairperson Acharya Sajjan Ram informed us that the statement made by Ashok Gehlot on May 28 about the word ‘Ram’ was in fact him quoting Dariyav ji Maharaj’s words. Dariyavji Maharaj himself said the original statement (‘R’ represents God himself, ‘M’ is for Prophet Muhammad’). Acharya Sajjan Ram also shared photos taken from the pages of a text known as the ‘Sri Dariyav Divya Vani’. It contains several couplets in the book which promote Hindu-Muslim unity, including the couplet heard in the viral video. To sum it up, Ashok Gehlot was quoting sage Dariyavji Maharaj when he said that the ‘M’ in ‘Ram’ represents Prophet Muhammad. A clip of this speech was shared with misleading claims. The remark comes from a couplet by Dariyavji Maharaj on Hindu-Muslim unity. However, Gehlot did not repeat Dariyavji Maharaj’s original couplet correctly. He mistakenly said ‘R’ represents ‘Ram’ while the original quote says that it stands for ‘God’. Kinjal Parmar holds a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology. However, her keen interest in journalism, drove her to pursue journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. At Alt News since 2019, she focuses on authentication of information which includes visual verification, media misreports, examining mis/disinformation across social media. She is the lead video producer at Alt News and manages social media accounts for the organization. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	9th June 2022 / 12:01 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/clipped-video-of-ashok-gehlot-shared-as-he-said-m-of-ram-stands-for-mohammad-muslim-appeasement/", "author": "Kinjal" }
546	Clipped video of a children's play performed during Independence Day viral with communal spin - Alt News Abhishek Kumar 18th August 2022 / 10:50 am A video of a group of children performing a play onstage has been circulating widely on social media. In the 30-second clip, a boy removes the crown from a sari-clad girl’s head. Next, another female student standing nearby places a white cloth over her head. After this, all the children including the girl in the sari start praying namaz. While sharing this clip many are claiming that in a school in Lucknow namaz is being offered after the removal of the crown from Bharat Mata’s (Mother India’s) head. Sudarshan News tweeted the video and wrote, “Bharat ma’s (Mother India’s) crown removed, and has been replaced with hijab.” (Archived link) भारतमाँ के सिर का मुकुट हटा कर पहना दिया हिजाब। pic.twitter.com/kLXZkcRQZm — Sudarshan News (@SudarshanNewsTV) August 15, 2022 BJP worker Abhijat Mishra also tweeted the video and urged Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to take cognizance of the matter. (Archived link) Journalist Hemendra Tripathi tweeted the footage claiming it to be of a school in Malviya Nagar, Lucknow, in which Bharat Mata’s (Mother India’s) crown was removed and hijab was offered to her. He also called it a tasteless mockery of Bharat Mata (Mother India) on August 15. (Archived link) Jitendra Pratap Singh of Sudarshan News also amplified the visuals with a similar claim. (Archived link) The video was circulated by right-wing propaganda portal Kreately Media, BJP supporter Upendra Dixit, and others with the same claim. It is also widespread on Facebook and Twitter. Alt News first examined the Lucknow Police Commissionerate’s Twitter handle, as multiple users had shared the visuals as an incident from Lucknow. We came across a statement issued by the Lucknow Police on the viral video. It reads, “We have received a video through social media, in which a girl has been told to offer namaz after others remove the crown from her head. When we investigated the video, we found that it was recorded at the Shishu Bhartiya Vidyalaya in Malviya Nagar, Thana Bazar Khala. After speaking to the school manager and watching the entire video, we found that this was from a play staged by the children of the school. The message of the play was to not start conflicts in the name of religion and to maintain social harmony. Those tweeting the video are spreading misinformation, and we are working to take serious legal action against them.” The Lucknow Police also tweeted an extended version of the viral video. It is clearly visible here that the children of the school are dressed up as Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians, staging the different ways in which Bharat Ma (Mother India) is worshipped under each religion. This confirms that this video was clipped and has been shared with a misleading communal angle. छोटे बच्चों द्वारा सांप्रदायिक सौहार्द हेतु प्रस्तुत नाटिका का सम्पूर्ण वीडियो,जिसको कुछ असामाजिक तत्वों द्वारा गलत ढंग से प्रचारित कर सांप्रदायिक द्वेष फैलाने का अपराधिक कृत्य किया गया है। ऐसे लोगों के विरुद्ध सख्त कानूनी कार्रवाई की जाएगी।@Uppolice https://t.co/eWBatkgnyc pic.twitter.com/oKOmLGVszX — POLICE COMMISSIONERATE LUCKNOW (@lkopolice) August 15, 2022 Journalist Arvind Chauhan of the Times of India also tweeted a statement by a teacher named Pragati from the Shishu Bhartiya Vidyalaya. She was the one who directed this play. In this video, she dismissed the viral claim circulating online and clarified that she organized the play keeping a harmonious blend of the four religions in mind. The DCP Lucknow (West) also refuted the viral claim in a statement. He added that social media users were spreading misinformation by sharing a clipped portion of the video taken out of context. DCP West S Chinnappa gave official version on the matter #Lucknow pic.twitter.com/FL7IDN0IoJ — Arvind Chauhan (Silly Soul \| मूर्ख आत्मा) (@Arv_Ind_Chauhan) August 15, 2022 Alt News reached out to Pragati Nigam, the teacher who directed the play. She told us that each of the four religions, Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, and Christianity had a role in the play. She also shared with us two parts of the play, along with another video that she had used as an inspiration for this play. The play depicts how the British ruled the country by creating religious conflicts. However, Mahatma Gandhi brought all the religions together and saved Mother India from the atrocities of the British. After this, India got independence from the British. We received the video of the play in two parts, and have stitched together the halves for the convenience of our readers. [vimeo 740335552 w=640 h=360] The children featured in the viral video copied their choreography from the video given below. [vimeo 740335215 w=640 h=360] To sum it up, several journalists, politicians and social media handles, including that of Sudarshan News, falsely shared a video of a play on religious harmony by a group of schoolchildren with a communal spin. Abhishek is a senior fact-checking journalist and researcher at Alt News. He has a keen interest in information verification and technology. He is always eager to learn new skills, explore new OSINT tools and techniques. Prior to joining Alt News, he worked in the field of content development and analysis with a major focus on Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	18th August 2022 / 10:50 am	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/clipped-video-of-lucknow-school-children-act-shared-with-communal-angle-hijab-namaz/", "author": "Abhishek Kumar" }
547	Clipped video of PM Modi's address in UP shared by AAP, Congress leaders - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 6th October 2021 / 1:57 pm / Last updated: 8th October 2021 Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a three-day visit to Uttar Pradesh to inaugurate 75 urban projects or schemes. Addressing an event on Tuesday, where citizens were invited to speak to the PM on video calls, he asked a woman if her family was able to avail of the benefits of the PM SVANidhi scheme. The woman responded, “No, we did not get anything.” This portion from the address has been shared by opposition parties and leaders to target the PM. It has been portrayed that she applied for the PM SVANidhi scheme but did not get its benefits. The reason why PM Modi never addressed a press conference👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/54ZJDFpHJi — AAP (@AamAadmiParty) October 5, 2021 Among the Congress members who shared the video were Srinivas BV, Alka Lamba, Imran Pratapgarhi and RJ Ria. Twitter user Ravi Nair @t_d_h_nair also tweeted the video. Lol !! pic.twitter.com/a6f5jVlHYB — Srinivas BV (@srinivasiyc) October 5, 2021 बस चेहरा देखिए 🤪🤣👍 pic.twitter.com/pG1XZtSR8y — Alka Lamba (@LambaAlka) October 5, 2021 The Prime Minister was talking to several people about various welfare schemes and if they had applied for the benefits and received them. The woman Babita said that her family hadn’t availed of the benefits of the PM SVANidhi yojana. She did not say that she failed to get benefits after applying for the scheme. The Prime Minister subsequently explains to her how she can apply for SVANidhi yojana. The conversation goes as follows (can be watched onward 1:42:00 in the video below): PM Modi: Have you received any benefits from the PM SVANidhi yojana? Woman: No sir, we haven’t got anything. PM Modi: Okay, you should take its benefits. You meet bankers and tell them that PM SVANidhi scheme exists and we have a home…we want to join the scheme. The banker will give you Rs 10,000 and with that money, you can take your business forward. If you do this digitally, they will give you Rs 20,000. If you do even better, they will give you Rs 50,000. If your business does well and if the loans and repayments run smoothly, you won’t have to take high-interest loans from outside. So there are such schemes if you want to get benefits. Will you? Woman: Yes, sir. It is also noteworthy that the Prime Minister begins conversing with Babit by asking about her education, family business and her home. At around 1:41:00, PM Modi had asked her about her husband’s business. She said that he rears goats. After explaining his work in brief, she says that her family was able to shift to a pucca house from a kaccha house, to which PM Modi asked, “How much money did you get from the government?” The woman replied, “Rs 2.50 lakhs.” PM Modi then says this was possible due to Jan Dhan accounts. He begins by talking about the Jan Dhan yojana, then PM SVANidhi yojana and finally the Ujjwala scheme. A clipped portion of the PM’s complete interaction with the woman was shared online to falsely portray that she said her family has not got any benefits of the PM SVANidhi scheme. But the latter part of the conversation reveals that the family was yet to apply for the scheme hence, PM Modi explains to her how she can avail of the benefits. Earlier in the conversation, the woman also said that her family received Rs 2.50 lakh from the government in her Jan Dhan account. Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	6th October 2021 / 1:57 pm / Last updated: 8th October 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/clipped-video-of-pm-modis-address-in-up-shared-by-aap-congress-leaders/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
548	Rahul Gandhi's statement on Mahatma Gandhi clipped, presented out of context - Alt News Kinjal 16th September 2021 / 9:02 pm / Last updated: 16th September 2021 A 28-second video of Rahul Gandhi has been doing massive rounds on social media. Rahul Gandhi can be heard saying in the video, “You must have seen in pictures of Gandhiji (Mahatma Gandhi) that he is photographed with three or four women. But have you seen a picture of Mohan Bhagwat with a woman? Have you? It’s impossible.” BJP leader Kapil Mishra shared the video taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi. (Archive link) महात्मा गांधी जी के आसपास रहने वाली मनुबेन, सरला देवी, आभा और सुशीला और अन्य महिलाओं की डायरी, इंटरव्यू तो पढ़ लेते तो शायद आज राहुल गांधी ये ना बोलते जो बोल गए गांधी तो शायद छिपाना नहीं चाहते पर कांग्रेस ने बहुत कुछ छिपाया हैं#DabbaJaan pic.twitter.com/mp85olvjua — Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishra_IND) September 15, 2021 Asianet News also tweeted the video. (Archive link) WATCH: @INCIndia leader @RahulGandhi takes a dig at @RSSorg; says, “You’ll always see 3-4 women in Gandhiji’s photos, but have you seen a photo of @DrMohanBhagwat with any woman? Impossible!” pic.twitter.com/gsxPHQtBSi — Asianet Newsable (@AsianetNewsEN) September 15, 2021 India Today executive editor Shiv Aroor further amplified the clip. 🤦🏽‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/h59h9Uo5mP — Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) September 15, 2021 The footage is widespread on Facebook where people have portrayed Rahul Gandhi suggesting that Mahatma Gandhi was a ‘womaniser’. Rahul Gandhi slams and criticizes Mohan Bhagwat for not having 3-4 women around him like Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi always had. Please comment your thoughts? Posted by Sharansh Guha on Wednesday, September 15, 2021 Alt News scoured the Indian National Congress YouTube channel in search of more information on this video. On September 15, 2021, Rahul Gandhi addressed a gathering of women on Mahila Congress Foundation Day. Scenes from the viral clip appear in the full video at the 17:52 mark. After the portion viral on social media, Rahul Gandhi explains why Mohan Bhagwat is not seen in the presence of women – “Because his organisation (RSS) suppresses women, it crushes them. But our organisation gives a platform to female empowerment.” [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s-Y7FCdd38] Alt News co-founder Mohammad Zubair had quote-tweeted Aroor’s tweet with the full-length video. Aroor is yet to take down the clipped video that he shared out of context. Full video 🤷🏾‍♂️pic.twitter.com/eJ0ccIwvgM https://t.co/souOTP6pE0 — Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) September 15, 2021 Journalist Siddharth Sharma of ANI also quote-tweeted Aroor and wrote that he was present at the event and the video posted by Aroor has been presented out of context. I was present and Covering the Event, This is Completely out of Context What You are Presenting through this Edited Video Mr @ShivAroor https://t.co/qSufncyhUA — Siddharth sharma (@siddharthjourno) September 15, 2021 Aroor later tweeted the full-length video after Alt News Hindi fact-check was published. Had quote tweeted a clip from @AsianetNewsEN yesterday. Here’s the full video comment which begins with that clip: https://t.co/wmLtbJgb4m pic.twitter.com/ZHddsQ7DR6 — Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) September 16, 2021 A clipped speech of Rahul Gandhi was circulated with the claim that he was questioning Mahatma Gandhi’s character. The Congress leader is routinely targetted with clipped and edited videos of his speeches and statements. Kinjal Parmar holds a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology. However, her keen interest in journalism, drove her to pursue journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. At Alt News since 2019, she focuses on authentication of information which includes visual verification, media misreports, examining mis/disinformation across social media. She is the lead video producer at Alt News and manages social media accounts for the organization. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	16th September 2021 / 9:02 pm / Last updated: 16th September 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/clipped-video-of-rahul-gandhi-shared-out-of-context/", "author": "Kinjal" }
549	Clipped video of Rahul Gandhi's speech in Manipur shared to mock him - Alt News Kalim Ahmed 21st February 2022 / 9:01 pm A 0:10-second long clip of Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi addressing a rally is widely being circulated on social media. The video has been shared to mock the Congress leader. It is being insinuated that he said he is grateful that his supporters had to face unfavourable weather conditions in order to attend the rally. Gandhi can be heard saying in the video, “Aaj baarish thi, aapko kasht bhi huwa hoga, iske liye bohot bohot dhanyawad.” (It rained today and you have faced trouble. Thank you for this.) The video is extremely viral on Twitter. Among those who tweeted it were @Humor_Silly, @Wake_Up_Mitron and @jayeshforreal3. Baarish thi, aapko kasht hua uske liye dhanyawad – Rahul 😂 pic.twitter.com/y9qjJVT6iO — Hardik (@Humor_Silly) February 21, 2022 Ye Pappu damaged beyond repair hai. Abhi bol raha hai ki aaj baarish thi, aapko kasht hua, uske liye dhanyavaad. Kal bolega: Mere Pappu samaj walon main moorkh hoon aur aap mahanoorkh hain, iske liye dhanyavaad!!😂🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/s1hTOG45Pj — Pankaj Mishra (@Wake_Up_Mitron) February 21, 2022 Baarish thi, aapko kasht hua uske liye dhanyawad – Rahul 😂 pic.twitter.com/EpIPzHEN5d — jayesh (@jayeshforreal3) February 21, 2022 The video is also viral on Facebook with both Hindi and English captions. Most people have laugh-reacted on the posts. We checked Rahul Gandhi’s Twitter timeline and found that he had shared a live feed of a public meeting at Hapta Kangjeibung, Imphal. Ten seconds of this feed were circulated on social media to mock Gandhi. To understand the full context, one needs to play the video from 26:53 minutes when Rahul Gandhi starts to conclude his speech. He begins by thanking the public for coming to his rally from far off places. Next, at 27:03 minutes, he says that they must have faced difficulties due to the rain and he’s grateful that they managed to come despite the conditions. He ends the speech with “Namaskar” and “Jai Hind”. Live: Public Meeting at Hapta Kangjeibung, Imphal.#Manipur https://t.co/uKQztz9zt1 — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 21, 2022 Hence, a clipped video of Rahul Gandhi’s speech in Manipur was shared to mock him. Kalim is a journalist with a keen interest in tech, misinformation, culture, etc Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	21st February 2022 / 9:01 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/clipped-video-of-rahul-gandhis-speech-in-manipur-shared-to-mock-him/", "author": "Kalim Ahmed" }
550	Clipped video of Ravish Kumar’s 2013 program circulated with a misleading narrative, journalists join in - Alt News Alt News Desk 6th September 2019 / 8:17 pm / Last updated: 6th September 2019 On the day Ravish Kumar travelled to Manila to receive the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay award, his critics back at home targetted him using a 35-second video clip. The footage that is being widely shared on social media, juxtaposes a 2013 clip of Ravish Kumar’s show on 5% GDP growth with a recent broadcast on the same topic. The video purporting to expose Kumar’s ‘hypocrisy’ carries his quote, “It is very difficult to keep your values safe” (translated). In the 2013 video, Kumar can be heard saying, “Are we being too critical or sad about the economy? There are many countries in the world which are growing at a rate less than 5%” (translated). The 2019 video he can be heard saying, “The economy is not in a good condition. Despite efforts to hide it, the GDP figures today have exposed the wounds. The 5% figure confirms that it is in grips of a slowdown.” (translated) इन्हें सुनिए और इनका असली सच समझिए इनको GDP से, देश से, युवाओं से, रोजगार से कहीं कोई लेना देना नहीं शुद्ध धंधेबाज हैं, आज इनके चोर माई बाप जेल में जा रहे हैं, इसलिए विधवा विलाप चालू हैं pic.twitter.com/rxiZj6Rp1T — Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishra_IND) September 5, 2019 Does the 35-second viral clip accurately represent Kumar’s views on economic slow? Did the journalist not criticise the Congress government when the GDP was at 5% in 2013? The 2013 video is clipped to present a misleading picture. The broadcast is of February 2013 when dismal growth numbers were revealed in the Economic Survey. Alt News accessed the full video and found that Kumar actually started his introduction in a manner almost identical to how he started the same in 2019. Here is what he said: “नमस्कार मैं रवीश कुमार। वर्तमान काल में देश की आर्थिक स्थिति ठीक नहीं है। भविष्य काल में ठीक होने का अनुमान है। भूतकाल से तुलना करने पर, यानी जब भारत 8 या 9 प्रतिशत की विकास दर से आगे जा रहा था, अर्थव्यवस्था का हर सूचकांक धीमी गति के समाचार की तरह प्रतीत हो रहा है। वर्ष 2012-13 की आर्थिक सर्वे रिपोर्ट में यह बात सामने आई थी कि उद्योग, खेती, विनिर्माण और सर्विस सेक्टर, सभी ढलान पर हैं। हमारा झंडेबाज़ यानी फ्लैगशिप सर्विस सेंटर भी लुढ़क कर 6.6 प्रतिशत पर आ गया है। यानी होटल पर्यटन क्षेत्र में भी तरक्की नहीं हो रही है।” “The economy of the country is not in a good state. It is expected to recover in the future. Compared to the past when it was growing between 8 and 9%, now every indicator points to a slowdown. Manufacturing, agriculture all show a slowdown. Even our flagship service sector has fallen to 6.6% meaning tourism, hotels, etc all are not growing.” He then goes on to quote figures from the economic survey to ask if the Indian economy which was regarded as a ‘tiger’ is now better described as a ‘lamb’? He concludes his introduction, with the words that were clipped and shared on social media, i.e., “are we being too critical or sad about the economy? There are many countries in the world which are growing at a rate less than 5%. These are the aspects we will discuss on prime time today.” You can watch the full video here. It is clear that Ravish Kumar’s full introduction on the state of the economy as revealed by the 2013 Economic Survey was maliciously clipped to present a completely misleading picture. Ravish Kumar was active on Twitter in 2013 and on the day the program was telecast, he had commented on the Economic Survey results saying, “Economic or uneconomic condition.” अर्थ या अनर्थव्यवस्था “@ndtv: Govt lowers GDP growth estimates for 2012-13 to 5%” — ravish kumar (@ravishndtv) February 7, 2013 Interestingly, the clipped video has been extensively shared by several journalists from other media houses, some of whom ironically have their own fact-checking cells. Alt News has debunked several instances of misinformation spread about him in the past. This clipped video is one more addition to the long list. Follow @free_thinker Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	6th September 2019 / 8:17 pm / Last updated: 6th September 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/clipped-video-of-ravish-kumars-2013-program-circulated-with-a-misleading-narrative-journalists-join-in/", "author": "Alt News Desk" }
551	Clipped video revived to suggest Rahul Gandhi spoke against farm loan waivers - Alt News Jignesh Patel 21st January 2021 / 9:33 pm In a 10-second clip of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is widespread on social media against the backdrop of farmers’ protest. Gandhi can be heard saying in the video, “की किसान का कर्ज़ा माफ़ नहीं करना चाहिए क्योंकि अगर किसान का कर्ज़ा माफ़ किया तो किसान की आदत ख़राब हो जाएगी (Farmers’ loans shouldn’t be waived-off because if they are, farmers will get used to loan waivers.)” लो राहुल बाबा क्या बोल रहे है सुनो किसानों का कर्जा माफ नही करना चाहिए कर्जा माफ किया तो उनकी आदत खराब हो जाएगी । इनका कहना है कि किसान झूली फैला रहे है । इनकी करनी ओर कथनी में फर्क है Posted by Monesh Shobha Kothari on Wednesday, 30 September 2020 Several Facebook users have shared the video. किसान का कर्ज़ा माफ नहीं करना चाहिए क्योंकि अगर कर्ज़ा माफ किया तो किसान को आदत हो जाएगी।🙄🙄 किसान हितैषी 👉 राहुल गांधी 🙄🙄 Posted by Kïttü Thäkúr on Sunday, 27 December 2020 In the aftermath of the Congress party’s victory in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan assembly elections in 2018, the same video was shared online. The post below has 20,000 shares. On December 19, 2018 one Sunil Nehra had posted this clip on a Facebook group with the message, “थोड़ा वायरल कर दोगे तो 4 दिन बाद माफी मांगते हुए नजर आएगा (Make it go viral and you will see him apologizing after four days)”. At the time of writing this article, it had been shared close to 21,000 times. A Twitter user @Lala_The_Don had tweeted the clip on June 18, 2018 claiming, “This is what Rahul baba thinks about farmer and farmers loan waiver”. It was one of the earliest instances that Alt News could trace. The same clip, shared at around the same time by Rag Darbari, a Facebook page has been shared more than 22,000 times and viewed over 500,000 times. BJP leader Atmaram Patel also shared this clip from Rag Darbari suggesting that Rahul Gandhi made such a statement. In our report from 2018, Alt News found that this video was clipped from a speech delivered by Rahul Gandhi at a public rally in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh in May 2018. At 27:52 in the above video, Rahul Gandhi can be heard saying, “Last year, the Indian government had waived off Rs 2.5 lakh crore debt of India’s top 15 industrialists but the same government which can forgive Rs 2.5 lakhs crore for these fifteen people, cannot write off the debt of crores of farmers. Their leaders say that farmers’ loans shouldn’t be waived-off because if they are, farmers will get used to getting remittances. It’s a strange world, where the richest people in India won’t get used to their loan getting waived off.” Gandhi was actually taking a jibe at BJP leaders for saying that farmers will get habituated to loan waivers. This video was maliciously clipped to suggest that Rahul Gandhi made a statement against farm loan waivers when the opposite was promised by him in his election campaign. Jignesh is a writer and researcher at Alt News. He has a knack for visual investigation with a major interest in fact-checking videos and images. He has completed his Masters in Journalism from Gujarat University. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	21st January 2021 / 9:33 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/clipped-video-revived-to-suggest-rahul-gandhi-spoke-against-farm-loan-waivers/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
552	Clipped video shared to claim Harsh Mander instigated violence in Jamia speech - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 4th March 2020 / 11:13 pm / Last updated: 5th March 2020 Social activist Harsh Mander filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking action against leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for their hate speeches leading up to communal riots in Delhi. The top court, however, refused to hear the case until the matter of Mander’s alleged ‘derogatory’ comments against the judiciary is sorted. Akhilesh Mishra, former director of BJP government’s online citizen engagement initiative ‘MyGov India’, referred to the alleged comments in a tweet. Mishra shared the affidavit filed by DCP Delhi police (legal cell) against Harsh Mander in the Supreme Court. The plea, among other things, claimed that the social activist instigated violence. Mishra wrote, “The wheels of justice have started turning. All those who plotted to unleash violence on the “streets” and subvert India’s democracy will have to face justice.” The wheels of justice have started turning. All those who plotted to unleash violence on the “streets” and subvert India’s democracy will have to face justice. The preferred hit man of Sonia Gandhi since many years, Harsh Mander, will now face action. pic.twitter.com/OQ4RFt2mWC — Akhilesh Mishra (@amishra77) March 4, 2020 [Also read: Akhilesh Mishra’s Bluekraft, propaganda pages and BJP link] BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra shared a part of the speech in question and wrote, “He is the real rioter who is instigating people to come out in the streets and carry out violence.” [Translated from: “ये है असल दंगाई जो लोगों को उसका रहें है सड़क पर उतर के हिंसा करने के लिए”] “सुप्रिम कोर्ट मानवता,समानता और Secularism की रक्षा नहीं करती ..इसलिए न Supreme Court में,न संसद में फ़ैसला होगा ..फ़ैसला सड़क पर होगा” सोनिया गांधी के NAC के सदस्य और UrbanNaxal हर्ष मंदर का कहना है। ये है असल दंगाई जो लोगों को उसका रहें है सड़क पर उतर के हिंसा करने के लिए। pic.twitter.com/ajTt4q8zNJ — Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) March 4, 2020 In the video, Mander can be heard saying, “This fight will not be won in the Supreme Court. We have been observing the Supreme Court since some time now in the cases of NRC, Ayodhya and Kashmir. Supreme Court has failed to uphold humanism, equality and secularism. We will keep trying in the Supreme Court, it is our Supreme Court, but the decision will neither happen in the Parliament nor in the Supreme Court. What will be the future of this country – you all are the youth – what sort of country do you want to leave for your kids – where will this decision happen? One, it will happen on the streets, we have come out on the streets…” – before the clip is stopped mid-way. OpIndia penned an article on Mander’s speech that sparked controversy. The right-wing website wrote, “Watch: “Supreme Court did not save secularism in Ayodhya, so now time has come to hit the streets” Harsh Mander inciting mob violence” Watch: “Supreme Court did not save secularism in Ayodhya, so now time has come to hit the streets” Harsh Mander inciting mob violence https://t.co/hgnroDOfSs — OpIndia.com (@OpIndia_com) March 4, 2020 Several others claimed that Mander instigated violence during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya tweeted the clip and attributed the following words to Mander – “Now the decision will not be taken in the Parliament or the SC. SC did not protect secularism at the time of Ayodhya and Kashmir which is why the decision will now be taken on the streets. [Translated from: “अब फ़ैसला संसद या SC में नहीं होगा। SC ने अयोध्या और कश्मीर के मामले में secularism की रक्षा नहीं की। इसलिए फ़ैसला अब सड़कों पर होगा।”] अब फ़ैसला संसद या SC में नहीं होगा। SC ने अयोध्या और कश्मीर के मामले में secularism की रक्षा नहीं की। इसलिए फ़ैसला अब सड़कों पर होगा। This man Harsh Mander, who wrote the draconian CVB, is in HC to get FIRs against people for hate speech… And a judge gave him midnight hearing! pic.twitter.com/zrXYyBxfE3 — Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) March 4, 2020 Based on Malviya’s tweet Free Press Journal wrote an article titled, “SC didn’t defend secularism, we have to take decisions on the streets: Activist Harsh Mander stirs controversy.” The BJP IT cell chief’s tweet was also featured in a Hindi report by Zee News and a Marathi report by Lokmat. Others associated with the BJP who shared the video were Haryana IT cell head Arun Yadav, Karnataka tourism minister CT Ravi and Rahul Kaushik who describes himself as a ‘swayamsevak’ on Twitter. Harsh Mander’s speech that stirred controversy was made on December 16, 2019, at Jamia Milia Islamia. The address focused on how every Indian has equal rights in the country. It was made after students were thrashed by Delhi police inside the university campus. At 3:40 minutes into the speech, Mander said, “Those who claim to take your rights away from you, in response to them, a wave of protests have started in the country, and these protests are to save our constitution, and the soul of the constitution which is love and friendship, and which is why we all are out on the streets and will continue to do so. This fight will not be won in the Parliament because political parties which call themselves secular have no moral courage left in them to fight. This fight will also not be won in the Supreme Court…” The above excerpt was said right before the part which is viral. “What will be the future of this country – you all are the youth – what sort of country do you want to leave for your kids – where will this decision happen? One, it will happen on the streets, we have come out on the streets, but even beyond the streets, there’s another place where this decision will take place. Which is the place in which this fight will eventually be decided? That is in our hearts, in my heart, in your heart, we have to give a response – if they want to fill our hearts with hate, if we respond with hate, hatred will become deeper” – was Mander’s statement, starting at 5:25 minutes, after his address was abruptly stopped in the viral clip. He continued to say, “If someone is attempting to bring darkness to the country, and we also do the same in order to fight, then the darkness will only become more severe. If there’s darkness, then the only way that can be fought is by lighting a lamp. And if there’s a huge storm, we will light a lamp against the darkness. The only answer we have to their hate is love. They will resort to violence, they will instigate us to indulge in violence but we will never carry out any violence. You must understand that it is their plan to instigate you towards violence so that when we commit 2% violence, they respond with 100%. We have learnt from Gandhi ji how to respond to violence and injustice. We will fight with non-violence. Anyone who instigates you toward violence or hatred, they are not your friends.” Quite evidently, Mander was not instigating violence but advocating for a non-violent approach to fight injustice. Karwan e Mohabbat also tweeted the relevant portion where the context of his speech hasn’t been distorted. “This is a fight for the soul of our Constitution – which is love and fraternity.” pic.twitter.com/lGut7ylgkp — Karwan e Mohabbat (@karwanemohabbat) March 4, 2020 Therefore, a clipped video was presented by members of the BJP and amplified by certain media outlets to portray that Harsh Mander’s reference to “coming out in the streets” promoted violence. Contrary to claims, the social activist said that people need to come out to protect the soul of the Constitution, which was founded on the ideals of love. He also stated that people can only be won over by love, not hate and the only way to fight injustice is through non-violence. [Update: Sambit Patra’s tweet was added to this report on March 5, 2020.] Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	4th March 2020 / 11:13 pm / Last updated: 5th March 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/clipped-video-shared-to-claim-harsh-mander-instigated-violence-in-jamia-speech/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
553	Clipped video shared to claim Pak PM Imran Khan praised Modi govt - Alt News Archit 13th January 2021 / 8:52 pm / Last updated: 13th January 2021 On January 10, Pakistani activist in exile Arif Aajakia tweeted a 26-second clip of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. The video begins abruptly and Khan can be heard saying, “If Pakistan needs a strong army, it is today. And why? Because of our counterpart… in 73 years… there hasn’t been a government like this.” Seconds later we hear a voiceover by a news presenter reiterating the same. The video carries the logo “92 Plus”. Here he comes with a truth, its rare bcoz @ImranKhanPTI hardly spills truth.. 1st time, there is a government in India that Pakistan fears, otherwise, there was always a friendly government in Bhaarat, that continued apeasement despite all terrorism from Pakistan in Bhaarat. pic.twitter.com/52OmUaJhkg — Arif Aajakia (@arifaajakia) January 10, 2021 The next day, columnist Shefali Vaidya posted the same video and wrote, “You cannot have a more ringing endorsement of @narendramodi govt than this. Your sworn enemy publicly admitting that in 73 years India had never had a government as strong and iron-willed as this!” She also posted this on Facebook which gained over 1,400 reactions. You cannot have a more ringing endorsement of @narendramodi govt than this. Your sworn enemy publicly admitting that in 73 years India had never had a government as strong and iron-willed as this! pic.twitter.com/ajRvG0y0mR — Shefali Vaidya. (@ShefVaidya) January 11, 2021 Alt News performed a keyword search “92 News” on YouTube and found Pakistan-based news channel 92 News HD. We rummaged the channel and found the news bulletin that includes the section shown in the viral video. This bulletin gives only the headlines thus includes 20 seconds of Imran Khan’s full speech. However, the anchor provides context. The viral video is clipped from 0:56 to 1:16. Listening to the clip beyond the 1:16 mark, we learnt that Khan was referring to EU DisinfoLab’s report on fake websites in India. The report showed how dead media, dead think-tanks and NGOs, and dead people were resurrected as part of a disinformation network. As per the report, this network is active in Brussels and Geneva producing and amplifying content to undermine Pakistan primarily. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-xbJbu0kIs] On December 26, Khan delivered a speech in Chakwal. This was reported by multiple media outlets including 92 News HD. Around the 2:11 mark, Khan refers to the EU DisinforLab report. The bit made viral begins from 5:57 to 6:11. From 5:57 minutes onward, he begins to say, “If Pakistan needs a strong army, it is today. And why? Because of our counterpart… in 73 years… there hasn’t been a government like this in India that is totalitarian, racist, anti-Muslim, anti-Islam, anti-Pakistan and the way it has treated Kashmir.” Thus it is clear that Khan wasn’t praising PM Modi. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE9snSikFXc?start=357] Pakistani activist Arif Aajakia and columnist Shefali Vaidya posted a clip from a Pakistani news bulletin broadcast on December 26. This created a false impression that Khan was praising the Indian government. In reality, Khan termed the Indian state under the Modi government “totalitarian and anti-Muslim”. 🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	13th January 2021 / 8:52 pm / Last updated: 13th January 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/clipped-video-shared-to-claim-pak-pm-imran-khan-praised-modi-govt/", "author": "Archit" }
554	Clipped video shared to falsely claim Asaduddin Owaisi threatened Hindus - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 24th December 2021 / 5:51 pm / Last updated: 24th December 2021 After videos of Hindutva leaders calling for a genocide of Muslims during an event called ‘Dharam Sansad’ held in Haridwar between December 17 to 19 surfaced online, members and supporters of the BJP began sharing a video of AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi. They claimed that he can be heard threatening Hindus. It must be noted that Owaisi had tweeted that he instructed AIMIM’s Uttarakhand state president to file a police complaint against the ‘Dharam Sansad’ event. A short clip is now viral on social media to divert attention from the hate speeches made during the event to Owaisi. Below is a tweet by a BJP Delhi spokesperson who has claimed that Owaisi is “directly threatening Hindus”. Listen to this speech of Ovaishi ..then you yourself will say that there is no difference between Owaisi and Aurangzeb, Babur, Taimur Lang, Jinnah, Hafiz Saeed This hate bomb is openly threatening Hindus ! pic.twitter.com/xKZ58sVgHN — Anuja Kapur (@anujakapurindia) December 24, 2021 BJP MP Parvesh Sahib Singh also shared the video, drawing close to 4 lakh views as of this writing. up चुनाव में विपक्ष प्रशासन व जनता को डरा रहा है। देशवासियों को ये विडीओ देखना चाहिए और फ़ैसला करना चाहिए अपने और अपने परिवार के भविष्य का कि वो कैसी सरकार में सुरक्षित महसूस करेंगे। pic.twitter.com/r6xCaYuLGI — Parvesh Sahib Singh (@p_sahibsingh) December 23, 2021 BJP supporters Shefali Vaidya, Mahesh Vikram Hegde, @MrSinha_ and @MeghBulletin, and columnist Tehseen Poonawalla further amplified the claim that Owaisi was threatening Hindus. HOW this speech any different from his psycho brother’s speech ‘take the police out for 15 minute and see what we can do to Hindus’? @asadowaisi is every inch a fanatical bigot in the tradition of Surhavardi and this is CLEAR threat to Hindus! pic.twitter.com/jwizfkPMPk — Shefali Vaidya. 🇮🇳 (@ShefVaidya) December 23, 2021 Poonawalla’s tweet was reshared by Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi. It must be first pointed out that the speech in question was not made after the ‘Dharam Sansad’ event held in Haridwar but five days earlier in Kanpur. Furthermore, Owaisi did not “threaten Hindus” in the speech but was referring to Uttar Pradesh police. His complete speech can be watched below and the relevant portion begins from 39:09 minutes. “Shaukat Sahab (AIMIM UP president) was saying that the beard of an 80-year-old man Mohammad Rafiq was pulled in Rasulabad police station, Kanpur rural and he was urinated upon. The person who did this was SI Gajender Pal Singh. Tell us, is this your honour? If this is true, I don’t feel ashamed but I feel pained. Why do you hate our beards?” He then continues, “I want to tell those policemen that remember my words…” The next part is the portion currently viral. It has been placed out of context by clipping Owaisi’s reference to alleged police brutality – “Yogi will not be the chief minister forever, Modi will not remain the prime minister forever. And we, Muslims, maybe silent because of the current situation but remember that we will not forget your cruelty. We will remember your cruelty. Allah will destroy you/ wipe you out with his powers. We will remember and the situation will change. Who will come to save you when Yogi will go to his mutt and Modi will go to the mountains? Who will come? Remember that we will not forget.” https://youtu.be/M7gDaCGascA?t=2418 After this, he goes on to refer to other alleged instances of police brutality – “We will also not forget that rioters of Bajrang Dal were assaulting a Muslim auto driver and his daughter was trying to save him. Isn’t this what happened in Kanpur? We will remember. That child isn’t just the daughter of her father but she is also my daughter. I will not let her pain be forgotten…We have seen on TV, policemen hitting a father while his innocent child is in his arms. He says “my child will get hurt”…” While the use of the phrase “Allah will destroy you/ wipe you out” while referring to policemen who have committed alleged atrocities against Muslims can be construed as problematic, the claim that he spoke against Hindus is false. It is also blatantly misleading to compare his speech with the calls for genocide made during the ‘Dharam Sansad’ event. Owaisi also tweeted that he was referring to police atrocities and that “Allah punishes oppressors”. 4. It’s an essential part of my faith to believe that Allah does not allow injustice. He punishes oppressors. We are taught the lesson of Firaun, the lesson of Namrud, the lesson of Yazid. Assuring people of Allah’s justice gives hope. We remember that Allah is with oppressed 3/n — Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) December 24, 2021 It is noteworthy that Tehseen Poonawalla subsequently shared the complete video while criticising the AIMIM chief. Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	24th December 2021 / 5:51 pm / Last updated: 24th December 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/clipped-video-shared-to-falsely-claim-asaduddin-owaisi-threatened-hindus/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
555	Clipped video viral with false claim that Rahul Gandhi wants to leave India and settle abroad - Alt News Jignesh Patel 14th October 2019 / 5:49 pm / Last updated: 16th October 2019 A short 11 second clip of former Congress President Rahul Gandhi where he can be heard saying, “कुछ नहीं होने वाला मैं तो लंदन चला जाऊंगा, मेरे बच्चे तो जाके अमेरिका में पढेंगे । मेरा हिंदुस्तान से कुछ लेन-देना नहीं है, मेरे पास हजारों करोड़ रुपय हैं मैं तो कभी भी चला जाऊंगा। (Nothing will happen, I will go to London. My children will go and study in America. I have nothing to do with India. I have thousands of crores of rupees. I will leave anytime -translated)”, is circulating on social media. It was tweeted by BJP Mahila Morcha national in-charge of social media Priti Gandhi. Namaste London!! ;)) pic.twitter.com/467zWGfRHz — Priti Gandhi (@MrsGandhi) October 13, 2019 Akali Dal MLA Manjinder S Sirsa also tweeted the same video with the message, “बस इसलिए भारत की जनता को तुम पसंद नहीं हो (For this reason, the people of India do not like you -translated)”. At the time of writing this article, Sirsa’s tweet garnered close to 700 retweets. बस इसलिए भारत की जनता को तुम पसंद नहीं हो @RahulGandhi pic.twitter.com/FrDzc22JiO — Manjinder S Sirsa (@mssirsa) October 13, 2019 The same clip is being shared on Facebook with a similar narrative. “ये हैं गांधी परिवार की असलियत! ये जनता को अपने बाप की अमानत समझ के रखे है, और धमकी दे रहे है कि मैं लंदन चला जाऊंगा और मेरे बच्चे अमेरिका में पढ़ेंगे! इनको आज ही लंदन भेज दो! या तो सबसे अच्छा इनके असली घर पाकिस्तान ही भेज दो! (This is the reality of Gandhi family, They think that people are their father’s property, and is threatening that he’ll go to London and his children will study in America. It’s best to send them to their real home Pakistan -translated)”, reads the text shared with the video. Alt News found that the clip viral on social media is part of Rahul Gandhi’s full speech in Latur, Maharastra on October 13, 2019, where he was referring to the declared fugitive businessmen Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi. The duo is under the scanner of the Indian authorities for their alleged involvement in the Rs 14,000 crore Punjab National Bank scam. At 15:10 mins in the video posted below, Gandhi can be heard saying, “Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, they take a good sleep without any fear. Nothing will happen, I will go to London. My children will go and study in America. I have nothing to do with India. I am friends with Narendra Modi. I have thousands of crores of rupees. I’ll leave anytime. This is the reality of India.” [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0tzBxQPbaI?start=909] The part where he referred to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi was clipped to suggest that he was speaking about himself. “I am friends with Narendra Modi”, was clipped out to remove the context from the statement. In conclusion, a clipped video of Rahul Gandhi was shared on social media to falsely suggest that he wished to leave India and settle abroad. However, Gandhi was not talking about himself but referring to fugitive businessmen Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. [Update: This article referred to Priti Gandhi as the national social media in-charge of BJP. She is the national social in-charge of BJP Mahila Morcha. The same has been rectified in the copy.] Jignesh is a writer and researcher at Alt News. He has a knack for visual investigation with a major interest in fact-checking videos and images. He has completed his Masters in Journalism from Gujarat University. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	14th October 2019 / 5:49 pm / Last updated: 16th October 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/clipped-video-viral-with-false-claim-that-rahul-gandhi-wants-to-leave-india-and-settle-abroad/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
556	Kejriwal, AAP supporters share doctored ABP News video highlighting party's chances in Gujarat - Alt News Abhishek Kumar 22nd October 2022 / 2:53 pm Sharing a purported ABP News report, Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal recently tweeted, “Watch this video to feel the pulse of Gujarat”. In the video, it is being claimed that with the elections knocking at the door, the Congress is not active in Gujarat. Neither the party has held any rally nor has it been able to challenge the BJP on social media, it adds. Since the Congress has already given up, the Gujarat election is going to be a fight between the AAP and the BJP, the video claims. Kejriwal later deleted the tweet though the archive of deleted tweets can be found on the Microsoft Bing and Yahoo search results, which also contains its timestamp. Here is the screen recording recording of Arvind Kejriwal’s tweet. Aam Aadmi Party social media team member Kapil replied to this tweet. Saroj Vavaliya, secretary of the women’s wing of the Aam Aadmi Party, Surat, also tweeted the video. गुजरात मै नहीं चल पाया मोदी का जुमला! भाजपा वालों के रथ को गुजरात मै ना मिली रफ़्तार! खाली खुर्शीओ ने भाजपा की चिंता बढ़ाई! केजरीवाल का दावा है की 106 से ज्यादा सीटे आएगी!#एक_मौका_केजरीवालको pic.twitter.com/fu1s9GjLjc — Saroj Vavaliya (@sarojvavaliya) October 19, 2022 Adil Ahmed Khan, chairman of the APMC, Delhi government, embedded the exact, same video tweeted by Kejriwal. The video, however, is no longer available since the original tweet by Kejriwal was deleted. AAP Express, a pro-Aam Aadmi Party account, tweeted the same video with the same claim. Supporters of the Aam Aadmi Party shared the video on Facebook and Twitter widely. Alt News observed that the video shared by Arvind Kejriwal and AAP supporters had a cut at 22 seconds. To verify further, we did a keyword search on YouTube. We found the programme uploaded by ABP News on YouTube on October 16, 2022. It is clear from the full video that there indeed has been a cut after 22 seconds in the viral video. In the original video, news anchor Shirin rhetorically asks, “Has Kejriwal got clues from the IB report? Is there any such report at all?” Subsequently, the anchor talks about a ground report by correspondent Abhishek Upadhyay. It is at this point that the voice over has been manipulated in the viral video. In the original video, ABP news shows the visuals of the report at 33 seconds. The original voice-over questions Kejriwal over IB reports, while the manipulated viral video claims that Kejriwal sidelined the Congress and spoke of how the battle in the elections in Gujarat is primarily between the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party. The ticker also has been manipulated in the viral video In the viral video after the 33-second mark. The original ticker can be translated as, “The Gujarat pamphlet, a raving discussion of the intelligence survey. AAP’s claim about Gujarat elections”. The ticker of the video shared by Arvind Kejriwal claims that the Aam Aadmi Party will form the government in Gujarat and the Congress is described as inactive. This means the the video shared by Arvind Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi supporters was manipulated. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=henGmlicOTs] Below, upon a comparison of the visuals, the change made to the ticker can be clearly discerned. Below is a comparison between the viral clip and the original video report of ABP News. Journalist Anshul Singh of the Lallantop also pointed out in his tweet that the video shared by Arvind Kejriwal was manipulated. Thread 🧵 अरविंद केजरीवाल ने पहले एडिटेड वीडियो ट्वीट किया और फिर कुछ देर बाद Delete कर दिया. केजरीवाल ने ABP न्यूज़ का एक वीडियो ट्वीट कर गुजरात में AAP की बढ़ती लोकप्रियता का दावा किया. पहले थ्रेड में केजरीवाल का ट्वीट, फिर एडिटेड वीडियो और अंत में वीडियो की सच्चाई जानिए. 1/n pic.twitter.com/xDIpCWgmV9 — Anshul Singh (@anshulsigh) October 19, 2022 Abhishek is a senior fact-checking journalist and researcher at Alt News. He has a keen interest in information verification and technology. He is always eager to learn new skills, explore new OSINT tools and techniques. Prior to joining Alt News, he worked in the field of content development and analysis with a major focus on Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	22nd October 2022 / 2:53 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/cm-arvind-kejriwal-and-aap-supporters-share-doctored-video-of-abp-news-ahead-of-gujarat-election/", "author": "Abhishek Kumar" }
557	CNBC-TV18 shares incorrect data on religious demographic composition in Assam - Alt News Alt News Desk 31st July 2018 / 6:09 pm / Last updated: 31st July 2018 The exclusion of a staggering number of 40 lakh people from Assam’s final draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) has led to sharp reactions across the country. Even though the document, which is a list of Indian citizens in Assam is at the draft stage and the final status of the missing names is yet to be ascertained and finalised, it has triggered misinformation and fear-mongering. In an attempt to explain the changing demographic pattern of Assam, business news channel CNBC – TV18 shared an infographic stating “With the #NRC leaving out 40 lakh people from the final draft, take a quick look at the changing religious & language composition in Assam”. The infographic shows a radical change in the Hindu and Muslim population over the last 10 years raising the question “Illegal immigrants to blame?” So, has the percentage of Hindus in Assam fallen from 80.5% to 61.47% as claimed by CNBC – TV 18 ? Consequently, has the population of Muslims risen from 13.4% in 2001 to 34.22% in 2011? CNBC-TV18 has now deleted the tweet, but the archive can be accessed here. Unfortunately the infographic published by CNBC – TV 18 does not pass the most basic of fact checks. The demographic pattern of Assam according to 2001 and 2011 census is as follows: If we convert the above into percentages, in the 2001 census, the population of Hindus was 64.89% and not 80.5% as projected by CNBC – TV 18. This percentage stands at 61.47% in 2011. The percentage of Muslims in 2001 was 30.91% and not 13.4% as misrepresented by CNBC – TV 18. The percentage stands at 34.22% in 2011. It appears that CNBC – TV 18 has presented the All India data on religions in 2001 as that of Assam. This may have been an inadvertent error and it is surprising that the glaring figures went past editorial checks, since misinformation of this nature is communally sensitive. The damage was done, as CNBC-TV18’s infographic was used to claim that the Muslim population in the state has trebled in a decade at the expense of the Hindu population in Assam. In #Assam, Hindu population has declined by a quarter while Muslim population has nearly trebled. Entirely on account of illegal immigration from #Bangladesh while Government of #India chose slumber over action. Force GoI to do #NRC for entire country. Make #BJP walk the talk. https://t.co/m8YlS7ljyG — Kanchan Gupta (@KanchanGupta) July 30, 2018 There is an attempt in multiple quarters to build the narrative of declaring 40 lakh people as illegal migrants and CNBC – TV 18 has knowingly or unknowingly supported it using incorrect data. To allay fears and to address rumor-mongering on the issue, Home Minister Rajnath Singh had tweeted that “I want to emphatically say that this is only a draft and not the Final NRC. Everyone will have the opportunity to file Claims / Objections as per provision in the law. Only after the disposal of claims and objections, the Final NRC will be published” . A similar appeal was tweeted by Congress MP from Assam, “My humble appeal to all media channels today is be sensitive regarding the draft list of NRC in Assam.” The channel later clarified via a tweet almost 24 hours after it was pointed out, that it erroneously compared the 2001 all-India population data with 2011 census data for Assam and expressed regret for the error. The 2011 data for Assam has been erroneously compared with the 2001 data for all-India. We deeply regret the error & we are in the process of making the corrections — CNBC-TV18 News (@CNBCTV18News) July 31, 2018 It is imperative for media to play a responsible role in reporting the NRC exercise. Any data shared by media on such a sensitive issue which has the potential to foster a communal divide must be cross-checked before putting it out in the public sphere. Follow @free_thinker Following Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win against Argentina in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, speculation about… Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery. Several users have shared images of the… The brutal murder of Shraddha Walker has been widely covered across news media over the… A 1:34-minute-long CCTV camera clip is being widely circulated on social media in which viewers… The teaser of a movie titled ‘The Kerala Story’ is being widely shared on social…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	31st July 2018 / 6:09 pm / Last updated: 31st July 2018	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/cnbc-tv18-shares-incorrect-data-on-religious-demographic-composition-in-assam/", "author": "Alt News Desk" }
558	News18 airs old photos from West Bengal during a show on recent post-poll violence - Alt News Priyanka Jha 24th June 2021 / 12:39 pm On June 21, the Calcutta High Court refused the West Bengal government’s plea to stay its order directing the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to probe post-poll violence in the state. On June 18, the court had ordered NHRC to constitute a committee to investigate complaints filed in the matter. Three days later, CNN-News18 aired a primetime segment covering the development. The channel used the hashtag #BengalVendettaKillings in a tweet carrying a portion of the broadcast. News18 aired numerous photos of violence as visuals from the aftermath of the Bengal elections. But the channel failed to state that the images were used for representational purposes. First photo This image was aired several times between the 7:45 to 9:00 mark and the 10:55 to 11:55 mark. But it dates back to 2018 when clashes had broken out in Asansol during Ram Navami celebrations. The New Indian Express attributed the photo to PTI and wrote, “Police personnel patrol after clashes and incidents of arson over a Ram Navami procession in Raniganj, in Burdwan district of West Bengal on Monday.” According to the report, two people died in the violence and dozens were injured. NDTV had used the same image in a March 27, 2018 story. Second photo This image was aired when the debate segment was about to begin. This visual is actually from 2019 when protests were held in West Bengal and several other parts of the country after Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) was passed in the Rajya Sabha. Youth Ki Awaaz used this photo in a report dated December 16, 2019, and The Citizen used it in a December 17, 2019 story. Journalist Tirthankar Das tweeted the picture on December 16, 2019, while reporting on the violence in West Bengal sparked by the protests. Violent Protests Continue In West Bengal As The CAB Is Passed.https://t.co/Dj64LvaTsA#CABProtests #SaynotoCAB #bengal #government #BJPburningIndia #news #Journalismisnotacrime #Reportaje pic.twitter.com/zeZ5CHCSl1 — Tirthankar Das (@tirtha_TOI) December 16, 2019 Third photo When this image appeared during the News18 broadcast, anchor Narsingham was discussing the chronological incidents of violence that occurred in West Bengal in May and June 2021. A reverse image search revealed that it was taken in July 2018. Attributed to PTI, Hindustan Times had carried the image on July 9, 2018, while reporting that a bike had been set ablaze in the violence that erupted during Panchayat elections in West Bengal. Outlook also published it in a 2018 article. CNN-News18, therefore, used unrelated photographs depicting violence that had taken place in West Bengal in the past. These were used during a show on the post-poll violence in West Bengal after the 2021 elections. She specializes in information verification, examining mis/disinformation, social media monitoring and platform accountability. Her aim is to make the internet a safer place and enable people to become informed social media users. She has been a part of Alt News since 2018. Inter-faith relationships between Hindu women and Muslim men have been a sore point for the… Right after Elon Musk took over the reins of microblogging site Twitter, the organization carried… A six-second-long clip of a civilian slapping French President Emmanuel Macron while he is interacting… Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was allegedly shot at during a rally in Wazirabad… In a now-deleted article titled “दीप प्रज्ज्वलन के वैज्ञानिक और आध्यात्मिक पक्ष, जानें ये है…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	24th June 2021 / 12:39 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/cnn-news-18-used-old-unrelated-images-to-cover-post-poll-violence-in-west-bengal/", "author": "Priyanka Jha" }
559	Satirical article claiming CNN praised Taliban for wearing masks viral as true - Alt News Priyanka Jha 17th August 2021 / 2:29 pm On August 15, the Taliban captured Kabul as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. Against this backdrop, BJP MP Varun Gandhi shared a screenshot of an alleged news article and sarcastically wrote “Corona Warriors of Kabul”. The news story in the image is titled, “CNN Praises Taliban for Wearing Masks During Attack”. (Archive link) Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit also shared the screenshot. (Archive Link) Vivek Agnihotri tweeted the image, attributing it to comedian Joe Rogan’s Instagram handle. (Archive link) Several other users have shared this picture. Porinju Veliyath, CEO of Equity Intelligence India Limited, tweeted the image and wrote that the word ‘Taliban’ means ‘students’ in Arabic. This picture is viral on Facebook with this claim. The byline of the article reads ‘BabylonBee.com’. This is a satirical website that publishes fake articles in the name of humour. The first line of the About section of the website mentions that it is a satirical site. This article was originally shared on August 15 from the Twitter handle of The Babylon Bee. The account’s bio reads, “Fake news you can trust.” A reverse image search of the image used in the satirical piece led us to the original version featured in a 2012 BBC report. It was attributed to news agency Reuters. The accompanying caption reads, “The Taliban overran Swat under the leadership of Maulana Fazlullah in 2007.” To sum it up, a screenshot of an article published by a satirical portal was shared by people who believed it to be true. Screenshots of articles by this website have gone viral in the past as well. One of them portrayed that an Associated Press correspondent forgot to remove the Hamas headband from his forehead before doing a live news broadcast. Our fact-check report debunking this claim can be found here. She specializes in information verification, examining mis/disinformation, social media monitoring and platform accountability. Her aim is to make the internet a safer place and enable people to become informed social media users. She has been a part of Alt News since 2018. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	17th August 2021 / 2:29 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/cnn-news-channel-praises-taliban-for-wearing-mask-no-social-media-users-fall-for-satire-article/", "author": "Priyanka Jha" }
560	CNN News18 makes unverified claim about Zakir Naik's extradition by Malaysia - Alt News Alt News Desk 1st August 2019 / 8:13 pm On July 30, 2019, a day after India failed to obtain a red corner notice from Interpol for controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, CNN News18 tweeted a breaking news, “Malaysia refuses asylum to Zakir Naik, asks him to leave the country, after Narendra Modi government provided evidence against him.” This was big news because just a month earlier, Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah had said Malaysia would not extradite Zakir Naik to his home country despite receiving an extradition application from India to face money-laundering charges. #BREAKING – Malaysia refuses asylum to Zakir Naik, asks him to leave the country after @narendramodi government provided evidence against him. UAE and Saudi Arabia have also refused asylum to Zakir. \| Input: @manojkumargupta. pic.twitter.com/AvOvkg7Qmu — News18 (@CNNnews18) July 30, 2019 Doubts began to emerge about this exclusive CNN News18 story about Malaysia asking Zakir Naik to leave the country as no other Indian or Malaysian news outlet had reported this supposed development. Moreover, CNN News18’s report contradicted what the Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad had said just a day earlier in a one-on-one exclusive interview with the Turkish channel TRT. Here is how he had responded when asked about Zakir Naik. Question: “I wonder if you’re familiar with Zakir Naik who’s seen as an Islamic scholar he’s in your country right now right the Indians find him an extremist the Western countries don’t want him because they believed that he promulgates hate speech. Do you agree with that?” Response: “Yeah we have a multiracial multi-religious population in Malaysia we don’t want anybody who comes up and expressed extreme views about race religion and about other religions so to that extent we cannot have him but on the other hand it’s difficult to send him anywhere else because many countries do not want to have him.” The full interview can be watched here. Local Malaysian press too has reported that it is not true that the Government has refused asylum to Zakir Naik. Quoting government sources, FMT News reported that the news was not true. “A government source has denied a news report from India that Putrajaya is refusing to offer Dr Zakir Naik asylum and has told the controversial preacher to leave Malaysia”. Moreover, a news report by Aaj Tak has quoted Malaysian Home Ministry to refute the claims about Malaysia extraditing him. With all these denials, the claim made by CNN News18 about Zakir Naik’s extradition appears to be unsubstantiated. There has been no update from the channel after it began to emerge that their breaking news may be untrue. Follow @free_thinker Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	1st August 2019 / 8:13 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/cnn-news18-makes-unverified-claim-about-zakir-naiks-extradition-by-malaysia/", "author": "Alt News Desk" }
561	CNN Newsi8, India Tooday, Times HOW and RepubiicTV: How parody accounts fool social media users - Alt News Alt News Desk 13th August 2018 / 2:41 pm Psychologists have long argued that people are wired to believe what they want to believe. Parody accounts of news websites have figured this out and are preying upon this weakness. Even the most outrageous information tweeted by these parody handles is finding an audience as scores of people fall for it because the information is in line with their inherent biases. Let us look at some of these handles and their tweet that people fell for: The twitter handle of now suspended @CNNNewsI8 looks identical to the original as many don’t figure out that the letter “I” has been used instead of the number “1” in its name. Prominent right wing accounts have fallen victim to the tweets of this fake handle. A tweet that announced wedding bells for Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar saw many right wing twitterati falling over each other to retweet and comment on it. They found this “news” so utterly believable that they missed noticing that this handle only had 66 followers and unlike the real CNN News 18, it did not have a blue tick. The handle has now changed its name to CNN News 69. Even after a clarification by Mehr Tarar, the tweet withwith the fake news was shared over a 1000 times. What’s hilarious is that people have actually reacted to a news from a parody account with 66 followers. Amazing what people are ready to believe these days without even basic verification… https://t.co/KnfllztTCq — Mehr Tarar (@MehrTarar) August 11, 2018 Here are some of those who fell for it. That was not all. Yet another tweet of CNN Newsi8 saw OpIndia’s “neutral” @bhak_sala do a quick delete job of his tweet attacking “neutral journalists” who dared to question PM Modi. When you are inclined to believe something, it is easy to overlook the extra “O” in the account that is impersonating India Today. The tweet also had grammatical mistakes that were missed by those who shared it believing it to be true. Rakesh Khar of News18 was one of those who fell for this news but apologised later. Sorry folks I retweeted what looked like the handle of a reputed media house,misled by the handle’s use of the official logo.I have since undone the RT.Thank you for pointing it out. — Rakesh Khar (@rakeshkhar) August 12, 2018 HOW people fall for Times HOW never ceases to amaze. Janta Ka Reporter even went on to publish an article on a satirical tweet of Times HOW. Janta ka Reporter has company as in the past Aaj Tak has even broadcasted an evening show with imagery based on a tweet of this parody account. Other eminent victims of Times How include Mohandas Pai and Madhu Kishwar. Many have fallen victim to Repubiic TV including veteran journalist Kanchan Gupta who commended the channel only to learn that he had been fooled by a parody handle. Fake news is no laughing matter as it was a tweet of a fake account impersonating Republic TV that led to trolling and systematic targeting of Rana Ayyub. The tweet falsely claimed that Rana Ayyub had defended child rapists. Parody handles of news websites are yet another addition to the misinformation around us. These handles are designed to fool the readers who in their excitement over the news that confirms their biases, fail to notice that extra “O” or the missing “I” in the handle name. To make matters worse, these accounts use the original or similar looking logos of the news websites. Social media users need to be ever vigilant before they believe information they come across even from a seemingly credible source. Follow @free_thinker Following Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win against Argentina in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, speculation about… Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery. Several users have shared images of the… The brutal murder of Shraddha Walker has been widely covered across news media over the… A 1:34-minute-long CCTV camera clip is being widely circulated on social media in which viewers… The teaser of a movie titled ‘The Kerala Story’ is being widely shared on social…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	13th August 2018 / 2:41 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/cnn-newsi8-india-tooday-times-how-and-repubiictv-how-parody-accounts-fool-social-media-users/", "author": "Alt News Desk" }
562	No, Coca-Cola has not launched campaign in support of farmers' protest - Alt News Anuradha Prasad 19th January 2021 / 6:17 pm An image of two Coca-Cola bottles is being widely shared on social media linking it with the ongoing farmers’ protests. The text on one of the bottles reads “Kisan Ekta” while on the other it says “Support Farmer”. Several people have posted the image with the claim, “See Bhakto, global Coca Cola has now come out to support the farmers.” (Archive link) (Viral text in Punjabi: ਲਉ ਵੀ ਭਗਤੋ ਵਰਲਡ ਲੈਬਲ ਕੰਪਨੀ ਕੋਕਾ ਕੋਲਾ ਵੀ ਆਈ ਕਿਸਾਨਾਂ ਦੇ ਹੱਕ ਵਿੱਚ) One Facebook page “AggBani” posted the viral image gaining over 1,900 shares as of this writing. (Archive link) ਲਉ ਵੀ ਭਗਤੋ ਵਰਲਡ ਲੈਬਲ ਕੰਪਨੀ ਕੋਕਾ ਕੋਲਾ ਵੀ ਆਈ ਕਿਸਾਨਾਂ ਦੇ ਹੱਕ ਵਿੱਚ। Posted by AggBani on Thursday, January 14, 2021 The image is massively viral on Facebook with the same caption. Facebook and Twitter users are also sharing the photograph with the message, “Modi bhakto, global company Coca Cola has extended its support to farmers. Now don’t say that even Coca Cola manufacturers are terrorists.” (Archive link) ਲਉ ਵੀ ਮੋਦੀ ਭਗਤੋ ਵਰਲਡ ਲੈਬਲ ਕੰਪਨੀ ਕੋਕਾ ਕੋਲਾ ਵੀ ਆਈ ਕਿਸਾਨਾਂ ਦੇ ਹੱਕ ਵਿੱਚ।ਹੁਣ ਇਹ ਨਾ ਆਖਿਓ ਕਿ ਕੋਕਾ ਕੋਲਾ ਬਣਾਉਣ ਵਾਲੇ ਵੀ ਅੱਤਵਾਦੀ ਨੇ।ਨਹੀਂ ਤਾਂ ਫੇਰ ਥੋਨੂੰ ਗਊ ਮੂਤ ਪੀਣਾ ਪੈਣਾ ਬੱਤੇ ਦੀ ਥਾਂ😂😂#RepealFarmsActsToday pic.twitter.com/mSd0UvLaxL — Hardeep Sandhu (@Hardeep30951276) January 15, 2021 We were unable to find any other pictures of the coke bottles apart from the one viral. It is improbable that the global company’s support for the farmers’ protest in India would not be reported in the media. Furthermore, the protests are also against large corporates which makes it unlikely for Coca-Cola to show solidarity. Alt news reached out to the public relations officer of Coca-Cola India. “We learnt about the social media messages featuring Coca-Cola bottle images currently in circulation. We wish to clarify that The Coca-Cola Company has not launched any such brand campaign. The image in circulation is a gross misrepresentation of our brand and misuse of its identity,” he said. Upon a closer look, we saw that the label on the bottles in small texts reads, “Share a Coke with”, followed by the texts “Kisan Ekta” and “Support Farmer.” In April 2018, The Coca-Cola Company had launched a campaign ‘Share a Coke‘ in India to encourage consumers to share a bottle of the soft drink with peers and family. The viral image seems to have morphed one of the images of the old campaign. The Coca-Cola Company has not launched any brand campaign in support of the farmers’ protest. The image shared on social media is morphed. A journalist and a dilettante person who always strives to learn new skills and meeting new people. Either sketching or working. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	19th January 2021 / 6:17 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/coca-cola-india-support-farmer-protest-launch-campaign-false/", "author": "Anuradha Prasad" }
563	Coconut oil cannot protect against dengue viral infection - Alt News Dr. Sumaiya Shaikh 15th November 2019 / 6:08 pm Like every year, the cases for the mosquito-borne diseases, Dengue and Chikungunya, have spiked in different parts of India after the end of the summer season. This year the epidemic has lasted much longer than the previous years. A 16-year-old girl died from dengue on November 10, 2019 at a Delhi hospital. India has reported more than 67,377 cases of dengue fever and 48 deaths as of October 13, according to data released by the Directorate of the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP). Like zika, chikungunya, yellow fever, dengue is a viral disease that spreads through mosquitoes. The virus uses the Aedes mosquitoes as a host and transfers into the human when the affected mosquito bites humans. Dengue infection has no known cures but treatable symptomatically using evidence-based medications. Subsequently, many forms of alternative and misinformed treatments in India have emerged as a claim to cure and/or prevent dengue. Alt News Science counteracted another dengue-related claim about papaya extract ‘Caripill’ in our previous sci-check. Application of coconut oil can be protective from dengue-infected mosquito bites due to its antibiotic properties. A viral message on social media and chat applications such as WhatsApp attributed to a doctor B Sukumar advises application of coconut oil in order to prevent dengue. Prevention is better than cure ♥️ pic.twitter.com/q6q0JvKokW — thaman S (@MusicThaman) October 11, 2017 Similar claim was also made from the verified handle of Max Health Insurance, as well as an Indian news channel called News Nation. Experts suggest natural methods like neem & coconut oil concoctions or garlic to keep the mosquito-borne disease #dengue at bay. #BeatDengue — Max Bupa (@MaxBupa) September 9, 2015 Khabron Ka punchnama: Coconut oil prevents dengue fever: https://t.co/gcmY8Y1vvk via @YouTube — News Nation (@NewsNationTV) August 2, 2017 Coconut oil is not an antiviral compound and its application will not protect against dengue infection or dengue-mosquito bites. Two studies have conducted research (Peedikayil et al 2016; Shilling et al 2013) that the medium-chain fatty acids in coconut oil have antimicrobial properties. Both were preliminary studies that tested the effect of coconut oil on bacterial infections with dental caries and hospital-acquired diarrhoea. The bacteria associated with dental caries is Streptococcus mutans and with hospital-acquired diarrhoea is Clostridium difficile, both are distinct organisms as compared to the dengue virus. Thus, limited evidence from preliminary studies of antibacterial activity does not translate to efficacy as antiviral activity. No studies were found that mentioned coconut oil as an effective antiviral agent. Since the dengue pathogen is a virus transmitted through Aedes mosquito bites, it cannot be protected against using coconut oil application. Two studies (Sritabutra & Soonwera, 2013; Soonwera & Phasomkusolsil, 2015) mentioned the use of coconut oil application for dengue. In both instances, it was used as a solvent, similar to olive oil to dissolve other mosquito repellent oils. In both studies, there was no mention of coconut oil directly acting as a protective agent against dengue mosquito bites or, its alleged ‘antiviral’ properties. There is no evidence that coconut oil can treat a virus infection in humans or prevent mosquito bites. It is dangerous to believe that it can stop the spread of dengue. A: Coconut oil as an antibiotic agent Available from: National Center for Biotechnology Information Available from: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. B: None C: Coconut oil as a solvent for mosquito repellants: Available from: Science Direct Available from: Science Direct Alt News Science is no longer edited by Dr. Sumaiya Shaikh From 2017-2021, Dr. Shaikh was the Founding-Editor for Alt News Science. Her main role is as a neuroscientist researching violent extremism and psychiatry. Follow @Neurophsyik In a 2-minute video, a man recommends a “technique” to prevent infection from Omicron, the… A video of a set of iron nails that appear to melt after being placed… Several social media users have shared an image that shows two columns — ‘Cepa/variante’ (Spanish… A 90-second video of a man dissecting a banana has been shared on the internet…. The Taliban has formed an all-male government after taking over control in Afghanistan. On September…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	15th November 2019 / 6:08 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/coconut-oil-cannot-protect-against-dengue-viral-infection/", "author": "Dr. Sumaiya Shaikh" }
564	When it comes to trolling Rana Ayyub, any excuse will do - Alt News Sam Jawed 21st April 2017 / 8:43 pm / Last updated: 28th April 2018 Abuse from right wing handles is unfortunately an inevitable part twitter experience when you have an ideology that is different from theirs. If one was to draw a list of handles that are the target of most abuse on Twitter, Rana Ayyub will feature very prominently in the list. She ticks all the boxes: Journalist, female, Muslim and an outspoken critic of the BJP government. Every tweet, every word of hers is under scrutiny by scores of right wing handles for whom journalists like her are the sole raison d’être. It was therefore not surprising when a Twitter user, Sonam Mahajan (@AsYouNotWish) dug out a 2014 tweet of Rana Ayyub. How delightful it must be for the troll brigade to discover an “abusive” tweet from the one who claims to be a target of abuse. Rana Ayyub was recently the focus of much attention when she named and shamed a UAE based abuser who was subsequently fired and deported by his employer. Despite Rana Ayyub’s clarification that these are not her words and is simply a quoted tweet, hordes of abusers have descended on her twitter timeline. The user account @dhakadjatin, whose tweet was quoted by Rana doesn’t exist anymore so there is no way to access his original tweet. Some of those who are trolling her may not be aware that way back in 2014, the feature of quoting a tweet was not available and people manually retweeted if they had to add a comment. On the other hand, many may actually be aware of this and still choose to join the mob purely because of who the target is. Twitter introduced the feature to quote tweets in April 2015: A look at other tweets of that time show that Rana Ayyub is right when she says she was merely quoting the abuser. If we look at the responses to her tweet in 2014, the flow of events is clear. Some users have condemned the abuse. Predictably a Hindu Nationalist (HDL) account commended the abuser (@DhakadJatin) for his choice of words. Another Right Wing account ( @IntolerantGunda) applauded the guy for his abuses to Rana Ayyub Another one tweeted that he reported the said account and got it suspended and that she should have done the same. Another user commented that by quoting, she is coming across as the guy. And one user quotes that she deserves every bit of abuse by @DhakadJatin. From the above tweets, it is clear that @dhakadjatin had used abusive language and Rana Ayyub had made that abuse public, just like she did in the recent case of Bincy Lal. Though his original tweet is not available, people had reacted to Rana Ayyub’s tweet where she quoted the abuser and had even reported the abuser. Two years later, she is being trolled because the words of the abuser she quoted are being thought of as her own words. There is nothing in Rana Ayyub’s tweets over the years that may suggest that the abusive language used was hers. If it was, all hell would have broken loose at the time she tweeted those words. Many of those trolling Rana Ayyub are fully aware of this but still refuse to publicly acknowledge that this is nothing but a quoted tweet. The mindless mob mentality has taken over. Why miss a chance to throw a stone at a favourite target? The bile after all has to find an outlet. Nobody's cheerleader, I tweet at @samjawed65 Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	21st April 2017 / 8:43 pm / Last updated: 28th April 2018	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/comes-trolling-rana-ayyub-excuse-will/", "author": "Sam Jawed" }
565	Communal attack in Bawana shared with false claim of Muslim man injecting fruits with spittle - Alt News Archit 9th April 2020 / 9:03 pm / Last updated: 9th April 2020 A two-minute video which shows a group of men aggressively interrogating a man in a red shirt is widely circulating on social media. The men interrogating in Haryanvi ask – “who taught you this?” and “what is your plan?” Subsequently, they threaten to pour oil on the man and immolate him. It is also evident that the man being interrogated is severely injured – there is blood on his head, chest and legs. Several Twitter and Facebook users have shared the video with the claim that the man used an injection filled with spittle on fruits to spread coronavirus. The Hindi text associated with the video reads, “Found in Bawana. Planned to fill fruits with an injection filled with spit. After all, what do these people want? (translated from बवाना से मिला है ये। थूक को इंजेक्शन से फ्रूट्स में भरकर कोरोना फैलाने की तैयारी थी. आखिर ये लोग चाहते क्या हैं).” Facebook page Resurging Hinduism posted the viral video along with the Hindi text on April 6. Since then it has been shared over 1,200 times and viewed over 37,000 times. (archive link) बवाना से मिला है ये। थूक को इंजेक्शन से फ्रूट्स में भरकर कोरोना फैलाने की तैयारी थी बवाना से मिला है ये। थूक को इंजेक्शन से फ्रूट्स में भरकर कोरोना फैलाने की तैयारी थी Posted by Resurging Hinduism on Monday, April 6, 2020 On April 9, media outlets including IndiaTV (archive link), Huffington Post (archive link) and The Quint (archive link) carried a report by Press Trust of India (PTI) which quoted the police as saying that a “22-year-old man was allegedly beaten to death in Delhi’s Bawana after he was suspected of a conspiracy to spread COVID-19”. Similarly, Maktoob Media (archive link) also published the report with the same claim. Alt News has received several requests to fact-check the video on WhatsApp (+91 76000 11160) and on our official Android application. Alt News performed a keyword search on Google and found a report by The Hindu (archive link) published on April 6. According to the report, Shamshad Ali, a 30-year-old man, was thrashed by a group of men in Harewali village in Bawana in outer-north Delhi over the suspicion that he was part of a “conspiracy” to spread coronavirus. Several media outlets including Indian Express, Times Now and Catch News reported the incident. However, unlike in the report by The Hindu, the man has been identified as 22-year old Dilshad alias Mehboob Ali. Alt News spoke with Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Bawana who confirmed the man in the video is 22-year-old is Ali. Alt News found a longer video of the violent incident which we are refraining from adding to the fact-check. Those who wish can watch the full clip here. ACP Bawana informed that the claim that Ali used injections filled with spit on fruits is false. The ACP said that Ali had gone to attend a jamaat in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. While returning to Delhi in a truck, he was stopped by the police and taken to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital for coronavirus screening. Since no symptoms were observed, Ali was allowed to go home where he was attacked by three men who have now been arrested. Delhi Police Additional PRO Anil Mittal said, “Naveen, 30 years old, Prashant 26 years old, Pramod 30 years old have been arrested in case FIR No. 189/2020 under Section 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), Section 341 (Punishment for wrongful restraint), Section 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation) and Section 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code by the Bawana Police Station.” Furthermore, the officer informed that Ali has been booked under Section 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) for breaking the lockdown protocol. It is noteworthy that Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor was booked under IPC Section 188, Section 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and Section 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life). Had Ali been involved in an act to spread the infection a case would’ve been registered against him under the aforementioned IPC Sections. However, he has only been booked under Section 188 for flouting lockdown protocol. Mittal said, “22 years old Dilshad Ali, alias Mehboob resident of village Harevli is still admitted in Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital, Delhi as a coronavirus suspect. The investigating officer of the case had a telephonic conversation with him today morning in which he stated that he is fine.” Alt News spoke with Ali’s family friend Akram Chaudhary who informed, “Ali is currently quarantined under suspicion of being infected with coronavirus.” Chaudhary also confirmed Ali’s name and age. Therefore, PTI-led reports carried by IndiaTV, Huffington Post and The Quint misreported that Ali died in the attack. Maktoob Media also incorrectly reported the same. Furthermore, The Hindu misidentified the survivor as 30-year-old Shamshad Ali. The man who was beaten is 22-year-old Dilshad Ali, alias Mehboob. While mainstream media misreported that he lost his life in the attack, social media added a false communal colour to the incident. 🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023. Inter-faith relationships between Hindu women and Muslim men have been a sore point for the… Following Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win against Argentina in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, speculation about… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… Right after Elon Musk took over the reins of microblogging site Twitter, the organization carried… The CCTV footage of a man violently flinging a child on the ground has created…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	9th April 2020 / 9:03 pm / Last updated: 9th April 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/communal-attack-in-bawan-shared-with-false-claim-of-muslim-man-injecting-fruits-with-spittle/", "author": "Archit" }
566	Communal rabble rouser Shankhnaad tries to malign senior Navi Mumbai police officer - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 10th February 2018 / 3:18 pm Serial faker and communal rabble rouser ShankhNaad has once again resorted to vile mischief in order to spread communal hatred and prejudice. It tweeted that no one raised a hue and cry when a police officer in uniform openly promoted the Quran at an event launched by an Islamic organisation. Prabhat Ranjan, @Navimumpolice Police Commissioner, promoted #Quran in uniform in an event organised by Karnataka based jihadi org Salaam Centre which converts Hindus to #Islam. All remained silent. DG Surya Kumar Shukla takes pledge for Ram Temple at #Ayodhya, media goes crazy! pic.twitter.com/ZyUi7N1iDE — ShankhNaad (@ShankhNaad) February 2, 2018 By juxtaposing this event to the reaction over a pledge taken by a police officer for a Ram temple at Ayodhya, ShankhNaad tried to portray institutional prejudice against Correction : The name of the person promoting #Quran (above) is Suresh Mengade , DCP Crime in @Navimumpolice . While commissioner of @MumbaiPolice Mr. Prabhat Ranjan (below, left) was also present in the same event as a chief guest to promote #Islam.https://t.co/5iBvcFzuGD pic.twitter.com/F1oH1EOD0l — ShankhNaad (@ShankhNaad) February 2, 2018 Mengde had attended the event which marked the launch of the Marathi version of the Quran. Navi Mumbai DCP Crime, Suresh Mengade released the Marathi version of Holy Quran at a function pic.twitter.com/oGyqQjccZ7 — MUMBAI NEWS (@Mumbaikhabar9) June 30, 2015 Contrary to what ShankhNaad tried to portray, the event had stressed on religious harmony, unity and brotherhood. The event was attended by Hindu spiritual leader Swami Lakshmi Shankaracharya, among others. Mengde who spoke at the event had said, “Mujhe khushi ho rahi hai ki jo karyakram aap kar rahe hain, woh hamara hi karyakram hai, jo hum chahte hain ki saare desh mein duniya mein different religions ki ekvakyata rahe, sare religions mil jul ke rahein kyu ki hum sab ek hi uparwale ke den hain” (I am happy that the programme that you have adopted is similar to what we are trying to do, that different religions are united in the country and the world, and that all faiths live unitedly because we are all the creation of the same God). Posted below is the video of the event. ShankhNaad sought to draw a false equivalence by comparing the event of the book launch to the recent pledge by DG Home Guard, U.P to build a Ram temple at Ayodhya and the uproar that followed. Surya Shukla’s assertion for a temple was roundly criticised since the matter is sub-judice and sensitive. It was also condemned for the fact that a senior ranking police officer in his professional capacity was seen to be canvassing for what is widely perceived to be a political cause. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzL9E4Xk8WI The Indian Police Service (IPS) Association had distanced itself from Shukla’s act, calling it a violation of neutrality and fairness that is expected of a police officer. We disassociate ourselves from the act of a senior #IPS officer as shown in the video & reiterate that it is against the ethos of neutrality, fairness and uprightness that Indian Police Service stands for. pic.twitter.com/PoAxmlFBfL — IPS Association (@IPS_Association) February 2, 2018 Shankhnaad also tried to malign the organisation Salaam center claiming it to be a ‘Jihadi’ organisation. As it turns out, this organisation is frequented by many politicians and celebrities of all hues. The following screengrab shows both the former BJP Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa and former Indian cricketer and captain Rahul Dravid visiting Salaam center. Although the occasion was marked by the acknowledgement of the need to further the cause of inter-faith harmony, communal elements like ShankhNaad have been working overtime to fan the flames of hate, pulling out old videos, taking them out of context, branding them with provocative captions and circulating them on social media. Alt News had earlier done a detailed exposé on ShankhNaad for spreading communal hatred. Here, an image was pulled out from an event and twisted by giving a provocative title with the intention of reinforcing communal prejudices. Arjun Sidharth is a writer with Alt News. He has previously worked in the television news industry, where he managed news bulletins and breaking news scenarios, apart from scripting numerous prime time television stories. He has also been actively involved with various freelance projects. Sidharth has studied economics, political science, international relations and journalism. He has a keen interest in books, movies, music, sports, politics, foreign policy, history and economics. His hobbies include reading, watching movies and indoor gaming. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	10th February 2018 / 3:18 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/communal-rabble-rouser-shankhnaad-tries-malign-senior-navi-mumbai-police-officer/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
567	Communal rumour mongering in Karnataka by BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje and BJP Spokesperson Tajinder Bagga - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 26th December 2017 / 4:18 pm Communal tension has been raging in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka over the last three weeks. Adding fuel to the fire are politicians from the state who belong to the Bharatiya Janata Party. BJP MP from Karnataka Shobha Karandlaje on December 14 tweeted that ‘jihadis’ tried to rape and murder a minor girl in Honnavar. She accused the Karnataka govt of silence and inaction. Jihadis tried to rape and murder a girl studying in 9th std near honnavar.Why is the govt silent about this incident?Arrest those who molested and injured this girl. Where are you CM @siddaramaiah? — Shobha Karandlaje (@ShobhaBJP) December 14, 2017 Investigation into the incident by police subsequently revealed that the girl had inflicted injuries on herself in order to escape her stalker, whose name is Ganesh Ishwar Naik. Alt News spoke to the SP of Uttara Kanada district Vinayak Vasantrao Patil who confirmed that the injuries are self inflicted and that there is no jihadi angle. Patil said, “In her statement, she said she was being harassed by a boy of her own village. Subsequently to escape the harassment and pressure she did it. Her statement was recorded before the judicial magistrate under section 164 of CrPC. Forensic expert had examined the injuries and ruled out any attack with a knife”. Patil added that FIR was registered suo moto against Karandlaje under sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with the intent to cause a riot), 153A (promoting enmity between groups) and 505(2) (statements creating or promoting enmity) of IPC. Despite the registration of the FIR and subsequent clarification by the police, Karandlaje was undeterred, repeating her lie that the girl had been attacked by ‘jihadis’. Govt which has failed in providing safety to women in Karnataka now tries to stifle my voice through a FIR.@siddaramaiah Govt protecting Jihadis. pic.twitter.com/aEFmZFBuvi — Shobha Karandlaje (@ShobhaBJP) December 22, 2017 Delhi BJP spokesperson Tajinder Bagga joined the bandwagon, tweeting in support of Karandlaje and parroting her claim that ‘Jihadis tried to rape and murder a girl’. Speaking truth is crime in Karnataka @CMofKarnataka ? I am saying again “Jihadis tried to rape & murder a girl” . I stand with @ShobhaBJP & say this again & again. Start counting last days of your govt Siddaramaiah https://t.co/ba6zqbx97S — Tajinder Bagga (@TajinderBagga) December 23, 2017 Karandlaje is a repeat offender. After Paresh Mesta’s body had been recovered in Honnavar in the beginning of December following communal clashes in the region, the MP from Udupi-Chikmagalur had issued a statement claiming that Mesta had been tortured to death by ‘jihadi elements’. Alt News had reported how Karandlaje tried to fan the flames of communalism in the Mesta incident. Karnataka goes to the polls in 2018 in an election that could swing the momentum for either of the two main parties in the fray in the run up to the 2019 general elections. A sinister attempt is thus underway by Hindutva forces to disturb the peace in the region. Incidents are given a communal colour and inflammatory statements are made with the intention of inciting prejudice and hate by no less than Members of Parliament like Karandlaje. Arjun Sidharth is a writer with Alt News. He has previously worked in the television news industry, where he managed news bulletins and breaking news scenarios, apart from scripting numerous prime time television stories. He has also been actively involved with various freelance projects. Sidharth has studied economics, political science, international relations and journalism. He has a keen interest in books, movies, music, sports, politics, foreign policy, history and economics. His hobbies include reading, watching movies and indoor gaming. Following Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win against Argentina in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, speculation about… Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery. Several users have shared images of the… The brutal murder of Shraddha Walker has been widely covered across news media over the… A 1:34-minute-long CCTV camera clip is being widely circulated on social media in which viewers… The teaser of a movie titled ‘The Kerala Story’ is being widely shared on social…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	26th December 2017 / 4:18 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/communal-rumour-mongering-karnataka-bjp-mp-shobha-karandlaje-bjp-spokesperson-tajinder-bagga/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
568	A compilation of Times Now’s experiments with untruth - Alt News Sam Jawed 13th February 2018 / 3:07 pm “The pattern of a known fake and out-of-context video being deliberately recirculated multiple times by a selected section of the Indian media is a clear pointer that the objective of the exercise is to spread malicious and false propaganda on a swathe of unsuspecting news consumers”. The irresponsible journalism by Times Now was slammed by the UAE daily, Gulf News for circulating a fake video of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The channel claimed that the video was being “recirculated on the social media” whereas it was the one which took the lead in circulating it and making it viral. It is a matter of shame that a national news channel was not able to recognize the dignitary who was the Chief Guest at India’s Republic Day parade last year. Whether it was part of an agenda or pure incompetence is anyone’s guess. The news was perfectly timed with PM Modi’s visit to the UAE and the channel took its own sweet time to delete it when faced with social media backlash and an Alt News article. This is not the first time that Times Now has been called out for circulating fake news. We have pulled out from Alt News archives other instances when Times Now was at the forefront of circulating unverified claims, distorted facts and plain lies. 1. A prime time story based on a 7-year old photoshopped image. In June last year, Times Now claimed it has accessed a ‘conversion rate card’. “Mysterious rate cards like the one on your screen are being distributed…. Look at what this rate card says, it puts up a price on religion, on your faith, if you look closely at the rate card, you will see ladies and gentlemen, you will see interesting details” trumpeted Rahul Shivshankar, Editor-in-Chief of Times Now waving a photoshopped piece of paper. The so-called mysterious rate card has been in circulation for years and had been busted as fake news as early as 2014. 2. Attempt to discredit #NotInMyName protests with incomplete and distorted facts Times Now attempted to shape public opinion against the ‘Not in My Name’ campaign that was held across India to protest mob lynching. In a ‘Super Exclusive’ show, the channel gave a completely different twist to the protests by accusing the organisers of contacting activists in Pakistan to organize protests and defame India on Pakistani soil. In reality, Pakistani protests were inspired by the ‘Not In My Name’ movement but they had nothing to do with India. They focused on the violence faced by minorities in Pakistan. The claim about Indian organisers contacting activists in Pakistan was fake as well. Ironically the Times Now slogan for the program stated ‘Time to separate fact from rhetoric’. REVEALED: Organisers of #NotInMyName take protest to Pakistan #NotOnPakSoil LIVE: https://t.co/kFfzAUjU5o pic.twitter.com/dByELLQvHD — TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) June 28, 2017 3. Video of Kerala student protest labeled as BJP protest against Kerala Health Minister Times Now showed images of what it called protests and injuries sustained by BJP workers protesting against growing incidence of Chikunguniya cases in Kerala. The channel informed its viewers, ‘total travesty in Kerala, people protest government apathy, but Kerala cops thrash them, force used to disperse people’. It turned out that the above video was of Kerala Students Union (KSU) students protesting against a fee hike. KSU is the Kerala branch of NSUI, the student wing of the Indian National Congress. The video shared as a ‘Times Now exclusive’ and ‘First on Times Now’ was actually an ANI video of a students’ protest against fee hike. 4. Rahul Gandhi with Chinese envoy When Times Now claimed it had accessed “unverified photo of Rahul Gandhi posing with Chinese envoy” you knew there was something fishy as their mirror channel, Republic TV had also accessed the same picture. The picture was probably leaked by the same source to dictate the day’s distraction agenda to ‘friendly’ journalists who wouldn’t care about fact checking it. The #RahulChineseChakkar episode turned out to be a Chinese food festival that was also attended by India’s Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, Sitaram Yechuri from CPIM, KC Tyagi from JDU and other leaders from BJP such as Tarun Vijay and Udit Raj. 5. Modi punishes Pakistan? You know which side Times Now is batting for when it runs a hashtag like #ModiPunishesPak. The channel claimed ‘Complete contrast between UPA regime and now Narendra Modi’s regime. Narendra Modi has decided to do away with niceties. It’s going to be only a handful of visas, compared to the 21,000 in every quarter that were granted to Pakistanis in the UPA regime’. In its eagerness to show the government in good light, the channel ‘forgot’ to mention that the record number of Pakistani visitors was under BJP rule in 2015. Though there were restrictions on medical visa after the Kulbhushan Jadav episode, the number of Pakistani visitors had actually peaked under BJP in 2015. That year saw the highest number of visitors since 2001. It was in 2015 under the BJP government that number of Pakistani tourists to India climbed up 29.5% over the previous year and Pakistan made it to one of the top 15 countries in terms of tourist arrivals to India. 6. Veterinary procedure portrayed as cruelty by cattle mafia The Times Now prime time show on #CowSlaughterCruelty was based on how the cattle slaughter mafia resort to cruel practices. It showed three different videos showing how animals were subjected to cruelty. Presenting the third video, Rahul Shivshankar said, ‘All those today that consume beef, this is how your beef is processed, this is how it arrives and lands on your tables and the Govt today wants to reverse the ban on trade of cattle for slaughter just six months after it was imposed because it is under pressure from lobbies, it is under pressure from parties in various states’. #CowSlaughterCruelty Tape 3: Torture not just by the butchers, but even the owners of the cattle. Cattle beaten with canes, sticks and chains. Their bones are broken and their eyes gouged out pic.twitter.com/KQ3Zgt1LTf — TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) November 30, 2017 Alt News found out that the video used by Times Now claiming torture of cattle is actually a technique used by veterinarians to cure a particular condition that commonly afflicts cattle during pregnancy. This condition is known as ‘uterine torsion’ which commonly means ‘twisted uterus’. The video which the channel claims is torture is a technique which is known as Schaeffer’s method for correcting the torsion. Visuals of a regular veterinarian procedure were used to allege animal cruelty, and the way the story was presented suggested a clear attempt by Times Now to rake up religious sentiments and keep such issues at the forefront of public discourse. 7. A 2013 story presented as a 2017 exclusive In the run-up to the Gujarat elections, Times Now broke an ‘exclusive’ story of former Finance Minister P Chidambaram meeting Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Saleem Zaeef. According to the photograph broadcast by the channel, Chidambaram is seen in the same room as Zaeef. The photograph was taken during the Tehelka ThinkFest at Goa in 2013. The hashtag for the report carried by the channel was #CongTalibanTango. The title used by the channel was ‘UPA mantri met Taliban leader?’ #TNExclusive: Former Finance Minister P. CHidambaram photographed with Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Zaeef pic.twitter.com/JLH8lGtZdf — TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) December 11, 2017 In a striking resemblance to the case of fake news involving the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, in this case too Times Now claimed that the old photograph had ‘resurfaced’, whereas it was the channel itself that manufactured the story out of nowhere. This news was widely reported by none other than Times Now’s sister concern Times of India back in 2013. Times Now’s antic wass part of a pattern that was witnessed in the run up to the Gujarat election wherein provocative and/or misleading information was broadcast on a daily basis with the clear intention of polarising the electorate to favour the ruling party. Read more about it here. 8. Fake news on ISIS training Rohingyas to strike India When the Rohingya crisis was at its peak, Times Now published a report on how ISIS was training 2000 Rohingyas to carry out terror operations in Nagaland. The story was first published by ANI but Times Now too claimed credit it for it by claiming it had provided inputs to the story. The story went on to say that “the Imam of Dimapur is contacting the Rohingya rebels and has commenced collecting huge amount of arms and ammunitions from Bangladesh” and that “2,000 Muslims have volunteered to take up arms against the Nagas, if the latter try to drive them out”. It further added that 20 ISIS terrorists had already entered Nagaland. The report turned out to be completely false. ANI later deleted it. Times Now too deleted the tweet after this revelation. The above selection of fake news and distorted facts churned out by Times Now is based only on stories that were featured in Alt News in the last nine months. By no means does it claim to be a comprehensive and exhaustive collection. It is important to note that there is no retraction on being called out and extracting an apology out of the channel is completely unheard of. In the latest case of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, the story was quietly amended on the website after it had gone viral. To say that the conduct of the channel is alarming is a gross understatement. It has evolved into a fine example of what journalism shouldn’t look like. Nobody's cheerleader, I tweet at @samjawed65 Following Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win against Argentina in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, speculation about… Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery. Several users have shared images of the… The brutal murder of Shraddha Walker has been widely covered across news media over the… A 1:34-minute-long CCTV camera clip is being widely circulated on social media in which viewers… The teaser of a movie titled ‘The Kerala Story’ is being widely shared on social…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	13th February 2018 / 3:07 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/compilation-times-nows-experiments-untruth/", "author": "Sam Jawed" }
569	Concocted opinion polls predicting AAP victory in Gujarat elections viral - Alt News Shinjinee Majumder 25th October 2022 / 9:12 pm A collection of opinion polls apparently predicting the results of the upcoming Gujarat polls is going viral. All the graphics indicate the victory of the Aam Aadmi Party. The four viral graphics feature the logos of India TV, TV9 Bharatvarsh, News 24 and India Today. Assembly polls in Gujarat will be announced soon, with voting likely to be held in one or two phases and completed by December 4. Gujarat elections have largely been a two-party contest but the Aam Aadmi Party is leading an aggressive campaign this time to make its place in the Gujarat assembly, after its 2022 Punjab win. The Gujarat assembly consists of 182 seats. In 2017, the Bharatiya Janata Party won in 99 assembly constituencies and secured 49.05% of the valid votes polled in the state. Congress won in 77 assembly segments of the 177 where the party fielded its candidates. 13 assembly constituencies were reserved for candidates belonging to the Scheduled Caste while 27 to the members of the Scheduled Tribe. The India TV graphic shows the victory of AAP with 98 seats while the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Others winning in 13, 67 and 04 seats, respectively. There are two opinion polls being attributed to TV9 Bharatvarsh. The first graphic shows the victory of AAP with 93-97 seats while the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Others winning 09-13, 64-68 and 00-04 seats, respectively. The second TV9 graphic shows the victory of AAP with 95-99 seats while the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Others winning in 08-12, 64-68 and 00-03 seats, respectively. The News24 graphic shows the victory of AAP with 95-99 seats while the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Others winning 07-11, 65-69 and 00-03 seats, respectively. The purported India Today-Axis My India opinion poll shows the victory of AAP with 94-98 seats while Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party and Others winning 07-11, 67-71 and 00-02 seats respectively. User @jayantdeshm tweeted four of the graphics. (Archive) The #King of #Gujarat.. Explained..!!#GujaratElections2022 #GujaratGauravYatra #Elections @AAPGujarat @Gopal_Italia #AamAadmiParty #education #healthcare #jobs #electricity #Youth #corruption #Politics #AAP pic.twitter.com/WgwdFZwnx1 — Jayant Deshmukh (@jayantdeshm) October 14, 2022 The graphics have also been shared widely on Facebook. गुजरात के शहरों, गांवों , कस्बों से लेकर देश के नेशनल न्यूज़ चैनलों तक केजरीवाल ही केजरीवाल छाये हुए हैं ☺️ Arvind Kejriwal जी #GujaratElections2022 Posted by Pappu Lal Keer on Friday, 14 October 2022 Upon reverse image searching the graphic, we found an old India TV article which contained an opinion poll of the Purvanchal region ahead of the 2022 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. The template matches the viral image, with the text and numbers being different. The article was published on January 17, 2022. Below is a comparison of the viral image and the image used in the India TV article. On the July 30 episode of India TV’s programme Desh Ki Awaz, they performed a survey which predicted the vote share for the Gujarat elections, if the elections were to be held on that very day. According to their predictions, BJP would win 108 seats, Congress would win 55 seats, and AAP would win 16. This can be seen from the 2:43 mark of the YouTube video. As is evident, the numbers predicted by the survey in this particular episode do not match the graphic that is being circulated. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOf9w-aDIXY?start=162] As mentioned before, the two graphics that are being attributed to TV9 Bharatvarsh show a different set of numbers. It is unusual for a TV channel to show two different sets of statistics for the same opinion poll. Moreover if one looks closely at one of the TV 9 graphics, one might notice that the image used for the Others category is not perfectly aligned with the rest of the images. This is a clear indication that the graphic is morphed. We spoke to Paritosh Chaturvedi of TV9 Bharatvarsh channel, who said, ”This is fake news. TV9 Bharatvarsh has not done any such opinion poll. This seems to be a conspiracy to defame TV9 Bharatvarsh”. We did not find any News 24 opinion poll with the said numbers. Alt News contacted Govind Pandey, a News 24 journalist, who stated that the graphic was fake. However, on October 17, the official handle of News24 conducted a Twitter poll with the question, “अबकी बार गुजरात में किसकी सरकार ?” (Translation: Who will form the Gujarat government this time?”). AAP won the poll by a margin of 0.7% votes. The second highest vote share was to Congress. (Archive) अबकी बार गुजरात में किसकी सरकार ? #GujratElection — News24 (@news24tvchannel) October 17, 2022 Alt News could not find any opinion polls of the Gujarat assembly elections that have been conducted by India Today. The viral graphic has mentioned polling agency Axis My India. We reached out to Mr Pradeep Gupta, CMD for Axis My India, who denied having performed an opinion poll for Gujarat. He stated that the Gujarat / HP opinion poll was “never conducted & released by Axis My India and India Today Group”. Hence, several graphics of opinion polls, purported to be from different media houses predicting AAP’s victory in the upcoming Gujarat elections are being circulated. An Alt News fact-check reveals that none of the polls have been released by the media houses as claimed, and they are all concocted. Student of Economics at Presidency University. Interested in misinformation. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… Following Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win against Argentina in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, speculation about… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery. Several users have shared images of the…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	25th October 2022 / 9:12 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/concocted-opinion-polls-predicting-aap-victory-in-gujarat-elections-viral/", "author": "Shinjinee Majumder" }
570	Congress and media misquote Gadkari on 2014 poll promises - Alt News Jignesh Patel 12th October 2018 / 9:20 pm “We were very confident that we can never come to power. So our people suggested us just to make tall promises. Now people remind us of our promises…Now we just laugh and move on.” says Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in 34-second clip which has gone viral on social media. Gadkari was on a Colors Marathi reality show, Assal Pavhane, Irsal Namune alongside Bollywood actor Nana Patekar as a guest on October 4. The Congress party was quick to take a jibe at Gadkari, tweeting this clip with a message that the Modi Government was built on ‘jumlas’ and fake promises. Good to see Union Minister @nitin_gadkari concurring with our view that the Modi Govt was built on jumlas and fake promises. pic.twitter.com/DewDbnd16w — Congress (@INCIndia) October 8, 2018 Next day, AICC President Rahul Gandhi had also tweeted the same video. Several media organizations like National Herald, The Week and Times of India have reported on the video. On October 10, Nitin Gadkari conducted a press conference to clarify that the media reports have misquoted him and jibed Gandhi, wondering if he understood Marathi. This is false, I did not say anything on Modi ji or 15 lakhs etc. The program was in Marathi and I wonder since when has Rahul ji starting understanding Marathi?: Nitin Gadkari,Union Minister on reports that he said BJP over promised in 2014 elections pic.twitter.com/mqu9ELsiX7 — ANI (@ANI) October 10, 2018 #WATCH: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari clarifies on his earlier reported statement that ‘BJP overpromised in 2014 elections’. pic.twitter.com/WCDkYiqSZf — ANI (@ANI) October 10, 2018 On the basis of the claims made by Gadkari in the press conferenece, we tried searching for the complete video on the internet. Alt News found a promotional video of 69 seconds of the show featuring Nana Patekar and Gadkari posted on the official Facebook page of Colors Marathi on September 30, 2018. Although this is not the complete video, we are posting it for reference as it brings out the context in which the statement was made. Assal Pahune Irsal Namune \| Nitin Gadkari \| Nana Patekar \| Colors Marathi कसे घ्यावे लागतात राजकारणात निर्णय… काय असू शकतात निर्णय चुकण्याचे परिणाम? ऐका आपल्या अस्सल पाहुण्यांकडून. पाहा #AssalPahuneIrsalNamune गुरू-शुक्र. रात्री 9.30 वा. #ColorsMarathi वर. Posted by Colors Marathi on Saturday, 29 September 2018 We accessed the full video uploaded on Voot, a digital platform of Viacom 18 network, which is hyperlinked here. Alt News has translated the relevant portion of the video available on Voot. The translation is as follows (from 39:30 in the video). Nitin Gadkari: Now, in politics, keep this in mind — politics is a game of compulsions, limitations and contradictions. Nana Patekar: You’re saying this now, but during elections, you had said something different Nitin Gadkari: — had said something different…[Both laugh.] Nitin Gadkari: Look, I — I shouldn’t be saying this now — but I had spoken about two or three things — Devendra [Fadnavis] was President then and Munde was there, Gopinath Rao. I had said to them, ‘Don’t do the toll [tax] announcement.’ […] I’ll tell you what our problem was. We all had a firm belief, we were confident that we would never in all our lives come to power in the state. We were completely convinced of this in our minds. So our people said, ‘Speak, say [anything], what’s the harm, when are you going to be held responsible for it?’ [Laughingly] And now we have come to power. […] Nana Patekar: Gadkari, what [are you saying]?[Both laugh.] Nitin Gadkari: That’s the truth. Now you know what Gadkari said on which date, what Fadnavis said. So you ask us, ‘You had said this, what next?’ That’s how it is. […] In politics, I’m a bit of an exception. I don’t lie, I don’t give false assurances. People don’t believe the consequences I sometimes bear for this. I tell people, ‘I won’t do this, it cannot be done, so don’t come to me.’ Some people feel, ‘Well, at least you tell us this upfront and save us the trouble of running back and forth.’ They’re happy. But sometimes, I do do things. I look into matters, I enquire, I laugh. Five or ten people go away speaking ill of me. So you… in the extremely poor state of our country’s politics, people understand that you can’t have such [ideal] politics. From the translation, it is evident that Nitin Gadkari’s statement was about the Maharashtra state elections which had also taken place in 2014. He refers to “Toll” (tax), Devendra Fadnavis (then BJP state President) and the late Gopinath Munde. Hence, the claim made by the Congress party that the Union Minister was referring to promises made by the BJP in run-up to the 2014 general elections is incorrect. Gadkari’s words are NOT in reference to the promises made by PM Modi but in-fact were in reference to promises made by the BJP to make Maharastra Toll free before the state elections. #MAHAYUTI will find ways to make #Maharashtra toll free & will appoint an Experts’ Committee to find solutions for it pic.twitter.com/i1FBhz3MIN — Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) January 14, 2014 Numerous media organisations reported Gadkari’s statement, but with a twist. “Watch: Modi government was built on false promises, says Union Minister Nitin Gadkari” read the headline of the article published on October 8, 2018. The content of the report is in line with the headline. While reading the translation, it is evident that he was referring to the Maharastra politics and it is incorrect to suggest that he was speaking about the Lok Sabha elections. Based on this clipped video, Times of India quoted his statement given in the video. The headline of the report published by TOI on October 10, 2018 stated, “Nitin Gadkari reveals why PM Narendra Modi vowed to put 15 lakh in your account.” While the basis of the article is the video clip of Nitin Gadkari, it is worthwhile to mention here that the clip makes no reference whatsoever to 15 lakh statement by PM Modi during the 2014 general election campaign. Times of India‘s sister publication, The Economic Times has also published the same report on October 10, 2018 with the same headline. Times Now (Hindi) on October 10, 2018 had also wrongly extrapolated the statement that it was about the 15 lakh promise made by PM Modi. Although, the article goes on to report that the Union Minister has denied that the remark had anything to do with the 15 lakh promised before the 2014 general elections. Ironically, Times of India had fact-checked the same claim on October 9, 2018. An article published by The Week on October 9, 2018, was headlined, “Union minister Gadkari says BJP made false promises in 2014”. The article has quoted Gadkari’s statement from the clipped video. Once again, Gadkari’s statement was linked to the general elections of 2014 as the article states, “The Congress received fresh ammo to target the BJP and the Union government after Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, in a TV show, admitted that the BJP made tall promises ahead of Lok Sabha elections in 2014.” At 2:45 in an episode of Jan Gan Man ki Baat, Vinod Dua on basis of the clipped video raised questions over the context in which these words were uttered, “We believe that you were talking about the Maharastra toll tax, which you haven’t mentioned like 15 lakh and Modi as you are saying. Likewise you have not mentioned about the Maharastra toll tax in that video. How do we believe that you weren’t talking about the Lok Sabha elections because you haven’t even mentioned about Maharastra elections.” In the video, Dua claims that Gadkari makes no mention of the Maharastra toll tax issue. However seeing the video in it is entirety, it is clear that Gadkari did refer to ‘toll tax’ promise made by his party. Meanwhile, other reports by Times of India and NDTV attributed to PTI have reported strictly on the basis of the clip without assuming the context in which the remark was passed by Gadkari. Gadkari’s controversial claim vis-a-vis tall promises made by BJP was bound to attract much attention. It is not surprising that the opposition party Congress decided to take potshots at BJP using a truncated, misleading version of the clip. However, it is inexcusable for professional news organisations who didn’t do their due diligence and published reports based on the truncated clip and social media propaganda. Jignesh is a writer and researcher at Alt News. He has a knack for visual investigation with a major interest in fact-checking videos and images. He has completed his Masters in Journalism from Gujarat University. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	12th October 2018 / 9:20 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-and-media-misquote-gadkari-on-2014-poll-promises/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
571	Congress shared image of injured gau rakshak as farmer after Karnal lathi-charge - Alt News Kinjal 31st August 2021 / 6:51 pm / Last updated: 31st August 2021 On August 28, farmer protesters were lathi-charged in the Karnal district of Haryana. One farmer who was injured during the lathi-charge later died of a heart attack, said senior BKU leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni. A photograph of a man with stitches on his head has been linked to the recent police excess. In a now-deleted tweet, Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted the image. An archived version of the post can be accessed here. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also shared the photo and accompanying claim on her Facebook page. So did the official Twitter handle of Congress that later took down the tweet. Imran Pratapgarhi, National Chairman of the Congress’s Minority Department and a prominent poet with a massive following, also promoted the visuals with the same claim. Twitter handles of Uttar Pradesh and Telangana Congress further amplified the picture. It has also made its way to Facebook with a similar message. Jitendra Sharma, Crime and Investigation Editor at Zee News, tweeted three more photos along with the viral image. He explained that the image was not linked to the lathi-charge on farmers in Karnal. Sharma identified the man in the picture as a Gau Rakshak (cow vigilante) named Tinku who was injured while chasing alleged cow smugglers on the night of August 24 or 25. किसानों के हक की बात तो ठीक है @ShayarImran लेकिन किसानों के नाम पर फ़र्ज़ी फ़ोटो ठीक नहीं। ये फ़ोटो टिंकू की है जो गौ रक्षक है और ये चोट 24/25 अगस्त की रात को गौ तस्करों का पीछा करते समय गुरुग्राम में गाड़ी पलटने से लगी थी। https://t.co/P3XJlQSp8R pic.twitter.com/u1HENyYpY5 — Jitender Sharma (@capt_ivane) August 29, 2021 Furthermore, we also found the image in question shared on a Facebook post dated August 26. According to the post, cow vigilantes were injured in Gurugram. These pictures were taken on the same day. It is noteworthy that farmers in Karnal were lathi-charged on August 28. Alt News performed a keyword search which led us to a video report by Gurugram News dated August 25. The caption states, “In a brazen display, cattle smugglers threw a cow onto the moving vehicle belonging to the Gau Rakshaks that were following them last night near Gurugram’s Ullawas village. The cattle smugglers then fled.” For more information on the incident, we reached out to a BJP supporter and National President of the Gau Raksha Hindu Dal Ved Nagar. He claimed that the man in the picture is a cow protector who was injured while chasing cow smugglers in Gurugram. He identified him as Tinku, the general secretary of the Gau Raksha Dal, Gurugram. “On the night of August 25, the Gau Rakshaks received information that some people were smuggling cattle. They kept an eye on the movements of this group. They were attacked while chasing the smugglers’ vehicle. The smugglers threw a cow in front of the rakshaks, which led to their vehicle overturning. Out of four rakshaks, three have sustained serious injuries. We have also filed a complaint in this matter. The police have promised to catch the cow smugglers within a week. Currently, three rakshaks are undergoing treatment.” Aaj Tak has also published a fact-check report debunking this image. To sum it up, a picture of a Gau Rakshak who had been injured while in pursuit of alleged cattle smugglers in Gurugram was falsely shared as visuals of a farmer protester injured during the police lathi-charge in Karnal. Kinjal Parmar holds a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology. However, her keen interest in journalism, drove her to pursue journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. At Alt News since 2019, she focuses on authentication of information which includes visual verification, media misreports, examining mis/disinformation across social media. She is the lead video producer at Alt News and manages social media accounts for the organization. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	31st August 2021 / 6:51 pm / Last updated: 31st August 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-and-senior-leaders-share-injured-gau-rakshaks-photo-as-lathicharge-on-farmer/", "author": "Kinjal" }
572	Congress campaign in Rajasthan includes a scheme launched by BJP government - Alt News Jignesh Patel 4th October 2018 / 4:06 pm With state assembly elections round the corner, political campaigning is on full swing in Rajasthan. The Congress party has blown its campaign bugle by organizing a public connect to communicate the achievements of the previous regime in the state. Ashok Gehlot, former Rajasthan chief minister posted pictures of the rath which will tour the state, showcasing the schemes introduced by the Congress party during his tenure. The post said, “यहां उदयपुर में दलित, आदिवासी, घुमंतू जागृति रथ यात्रा को हरी झंडी दिखाकर रवाना किया। (Here in Udaipur, Dalit, Tribals, Nomads flagged off the awakening chariot -translated)” यहां उदयपुर में दलित, आदिवासी, घुमंतू जागृति रथ यात्रा को हरी झंडी दिखाकर रवाना किया। Posted by Ashok Gehlot on Saturday, 29 September 2018 One of the pictures posted by Ashok Gehlot depicted a collage of the schemes initiated by the state government during his term. The collage was displayed prominently on the rath(chariot). BJP Rajasthan took a jibe at Gehlot for showcasing a scheme introduced not by the Congress but by the Vasundhara Raje government. आज अशोक गहलोत ने उदयपुर में एक प्रचार रथ को झंडा दिखा कर रवाना किया, जिसमें राजश्री योजना को अपनी पूर्ववर्ती सरकार की उपलब्धि बताकर जनता को भ्रमित कर रहे हैं । #JhoothaGehlot pic.twitter.com/czDXjGfg7l — BJP Rajasthan (@BJP4Rajasthan) September 30, 2018 The Rajshree Yojana(scheme) touted on the poster by the Congress party was initiated on June 1, 2016. A screenshot from the official website of Rajasthan government can be seen below. Rajshree Yojana replaced the Shubh Lakshmi Yojana, a similar scheme launched by the Congress government to encourage birthrate of the girl child. An article published on May 31, 2016 by Patrika had stated, “Now the government has decided to shut down the scheme from the night of May 31. In place of this Mukhyamantri Rajshree Yojana will be introduced.” Though the schemes had similar objectives, the monetary benefit in the scheme initiated by CM Vasundhara Raje was substantially higher as compared to the Shubh Laxmi scheme. An Economic Times article published on July 9, 2016 had reported, “The monetary incentive played a key role. The previous Ashok Gehlot government had started the Shubh Laxmi Yojana in April 2013 to give every girl child Rs 7,300 in three stages – Rs 2,100 to the mother at birth, Rs 2,100 at age 1 on complete immunisation and Rs 3,100 at age 5 on admission to school.There were 3.6 lakh beneficiaries of the scheme at last count. Raje has hiked the monetary incentive to Rs 50,000 for girls born after June 1, 2016, under a new CM Rajshree Yojana.” Vasundhara Raje assumed office on December 13, 2013, and the Rajshree Yojana scheme was initiated more than two years after she was sworn in as the chief minister for a second term. The Rajasthan assembly election will be crucial to the fortunes of both national parties in the run-up to the 2019 general election. As the election campaign picks up, we may see many similar instances where exaggerated claims are made without a proper verification of facts. In this instance, to the embarrassment of the Congress party, even though the Congress government had a scheme for the girl child, they ended up using a poster showcasing the enhanced BJP scheme. Jignesh is a writer and researcher at Alt News. He has a knack for visual investigation with a major interest in fact-checking videos and images. He has completed his Masters in Journalism from Gujarat University. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	4th October 2018 / 4:06 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-campaign-in-rajasthan-includes-a-scheme-launched-by-bjp-government/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
573	Congress falsely claims AAP lost election deposit in one seat in Delhi MCD elections - Alt News Archit 5th March 2021 / 8:57 am / Last updated: 6th March 2021 Municipal corporation by-elections recently took place in Delhi where the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won four out of the five seats and the remainder was lost to the Congress. The Indian Express reported, “In a big upset, the Congress won the Chauhan Banger ward, which was held by the AAP. Its candidate Chaudhary Zubair Ahmad defeated AAP’s Mohammad Ishraq Khan by over 10,000 votes.” On March 3, Congress Chhattisgarh tweeted that the AAP lost its election deposit in one of the seats. दिल्ली नगर निगम उपचुनाव में सत्ताधारी पार्टी AAP की एक सीट पर जमानत जब्त, वहां कांग्रेस जीती। भाजपा=0=भाजपा — INC Chhattisgarh (@INCChhattisgarh) March 3, 2021 This claim was copy-pasted by multiple Twitter and Facebook users. What is an election deposit? As per the Representation of People Act, 1951, in order to partake in an election, a candidate has to deposit a certain amount to the Election Commission. This is known as an election deposit. The amount is forfeited if the candidate doesn’t attain 1/6th (16.6%) of the total valid votes. Congress Chhattisgarh implied that in Chauhan Banger ward, AAP’s Mohammad Ishraq Khan gained less than 16.6% of total valid votes and as a result, lost his election deposit. The Representation of People Act, 1951, point 34 titled ‘Deposit,’ states that a candidate shall not be deemed to be duly nominated for election from a constituency unless they deposit ₹25,000 in the case of an election from a Parliamentary constituency or ₹10,000 in the case of an election from an Assembly or Council constituency. This amount is 50% less in case the candidate is from Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe. As per point 158 ‘Return of forfeiture of candidate’s deposit’ of the Act, if a candidate doesn’t gain one-sixth (16.6%) of the total number of valid votes the deposit amount is forfeited. The only exception to this is if the candidate dies before the commencement of the poll. Data by Delhi State Election Commission states that the total valid votes in Chauhan Banger ward were 21,968 and AAP gained 5561 votes which is 25.3%. Congress Chhattisgarh’s claim therefore cannot be true. In an attempt to clarify, the party later tweeted that the deposit was “almost lost” which is also misleading. AAP’s Mohammad Ishraq Khan who lost to Chaudhary Zubair Ahmad of the Congress did not have to forfeit his election deposit. Congress Chhattisgarh’s claim is false. 🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	5th March 2021 / 8:57 am / Last updated: 6th March 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-falsely-claims-aap-lost-election-deposit-in-one-seat-in-delhi-mcd-elections/", "author": "Archit" }
574	Congress handles share photo of Indira Gandhi addressing jawans in Leh as Galwan valley - Alt News Archit 23rd June 2020 / 4:40 pm / Last updated: 23rd June 2020 On June 21, several social media accounts of the Indian National Congress shared an image of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi addressing a crowd of army men. As per the claim, this speech was given to the Indian army soldiers in Galwan valley, the region where 20 Indian troops were recently martyred in clashes with China. The image was tweeted by Uttar Pradesh Congress (archive link), gaining over 2,000 retweets. Some of the other official INC accounts that posted the image were Youth Congress (archive link), Delhi Youth Congress (archive link) and Daman and Diu Congress Sevadal (archive link). UP MLA Aradhana Misra-Mona (archive link) also posted the image along with the same claim. Mona wrote, “Modi ji! Take inspiration from Indira Gandhi and bring back pride to Mother India. (मोदी जी! इंदिरा गांधी जी से प्रेरणा लीजिए, भारत माता गौरव वापस दिलाइये।).” Other INC members who posted the viral image include — vice president INC Delhi Ali Mehdi (archive link), IYC Chattisghar president Purnchandra Padhi (archive link), state president, western UP youth congress, Omveer Yadav (archive link) and national secretary and social media in-charge Vaibhav Walia (archive link). Alt News performed a reverse image search on Google, along with relevant keywords, and found that the viral image was published by a blog art-sheep.com. The caption for the image read, “Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi addressing jawans in Leh in 1971.” Using this as a clue, we performed a keyword search on PTI’s photo archive and found the viral image. The Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) tab under ‘Properties’ revealed that the photo was added on October 30, 2009. The description read, “One of the rare pictures of former Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi addressing jawans in Leh in 1971, as the nation prepares to observe her 25th death anniversary.” This photo has been attributed to DPR Defence. As per Google Maps, Leh is at least 219 kilometres away from Galwan valley which is adjacent to the Galwan river flowing from the disputed Aksai Chin region to Ladakh. India Today and Boom had earlier fact-checked the viral image. Several social media accounts associated with Indian National Congress and members of the party used a photo of Indira Gandhi in Leh as the ex-PM addressing Indian army soldiers in Galwan valley in 1971. One of the first accounts to post the viral image was Twitter user @indira_gandhi1. Their tweet was shared over 4,000 times (archive link). Similarly, other social media users also shared the viral image on Twitter (English and Hindi) and Facebook. 🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… Following Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win against Argentina in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, speculation about… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery. Several users have shared images of the…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	23rd June 2020 / 4:40 pm / Last updated: 23rd June 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-handles-share-photo-of-indira-gandhi-addressing-jawans-in-leh-as-galwan-valley/", "author": "Archit" }
575	Congress IT cell head tweets photoshopped image drawing a parallel between PM Modi and Hitler - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 29th April 2019 / 5:30 pm / Last updated: 29th April 2019 “What are your thoughts?”, tweeted Divya Spandana, social media head of the Congress party, along with two photographs. The photograph on the left is that of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, whereas the one on the right is of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. What are your thoughts? pic.twitter.com/b8GcgKL2ih — Divya Spandana/Ramya (@divyaspandana) April 29, 2019 As can be seen from the picture, both Adolf Hitler and Narendra Modi are seen posing with a child, in a strikingly similar manner. Both can be seen playfully pulling the ears of the child. Spandana’s tweet has been retweeted over 420 times and ‘liked’ over 1400 times since it was posted on April 29. The same image had been circulated by detractors of Narendra Modi in 2018 as well. It was debunked by Alt News. A reverse image search on Google revealed that Hitler’s image used in the post is photoshopped. In the original image, he is not holding the child’s ears but resting his hands on her shoulders. An article in The Sun has published the original image which was apparently clicked to portray the Nazi leader as a “personal friend and guardian of the German youth”. Moreover, if one looks closely, PM Modi’s left hand has been photoshopped as Hitler’s right and his right hand as Hitler’s left. The image tweeted by Divya Spandana is photoshopped. In order to draw a false comparison between PM Modi and Adolf Hitler, the latter’s photograph was tweaked to portray uncanny similarity between the two leaders. Spandana later acknowledged her error. Arjun Sidharth is a writer with Alt News. He has previously worked in the television news industry, where he managed news bulletins and breaking news scenarios, apart from scripting numerous prime time television stories. He has also been actively involved with various freelance projects. Sidharth has studied economics, political science, international relations and journalism. He has a keen interest in books, movies, music, sports, politics, foreign policy, history and economics. His hobbies include reading, watching movies and indoor gaming. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	29th April 2019 / 5:30 pm / Last updated: 29th April 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-it-cell-head-tweets-photoshopped-image-drawing-a-parallel-between-pm-modi-and-hitler/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
576	Congress leader Acharya Pramod shares old image as 'Brahmans' burning BJP flags - Alt News Archit 17th July 2020 / 8:37 pm / Last updated: 17th July 2020 On July 15, Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam posted an image of men burning BJP flags on Twitter (archive link) and Facebook. Krishnam claimed that members of the Brahman community burned the flags. Cumulatively, both posts were shared over 5,000 times and liked over 20,000 times. Twitter user @Sidhujaihind (archive link) also shared this image. Alt News has received multiple requests on Twitter to fact-check this image. Alt News performed a reverse image search using multiple search engines but could not find relevant results. However, we came across a 2019 fact-check report by Vishvas News. According to the report, the image was viral last year with a similar claim. As per their investigation, the building in the background resembles a BJP office and the turban worn by the politician in the BJP banner resembles a Rajasthani turban. Using this as a clue they performed a reverse image search and found that Dainik Bhaskar had published the image in their article around 2018 assembly elections in Rajasthan. Supporters of local politician Hansraj Patel burnt the effigies of UP BJP organization general secretary Sunil Bansal and Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. Alt News tried to find the Dainik Bhaskar report, however, it is no longer available online. We did find a cached preview of the 2018 article on Google, but it doesn’t include the viral image (archive link). However, after a keyword search on YouTube, we found that the channel Lokvarta uploaded a news report where the burning of flags has been captured on video. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9W1cLp9my4?start=74] Thus, Acharya Pramod Krishnam’s claim that Brahmans burnt BJP flags is false. The image is from the 2018 assembly elections in Rajasthan. 🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	17th July 2020 / 8:37 pm / Last updated: 17th July 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-leader-acharya-pramod-shares-old-image-as-brahmans-burning-bjp-flags/", "author": "Archit" }
577	Digvijay Singh shares cropped, already debunked video of BJP's Nandkumar Singh Chauhan - Alt News Priyanka Jha 17th October 2020 / 2:03 pm Congress leader Digvijay Singh tweeted a six-second video on October 15. The clip features former Madhya Pradesh BJP president and MP from Khandwa, Nandkumar Singh Chauhan. He can be heard saying, “UP also has women who give birth to a child every week, 52 children a year.” Accompanying the clip, Singh’s original caption in Hindi states, “Is what Mr. Nandkumar saying about the women in UP correct? I would also like to know more about these women.” (archived link to the tweet) नंद कुमार जी जो इस विडियो पर आपके उत्तर प्रदेश की महिलाओं के बारे में बयान आ रहा है वह क्या सही है? हम भी ऐसी महिलाओं के बारे में जानना चाहेंगे। pic.twitter.com/UacIRc254a — digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) October 15, 2020 The video is viral on Facebook with the same claim. The video shared by the Congress leader has been taken out of context and does not tell the full story. Alt News had previously debunked the video in April 2019 when it was being circulated to target Chauhan in a similar manner. The viral clip has been trimmed from a longer video. A look at the full-length clip establishes that the BJP MP was referring to a viral video featuring Rahul Gandhi. He is claiming that Gandhi said there are women in UP who gave birth to a child every week. This claim was also investigated by Alt News in April 2019. Before the Lok Sabha elections, BJP MP RK Sinha had shared a clipped video targetting Rahul Gandhi. The original video was taken in Uttar Pradesh’s Phoolpur where Gandhi was giving a speech in November 2011. Here, he was talking about the issue of corruption in Uttar Pradesh. In the video he cited an RTI reply, saying, “We filed an RTI report. Through the reply, we found that there are women in UP who give birth to a child every week. There are women who are giving birth to 52 children a year. They have the same name and they all received Rs 1400 every week in their pockets, and there exists not just one…but thousands of such women.” Gandhi’s speech was in reference to alleged corruption in the Janani Suraksha Yojana under National Rural Health Mission, in which pregnant women get an incentive of Rs 1400 for institutional delivery. A cropped video of a nine-year-old speech by Rahul Gandhi set the ball rolling for the recurring misinformation. BJP leader Nandkumar Singh Chauhan had used the speech clip to attack the Congress when it went viral last year. Now, a clip of Chauhan repeating Gandhi’s words is being shared online. The irony is that the statement used by Congress leader Digvijay Singh to target BJP’s Nandkumar Singh Chauhan leader is the same one which Chauhan had earlier used to mock Rahul Gandhi. All of this happened even as the cropped clip had already been debunked in 2019. She specializes in information verification, examining mis/disinformation, social media monitoring and platform accountability. Her aim is to make the internet a safer place and enable people to become informed social media users. She has been a part of Alt News since 2018. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	17th October 2020 / 2:03 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-leader-digvijay-singh-shared-an-old-clipped-and-already-debunked-video-of-bjp-mp-nand-kumar-chauhan/", "author": "Priyanka Jha" }
578	Congress leader Randeep Surjewala tweets video with false claim, targets BJP leader Kalraj Mishra - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 26th March 2019 / 11:11 pm Congress leader Randeep Surjewala has posted a video clip on his Twitter timeline, targeting BJP leader Kalraj Mishra. The clip is 22 seconds long, in which Mishra can be heard speaking. The message shared along with the clip by Surjewala reads, “भाजपा की हिंसक मानसिकता का ताज़ा नमूना- कलराज मिश्र जी ने फरीदाबाद सांसद के विरोध में नारे लगाने वालों को धमकी भरे लहजे में कहा- “अगर यह उनका प्रदेश होता तो इस तरह गड़बड़ करने वालों को वह स्टेज से उतरकर गोली मार देते” क्या ये है भाजपा का संदेश- सवाल पूछो तो गोली खाओ! सुनिये-” (Fresh example of violent mindset of BJP- Kalraj Mishra threateningly told those who raised slogans against the Faridabad MP- “If this were his turf, he would have got off the stage and shot those creating nuisance”. Is this the BJP’s message- Take a bullet for a question! Listen- translation). भाजपा की हिंसक मानसिकता का ताज़ा नमूना- कलराज मिश्र जी ने फरीदाबाद सांसद के विरोध में नारे लगाने वालों को धमकी भरे लहजे में कहा- “अगर यह उनका प्रदेश होता तो इस तरह गड़बड़ करने वालों को वह स्टेज से उतरकर गोली मार देते” क्या ये है भाजपा का संदेश- सवाल पूछो तो गोली खाओ! सुनिये- pic.twitter.com/JV480z1gMk — Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) March 24, 2019 Surjewala asserted that Kalraj Mishra’s words exposed the “violent mindset” of the BJP, by threatening those raising slogans against the Faridabad MP. The entire video of the gathering and Kalraj Mishra’s speech has been posted by Mishra himself on his Facebook page. Listening to his speech makes it evident that he did not refer to shooting anyone. The video was streamed live on March 24. Posted by Kalraj Mishra on Sunday, March 24, 2019 The relevant part of the speech starts from the beginning of the speech till 01:13 minutes. Mishra in his speech had said, “If someone wants to create a nuisance here, i request them to get up and leave and create a ruckus elsewhere, not here. It is a lie to say that you are Modi’s man and then act like a rogue at this gathering. Today, an environment in favour of Modi is being created in this country and you are ruining it. Are you not ashamed? You are nationalists. Think about the nation.” He then goes on to say, “Fighting elections is not the only parameter. I have felt bad. (Even) If this were my region/turf, i would have got off the stage and said the same thing.” This concluding part of the clip which was shared by Randeep Surjewala was misinterpreted, deliberately or otherwise, as a threat to shoot. From the video, it is evident that Mishra had said, “agar hamara pradesh hota, toh main niche utarke wahi baat karta” (If this were my region/turf, i would have got off the stage and said the same thing). Instead, Surjewala claimed Mishra had said, “agar ye unka pradesh hota to iss tarah gadbad karne walo ko wo stage se utarkar goli mar dete” (If this were his turf, he would have got off the stage and shot those creating nuisance). This was clarified by Mishra himself via a tweet in which he hit back at Surjewala, calling it a petty act. कांग्रेस का जनता को मूर्ख बनाने का ताज़ा नमूना सूरजेवाला जी ऐसी ओछी हरकत आपको शोभा नही देती,जिम्मेदार नागरिक का कर्तव्य निभाएं और जनता को बेवकूफ बनाना बंद करें@rssurjewala सुनिये क्या कहा था “अगर मेरा प्रदेश होता तो मैं अभी नीचे उतर के वही बात करता” pic.twitter.com/wIESnNchVJ — चौकीदार कलराज मिश्र (Kalraj Mishra) (@KalrajMishra) March 24, 2019 Arjun Sidharth is a writer with Alt News. He has previously worked in the television news industry, where he managed news bulletins and breaking news scenarios, apart from scripting numerous prime time television stories. He has also been actively involved with various freelance projects. Sidharth has studied economics, political science, international relations and journalism. He has a keen interest in books, movies, music, sports, politics, foreign policy, history and economics. His hobbies include reading, watching movies and indoor gaming. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	26th March 2019 / 11:11 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-leader-randeep-surjewala-tweets-video-with-false-claim-targets-bjp-leader-kalraj-mishra/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
579	Congress leader shares image of collapsed flyover in Nagpur as Gujarat - Alt News Kinjal 27th October 2021 / 2:35 pm Hitendra Pithadiya, National Coordinator of the Congress’ Dalit wing, tweeted a few photos of a collapsed bridge on October 22, claiming that the incident occurred near Ajit Mill Char Rasta in Ahmedabad. (Archive link) Many users retweeted Hitendra’s post targeting the ‘Gujarat model’. Alt News could not find any reports to corroborate this claim. We then performed a keyword search and discovered that an under-construction flyover bridge had collapsed late on October 19 in Nagpur. The Times of India (TOI) reported on the mishap in an October 20 story. However, the accompanying image does not resemble the one in question. The report says that a part of the under-construction bridge collapsed near Bharat Nagar Chowk in Kalmana, Nagpur. There were no casualties. The flyover was reportedly being constructed by the National Highway Authority. Several outlets like the Free Press Journal, Mumbai Tak, Lokmat News18, TOI Nagpur, and TOI Pune covered the incident. These reports contain a few images of the collapsed portion of the bridge which are similar to the ones tweeted by Pithadiya. A keyword search on Twitter took us to pictures and videos of the area around the rubble from the bridge. Nagpur flyover collapse: कलमना में निर्माणाधीन उड़ानपुल गिरा ,महापौर बोले जांच होगी,VIDEO देखिए https://t.co/1dAEM18jZN pic.twitter.com/SETiK5HsWd — Nagpurtehelka.com (@NagpurTehelka) October 19, 2021 The comparison below shows that the location is the same. Congress’s Hitendra Pithadiya shared photos of a collapsed flyover in Nagpur as the Ajit Mill Char Rasta in Ahmedabad. He later took it down. Kinjal Parmar holds a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology. However, her keen interest in journalism, drove her to pursue journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. At Alt News since 2019, she focuses on authentication of information which includes visual verification, media misreports, examining mis/disinformation across social media. She is the lead video producer at Alt News and manages social media accounts for the organization. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	27th October 2021 / 2:35 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-leader-shared-pictures-of-collapsing-bridge-from-nagpur-as-ahmedabad/", "author": "Kinjal" }
580	Congress leader Shashi Tharoor shares 2017 image to show 'Atmanirbhar India' - Alt News Ketan 13th June 2020 / 2:38 pm / Last updated: 19th June 2020 Congress leader Shashi Tharoor had shared a photograph of a woman holding a drip given to a child held by another woman. Tharoor shared the image taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had said that the coronavirus outbreak should be used an opportunity to create an “atmanirbhar Bharat” meaning, self-sustaining India. हर विपदा से लड़ने की, हम में बड़ी महारत है ये आत्मनिर्भर भारत है ये #आत्मनिर्भर भारत है! pic.twitter.com/YOAOOzj9JX — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) June 11, 2020 The same image was earlier shared by poet and former Congress election candidate Imran Pratapghari. आत्मनिर्भर भारत pic.twitter.com/M2QI6Hkw0l — Imran Pratapgarhi (@ShayarImran) June 10, 2020 This picture is from 2017. It was shot by Amitesh Sinha, who is associated with media outlet The Lallantop. Sinha told Alt News that he took the photograph in 2017 when he was leaving for covering Uttar Pradesh elections. He saw the incident upon crossing Mirzapur and 2-3 shots sitting in his car. He had not published this and in 2019, he uploaded on his Instagram profile. A post shared by Amitesh (@amie_story) on Jun 11, 2019 at 10:09am PDT Sinha also shared the original image file with us. Its metadata revealed that the image was shot on March 1, 2017. This article explains metadata in details. The metadata or EXIF data of the photograph says that the artist’s name is ‘Mayank Khurana’. Sinha informed that the camera he used to click the picture was provided by his company and Khurana must have been the previous user. His data was synched to the camera which Sinha had not altered. The image shared by Tharoor and Pratapghari is cropped in the same manner as Sinha had uploaded it on Instagram. The original picture he shared with us is attached below. Ketan is Senior Editor at Alt News Hindi. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	13th June 2020 / 2:38 pm / Last updated: 19th June 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-leader-shashi-tharoor-shared-an-old-image-to-claim-it-shows-aatmnirbhar-india/", "author": "Ketan" }
581	Congress leaders falsely share photo as Indore police taking child to temporary jail - Alt News Anuradha Prasad 26th April 2021 / 9:11 pm / Last updated: 26th April 2021 Recently, Congress MLA Kunal Choudhary tweeted a photo purportedly of a child being taken to a temporary jail facility by the Indore police. The young boy can be seen holding some grocery staples like flour and oil. Choudhary wrote, “This child’s only crime was that he stepped out to get groceries for his family, and now he is being taken to a temporary jail. Shame on the Indore administration!” More than 5,600 handles retweeted the post. (Archive link) Former MLA and Secretary of the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee Satyanarayan Patel also posted the photo and viral claim. It had amassed over 1,200 shares at the time of writing. Twitter user Shazia Tasneem wrote, “Madhya Pradesh: Indore, This boy is being taken to a temporary jail because he stepped out to buy groceries for his family. If he was in West Bengal, he would have received Rs. 500 to attend a rally.” This racked up over 900 retweets at the time of writing. (Archive link) The image is widespread on both Facebook and Twitter with this caption. A media portal called Newstrack even published a story on the incident. A closer look at the viral image establishes that the boy is sitting inside an autorickshaw, and not a police vehicle. Those familiar with the tempos that run in several North Indian cities (or the Gramin Sewa transport vehicles in Delhi) would know that he is not sitting inside a police car. Alt News performed a reverse image search and found no other versions of the photo apart from the one in the Newstrack article. Only social media posts appeared in the search results. A user had posted a screenshot of an Instagram post in reply to Shazia’s tweet and wrote that this claim was false. शर्म आनी चाहिए झूठ फैलाते हुए। लेकिन तू तो थे खान्ग्रेसी और क्या कर पाओगें pic.twitter.com/03D2P0SszB — Himanshu Jain (@Himanshu96291) April 22, 2021 The Instagram post is by the handle @inquallabi_soch. The caption discusses the lockdown in Delhi and the difficulties it brought for labourers. We performed a keyword search on Facebook and Twitter using parts of the text from this caption. This led us to a number of Facebook posts, including one by Bharat Nbs. Several users attributed the image to Bharat. He had uploaded the photo on April 19 and we could not find any other post containing the picture before this date. In fact, a user commented on Bharat’s post informing him that the photo was viral with a false claim. आज रात से दिल्ली में अगले सोमवार तक लॉकडाउन है। इस बच्चे को भी इस बात का इल्म है कि लॉकडाउन लगते ही, कोई सरकार कुछ नही… Posted by Bharat Nbs on Monday, April 19, 2021 We reached out to Bharat and asked him if he had taken this picture. “I took this picture at Madhuban Chowk in Delhi. It was taken inside a Gramin Sewa vehicle. This boy was going towards Rithala, to his house. I spoke to him and he told me that he lived in Rithala. I took this picture of him during our conversation”, he revealed. He shared the picture with us via email and an examination of its EXIF data confirmed that it was indeed taken by Bharat. He also shared a screenshot of his phone’s photo gallery. Bharat told us that through the photo, he was trying to show that the system had failed, and how no one was coming to the aid of the working class in such difficult times. Therefore, a photo of a child in a Delhi auto was falsely circulated as the Indore police taking him to a temporary jail. It is noteworthy that those flouting lockdown rules in Indore are being taken into custody and placed in temporary jail facilities. A journalist and a dilettante person who always strives to learn new skills and meeting new people. Either sketching or working. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	26th April 2021 / 9:11 pm / Last updated: 26th April 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-leaders-and-nws-track-shared-an-unrelated-image-of-delhi-to-claim-indore-police-is-taking-a-kid-to-temporary-jail/", "author": "Anuradha Prasad" }
582	Congress leaders falsely claim Indian Oil Corporation sold to Adani Group under BJP govt - Alt News Archit 18th February 2021 / 4:22 pm Several social media users have shared images of IndianOil-Adani Gas (IOAG) refuelling station and alluded that the public sector oil and gas company Indian Oil Corporation has been sold to the Adani Group under the BJP regime. Indian Youth Congress national president Srinivas B V was among the many Congress members who shared the claim. His tweet gained over 2,000 retweets. मोदी जी:- ये ‘हम’ है ये हमारे दो का ‘विकास’ है और हम देश बेच रहे है ! pic.twitter.com/M2AjsTNgQh — Srinivas B V (@srinivasiyc) February 16, 2021 Other Congress workers who tweeted the viral image include MLA Kunal Rohidas Patil, national convener of Congress social media Saral Patel, Maharashtra Mahila Congress leader Sulochana Wagh, MP Jasbir Singh Gill, national coordinator of Congress social media Gaurav Pandhi and Youth Congress leader Deepak Varthur. Pandhi’s tweet was retweeted by Delhi Congress and Varthur’s tweet was retweeted by activist Kavitha Reddy. Similarly, youth wing of Rashtriya Janata Dal tweeted the viral image which was amplified by the Twitter account of Rashtriya Janata Dal that has close to five lakh followers. Blogger Raju Parulekar also tweeted the image. His tweet gained over 1,000 retweets. The viral image has been shared by multiple Facebook users. Additionally, the claim has been shared in Bengali and Tamil on Facebook pages ‘শ্রমজীবী – The Labour‘ and ‘Tamil Nationalism – தமிழ் தேசியம்‘. Facebook page ‘मुशाफिर‘ also posted the viral image. The website of IndianOil-Adani Gas Pvt. Ltd. states that IOAG is a joint venture private company. The joint venture is between Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOC) – a Maharatna Company of Government of India – and Adani Gas Ltd. (AGL), a gas distribution company and part of the Adani Group. Firstpost reported that the two firms had incorporated a 50:50 joint venture company in 2013 for implementation of city gas distribution (CGD) projects across the country. The union government was led by the Congress in 2013 and the BJP came to power only a year later. Multiple joint ventures are listed on the website of Indian Oil, including IOAG. Under the natural gas section, the website states that city gas distribution projects are being implemented in Chandigarh, Allahabad, Panipat, Ernakulam, Daman, Udhamsingh Nagar and Dharwad through a joint venture with M/s. Adani Gas Ltd. (M/s. IndianOil-Adani Gas Private Limited (IOAGL). The viral claim was earlier debunked by the fact-check wing of the Press Information Bureau (PIB). It is being claimed on social media that Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. has been sold to a private entity.#PIBFactCheck: This claim is #Fake. The image exhibited is of IndianOil-Adani Gas Pvt. Ltd. which is a joint venture company of @IndianOilcl and Adani Gas Ltd. pic.twitter.com/CYwp0AdDDd — PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) February 17, 2021 Thus, several Congress leaders made the false claim that the Adani Group has taken over Indian Oil. Two months ago Alt News debunked the claim that Indian Railways has been ‘sold’ to Adani. Congress leaders had also shared the false claim the Sardar Vallabhai Patel Airport has been renamed to Adani Airports. 🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	18th February 2021 / 4:22 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-leaders-falsely-claim-indian-oil-corporation-sold-to-adani-group-under-bjp-govt/", "author": "Archit" }
583	Congress leaders falsely claim Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport renamed to 'Adani Airports' - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 15th December 2020 / 5:37 pm / Last updated: 15th December 2020 “Ahmedabad airport has been renamed from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to Adani,” tweeted MP Congress with a photograph of a billboard that says ‘Adani \| Airports’. The tweet drew over 3,000 likes and more than 600 retweets. (Translated from: अहमदाबाद एयरपोर्ट का नाम — सरदार वल्लभभाई पटेल से अडानी एयरपोर्ट हुआ..!) Gujarat Congress MLA Amit Chavda also shared the image alluding the same. So did AICC in-charge for Telangana Congress Manickam Tagore. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport in Ahmedabad has not been renamed to ‘Adani Airports’ but the Airport Authority of India (AAI) handed over its operations to the multinational conglomerate on November 6, 2020. On 6th Nov’20 at 00:00 midnight, #AAI‘s senior officials exchanged Memorandum & handed over Ahmedabad @ahmairport to @AdaniOnline. Sh A.K Verma, APD, AMD exchanged symbolic key in accordance with concession agreement & future development. pic.twitter.com/vKECyC6u49 — Airports Authority of India (@AAI_Official) November 7, 2020 There are no news reports claiming that the name of the airport has been altered. It still reads the same on the AAI website as well. A video report by The Times of India published on November 7 shows recent visuals of the airport where signboards and hoardings now carry the words ‘Adani \| Airports’. However, the name of the airport has not been changed. A signboard visible when passengers enter the airport reads ‘Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport’ in the middle and ‘Adani \| Airports’ on the sides. Adani Airports is a subsidiary of the Adani Group. The banners carry the company logo. “The central government in February 2019 privatised six major airports of the country — Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, and Guwahati. After a competitive bidding process, the Adani group won the rights to run all of them for 50 years,” reported Livemint. Adani Airports logo is also present on banners placed at Lucknow airport. Therefore, ‘Adani’ was added on airport billboards after the company took over the development and maintenance of Ahmedabad airport from AAI. This was falsely projected by Congress and its leaders as the Modi government allowing the corporation to remove ‘Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’ from the airport name. Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	15th December 2020 / 5:37 pm / Last updated: 15th December 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-leaders-falsely-claim-sardar-vallabhbhai-patel-airport-renamed-to-adani-airports/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
584	Congress leaders pose with the same woman? Previously debunked misinformation resurfaces - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 23rd April 2019 / 4:40 pm / Last updated: 23rd April 2019 A tweet by Renuka Jain, who is followed by prime minister Narendra Modi, has gained traction not only on Twitter but also on Facebook (archive). In her tweet, Jain claimed that the Congress party had used the same elderly woman for all their photoshoots. “Congress pays her 5000 Rs. per photoshoot,” read her tweet. Congress pays her 5000 Rs. per photoshoot. pic.twitter.com/jhYEOArSqK — #RenukaJain Chowkidar 🇮🇳 (@RenukaJain6) April 22, 2019 From a Facebook page India Against Urban Naxals, the screenshot of Jain’s tweet received over 9,600 shares, in contrast with 1,300 retweets of Jain’s original tweet. Another page Resurging Hinduism also shared a screenshot of Jain’s tweet, drawing over 1,000 likes. Screenshots of the tweet are floating on Instagram as well. This was pointed out by a Twitter user. While Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor and are easily recognisable, the fourth leader is not even a member of the Congress party. He is the general secretary of BJP Kerala, K Surendran. The image was a part of BJP’s campaign in Pathanamthitta, as per numerous tweets. No media will show these heartwarming visuals from @surendranbjp campaign in Pathanamthitta. No newspapers will print these emotional pictures as photonews… It is the duty of all Hindus & Ayyappa Devotees to ensure the victory of K Surendran & other BJP-NDA candidates.Share max pic.twitter.com/3reH5oJTuz — Chowkidar EMS Nampoothiripad (@trollcommies) April 16, 2019 Alt News had debunked this misinformation in the past when it was shared sans Priyanka Gandhi’s image, which has been lifted from her recent visit to Kerala. .@priyankagandhi in Manathavadi, Kerala. pic.twitter.com/iX5HI2xPS5 — Chaupal (@thechaupal) April 20, 2019 All four women might seem alike because of their old age and white hair. A closer look, however, reveals apparent distinctions in physical features. Alt News has juxtaposed photographs of the four women for a clearer view. The second woman was photographed with BJP’s K Surendran and the fourth, with Shashi Tharoor. The third elderly woman is the same who could be seen embracing Rahul Gandhi. We have chosen a different photograph of hers from the images tweeted by Congress for ease of distinction. The third woman is visibly different from the rest. The other three women also have distinct physical features. For instance, the one in the middle has more black hair than the other two, and the first woman’s hair seems more voluminous. Another clear difference is the teeth. While the front teeth of the elderly woman in the middle seem blackened, the third one has visibly protruding front teeth. The shape of the nose is distinct as well. All the four women are, thus, not the same. Moreover, one of them was photographed with BJP Kerala leader K Surendran. The resurfacing of this misinformation suggests a relentless attempt to push the false narrative. Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	23rd April 2019 / 4:40 pm / Last updated: 23rd April 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-leaders-pose-with-the-same-woman-previously-debunked-misinformation-resurfaces/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
585	Congress leaders share images from 2018 farmers protest as recent - Alt News Priyanka Jha 27th November 2020 / 2:06 pm / Last updated: 27th November 2020 Farmers across the country have been protesting against the centre’s new agricultural laws for nearly two months now. Thousands of Punjab farmers are now marching to the national capital as part of their ‘Dilli Chalo’ protest. Strong barricading, police and security forces have been deployed at the Delhi border to prevent the protestors from reaching the capital. Since the early hours of November 26, farmers tried to continue their march, tearing down the barricades at the Patiala-Ambala highway and braving rounds of water cannons and tear gas. The Indian Youth Congress shared a few pictures claiming they represent the ongoing police action on farmers. (Archive link) India can never forgive the govt who treats those who feed this nation like terrorists.#FarmersProtest pic.twitter.com/uMObiNtYgh — Youth Congress (@IYC) November 26, 2020 Congress leader and poet Imran Pratapgarhi also tweeted a few such pictures. (Archive link) ये मेरे प्यारे देश की तस्वीर नहीं है, हरियाणा की सरहद है ये कश्मीर नहीं है । रोकेगा भला कौन किसानों को आने से, दिल्ली किसी के बाप की जागीर नहीं है । ~इमरान प्रतापगढ़ी pic.twitter.com/6HU6Ky0kpT — Imran Pratapgarhi (@ShayarImran) November 26, 2020 Journalist Prashant Kanojia tweeted one of the photos and later took it down (archive link.) Apart from him, Congress leaders Saral Patel, Archana Dalmia, and Manish Tiwari also used similar photos in their tweets about the current farmers’ protest. Actor and singer Diljit Dosanjh also tweeted two images, one of which shows police personnel firing water cannons (archive link). Alt News found that at least three of the photographs being shared as current are actually a few years old and taken during previous farmer rallies. First photo Alt News performed a simple reverse image search and found the photo in a number of 2018 news reports. An article in The Hindu, published on October 2, 2018, states that farmers were trying to break through the barricades at the UP-Delhi border of Ghaziabad. This prompted the police to use tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd. These farmers were marching in the Kisan Kranti Padyatra, which started from Haridwar on September 23, 2018. They were supposed to reach Delhi’s Kisan Ghat but were not allowed to enter the city. On October 2, 2018, NDTV reported that the farmers had gathered at the border of the state with a 15-point list of demands, including the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report, loan waivers, and the payment of pending sugarcane dues. Second photo Another such image people are claiming is recent is actually from 2018’s Kisan Kranti Padyatra. It was taken from a different angle as farmers were trying to tear down the barricades and police were using water cannons to stop them. It was also published in Deccan Herald on October 3, 2018. Third photo An India TV report from October 2, 2018, said that this picture too represents the same protest. Therefore, Congress leaders falsely shared images from the farmers’ protests in 2018 as the recent march to New Delhi. This was despite the availability of several pictures from the recent protest where water cannon and tear gas were used to stop farmers from crossing Delhi border. Farmers brave water cannons, tear gas in march towards Delhi See more pictures here: https://t.co/DTohYgUxKM pic.twitter.com/3Bnfw5X6KT — The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) November 26, 2020 She specializes in information verification, examining mis/disinformation, social media monitoring and platform accountability. Her aim is to make the internet a safer place and enable people to become informed social media users. She has been a part of Alt News since 2018. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	27th November 2020 / 2:06 pm / Last updated: 27th November 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-leaders-shared-2018-images-of-farmer-protest-as-recent/", "author": "Priyanka Jha" }
586	Congress leaders share Andhra festival crowd video as Bharat Jodo Yatra gathering - Alt News Abhishek Kumar 26th October 2022 / 5:59 pm / Last updated: 26th October 2022 A video of a massive procession moving through a road has been making rounds on social media. The video also shows onlookers on rooftops video-recording the rally on their mobile phones. It has been claimed that this is a visual from the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi. Congress leader Sandeep Singh tweeted the video as footage of a crowd that gathered in support of Rahul Gandhi. (Archived link) Congress Mumbai treasurer Bhushan Patil also amplified the video on Twitter and wrote, “Raichur witnessed historic crowds on the final day of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Karnataka.” (Archived link) Salman Aneez Soz of the Congress also promoted the video while linking it to the Bharat Jodo Yatra. (Archived link) Similarly, Chhattisgarh Congress Seva Dal’s social media state coordinator Manish Tiwari, along with Lutyens Media, user Sreen Shri and several others also shared the clip with the same claim on Twitter. Alt News performed a reverse image search using frames taken from the viral video. This led us to another clip which had been uploaded to YouTube on October 12, 2022. According to the caption, the video features devotees celebrating the local Pydithalli Sirimanu festival in Andhra Pradesh. The user has also identified the location seen in the visuals as Vizianagaram. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lAS–2uUZA] Taking a closer look at the video, we noticed a Sony Electronics outlet in the background. Using the location mentioned in the YouTube video as a clue, we searched for the same Sony Center on Google Maps, and found that it is located on Fort Road in Andhra Pradesh’s Vizianagaram district. Alt News examined the YouTube channel of the user who uploaded the aforementioned video and noticed that they had uploaded another video of the same festival. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apUjXDVbydI] In the clip, a hotel named Anand Grand Fort can also be seen in the background. When we searched for the hotel on Google Maps, we found that it is also located in Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh. It is worth noting that the Sony Center seen in the viral clip and Hotel Anand Grand Fort seen in the other video are located at a distance of just 300 m away from one another. Also located nearby is the Sri Sri Sri Pydithalli Ammavari Temple. Pydithalli Srimanu, the festival being celebrated by locals in the video, is associated with this temple. Next, we translated the related keywords into Telugu using Google Translate and performed a keyword search on Facebook. This led us to an October 11 post on a Facebook page titled Vizianagaram Youth, containing images of the same festival. After examining the photos in this post closely, we noticed that they closely resemble visuals from the video in question. The Sony Center hoarding, the plants on the road divider, along with the tarp on the roof of the building are seen in both. The similarities can be seen more clearly in the side-by-side comparison given below. This confirms that the viral video cannot be from the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi. This is actually a clip of locals gathered to celebrate Pydithalli Sirimanu, a festival unique to Andhra Pradesh. Furthermore, the Sirimanotham festival celebrations were held in Andhra Pradesh on October 11, whereas Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra was passing through Karnataka’s Chitradurg district on the same day. To sum it up, a number of Congress leaders and social media users falsely shared the footage of a large crowd celebrating a local festival in Andhra Pradesh as visuals from the Congress’s ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra. Abhishek is a senior fact-checking journalist and researcher at Alt News. He has a keen interest in information verification and technology. He is always eager to learn new skills, explore new OSINT tools and techniques. Prior to joining Alt News, he worked in the field of content development and analysis with a major focus on Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	26th October 2022 / 5:59 pm / Last updated: 26th October 2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-leaders-shared-a-video-of-andhra-pradesh-festival-as-bharat-jodo-yatra/", "author": "Abhishek Kumar" }
587	Congress MLA shares 2013 photo as incident from recent farmer protests - Alt News Anuradha Prasad 23rd September 2020 / 8:58 pm Farmers in Haryana’s Pipli have been protesting the Central government’s farm bills for several months now. Two of the bills were passed in the Rajya Sabha on September 20 despite massive pushback from the opposition. In the protest rally in Pipli on September 10, farmers were lathi-charged while stones were thrown at the police. Both sides sustained injuries. Following the violence, social media users began sharing pictures supposedly showing what went down at the rally. Among these posts was one by Shakuntala Sahu, a Congress MLA from Kasdol in Chhattisgarh, who tweeted a photo of a standoff between a policeman with a gun and an older man holding a brick. In her caption, she wrote, “Don’t kill me with your bullets, I am already a miserable person..! The reason behind my death is that I happen to be a farmer ..! #kishanVirodhiNarendraModi. (anti-farmer Narendra Modi).” This post had been liked by 2,000 users at the time of writing. (archived link to the tweet) It was also shared by the official Twitter handle of the Chhattisgarh Youth Congress. Their post carried the caption, “Mr. Modi showered sticks on each individual who tried to raise their voice and fight for their rights.” (archived link to the post) Several other Twitter users including @jayman_sharma and @sandypal123 also shared the image with similar captions. In addition to Twitter, the image seems to have gone viral on Facebook as well. One Arshad Ansari shared it with MLA Shakuntala Sahu’s caption from earlier. Ansari’s post has been liked more than 200 times. A Facebook group called ‘Jan Jan Ki Awaaz (Rajdhanwar)‘ also posted the picture with the same caption. Alt News had previously fact-checked the origins of this photo back in 2018. It had then been circulating as a photo from the farmer protest in October 2018 when protesters had been stopped at the Delhi-UP border during the demonstrations led by the Bharatiya Kisan Union. When we did a reverse image search, we discovered a number of articles, making it clear that this was not a recent image. We also found that it had been taken in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh in 2013. The photo was included in a report by The Pioneer dated September 30, 2013. It was also found in an article in The Indian Express from the same day. This article credited news agency PTI for the image. The Hindu had also published it on the same day. According to the report, when BJP MLA Sangeet Som was implicated in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots case and was slapped with an NSA charge, his brother decided to call a mahapanchayat in Khera in protest. The police banned the mahapanchayat and imposed Section 144 in the area to curb communal sentiments. However, the villagers began gathering anyway and violated Section 144. This picture was taken during this incident where the police were trying to control the crowd. Therefore, the image that has been doing the rounds on social media is not from the recent farmer protests in Pipli. It was, in fact, taken many years ago in Meerut’s Khera in an unrelated incident. Ironically, while Congress targetted the BJP with this photograph, the incident occurred during Congress’s rule. A journalist and a dilettante person who always strives to learn new skills and meeting new people. Either sketching or working. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	23rd September 2020 / 8:58 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-member-shares-2013-image-from-merrut-as-recent-farmer-protest/", "author": "Anuradha Prasad" }
588	Congress members circulate a digitally created video of Rahul Gandhi’s photograph beamed on Burj Khalifa - Alt News Jignesh Patel 11th January 2019 / 10:10 am / Last updated: 12th January 2019 As Dubai gears up to welcome Congress President Rahul Gandhi who will be visiting on January 11-12. A video of Congress President’s photo beamed on Dubai’s Burj Khalifa is doing the rounds on social media. Congress Social media head for the Minority Department Sameer Hoda also tweeted the video claiming that Gandhi’s picture was showcased on the Burj Khalifa during a light show. The same was also tweeted by the General Secretary of Delhi Pradesh Youth Congress Rahul Yadav. A Facebook user Rajiv Tyagi posted the video saying, “The Rahul Gandhi welcome in Dubai”. With Rahul Gandhi, a Facebook page, has shared this video as “a beautiful view from Dubai before Rahul Gandhi’s visit”. It has been viewed more than 1,31,000 times and shared more than 7100 times at the time of writing this article. Several pro-Congress social media users have posted this video on Facebook and Twitter with the identical narrative. Alt News found that the viral video has a watermark on the top-right corner which reads, “Biugo”. A Google search of the keyword reveals that Biugo is a video editing application available on Google Play Store. Installing the app, one finds out that it has a feature in which any picture can be super-imposed on the Burj Khalifa and to make it seem as if it is a light show. In the past, the official Twitter handle of Burj Khalifa has tweeted a video of Mahatama Gandhi’s picture beamed on the building. Burj Khalifa was also lit up in the colours of the Indian National flag to honour PM Modi and his delegation’s visit to United Arab Emirates in 2018. #برج_خليفة يستعرض صور وبعض الأقوال المأثورة لمهاتما غاندي في ذكرى ميلاده ال١٥٠ Burj Khalifa beams Mahatma Gandhi’s images and iconic quotes marking his 150th birth anniversary pic.twitter.com/Sdrdp8F2uI — Burj Khalifa (@BurjKhalifa) October 2, 2018 In conclusion, Congress members and supporters have tweeted a digital creation as an actual incident of the Burf Khalifa beamed up with a picture of Rahul Gandhi before his visit to Dubai. Jignesh is a writer and researcher at Alt News. He has a knack for visual investigation with a major interest in fact-checking videos and images. He has completed his Masters in Journalism from Gujarat University. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	11th January 2019 / 10:10 am / Last updated: 12th January 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-members-circulate-a-digitally-created-video-of-rahul-gandhis-photograph-beamed-on-burj-khalifa/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
589	Congress members endorse misleading ad on Rajasthan budget for Muslim religious sites - Alt News Archit 25th March 2021 / 6:23 pm / Last updated: 26th March 2021 On March 12, an advertisement was published in leading Hindi daily Rajasthan Patrika which said, “For the first time in the history of Rajasthan budget, Rs 100 crore has been approved for Muslim pilgrimage sites under the religious tourist circuit in the government’s 2021-22 budget. A heartfelt thanks to Hon’ble Chief Minister Mr Ashok Gehlot for this approval.” (Translated from Hindi: राजस्थान सरकार बजट 2021-22 में राजस्थान के इतिहास में पहली मर्तबा मुस्लिम तीर्थ स्थलों को धार्मिक पर्यटन सर्किट बनाने के लिए 100 करोड़ रुपये के बजट की मंजूरी देने पर माननीय मुख्यमंत्री श्री अशोक जीगहलोत का तेहदिल से शुक्रिया) The ad lists Muslim places of worship in Jodhpur, Nagaur, Ajmer, Jhalawar, Jhunjhunu, Sikar and Sambhar. Out of these, Jodhpur’s Tanha Peer Dargah has been highlighted in the largest font. Additionally, the ad’s header and footer list images of senior Congress leaders and names of individuals. Multiple Twitter and Facebook users posted a cropped version of the ad and claimed that Rs 100 crore was allocated for one dargah. Right-wing influencers Major Surendra Poonia (Retd), Rishi Bagree and @IOpposeConvrsn posted this ad. “Hindus are collecting funds for Ram Mandir door-to-door. And on the other hand, the Rajasthan government has approved Rs 100 crore for one dargah. In the future, this dargah will be used to plot the ruin of Hindus,” is the most common message used to share the advertisement. [Translated from: राम मंदिर के लिये हम हिन्दू घर-घर जाकर धन जोड़ रहें हैं। और दूसरी तरफ राजस्थान सरकार ने एक दरगाह के लिए 100 करोड़ रुपए दे दिए। आगे चलकर इसी दरगाह में हिंदुओं की बर्बादी की दुआ मांगी जाएगी।] This fact-check is split into three sections that answer the following questions: Rajasthan budget 2021-22 According to the 2021-22 budget of the Rajasthan Finance Department, point 213 on page 74, Rs 100 crore is indeed allocated to the Religious Tourist Circuit. However, the sum is shared between Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Muslim communities. The community-wise breakdown of the number of projects under the Religious Tourist Circuit plan is given below. The budget does not mention community-wise allocation. Thus, Rs 100 crore isn’t allocated just for Muslim places of worship but it is the entire budget for all religious sites under the Religious Tourist Circuit. BJP supporters post misleading claim Major Surendra Poonia (Retd), Rishi Bagree and @IOpposeConvrsn posted the image of the ad that excludes the bottom section which lists names of people. This may lead some readers to mistaken the ad for an official advertisement published by the Rajasthan government. The ad on Rajasthan Patrika extends gratitude to Chief Minister Gehlot for initiating the project. It also lists names at the bottom, possibly of those who endorsed the ad. Who published the ad? Department of Information and Public Relations data lists the ads published by the Rajasthan government in various media outlets. There is no reference to the Rajasthan Patrika ad. Avinash Ajey, advertisement head at Rajasthan Patrika, told Alt News, “I cannot comment on the authenticity of the ad nor reveal who published this.” The image below compares an advertisement by the Rajasthan government with the one published on Rajasthan Patrika. The government ad carries the state emblem. Alt News spoke with a religious head of one of the places of worship mentioned in the ad, the administrator of a Jodhpur-based Facebook page dedicated to Congress and a member of Congress whose name is mentioned in the ad. They confirmed that a majority of the names mentioned are members of Congress. The ad’s header (below) shows images of senior Congress leaders/ officer bearers. Their identities are (from left to right) – MLA Mahendra Chaudhary, CM Gehlot’s son Vaibhav Gehlot, former chairman of Jodhpur Development Authority Rajendra Singh Solanki, MLA Manisha Panwar, Jodhpur mayor Kunti Deora Parihar, Adbul Karim Jhony and former municipal leader and Tanah Peer Dargah committee chairman Chotu Ustad whose name is the first one in the footer. Ustad told Alt News that the people listed at the bottom collectively paid for this advertisement. He added, “I have not designed the ad. It was made by a local ad agency. We paid about Rs 65,000 for the ad.” A misleading ad, endorsed by Congress members, was published in Rajasthan Patrika. While the ad says that the Rajasthan government allocated Rs 100 crore for Muslim places of worship in the latest budget, the sum is to be shared between four religious communities. A cropped version of the misleading ad was used to further the false claim on social media that Rs 100 crore was approved for only one dargah. 🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023. In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The CCTV footage of a man violently flinging a child on the ground has created… A minute-long video clip of a woman being physically assaulted is viral on social media…. Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery. Several users have shared images of the… The brutal murder of Shraddha Walker has been widely covered across news media over the…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	25th March 2021 / 6:23 pm / Last updated: 26th March 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-members-endorse-misleading-ad-on-rajasthan-budget-for-muslim-religious-sites/", "author": "Archit" }
590	Congress members, journalists share image of Rohingyas as migrant workers amid lockdown - Alt News Jignesh Patel 13th May 2020 / 8:48 pm / Last updated: 13th May 2020 The official Twitter handle of the SC department of the Indian National Congress posted an image of a man carrying an old woman on his back with a message targetting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government. “.@narendramodi जी, क्या आप इनके चेहरे की बेबसी को आप पढ़ पा रहे हैं? कुछ तो करो सरकार.. (@narendramodi, can you see the helplessness on their faces? the government should do something -translated),” reads the tweet. National campaign in-charge of IYC Srivatsa too tweeted the same image while criticising the Indian Railways for charging tickets from migrants stranded across the country. Journalist Vinod Dua referred to the same image during his show for HW News on May 11, 2020. A screenshot from the broadcast is posted below. Economist Rupa Subramanya and journalist Swati Chaturvedi posted a collage of photos which included the picture. With the help of a Google reverse image search, Alt News found that the image was published by International news agency Pressenza on November 8, 2017. “Rohingya Refugees at Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh,” reads the title of the article. The image is credited to a photographer named Mobarak Hossain. It depicts the condition of the Rohingya refugees who made their way to Bangladesh. Moreover, we found a video of the man carrying his mother on his back, posted by the Facebook channel Middle East Update on September 9, 2017. “I have carried my mother on my back for 4 days on foot after Myanmar soldiers set fire to our house (-Google translation),” the post quoted the Rohingya man as saying. This further corroborated the image is more than two years old. Boomlive found an article published by a Bengali website on September 6, 2017. According to the report, Osiur Rahman entered Bangladesh while carrying his 75-year-old mother Mamtaz Begum on his back. Seorang pria Rohingya dalam perjalanannya mengungsi berkata, “Saya telah menggendong ibu saya di punggung saya selama 4 hari berjalan kaki setelah tentara Myanmar membakar rumah kita,” . Posted by Middle EAST Update on Saturday, 9 September 2017 Therefore, an image of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh from 2017 was passed off as helpless Indian migrants travelling back to their homes amidst the lockdown. Jignesh is a writer and researcher at Alt News. He has a knack for visual investigation with a major interest in fact-checking videos and images. He has completed his Masters in Journalism from Gujarat University. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	13th May 2020 / 8:48 pm / Last updated: 13th May 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-members-journalists-share-image-of-rohingyas-as-migrant-workers-amid-lockdown/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
591	Congress members share image from CAA protest as media OB van recently vandalised in Lucknow - Alt News Archit 13th October 2020 / 9:38 pm Several social media users have shared an image of two outside-broadcasting (OB) vans severely vandalised. As per the claim, the image is from Lucknow. The accompanying text says that “godi media” (pro-government channels) were attacked. An OB van of CNN News18 can be identified in the image. “All happiness is on one side and the joy that godi media was attacked is on another side. Long live Lucknowites,” reads the text. (Transalted from सारी खुशी एक तरफ गोदी मीडिया की ठुकाई की खुशी एक तरफ, जियो लखनऊ वालों) The image was posted by several Twitter users including Congress national secretary and social media in-charge Zakiya Khan (archived link) and Beerwah Congress media coordinator Aabid Mir Magami (archived link). They gained over 400 retweets cumulatively. It is noteworthy that violence was reported in Lucknow in the last week of September. The alleged gang-rape of a Dalit woman in Hathras sparked protests by opposition parties. Congress and Bhim army held demonstrations in the state capital to demand stern action against the accused. UP Congress alleged that police charged party workers with batons as they proceeded toward the Chief Minister’s residence. Similarly, several Facebook users posted this image. In order to gain context behind the viral image, Alt News performed a reverse image search using InVID’s browser extension on Bing. We found that the image was published in a December 2019 report by the Hindi news website Local Heading. As per the report, miscreants attacked journalists and OB vehicles during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Using this as a clue, we performed a keyword search on Google and found a Business Times article which carried an image of the identical News18 OB van. This image was tweeted by ANI. As per the tweet, “Lucknow: Protest against #CitizenshipAct turns violent in Hazratganj. Protesters pelted stones, Police resorted to lathi charge. A media OB van has also been set ablaze.” Lucknow: Protest against #CitizenshipAct turns violent in Hazratganj. Protesters pelted stones, Police resorted to lathi charge. A media OB van has also been set ablaze. pic.twitter.com/1W8LVdwvov — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 19, 2019 News18 reported about the vandalism in a December 19, 2019 broadcast where the anchor stated that stone pelting was happening outside Lucknow Press Club. The channel’s UP bureau chief Pranshu Mishra informed the anchor (from 0:30 to 1:13) that similar protests were being held across the city. Therefore, Congress IT cell members Zakiya Khan and Aabid Mir Magami shared an old image of a News18 OB van damaged during CAA protests as a recent incident. 🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	13th October 2020 / 9:38 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-members-share-image-from-caa-protest-as-media-ob-van-recently-vandalised-in-lucknow/", "author": "Archit" }
592	Congress members target PM Modi based on incorrect tweet by NDTV - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 22nd December 2018 / 5:15 pm / Last updated: 18th March 2019 Prime Minister Narendra Modi had addressed a public gathering in Raebareli on December 16; his first rally following BJP’s recent loss in assembly elections. Covering his speech, NDTV had put out a tweet at 12:16 PM quoting the PM – “Over 1250 crore houses have been set up. People have celebrated Diwali in their new homes. The houses we make will have water, electricity, gas connections and toilets.” The media organisation, however, made a faux-pas vis-a-vis the number of houses PM Modi claimed his government built. If one carefully listens to his speech, PM Modi says at 19:42 minutes – “अब तक देश में सवा करोड़ से ज़्यादा घरो का निर्माण किया जा चूका है (Till now more 1.25 crore houses have been constructed.)” At 2:08 PM, NDTV corrected the number – “Over 1.25 crore houses have been constructed. People have celebrated Diwali in their new homes. The houses we make will have water, electricity, gas connections and toilets.” While NDTV’s earlier tweet attracted 162 retweets, the updated tweet was retweeted only 20 times. The news outlet made the change to 1,250 houses without deleting its earlier tweet, which gave many the opportunity to share it while criticising the PM for claiming that BJP built 1,250 crore houses when the country’s population is only 125 crore. The official Twitter handle of Account of INC SC department quoted NDTV’s tweet and wrote – “1250 Crore houses for india? 10 houses for each indian? Even after defeat in 5 states, It seems Modi Ji has not learned any lesson and still doing Jumlebaazi.” It is to be noted that AICC SC’s tweet came before NDTV tweeted PM Modi’s correct statement. Mumbai Congress Committee President Sanjay Nirupam also made similar claims while quoting a tweet by BJP MP Smriti Irani where she criticised Congress President Rahul Gandhi for consulting party members before speaking with the media. Nirupam posted his tweet on December 19, which was after NDTV tweeted PM Modi’s actual statement. National Convenor of INC India Ruchira Chaturvedi and INC mainstream media communication member Rachit Seth quoted NDTV’s tweet, saying that PM Modi claimed to have built 1,250 crore houses when the population of India is 125 crore. Both of them had tweeted before NDTV’s second tweet. Several other AICC members (1, 2, 3) also made similar claims. Due to NDTV’s incorrect attribution of a statement to PM Modi, he came in the crosshairs of Congress members who quoted the media outlet’s tweet. Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	22nd December 2018 / 5:15 pm / Last updated: 18th March 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-members-target-pm-modi-based-on-incorrect-tweet-by-ndtv/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
593	Congress members tweet video of tourists on Chinese side of Pangong Tso as Indian side - Alt News Aqib Pathan, Pratik Sinha & Pooja Chaudhuri 11th September 2020 / 4:01 pm / Last updated: 11th September 2020 Since the past few days, a video of Pangong Tso lake has been massively shared by Congress members and supporters of the party. Jammu and Kashmir Congress leader Salman Nizami claimed that the video shows Chinese tourists at the lake. He questioned, “Can someone ask ’56 inch’ Chowkidar if Indians now need a visa to visit Pangong Lake?” insinuating that the water body is now under China’s complete control. The clip drew over 3.7 lakh views from Nizami’s handle. Chinese tourists in Ladakh’s Pangong Lake. Can someone ask ’56 inch’ Chowkidar if Indians now need a visa to visit Pangong Lake? pic.twitter.com/6LKiMu12PP — Salman Nizami (@SalmanNizami_) September 8, 2020 India-Sino border dispute has been ongoing for months, leading to the death of 20 Indian army men in Galwan Valley in the month of June. The casualty on the Chinese side is unknown but both countries have blamed each other for cross-border firing and trespass violations amidst stand-off consensus. Congress member George Kurian similarly claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is in denial about any incursions by the Chinese army at Pangong Tso while China has “started generating revenue” from tourists visiting the lake. BJP Government in denial mode about any incursions by Chinese army at Pangong Tso and China has started generating revenue from Pangong Tso #WakeUpBJP #PangongTso pic.twitter.com/cjXaW0g76P — जॉर्ज कुरियन (@GeorgekurianINC) September 8, 2020 Congress National Convenor Saral Patel expressed anger at the video. Chinese tourists at Panging Tso. 😡 pic.twitter.com/ettfLQMyWQ — 𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥 (@SaralPatel) September 8, 2020 Gaurav Pandhi, national coordinator of Congress’ Digital Communications, and Twitter handle Rofl Republic (@i_theindian) made similar claims. The video does not show Chinese tourists on the Indian side of Pangong Tso. According to The Indian Express, the lake is 135-km long, out of which about 45 km-long western portion is under Indian control while the rest is controlled by the Chinese. The video has been shot on the China-controlled portion of the lake. Pangong Tso is also known as ‘Bangong Co’ or ‘班公错’ in Chinese. Alt News searched for visuals of the lake on the Chinese side with a keyword search on Baidu in the Chinese language. Baidu is a Chinese search engine akin to Google. We found several Chinese websites carrying images of the lake, one of which has been attached below. This image is from a travel blog with several other photographs of the area. The traveller has added multiple pictures of his journey to the lake. The one we have chosen for the purpose of this fact-check has been described as, “Arrived at the easternmost side of Pangong lake (along Route 219).” Route 219 is China National Highway 219 also known as G219. It stretches along China’s western border and Tibet Autonomous region. G219 connects to Bangong Co, as evident from the Google Earth screenshot below. Alt News will compare the mountain range seen in the image on the travel blog with the range seen at about 23 seconds in the viral video. In the course of the comparison, you will observe that both ranges are the same. We want to draw your attention to five specific aspects: 1. Marked in blue – a low-lying mountain which is darker than the mountain right behind it. 2. Marked in red – the left-most peak behind the darker low-lying mountain. 3. Marked in green – a low-lying mountain between the two peaks. 4. Marked in yellow – the right-most peak 5. Marked in pink – a low-lying mountain which is a shade darker than the right-most peak. (Readers are requested to use laptops/PCs for ease of understanding. The marking below would be visible better on large display screens.) That the location is the same is further verified upon comparing the ridges on the left-most peak. Moreover, pictures of the same mountain range are also available on Google Earth. They have identical ridges as highlighted above and are all geo-mapped to the Chinese side of the lake. Below is a Google Earth representation of the range. It is to be noted that Google Earth images are not real-time but 3D representation of Earth, based primarily on satellite imagery. Google compiles photographs and maps into digital form. Congress members, therefore, tweeted a video of tourists at the Chinese side of Pangong Tso with the misleading claim that China has “occupied” the region amid tensions with India. It is noteworthy that Twitter handle Rofl Republic (@i_theindian) claimed that Chinese tourists were spotted “holidaying” at Pangong Tso first time in 72 years. This claim is also false. There are pictures of tourists at the Chinese side of the lake on Google Earth which date back to 2006. Times Now had earlier misidentified the Indian side of the lake as Chinese tourists on the region controlled by China. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	11th September 2020 / 4:01 pm / Last updated: 11th September 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-members-tweet-video-of-tourists-on-chinese-side-of-pangong-tso-as-indian-side/", "author": "Aqib Pathan, Pratik Sinha & Pooja Chaudhuri" }
594	Congress misrepresents Sonu Sood's interview with Barkha Dutt ahead of Punjab polls - Alt News Archit 19th January 2022 / 6:57 pm / Last updated: 19th January 2022 On January 17, the Indian National Congress (INC) shared a 30-second promo video for Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi. The video opens with actor Sonu Sood’s comments. He can be heard saying, “The real Chief Minister or King is the one who is forcefully brought to the chair. He should not have to struggle and explain to others that “I am a Chief Ministerial candidate and I deserve [this post]. He should instead be a backbencher who is picked up and told “You deserve this and you should become [the CM]”. Such a person can change the nation.” Sood is trying to convey that a person who has been “chosen”, and not someone who has to explain himself, deserves to become the CM. Right after his bite, a video of CM Channi is played. Congress drew close to 5 lakh views on the video on Twitter and over 80,000 views on Facebook. बोल रहा पंजाब, अब पंजे के साथ- मजबूत करेंगे हर हाथ। pic.twitter.com/qQOZpnKItd — Congress (@INCIndia) January 17, 2022 Several Twitter and Facebook users have posted this video, including Jharkhand Pradesh Youth Congress and Indian Youth Congress. A day after Congress and its associated accounts posted this video, senior journalist Barkha Dutt pointed out that the party has lifted a segment of Sonu Sood’s interview uploaded on January 14 on her channel The Mojo Story and shared it in a misleading manner. In a tweet, she pointed out that Sood is not talking about Channi, but himself and his plans to contest elections. Not just did @IncIndia filch & edit clip from @themojostory interview with @sonusood to ALMOST endorse Charanjit Channi as CM candidate ( still almost) ; they didnt reveal that Sonu Sood is not talking of Channi; he is talking of himself & his plans to contest elections. Watch ! pic.twitter.com/WzlbtAe9Va — barkha dutt (@BDUTT) January 18, 2022 The context is clear once we listen to the statements made by Sonu Sood right before the one used by Congress. “I have heard that it is only a matter of time before you enter mainstream politics,” says Barkha Dutt, to which Sood replies, “It will take some time…definitely not a “no” and people who know me feel that I am made for that. I also believe that if I enter [politics] .. and whoever I talk to I tell them that if I come, there will be changes that people want. It will just take some time.” Dutt then asks him which political party he will join. Sood says that he doesn’t know, then adds the bit about the ideal candidate which has been picked up by Congress. Sonu Sood was, therefore, not talking about Punjab Chief Minister and Congress’s candidate for the upcoming polls, Charanjit Singh Channi. He was responding to questions about his plans to join politics. Congress used a clipped portion of his interview and used it in a misleading manner. 🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	19th January 2022 / 6:57 pm / Last updated: 19th January 2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-misrepresents-sonu-soods-interview-with-barkha-dutt-ahead-of-punjab-polls/", "author": "Archit" }
595	Congress MLA Hari Singh fell off camel? No such MLA exists, Tik Tok video viral - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 4th May 2019 / 2:54 pm / Last updated: 6th May 2019 “राजस्थान में कांग्रेस विधायक हरि सिंह चुनाव प्रचार में ऊंट की सवारी करते हुए ..अब तो जानवरों को भी कांग्रिस रास नहीं आती (Congress MLA Hari Singh riding a camel during election campaign in Rajasthan. Now, even animals do not like Congress),” is a message viral on social media, accompanying a video that shows a man, trying to get atop a camel’s back, falling off the animal. From a Facebook profile of one Kanak Mishra, the video had 3,000 shares at the time of writing this article. राजस्थान में कांग्रेस विधायक हरि सिंह चुनाव प्रचार में ऊंट की सवारी करते हुए😛😝😜😁😁🤣🤣 अब तो जानवरों 🐫 को भी कांग्रिस रास नहीं आती 😁🤣 Posted by कनक मिश्र on Friday, 3 May 2019 Rajesh Jindal, who was found running the fake news website hindutva.info, has also posted the clip on Facebook. राजस्थान में कांग्रेस विधायक हरि सिंह चुनाव प्रचार में ऊंट की सवारी करते हुए😛😝😜😁😁🤣🤣 अब तो जानवरों 🐫 को भी कांग्रिस रास नहीं आती 😁🤣 Posted by Rajesh Jindal on Saturday, 4 May 2019 The video has been doing rounds on social media since March. राजस्थान में कांग्रेस विधायक हरि सिंह का चुनाव प्रचार… ऊंट की सवारी करते हुए👇 pic.twitter.com/ItsbzDtpxg — Diksha Kaushik (@MsDikshaKaushik) March 19, 2019 It was also viral with the English text – “Rajasthani Congress leader Hari Singh started his prachar.” Even animals spook Congress. Rajasthani #Congress leader Hari Singh started his prachar! And has a fall. Too many bad omen for @INCIndia Wish Pappu was instead of his slave.#ModiChantSpooksCong pic.twitter.com/E590ReePFj — Chowkidar (@sttalkindia) March 20, 2019 The clip was circulated on WhatsApp as well. To authenticate the veracity of the claim, Alt News first checked if the Congress party has any incumbent MLA named Hari Sigh. My Neta, a website that contains details about state and central legislators, did not include any information about the said person. ‘Congress MLA Hari Singh’ was, therefore, a piece of fabricated information used to propagate a false narrative. If one notices carefully, the video has a stamp of the media app Tik Tok. The username of the person who posted the video was ‘nadeemmg07’. Upon searching the username on Google, we were able to trace back the video to 2018 when it was uploaded by a user ‘nadeemmg07’, now changed to ‘nadeemmg04’. In conversation with India Today, Nadeem revealed that the video was shot in his village Sawayaya Hasan near Unchahar in Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh. Speaking to locals from the village, India Today found that the man who fell off the camel’s back was one Vakil Ahmed Khan and the incident took place during Diwali last year at a wedding. Khan confirmed that it was indeed him in the viral video. Recently, another fictitious Congress MLA found a place not only in the fake news ecosystem on social media but also in mainstream media. A video of a man praising PM Modi was picked up by Republic TV and broadcast on its ‘Hello Bharat’ program as Congress MLA Anil Upadhyay praising the Prime Minister. It was later found that the man was a mere BJP supporter and his name was Mohan (Munna) Pandey. Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News. Following Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win against Argentina in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, speculation about… Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery. Several users have shared images of the… The brutal murder of Shraddha Walker has been widely covered across news media over the… A 1:34-minute-long CCTV camera clip is being widely circulated on social media in which viewers… The teaser of a movie titled ‘The Kerala Story’ is being widely shared on social…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	4th May 2019 / 2:54 pm / Last updated: 6th May 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-mla-hari-singh-fell-off-camels-back-no-such-mla-exists-tik-tok-video-viral/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
596	Congress MLA JS Negi's speech viral as Nepalese leader criticises PM Modi - Alt News Archit 13th April 2021 / 4:48 pm / Last updated: 31st May 2022 A video of a parliamentary speaker delivering a critical speech on Prime Minister Modi and his policies is being shared on social media with the claim that it is from Nepal. नेपाल सांसद ने नेपाल की संसद मे मोदी के बारे में जो कुछ कहा हर भारतवासी को जरूर सुनना चाहिए और खासकर के अंध भक्तों को 😃😃 pic.twitter.com/6SJS90o7vp — AMAN RAZA (@AMANRAZ93808702) May 24, 2022 नेपाल सांसद ने नेपाल की संसद मे मोदी के बारे में जो कुछ कहा हर भारतवासी को जरूर सुनना चाहिए. pic.twitter.com/Hx93fh0jIC — Piku🗯️🇺🇦🇮🇳 (@risingsurbhi) May 25, 2022 The same video was shared last year as well. Several Twitter and Facebook users had posted the video. नेपाल के सांसद में मोदीजी के चर्चे ही चर्चा अब कुछ लोग बकलोल करेंगे कि हमारे देश पर आप कुछ ना बोले सच्चाई बोली है शर्म आ रही है मुझे pic.twitter.com/IkKeaegicV — $ufiyan khadim (Prince) (@Prin_313) April 12, 2021 Facebook user OM Meena posted this video on the Facebook group ‘Dr. Kanhaiya kumar’ which has over 5 lakh members. This video was shared close to 900 times in 2021. This video is not from Nepal. The man delivering the speech is Himachal Pradesh Congress MLA Jagat Singh Negi. Live Times TV uploaded the video on March 17, 2021. The official Facebook account ‘Indian National Congress – Himachal Pradesh‘ also posted a video of his speech made in the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly. Negi had himself shared the video on his Facebook profile. Discussion on the budget in the Assembly. Posted by Jagat Singh Negi on Wednesday, 17 March 2021 A video of Congress MLA Jagat Singh Negi’s speech in Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha was shared on social media with the false claim that a Nepalese leader criticised PM Modi’s policies. 🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	13th April 2021 / 4:48 pm / Last updated: 31st May 2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-mla-js-negis-speech-viral-as-nepalese-leader-criticises-pm-modi/", "author": "Archit" }
597	Congress MLA with Rahul Gandhi misidentified as Muskan, who took on saffron-clad mob - Alt News Kalim Ahmed 12th February 2022 / 2:23 pm For the past several weeks, various districts of Karnataka have witnessed protests amid colleges prohibiting students to attend classes wearing hijabs. As Muslim students protest against the ban, Hindu students, several instigated by right-wing outfits, have organised counter-protests which has led the violence to intensify. During these protests, a video from PES college in Mandya went viral where a group of young men in saffron shawls heckled a Muslim student in a burqa. As they made unprovoked chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’, the student yelled back ‘Allah-hu-Akbar’ in defiance. The young woman was later identified as Bibi Muskan Khan and her video trended on Twitter with the hashtag #Sherni (lioness). A more expanded and clean feed of the above episode. #KarnatakaHijabRow pic.twitter.com/TIieUQJUWN — Imran Khan (@KeypadGuerilla) February 8, 2022 In the backdrop of this, an image of a woman standing next to Rahul Gandhi is widely being shared across social media platforms with the claim that she’s the “hijab-wearing lioness”. The claims suggest that the widespread protests across Karnataka are planned conspiracies by the Congress party. The photo is extremely viral on Facebook and is accompanied by the hashtag #ToolKitInAction. We performed a Google reverse image search on the viral image and found that the photo was uploaded on the official Facebook page of Amba Prasad. Amba Prasad is a Congress MLA from Barkagaon in Jharkhand. The viral photo was clicked in February 2022 when Prasad met Rahul Gandhi along with other Congress MLAs from Jharkhand. Photos of this visit can also be found on the official Twitter handle of the Indian National Congress. आज कांग्रेस झारखंड के सांसद,विधायकगण एवं वरिष्ठ कांग्रेसजनों सहित श्री राहुल गांधी जी से मुलाकात कर महत्वपूर्ण विषयों पर… Posted by अम्बा प्रसाद on Tuesday, 8 February 2022 We also checked the Twitter handle of Amba Prasad and found that on February 10 she made a tweet clarifying that the viral photo in circulation is hers. She also tagged Jharkhand police to investigate the matter. The original tweet Amba had quote tweeted has now been deleted but an archived link can be found on the Wayback Machine. यह मैं हूं।@INCIndia पार्टी से बड़कागांव की विधायक। इस फोटो को कर्नाटक की बुर्का वाली लड़की कहकर कलह फैलाने की कोशिश की जा रही तो बता दूं हमारी पार्टी में सबको सम्मान और अधिकार है।भगवा वस्त्र हो या हिजाब।@JharkhandPolice कृपया ऐसे ट्वीट पर फेक कमेंट वालों पर कार्रवाई करें। https://t.co/vU1CnnLBMn — Amba Prasad (@AmbaPrasadINC) February 10, 2022 In conclusion, a photo of Congress MLA Amba Prasad was shared with a misleading claim that she is Muskan Khan, the young burqa-clad woman from Karnataka who stood up against a saffron-clad mob that tried to bully her for wearing the burqa. Previously, a photo of Najma Nazeer Chikkanarale, a member of Janata Dal (Secular) Karnataka, was shared with the false claim that she’s Muskan. Kalim is a journalist with a keen interest in tech, misinformation, culture, etc Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	12th February 2022 / 2:23 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-mla-with-rahul-gandhi-misidentified-as-muskan-who-took-on-saffron-clad-mob/", "author": "Kalim Ahmed" }
598	Congress MP Adhir Chowdhury makes false claims about Amit Shah, JP Nadda in LS address - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 9th February 2021 / 5:49 pm Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleged in the Lok Sabha on February 8 that Home Minister Amit Shah sat on Rabindranath Tagore’s chair at Rabindra Bhavan in Shantiniketan during his West Bengal visit ahead of the upcoming state elections. He also said that BJP President JP Nadda said Tagore was born in Shantiniketan. “We want to say that BJP politician Amit Shah ji, BJP politician Nadda Sahab went to Bengal ahead of elections. They were visiting Rabindranath Tagore’s Shantiniketan and saying he was born there. This is absurd. You should read first where he was born. Suddenly they are saying Tagore was born in Shantiniketan. People are laughing. Even we feel bad…Our Amit Shah goes and sits on Rabindranath Tagore’s chair. Don’t know what people tell you and you go sit. This is an insult…” This part of his speech can be watched onward 21:20 in the video below. This fact-check has been broken into two sections that separately address the claims made by Congress MP Adhir Chowdhury in the Parliament. 1. Did Amit Shah sit on Rabindranath Tagore’s chair at Rabindra Bhavan in Shantiniketan? 2. Did Amit Shah or JP Nadda say Tagore was born in Shantiniketan? Both these allegations are false. 1. Amit Shah did not sit on Tagore’s chair Home Minister Amit Shah was on a two-day visit to West Bengal in December last year. Shah went to Visva Bharati University at Shantiniketan where he paid tribute to Bengali poet and revolutionary Rabindranath Tagore at Rabindra Bhavan on the university campus. Shah had also tweeted pictures of his visit where he is seen showering flowers on Tagore’s chair. The chair is covered with a white cloth. The same picture was also uploaded on the Home Minister’s website (screenshot below). The claim that Shah sat on Tagore’s chair was also viral on social media in December 2020. गुरूदेव रवीन्द्रनाथ टैगोर के बाद इस पवित्र स्थान पर आजतक कोई नहीं बैठा। दुनिया के तमाम विशिष्ट अतिथि यहां आते रहते हैं… Posted by Subhash Lall on Thursday, 24 December 2020 However, the image used to promote the claim shows Shah signing the visitor’s book while seated on a divan (a piece of couch-like sitting furniture). This image was also tweeted by Shah. In 2018, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was also seated on the same divan to sign the visitor’s book. India Today journalist Poulomi Saha tweeted a letter written by Visva Bharati VC to Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. “You have unfortunately been misinformed, as this is patently untrue,” the letter says adding, “In the past, during their official visits to Uttarayan, a number of dignitaries, including the former Chancellors, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Madam Pratibha Patil, Sri Pranab Mukherjee, and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Madam Sheikh Hasina, among others, have sat in that makeshift seat, which is actually just the edge of a window on which cushions are placed…Thus, not only is it not a chair, but it has never been Gurudev’s seat at all.” V-C of #Bengal’s Visvabharati University writes to @adhirrcinc and tells him that he misspoke in Lok Sabha suggesting that @AmitShah sat on Rabindranath’s seat during his visit to the University in December. Fact is others have also sat on what is just the edge of a window. pic.twitter.com/Qd72rzd4kV — Poulomi Saha (@PoulomiMSaha) February 9, 2021 Furthermore, The Telegraph had uploaded a picture of another sofa-chair that belonged to Tagore kept at the museum which does not resemble the divan where Shah was seated. 2. Neither Amit Shah nor JP Nadda said Tagore was born in Shantiniketan Congress MP Adhir Chowdhury’s claim is based on BJP President JP Nadda’s speech given in Kolkata last year. Ahead of the state polls in 2021, Nadda was on a two-day state visit on December 9-10, 2020. He inaugurated the BJP’s West Bengal State Election Office at Hastings in Kolkata. At the 44 second mark in the video below, he can be heard saying, “West Bengal is known for the exchange of ideas. Visva Bharati is here, Rabindranath Tagore was born here…” Thus, the BJP leader did not say Tagore was born in Shantiniketan. Boomlive had debunked this claim last year when BJP Bengal had misquoted Nadda. TMC had quote-tweeted the erroneous tweet and clarified that Tagore’s birthplace is Jorasanko, Kolkata. Congress MP Adhir Chowdhury’s claims about Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President JP Nadda are false. Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	9th February 2021 / 5:49 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-mp-adhir-chowdhury-makes-false-claims-about-amit-shah-jp-nadda-in-ls-address/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
599	Congress posts misleading comparison on COVID-19 vaccine price - Alt News Archit 20th March 2021 / 4:39 pm Several Congress social media accounts have shared a graphic that claims that the former UPA government offered ‘free of cost vaccines for 12 preventable diseases’ while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is charging Rs 250 per dose for the COVID vaccine at private hospitals. If only BJP was humble enough to learn from capable & visionary leadership.#IndiaNeedsMoreVaccines#NationalVaccinationDay pic.twitter.com/VLnLQDQbh6 — Congress (@INCIndia) March 16, 2021 INC Andhra Pradesh, Goa Pradesh Congress Sevadal, West Bengal Pradesh Mahila Congress, Himachal Pradesh Congress Sevadal (Hindi), and Maharashtra Youth Congress were among the handles affiliated to the party that shared the infographic. Congress leaders Akoijam Mirabai, Vivek Bansal and SS Kim posted this infographic as well. Congress compared vaccines for 12 preventable diseases provided at government hospitals at no cost with the price of COVID-19 vaccines at private hospitals. As a result, readers are led to believe that the BJP is not offering any vaccines, including COVID vaccines, free of charge. The vaccines for 12 preventable diseases cited on the infographic are based on the country’s Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP). National Health Mission (NHM) states that UIP is one of the largest public health programmes targeting close to 2.67 crore newborns and 2.9 crore pregnant women annually. According to NHM, “Under UIP, immunization is providing free of cost against 12 vaccine-preventable diseases: Nationally against 9 diseases – Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Polio, Measles, Rubella, a severe form of Childhood Tuberculosis, Hepatitis B and Meningitis & Pneumonia caused by Hemophilus Influenza type B and Sub-nationally against 3 diseases – Rotavirus diarrhoea, Pneumococcal Pneumonia and Japanese Encephalitis; of which Rotavirus.” This was offered during the Congress government’s term and still is. Private sector hospitals also play a crucial role in making India 100% immunised. However, they don’t offer the vaccines for free. We contacted a spokesperson of one of India’s largest private hospital players. The spokesperson clarified, “Private hospitals do not provide vaccines for free. They never have. However, government hospitals do.” Congress’s claim that they offered ‘free of cost vaccines for 12 preventable diseases’ is misleading because even under their term private hospitals charged for the vaccines. As per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare document ‘FAQs on Immunization 2017’ (view pdf), the vaccines below are free at government health care centres (page 12). These are 12 vaccines that prevent 18 diseases. Alt News also found ‘FAQs on Immunization 2013‘ (view pdf) on the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare website. Back then, eight vaccines under UIP protected against nine diseases. On February 28, Press Information Bureau issued a press release on COVD-19 jabs stating, “It was re-iterated that all vaccines provided to beneficiaries at the Government Health Facilities will be entirely free of cost, while Private Facilities cannot charge the beneficiary a sum above Rs. 250 per person per dose (Rs 150/- for vaccines and Rs 100/- as operational charges). Private Hospitals are to remit the cost of vaccine doses allotted to them in a designated account of National Health Authority (NHA). The payment gateway for the same is being enabled by NHA on their website.” However, it is also noteworthy that major countries – China, US, EU, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Brazil – are providing COVID vaccines to citizens at no cost and India is the only country that has not pledged to provide free vaccination. It may be reiterated that Congress compared free vaccines under UIP with the cost of COVID vaccines at private hospitals during BJP’s rule. Vaccines under UIP are still provided for free at government health facilities. 🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	20th March 2021 / 4:39 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-posts-misleading-comparison-on-covid-19-vaccine-price/", "author": "Archit" }
600	Photos of shopkeepers sleeping inside shops from 2019 shared as recent - Alt News Kinjal 28th September 2020 / 3:48 pm On September 24, Rohan Gupta, chairman of the social media department of the Indian National Congress, tweeted pictures that showed shopkeepers sleeping next to their merchandise. Gupta wrote in his caption, “Here are the beneficiaries of the Modi wave that swept the nation!” His tweet had been liked 2,400 times and retweeted over 500 times at the time of writing. (archived link to the tweet) पूरे देश में मोदी लहर के लाभार्थी ! pic.twitter.com/09eLyDadFC — Rohan Gupta (@rohanrgupta) September 24, 2020 These pictures are being shared at a time when India’s economy has hit its lowest point. Millions have lost their jobs because of the lockdowns imposed to control the spread of the coronavirus. Small businesses were among the worst affected. Modi government has faced criticism for the economic slump. These photos were also posted on Facebook on August 23. A parody Twitter account of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav shared these photos as well. (archived link to the tweet) ऐसे ही आराम फरमाओ मंदिर तो बन ही रहा है राफेल भी आ गया। अब और क्या करना है। आएगा तो मोदी ही 😀😀😀😀 pic.twitter.com/ePhslPJhb5 — Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhiles143) August 2, 2020 Fact-check When we did a reverse image search, we found these images in a tweet posted by Alka Lamba dated July 25, 2019. Lamba had written in her tweet, “The businessmen of Chandni Chowk and the rest of the country are victims of the Modi government’s policies.” Several other users had uploaded the photos on Facebook and Twitter around that time as well. To sum it up, pictures of shopkeepers sleeping inside their shops last year were circulated as recent. Kinjal Parmar holds a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology. However, her keen interest in journalism, drove her to pursue journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. At Alt News since 2019, she focuses on authentication of information which includes visual verification, media misreports, examining mis/disinformation across social media. She is the lead video producer at Alt News and manages social media accounts for the organization. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	28th September 2020 / 3:48 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-rohan-gupta-shares-old-images-of-shopkeeper-falling-a-sleep-to-target-pm-modi/", "author": "Kinjal" }
601	Congress shares video of child pushing father's stretcher in UP hospital as Bihar - Alt News Kinjal 10th November 2020 / 5:15 pm In the backdrop of the Bihar assembly elections, a video of a child pushing a stretcher with a patient lying on it is circulating on social media. On the other side, a woman can be seen pulling the stretcher from the front. Bihar Congress posted the video on Twitter and Facebook with the claim that it depicts the state of medical facilities in the state. At the time of writing this article, the tweet garnered over 150 retweets while the Facebook post has been shared over 100 times. मानवता को शर्मसार करने वाला ये वीडियो बिहार की सत्ता में बैठी भाजपा-जदयू सरकार की निर्ममता को दर्शाता है। चुनाव में जनता के ही कीमती वोट से जीतकर उसे अस्पतालों में मरने के लिए छोड़ देते हैं।#न_भूले_हैं_न_भूलेंगे pic.twitter.com/L8QcvAnJCA — INCBihar (@INCBihar) November 6, 2020 The video is viral on Twitter and Facebook. Twitter handle ‘@jaijaicongress‘ also posted the video with the same claim. #न_भूले_हैं_न_भूलेंगे मानवता को शर्मसार करने वाला ये वीडियो बिहार की सत्ता में बैठी भाजपा-जदयू सरकार की निर्ममता को दर्शाता है। pic.twitter.com/zTViYUsN1b — Rajesh Khanna INC (@jaijaicongress) November 6, 2020 With a keyword search on Google, we found a report published by India Today on July 21, 2020. According to the report, the video is from Uttar Pradesh’s Deoria district hospital. The report stated, “A viral video showing a six-year-old boy pushing a stretcher along with his mother to take his ailing grandfather from one ward to another in the adjoining Deoria district hospital in Uttar Pradesh has led to the removal of the ward boy as he allegedly demanded Rs 30 for every trip of the service.” Chedi Yadav, a resident of Gaura village of Deoria’s Barhaj area, was admitted to the surgical ward of the hospital after he got injured. Yadav’s daughter informed that the ward boy was demanding Rs 30 each time for taking her father for dressing. She said that when she refused to give the money to the ward boy, he refused to push the stretcher hence, she had to drag it with the help of her son. According to a report, Deoria District Magistrate had visited the hospital and met Yadav’s family. A joint probe panel was set up under Sadar SDM and assistant chief medical officer of the hospital. They were asked to submit their probe report as soon as possible, said the report. A video statement by the DM has been posted below. https://t.co/daKq5GZi6n https://t.co/dserIYGgQM — DM Deoria (@dmdeoria) July 20, 2020 Aaj Tak had also published a video report on the incident on July 20, 2020. The video also includes a statement issued by Yadav’s daughter. Therefore, a three-month-old video from Uttar Pradesh’s Deoria district of a young boy along with his mother pushing the stretcher of her father is being circulated with the false claim that the incident was from Bihar. Kinjal Parmar holds a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology. However, her keen interest in journalism, drove her to pursue journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. At Alt News since 2019, she focuses on authentication of information which includes visual verification, media misreports, examining mis/disinformation across social media. She is the lead video producer at Alt News and manages social media accounts for the organization. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	10th November 2020 / 5:15 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-shared-old-video-of-boy-pushing-stretcher-in-up-hospital-as-bihar/", "author": "Kinjal" }
602	Congress shares 2012 image of PM Modi with ducks as PR during COVID-19 - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 26th August 2020 / 10:07 pm Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently shared a video of himself with peacocks at his Lok Kalyan Marg residence. This was picked up by nearly every mainstream media outlet and soon attracted criticism on social media for propaganda during the ongoing pandemic. भोर भयो, बिन शोर, मन मोर, भयो विभोर, रग-रग है रंगा, नीला भूरा श्याम सुहाना, मनमोहक, मोर निराला। रंग है, पर राग नहीं, विराग का विश्वास यही, न चाह, न वाह, न आह, गूँजे घर-घर आज भी गान, जिये तो मुरली के साथ जाये तो मुरलीधर के ताज। pic.twitter.com/Dm0Ie9bMvF — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 23, 2020 After the peacock video surfaced, several individuals began circulating pictures of PM Modi with ducks. The Congress party shared one such picture and wrote, “..leader of the 3rd most-affected country is making PR videos instead of helping his people.” Picture this: There’s a global pandemic & economic recession but the leader of the 3rd most affected country is making PR videos instead of helping his people. Sounds unreal doesn’t it? #BJPAbandonsStates pic.twitter.com/Kw5BZDUbcL — Congress (@INCIndia) August 26, 2020 Singer Caralisa Monteiro shared another photograph of the Prime Minister where he is surrounded by ducks. PM Modi seems to read a newspaper in the picture while several novels and a laptop lay beside him. “The talent to read two books, a newspaper and the laptop simultaneously while posing for the perfect photograph. And that poise during a Pandemic,” she wrote. Another Twitter handle @SpiritOfCongress shared the same photograph while suggesting that it was shot during the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. The image tweeted by Congress was found in a 2012 blog post by Sunday Guardian editorial director Madhav Das Nalapat. It dates back to 2012. Nalapat had interviewed PM Modi when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. His interview was published on Sunday Guardian and his blog post where he shared several images of PM Modi in the company of ducks. A duplicate of the second image, tweeted by singer Caralisa Monteiro, could not be found. However, a similar image was found in an article published on rediff.com in September 2013. This picture also dates back to 2012. PM Modi can be spotted in the same clothes he has worn in image 1. Furthermore, there are other pictures of him on the blogpost by Madhav Das Nalapat where he can be seen reading the identical book on former US President Barack Obama. Therefore, old photographs of Prime Minister Modi were shared on social media, including by Congress, as recent. The Times of India had earlier fact-checked one of these images and concluded that it dates back to 2013. However, the photograph, as pointed out in this fact-check, is from 2012. Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	26th August 2020 / 10:07 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-shares-2012-image-of-pm-modi-with-ducks-as-pr-during-covid-19/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
603	Congress shares blurred video to portray PM Modi waving in empty field, deletes later - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 2nd April 2021 / 5:25 pm A blurred video of Prime Minister Modi waving in what looks like an empty field was shared by Congress and later taken down. An archived link to the tweet can be accessed here. It was also shared in now-deleted tweets by chairman of Congress social media department Rohan Gupta and Indian Youth Congress president Srinivas BV. Film director Avinash Das tweet carrying the video was reshared by journalist Ranvijay Singh. ये भी ठीक हैpic.twitter.com/AhmdESXuAG — Ranvijay Singh (@ranvijaylive) April 2, 2021 Congress supporting handles @SpiritOfCongress, Suvarna Shreya, @fekubawa and Reshma Alam further amplified the claim. Alam’s tweet was quote-tweeted by actor Kubbra Sait. The video is also making the rounds on Instagram. Below is a post by the page ‘unbhakt’. A post shared by Andh-Bhakt (@unbhakt) The video shared by Congress leaders and supporters of the party is heavily blurred and the sound of cheering in the background is muted. The original video was shared by BJP on April 1. It shows PM Modi waving at a large crowd beyond the fenced field. It was shot in Jaynagar, West Bengal. Scenes from PM @narendramodi‘s rally in Jaynagar have the unmissable message of Ashol Poriborton in Bengal.#EbarSonarBanglaEbarBJP pic.twitter.com/ArqLqTcIwM — BJP (@BJP4India) April 1, 2021 The same video was also uploaded by The Times of India. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhn7S9157xc Congress and its leaders and supporters shared blurred and muted video to portray PM Modi waving in an empty field. Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	2nd April 2021 / 5:25 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-shares-blurred-video-to-portray-pm-modi-waving-in-empty-field-deletes-later/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
604	Congress social media head shares old, misleading video about PM Modi's education - Alt News Jignesh Patel 18th September 2018 / 8:49 pm / Last updated: 18th September 2018 “बड़ी मुश्किल से विडियो ढूंढा है, ये 1998 का इन्टरव्यू है जिसमे साहब खुद कह रहे है हाई स्कूल तक पढा हूँ, लेकिन आज साहब के पास ग्रेजुएशन की डिग्री है जो 1979 मे किया था !! (Found this video with great difficulty, it’s a 1998 interview in which sir himself is saying that I have studied till high school. But now sir has a graduation degree attained in 1979 -translated)” tweeted Divya Spandana, social media head of the Congress party with an old clipped interview of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. So far, her tweet has received more than 7,100 likes and 3,600 retweets. It has also been viewed more than 53,000 times. बड़ी मुश्किल से विडियो ढूंढा है, ये 1998 का इन्टरव्यू है जिसमे साहब खुद कह रहे है हाई स्कूल तक पढा हूँ, लेकिन आज साहब के पास ग्रेजुएशन की डिग्री है जो 1979 मे किया था !! pic.twitter.com/zr2DLBDv6i — Divya Spandana/Ramya (@divyaspandana) September 18, 2018 Spandana shared the clipped video, six months after Alt News found that it was cropped to suggest that PM himself claimed to have studied till high school. It has been circulating on social media for at least three years now and we found an instance of the clipped video dating back to November 2015. In the longer version of the same video, Modi goes on to say that he did his BA and MA through external examination. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTTqEfuD3B8 Divya Spandana later realised her error and acknowledged that it was indeed a clipped version of the original video by posting an Alt News article, but refrained from deleting her tweet. So that’s not the entire clip! Whatsapp 🤦🏽‍♀️ https://t.co/NwfJWQcbsQ — Divya Spandana/Ramya (@divyaspandana) September 18, 2018 Ruchi Gupta, Joint Secretary AICC and NSUI in-charge had also shared the same video on September 17, 2018, which was retweeted by the official handle of NSUI. Political parties often latch onto unverified content shared on social media in haste to score brownie points. This instance was no different and a little research on the internet would have revealed the truth of this video. Jignesh is a writer and researcher at Alt News. He has a knack for visual investigation with a major interest in fact-checking videos and images. He has completed his Masters in Journalism from Gujarat University. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	18th September 2018 / 8:49 pm / Last updated: 18th September 2018	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-social-media-head-shares-old-debunked-video-about-pm-modi-later-admits-faux-pas/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
605	Congress spokesperson Surjewala targets Vasundhara Raje based on incomplete video - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 29th November 2018 / 8:03 pm / Last updated: 15th March 2019 Rajasthan votes on December 7, and social media is expectedly abuzz with political propaganda. Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, in a programme on the Hindi news channel Aaj Tak, claimed that Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje has urged BJP workers to divert the attention of the people so that they do not ask about issues like roads, water and electricity. वसुंधराजी की ने अपने कार्यकर्ताओं को कहा कि सबको इतना उलझा दो की कोई यह नहीं कहे की सड़के क्यों नहीं बनी,पानी क्यों नहीं है,नौकरी क्यों नहीं है,लोग पिट क्यों रहें हैं,किसान लाचार-क्यों है,-इतना उलझा कर सबको भ्रमित कर लेंगे।जब प्रदेश की CM ये कह रही है,तो उन्हें हार स्वीकार है! pic.twitter.com/0eFQeAJ3zD — Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) November 29, 2018 In the above video clip which has been posted by Surjewala himself on Twitter, he lashes out at Vasundhara Raje, saying, “When Vasundhara ji was addressing an indoor meeting of party workers, a (video) clip has been released, you will receive it too, in which she is saying that distract the people so that they do not ask why roads have not been built, why there is no water, no jobs, why are people being beaten up, why are farmers in distress; distract them so much that we eventually deceive them- translated”. Surjewala was ostensibly referring to a 12-second video clip which has been circulated on social media, in which Raje can be heard saying, “…people will not get the time to ask why there are no jobs, why water is not available, why roads have not been built, because they will be so mired in their own despair” (translated). The above tweet is by Sanjeev Dhamtan, whose description on the profile says ‘Team Surjewala (Youth Congress). His profile picture shows him with Surjewala. The video referred to by Surjewala, according to which the Rajasthan CM is ostensibly exhorting her workers to distract the electorate, is a truncated version of a larger video. Vasundhara Raje has indeed said these words but with reference to the Congress party. Raje had alleged that the Congress party has always sought to hoodwink the people by raking up non-issues. Social media users pointed out that Raje has been targeted unfairly on the basis of an edited video clip. Meanwhile, the BJP hit out at Congress for manipulating Raje’s words. झूठी है कांग्रेस… अभी तक तो कांग्रेस कार्यकर्ता ही झूठ बोल रहे थे। अब कांग्रेस के नेता सुरजेवाला भी झूठ बोल रहे हैं। कांग्रेस द्वारा फैलाया गया झूठ बेनकाब हो गया है। कमल पर बटन दबाकर जनता इस झूठ का मुंहतोड़ जवाब देगी। #फर्जी_कांग्रेस Posted by BJP Rajasthan on Thursday, November 29, 2018 The longer version of the video can be seen in the above tweet, which makes it clear that Raje was indeed criticizing the Congress party. Instead, her words were selectively chopped from the speech in order to make it seem as if the Rajasthan CM is blatantly exhorting her party workers to divert the attention of the people ahead of voting. Only a day before, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya had resorted to the same strategy, sharing a clipped video of former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh, representing it in a manner so as to make it seem as if he is lavishing praise on the BJP-ruled governments of MP and Chhattisgarh. Arjun Sidharth is a writer with Alt News. He has previously worked in the television news industry, where he managed news bulletins and breaking news scenarios, apart from scripting numerous prime time television stories. He has also been actively involved with various freelance projects. Sidharth has studied economics, political science, international relations and journalism. He has a keen interest in books, movies, music, sports, politics, foreign policy, history and economics. His hobbies include reading, watching movies and indoor gaming. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	29th November 2018 / 8:03 pm / Last updated: 15th March 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-spokesperson-surjewala-targets-vasundhara-raje-based-on-incomplete-video/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
606	Congress Spokespersons make false claim about PM Modi waving at an empty train in Assam - Alt News Jignesh Patel 26th December 2018 / 8:00 pm / Last updated: 18th March 2019 A video clip of Prime Minister Narendra Modi purportedly waving at an empty train in Assam has gone viral on social media. FekuExpress, a Facebook page has shared the video with a caption, “Seeking Desperate Attention”. The video shared by this page has already crossed 3 lakh views with a massive share count close to 11, 000. Seeking Desperate Attention 😂🤣 Seeking Desperate Attention 😂🤣 Don’t miss the shadow… epic!!! Posted by FekuExpress on Tuesday, 25 December 2018 Brijesh Kalappa, spokesperson of Indian National Congress tweeted the video suggesting that there was ‘no one’ in the train. A spokesperson for Maharastra Congress, Sachin Sawant, also tweeted a set of images clicked at the event with the identical narrative. Khushbu Sundar, National Spokesperson of the Congress party also tweeted the video suggesting that the Prime Minister was ‘waving at an imaginary crowd’. Several individual users and pages have shared this video on Facebook with the same claim. On December 25, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Bogibeel bridge in Assam on the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. After inaugurating the longest rail-cum-road bridge, he flagged off Tinsukia-Naharlagun Express train which links Naharlagun in Arunachal pradesh to Tinsukia in Assam. We found a YouTube video posted by the official channel of PMO India. At 17:53 mins in the video, the crowd present in the train is clearly visibly. Moreover, Doordarshan News also tweeted an image of the train flagged off by the Prime MInister. PM @narendramodi flags off the first passenger train passing through the #BogibeelBridge in Assam pic.twitter.com/rxEjMjg6hZ — DD News (@DDNewslive) December 25, 2018 In conclusion, the claims by senior members of the Congress party targeting PM Modi and suggesting that he was waving at an empty train were found to be false. Jignesh is a writer and researcher at Alt News. He has a knack for visual investigation with a major interest in fact-checking videos and images. He has completed his Masters in Journalism from Gujarat University. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	26th December 2018 / 8:00 pm / Last updated: 18th March 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-spokespersons-make-false-claim-about-pm-modi-waving-at-an-empty-train-in-assam/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
607	Congress spokesperson posts old photo to showcase turnout at Rahul-Priyanka Gandhi's Lucknow rally - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 12th February 2019 / 1:49 am / Last updated: 15th March 2019 “This is quite a welcome, Lucknow!” tweeted Congress leader Priyanka Chaturvedi, as Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra kicked off a rally in Lucknow on February 11. Showcasing the supposed popularity of the Gandhis was a set of photographs posted along with the tweet. The tweet has now been deleted, but the archived version can be accessed here. Chaturvedi had posted four photos, out of which the second photograph showed a massive crowd. The same image was posted by many Congress supporters on various social media platforms, claiming it to be of Lucknow rally. Upon zooming into the image, one can see that the language painted on buildings is a South Indian language, which would be typically unusual for a rally in Lucknow. The above photo was taken not at the rally held by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi in Lucknow, but at the Congress party’s roadshow in Telangana which had taken place in December 2018, ahead of the assembly election in the state. In fact, the same photograph among others had been tweeted by former cricketer and Congress leader Mohammed Azharuddin on December 5, 2018. It was also posted by a Youth Congress leader. Campaigning in my home state of Telangana is always more than special. The love & enthusiasm of people is overwhelming. #PrajakutamiForTelangana @INCIndia @INCTelangana @RahulGandhi pic.twitter.com/5daNXdQur6 — Mohammed Azharuddin (@azharflicks) December 5, 2018 After deleting her initial tweet, Priyanka Chaturvedi later posted another tweet, acknowledging her error. Here goes…corrected…Poor BJP trolls clutching at straws to save their leader’s face in U.P.! This is quite a welcome, Lucknow! #NayiUmeedNayaDesh उत्तर प्रदेश बनेगा उत्तम प्रदेश यही है हमारा मक़सद, यही है हमारा संकल्प! pic.twitter.com/uk0XfpdfcI — Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) February 11, 2019 Use of old, unrelated photographs for political propaganda is an easy tactic, and numerous such instances have been observed in the past. Arjun Sidharth is a writer with Alt News. He has previously worked in the television news industry, where he managed news bulletins and breaking news scenarios, apart from scripting numerous prime time television stories. He has also been actively involved with various freelance projects. Sidharth has studied economics, political science, international relations and journalism. He has a keen interest in books, movies, music, sports, politics, foreign policy, history and economics. His hobbies include reading, watching movies and indoor gaming. Following Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win against Argentina in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, speculation about… Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery. Several users have shared images of the… The brutal murder of Shraddha Walker has been widely covered across news media over the… A 1:34-minute-long CCTV camera clip is being widely circulated on social media in which viewers… The teaser of a movie titled ‘The Kerala Story’ is being widely shared on social…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	12th February 2019 / 1:49 am / Last updated: 15th March 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-supporters-post-old-photo-to-showcase-turnout-at-rahul-priyanka-gandhis-lucknow-rally/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
608	Congress tweets misinformation about Modi govt secretly transferring 200 tonnes of gold out of India - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 4th May 2019 / 9:27 pm / Last updated: 6th May 2019 Did the Modi government clandestinely transfer over 200 tonnes of gold overseas, from the Reserve Bank of India’s gold reserves? The issue of the nation’s bullion holdings has come to the fore on the basis of ‘reports’ which appeared in certain publications, which were then shared on social media and messaging platforms. The official handle of the Congress party tweeted a link to an article by the pro-party publication National Herald, titled ‘Did the Modi govt secretly transport 200 tonnes of RBI’s gold to Switzerland in 2014?’ The article appeared online on May 2. Did the Modi govt secretly transport 200 tonnes of RBI’s gold to Switzerland in 2014? “What did the government get in return for exchanging the gold? Why is the information about the transaction not available in public domain?”https://t.co/tvlefhPNke — Congress (@INCIndia) May 2, 2019 This ‘news’ has been circulating on WhatsApp. It had appeared in an obscure Hindi publication, Dainik Dopahar (image posted below). This report says, “Modi government, which waxes eloquent on honesty and transparency, secretly transported 268 tonnes of gold outside the country. This happened nearly 4 years back, and has been revealed through a RTI which could compound the difficulties of the Modi government (translated).” The report further says that an investigative journalist named Navneet Chaturvedi had filed a RTI and claimed that the government transferred 268 tonnes of gold abroad in July 2014, for which he has the relevant documents. It states, “He claims that the gold was with the RBI in June 2011, but in 2015 this was revealed and it was found that 268 tonnes of gold was missing from the RBI balance sheet. However, the Modi government kept such a huge matter a secret…(translation). According to his Facebook profile, Chaturvedi describes himself as an ‘independent investigative journalist’. His profile also says that he will be contesting the South Delhi Lok Sabha seat. The same has been printed as a headline in a Hindi publication Indore Samachar, with the headline “200 tonnes of RBI’s gold secretly sent abroad” (translation). On social media, the same has been posted in the form of a meme by a page Journalist Punya Prasun Bajpai. The post has been shared over 17000 times. Is there any truth to the claim that a huge volume of gold was shifted outside the country, and that too in a covert manner after the Modi government came to power in 2014? Alt News perused the annual reports of the central bank for successive years- 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14, and compared it with the annual reports of the RBI from 2014-15 to 2017-18, the latest report. The total gold stock of the Reserve Bank of India has remained consistent throughout, and has in fact increased marginally in 2017-18. Let us take 2013-14, the final year of the UPA-II regime. The RBI annual report 2013-14 states that the total volume of gold held by the Central bank is 557.75 tonnes, “of which 292.26 metric tonnes are held as an asset of the Issue Department and the balance 265.49 metric tonnes is treated as part of the other assets of the banking department.” It may be noted that ‘Gold held in Issue Department’ refers to gold which is held by the RBI within the country as a cover for the total currency notes issued, whereas ‘Gold held in Banking Department’ is gold which is held overseas. The annual report for 2017-18 states, “The Reserve Bank holds 566.23 metric tonnes of gold, of which 292.30 metric tonnes are held as backing for Notes issued as on June 30, 2018 (Table XII.6). The value of gold held as backing for notes issued increased by 7.70 per cent from `690.30 billion as on June 30, 2017 to `743.49 billion as on June 30, 2018, primarily on account of depreciation of Rupee vis-à-vis USD.” The comparison of the numbers in the two reports viz. 2013-14 and 2017-18, clearly show that there has been not a decline in the volume of gold held, but in fact a modest increase of 8.48 tonnes, from 557.75 tonnes in 2013-14 to 566.23 tonnes in 2017-18. Moreover, the volume of gold held in the banking department has remained steady- it was 265.49 tonnes in 2013-14, which rose to 273.93 in 2017-18. In other words, there has been no covert transfer of over 200 tonnes of gold abroad during the Modi government’s rule, as claimed. It is worthwhile to note that this transfer of gold to the Bank of England and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) was effected before 2014 i.e. before the Modi government came to power. A report of The Hindu dated February 28, 2012 had stated “The Reserve Bank held 557.75 tonnes of gold as on September 30, 2011. Of these, 265.49 tonnes are held abroad in deposits/safe custody with the Bank of England and the Bank for International Settlements.” The issue had also been raised earlier in 2012, when a PIL was filed in the Bombay High Court over the RBI’s move to shift 265.49 tonnes of gold out of India. Alt News studied the balance sheets of the RBI presented in the National Herald article, which have been used by the petitioner in favour of his argument, and are available in the annual reports of the Reserve Bank of India. The petitioner has claimed that the balance sheet for 2010-11 categorically shows that the gold ‘held outside India’ is nil. He has referred to the ‘Issue Department’ section to show that as of June 30, 2011, all the gold held by the RBI was within the country. Simply put, this is a flawed reading of the balance sheet. The petitioner has only referred to the Issue Department of the balance sheet. Under this section, only the gold which is within the country is listed. Hence, the gold reserve of the RBI ‘held outside India’ is shown as nil. The gold which is kept outside India is reflected in the Banking Department of the balance sheet. The petitioner, by focusing only on one section of the balance sheet, ended up with a flawed understanding of the management of gold reserves of the RBI. The petitioner has conflated the gold assets of the Issue Department with the entire gold reserve of the RBI. As pointed out above, the gold assets which are not part of the Issue Department are placed under ‘other assets’ in the balance sheet of the Banking Department. As can be seen below, the gold ‘Held outside India’ section under Issue Department shows a blank, whereas the Banking Department reflects the overseas gold reserve in the ‘Balances held abroad’ section. The Reserve Bank of India meanwhile rubbished these recent ‘reports’, clarifying via a press note that no gold was transferred out of the country in 2014 or after, adding that “it is a normal practice for Central Banks world over, to keep their gold reserves overseas with Central Banks of other countries like the Bank of England for safe custody.” The claim that the Modi government secretly transported over 200 tonnes of gold overseas from the RBI’s gold reserves is patently false, and premised on erroneous reading of the balance sheet of the central bank. Arjun Sidharth is a writer with Alt News. He has previously worked in the television news industry, where he managed news bulletins and breaking news scenarios, apart from scripting numerous prime time television stories. He has also been actively involved with various freelance projects. Sidharth has studied economics, political science, international relations and journalism. He has a keen interest in books, movies, music, sports, politics, foreign policy, history and economics. His hobbies include reading, watching movies and indoor gaming. On August 16, while responding to queries by the media on the ongoing issue of… Several social media users have shared a purported break-up of fuel prices that claims state… On February 26, Uttar-Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath tweeted in Hindi, “Despite the global economic… After the fifth increase in LPG refill prices since December 2020, except for a meagre… On August 22, the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) tweeted an infographic listing the projected Gross…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	4th May 2019 / 9:27 pm / Last updated: 6th May 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-tweets-misinformation-about-modi-govt-secretly-transferring-200-tonnes-of-gold-out-of-india/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
609	Congress Twitter handle conducts poll based on fake news - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 22nd February 2018 / 4:08 pm / Last updated: 22nd February 2018 Will your mobile phone number have 13 digits by the end of the year? This is what the Congress party claimed on Twitter. In a Twitter poll, it asked, “The Department of Telecom (DoT) has issued a directive instructing all telecom operators in the country to start issuing 13-digit mobile numbers later this year. Are you happy with this decision? #IndiaSpeaks” with the options being yes and no. The Department of Telecom (DoT) has issued a directive instructing all telecom operators in the country to start issuing 13-digit mobile numbers later this year. Are you happy with this decision? #IndiaSpeaks — Congress (@INCIndia) February 22, 2018 Click-bait headlines suggested that the Department of Telecom had reportedly issued a directive to all telecom operators in the country to start providing 13-digit mobile numbers. This news led to much confusion, and it was assumed that mobile phone numbers which are currently 10 digit will be converted to 13 digits by the end of the year. The truth is that there is no change in the numbering system for retail mobile numbers. The new numbers are to be provided for SIM based Machine To Machine (M2M) communication. It will NOT extend to retail mobile phone numbers, which will continue to operate on 10 digits. This was clarified by BSNL in a Twitter post, saying that there is no change in the mobile numbering plan and the move is for M2M communication. There is no change in mobile numbering plan which remains 10 digit. #BSNL preparing for machine to machine (m2m) communication where in 13 digit numbering scheme shall be used to connect billions of machines. — BSNL India (@BSNLCorporate) February 21, 2018 It is plausible that a circular issued by BSNL which is circulating on social media could be the origin of this confusion. 13 Digit Mobile numbers … Coming soon 🤔pic.twitter.com/0M06USCpEc — T R B Rajaa (@TRBRajaa) February 21, 2018 This letter issued by BSNL to ZTE Telecom India and Nokia Solutions & Networks India mentions that the transition to 13 digit mobile numbers is for M2M communication. M2M refers to Machine-to-Machine communication, a broad label that signifies communication between electronic devices without the need for human intervention at any stage. M2M communication is used in a wide variety of applications across various industries. It has nothing to do with mobile phone communication. A simple matter of detail seemed to have escaped the Congress party which ended up relaying misleading information. Arjun Sidharth is a writer with Alt News. He has previously worked in the television news industry, where he managed news bulletins and breaking news scenarios, apart from scripting numerous prime time television stories. He has also been actively involved with various freelance projects. Sidharth has studied economics, political science, international relations and journalism. He has a keen interest in books, movies, music, sports, politics, foreign policy, history and economics. His hobbies include reading, watching movies and indoor gaming. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	22nd February 2018 / 4:08 pm / Last updated: 22nd February 2018	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-twitter-handle-conducts-poll-based-fake-news/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
610	Congress twitter handle shares old video as public outrage in PM Modi's Jaipur rally - Alt News Jignesh Patel 8th July 2018 / 2:20 pm / Last updated: 11th July 2018 Indian National Congress and Divya Spandana, head of INC social media have shared a five-month old video of Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje’s rally claiming to be a video of PM Modi’s Jaipur rally on July 7, 2018. In the video, people can be heard chanting, “मोदी तुसे बैर नहीं, वसुंधरा तेरी खैर नहीं और वसुंधरा तेरे चक्कर में, मोदी मारा जायेगा (We have nothing against you Modi, but Vasundhara won’t be spared and because of Vasudhara, Modi will also have to bear the brunt -translated)“. The tweet from the official INC handle has been retweeted more than 1100 times and ‘liked’ more than 1900 times. Hey @facebook we’re unable to upload this video on our facebook page https://t.co/NPOcx4pW6n. Can you tell us why? Or should we ask @rsprasad? pic.twitter.com/ol4TEiF9Zr — Congress (@INCIndia) July 7, 2018 INC’s social media head, Divya Spandana also claimed that Facebook wasn’t allowing them to upload the said video. Tried uploading this video on @facebook but for some strange reason, Facebook is not publishing it. Can you guys try and revert? It’s a video from @narendramodi rally today in Jaipur. pic.twitter.com/t5SSIZpnsW — Divya Spandana/Ramya (@divyaspandana) July 7, 2018 The Congress twitter handle also took pot-shots at PM Modi. They tweeted, “While PM Modi is gaining control of @facebook, he’s losing control of his cadre. Open infighting on display at PM Modi’s Jaipur rally.” While PM Modi is gaining control of @facebook, he’s losing control of his cadre. Open infighting on display at PM Modi’s Jaipur rally. https://t.co/aedJDz6aN5 — Congress (@INCIndia) July 7, 2018 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Sachin Pilot, Rajasthan Congress President questioned the role of media for not showing “parts of the allegedly ‘successful’ rally” . A screenshot of the deleted tweet can be seen below. Many prominent people including Prashant Bhushan and Pranajoy Guha Thakurta also retweeted Divya Spandana’s tweet. Realising their blunder, Congress twitter handle clarified that the video belonged to a CM Vasundhara Raje rally in Jhunjhunu, where the Prime Minister was also present. Oops..this video was taken in Jhunjhunu and not in Jaipur, where CM Vasundhara Raje and PM Modi were present, as the infighting between the BJP cadre broke out. https://t.co/Kqlt0dp0Qe — Congress (@INCIndia) July 7, 2018 Divya Spandana also tweeted an apology which extended into whataboutery. Apologies: apparently this video is from March and not yesterday…gosh Rajasthan BJP lost it that long back?? — Divya Spandana/Ramya (@divyaspandana) July 7, 2018 Googling the words “मोदी तुसे बैर नहीं, वसुंधरा तेरी खैर नहीं” and applying a time filter, we were about to find the original video. The video was published by new4rajasthan YouTube channel on March 8, 2018. A report by Hindustan Times on March 8, 2018 stated, “Public anger against chief minister Vasundhara Raje was apparent on Thursday as a section of the crowd waved black flags at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public meeting in Jhunjhunu to launch the National Nutrition Mission and extend the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign.” Rajasthan police arrested 8 people for waving black flags at PM Modi’s rally. This is not the first faux pas by the official Congress twitter handle. In February 2018, Congress conducted a poll based on false, click-bait headlines which claimed that Centre was planning to introduce 13 digit mobile numbers. In a rush to score brownie points, the Congress social media team failed to check the veracity of the content and ended up losing face. Jignesh is a writer and researcher at Alt News. He has a knack for visual investigation with a major interest in fact-checking videos and images. He has completed his Masters in Journalism from Gujarat University. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	8th July 2018 / 2:20 pm / Last updated: 11th July 2018	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-twitter-handle-shares-old-video-as-public-outrage-in-pm-modis-jaipur-rally/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
611	Congress uses 2008 image from Bangladesh to attack Modi government - Alt News Archit 4th December 2020 / 7:37 pm On December 4, the official Twitter account of Indian National Congress tweeted an infographic that includes an image of a child labourer with the following Hindi text, “Seven crore children have been engulfed in poverty due to coronavirus pandemic. Children’s education has suffered due to not attending schools and families are facing a financial burden. The government needs to urgently take steps for the children’s future.” कोरोना संकट और बीजेपी संकट के कारण देश की अर्थव्यवस्था से लेकर जनता तक प्रभावित होने लगी है। कोरोना संकट से 7 करोड़ बच्चों पर गरीबी का संकट छा गया है। मोदी सरकार देश को गरीबी के संकट से निकालने के लिये जल्द कदम उठाये। pic.twitter.com/F6AkyGEJeq — Congress (@INCIndia) December 4, 2020 This has been posted by several Twitter and Facebook users including more than 10 official Congress accounts on Facebook. Alt News cropped the image used on the poster and was led to multiple links that carried the original picture. A second reverse image search on TinEye led us to the website Felix Features, a Norway-based picture agency. The image in question was uploaded in 2008. Its caption says, “Children at a brick factory in Fatullah”, which is a town in Bangladesh. The copyright on the image mentions — ‘Panos Pictures/ Felix Features’. A subsequent search on the website of London-based photo agency Panos Pictures confirms that the image was shot in Bangladesh. Thus, Congress used a 2008 image of a child labourer in Bangladesh to attack the BJP government. 🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	4th December 2020 / 7:37 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-uses-2008-image-from-bangladesh-to-attack-modi-government/", "author": "Archit" }
612	Congress uses 2009 photograph of Ganga river to target PM Modi and Govt - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 13th October 2018 / 4:45 pm / Last updated: 15th March 2019 In the run-up to the 2014 general election, the cleaning of the Ganga was one of the major poll planks of the BJP. The Congress party has targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling BJP via a tweet highlighting the poor state of the river and the lackadaisical attitude of the government which “has focused on lip service rather than getting anything done”. With an atrocious completion rate, PM Modi has focused on lip service rather than getting anything done on cleaning the Ganga. #MaaGangaSeDhoka pic.twitter.com/7QYHSUmkXI — Congress (@INCIndia) October 12, 2018 Seeking to corner the government over the ‘atrocious completion rate’ of projects related to the cleaning of the river with the rather dramatic hashtag #MaaGangaSeDhokha, the party has posted a photograph, showing the Ganga river in a dirty state. The photograph used by the Congress party in its tweet is not recent. Using the reverse image search tool, Alt News came across links which had posted this very photograph in 2009 and 2010. These websites claimed that this is a river in Israel. Using the date and time filter on Google, we searched for results restricted to 2009 and 2010. This led us to a Romanian website which had posted this photograph, claiming that it was clicked at Varanasi in April 2009. The name of the photographer was mentioned as Prakash Singh. We searched the text accompanying the photograph and found a link to the website of Getty Images, a repository of photographs. According to Getty Images, the photograph was taken on April 5, 2009 by Prakash Singh, depicting scavengers who were looking for valuable items among the offerings of devotees. In the infographic shared by Congress, it has been claimed that out of 187 projects undertaken under Namami Gange or National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), only 47 have been completed. The Namami Gange programme was launched immediately after the Modi led NDA government came to power in 2014, with the objective of conservation and rejuvenation of the river. While verifying the data, we found that this claim pertains to data provided in Lok Sabha in February 2018. According to the latest data from NMCG website, from financial year 2011-12 to 2018-19, 236 projects have been sanctioned of which 63 projects have been completed. According to the last available data before the present Union Government came into power, by March 2014, 72 projects had been initiated under National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGBRA) of which 16 were completed. The NGBRA was the agency responsible for planning, coordination, implementation and monitoring for the Ganga river. NGRBA was dissolved with effect from the 7th October 2016, consequent to constitution of National Council for Rejuvenation, Protection and Management of River Ganga (referred as National Ganga Council). The death of G D Agarwal who succumbed to his indefinite fast demanding concrete measures for the conservation of the Ganga river has once again brought this lingering issue into the limelight. However, in its rush to berate the Prime Minister and the government over the continuing state of the river, the Congress party rather embarrassingly ended up using a photograph of 2009, when the UPA government was in fact in power at the centre. Arjun Sidharth is a writer with Alt News. He has previously worked in the television news industry, where he managed news bulletins and breaking news scenarios, apart from scripting numerous prime time television stories. He has also been actively involved with various freelance projects. Sidharth has studied economics, political science, international relations and journalism. He has a keen interest in books, movies, music, sports, politics, foreign policy, history and economics. His hobbies include reading, watching movies and indoor gaming. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	13th October 2018 / 4:45 pm / Last updated: 15th March 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-uses-2009-photograph-of-ganga-river-to-target-pm-modi-and-govt/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
613	Congress uses 2011 image to portray PM Modi's constituency Varanasi in poor state - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 24th January 2019 / 4:25 pm / Last updated: 24th January 2019 The official Twitter handle of Manipur Congress tweeted a collage of four images on January 23 to showcase development in Rahul Gandhi’s turf Amethi and regression in PM Modi’s constituency Varanasi under the last 4.5 years of BJP government. “While PM Modi & the BJP govt. may not care for the contribution of HAL, the people of Amethi are proud of the HAL division in their district – which provides employment for 1100 skilled workers & 200 engineers. #AmethiKiPragati,” wrote Manipur Congress. This tweet was made at 1:08 PM and soon after, General secretary and social media in-charge of Mahila Congress Chitra Sarwara also tweeted the same set of images. “काम किया है- @RahulGandhi बस नाम किया है -@narendramodi (Has done work – @RahulGandhi Has only promoted his name – @narendramodi),” read her tweet. Himachal Congress and Uttarakhand Congress also tweeted the identical collage. Upon reverse-searching the images, Alt News found that the one on the bottom-right dates back to at least 2011. A website Water and Megacities had included the photograph in one of its articles on Varanasi, published on July 28, 2011. Twitter user Ankur Singh had pointed this out. The website is now unavailable although a Google search still throws up the article. We also found that the image was used in an article about potholes published by Dainik Jagran in 2012. Since the photograph exists on the internet prior to 2014, it cannot be attributed to poor governance under the last 4.5 years of BJP’s rule. The other image used by Congress (top-right) is also an old picture, even though it does not date back prior to 2014. We found that the image is a screengrab of a video posted in American stock photo agency Shutterstock in 2015. Congress, therefore, used old images to target BJP by portraying that the party hasn’t contributed to development initiatives in PM Modi’s constituency, Varanasi, in the last 4.5 years. Earlier, BJP had used old images (1, 2,) to portray infrastructural projects completed under PM’s Modi’s tenure. Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	24th January 2019 / 4:25 pm / Last updated: 24th January 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-uses-2011-image-to-portray-pm-modis-constituency-varanasi-in-poor-state/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
614	Congress uses images from UPA rule to represent plight of farmers under Modi govt - Alt News Archit 26th September 2020 / 9:58 pm The recent agricultural reforms face protests from farmers across the nation who fear that the legislation will not ensure Minimum Support Price (MSP) on agricultural produce. On September 24, the official account of the Indian National Congress (INC) tweeted a 46-second video questioning Prime Minister Modi’s policies and broken promises. सपने कुछ यूं दिखाये थे, वादों के पूरा हो जाने का, विश्वास जादूगर के जादू सा लगा था। प्रधानमंत्री ने झूठे वादों से, देश के हर वर्ग को ठगा था।। pic.twitter.com/1MrNklHzhi — Congress (@INCIndia) September 24, 2020 That same day, Congress tweeted a graphic that showed an image of women from rural India. The tweet said, “The government gets revenue from the market. With that revenue, the government carries development work in rural areas. The BJP government is threatening the development of rural India by shutting down the mandi system.” This was shared by other Twitter users as well. सरकार को मंडी से राजस्व मिलता है, उस राजस्व से सरकार ग्रामीण क्षेत्रों में विकास कार्य करवाती है। भाजपा सरकार मंडी प्रणाली को बंद करके ग्रामीण भारत के विकास को खतरे में डाल रही है।#DeshKiBaat pic.twitter.com/lJunnOJ8Q5 — Congress (@INCIndia) September 24, 2020 On September 25, Priyanka Gandhi, general secretary of the All India Congress Committee in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, tweeted a picture of a farmer and wrote, “Before the BJP’s agriculture bill, MSP = Minimum Support Price for Farmers. After the bill is passed, MSP = Maximum Support in Profit for Capitalists. Where will the farmer go?”. Her tweet gained over 3,000 retweets. This image was posted by several other users on Twitter. भाजपा के कृषि बिल के पहले- MSP = किसानों के लिए न्यूनतम समर्थन मूल्य (Minimum Support Price) बिल पास हो जाने के बाद- MSP = पूंजीपतियों के लिए मैक्सिमम सपोर्ट इन प्रॉफिट (Maximum Support in Profit) किसान कहां जाएगा? pic.twitter.com/EKWMzWIYRg — Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) September 24, 2020 While the images used in these posts were clearly representational in nature, some of them were shot during UPA rule. This was also pointed out by numerous social media users. A simple reverse-image search reveals that multiple images from Congress posts were taken prior to 2014. At the 30-second mark in the video uploaded by Congress, the audio sarcastically states that the Ganga river has been cleaned by the BJP. The corresponding image was found on Getty Images, uploaded in 2013. Its caption reads, “Devotees cross the polluted waters of the Ganga River to take a holy dip at Sangam in Allahabad on April 14, 2013.” At the time, the Samajwadi Party formed the Uttar Pradesh government and the Congress was ruling at the center. Similarly, the image used by Congress in a graphic on the farm bill affecting rural women was published in a 2012 article by The Economist. A similar pattern was observed in Priyanka Gandhi’s tweet. The image of a farmer was published by The Hindu in their article in 2013. This is a PTI image. However, this article was updated in 2016. In order to verify that the image was published in 2013 and not added later in 2016, Alt News accessed the archived link of the article on Wayback Machine. This confirmed that the image was indeed published in 2013. Therefore, Congress used pictures from the time the party was in power to depict the plight of farmers under the Modi government. The party could have used recent images of the ongoing farmer protests but ironically posted photographs taken prior to 2014. 🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	26th September 2020 / 9:58 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-uses-images-from-upa-rule-to-represent-plight-of-farmers-under-modi-govt/", "author": "Archit" }
615	Congress uses photos of BJP-led Assam govt's initiative for Punjab poll promise - Alt News Archit 12th January 2022 / 3:08 pm Multiple social media accounts of the Indian National Congress (INC) have shared a graphic that consists of an image of women taking a selfie in front of pink buses. The text on the graphic claims that Congress will bring free bus services for women if it is elected to power. The posts have been shared with hashtag #111CongressDubara (111CongressAgain) which is related to the upcoming elections in Punjab. Chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi held office for 111 days before the polls scheduled in February and after Captain Amarinder Singh’s resignation. The post was shared by Facebook and Twitter accounts of INC Bihar (1, 2) and Himachal Pradesh Congress Sevadal (1, 2). महिलाओं के लिए फ्री बस सेवा लाएंगे। महिलाओं को मुफ्त, सुलभ और सुरक्षित बस सेवा मुहैया करवाएंगे।। ये वादे नहीं प्रतिज्ञाएं हैं।#111CongressDubara#Ayegi_Congress pic.twitter.com/E9UlqddD9r — Bihar Congress (@INCBihar) January 9, 2022 अब महिलाएं नहीं होंगी छेड़खानी का शिकार। महिलाओं के लिए फ्री बस सेवा लाएगी कांग्रेस सरकार।। ये वादे नहीं प्रतिज्ञाएं हैं।#111CongressDubara pic.twitter.com/tQ9pu50WJq — Himachal Pradesh Congress Sevadal (@SevadalHP) January 9, 2022 Congress members Saurabh Sinha and Thakor Bhavinsinh also posted this claim. Alt News performed a reverse image search using InVID on Microsoft’s Bing. This led us to a January 2021 report by India.com. As per this report, the image is from Assam. The report states, “In a bid to provide free transport service for women and senior citizens, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal flagged off 25 buses exclusively for women and senior citizens to travel within the city of Guwahati.” It is worth noting that the Assam government is led by the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) and not INC. In the same month, Assam chief minister tweeted about this project as well. CM Shri @sarbanandsonwal flagged off a fleet of 25 Pink Buses under Bhraman Sarathi scheme in presence of Industry & Transport Minister Shri @cmpatowary in Guwahati. Under this scheme, women & senior citizens can avail free bus services for their commute within Guwahati. pic.twitter.com/YPUkS8tgqL — Chief Minister Assam (@CMOfficeAssam) January 9, 2021 This scheme is a part of the Bhraman Sarathi Scheme first presented in the 2020-2021 Assam State Budget on March 6, 2020, by the ex-finance minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma. Under this scheme, women and senior citizens can get the benefit of free bus journeys in specified routes within Guwahati. Readers should note that the INC-led Punjab government also introduced a similar scheme in March 2021. To sum it up, Congress used images of a free bus service initiative by the BJP-led Assam government as an initiative that Congress will bring upon its election in Punjab. 🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	12th January 2022 / 3:08 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congress-uses-photos-of-bjp-led-assam-govts-initiative-for-punjab-poll-promise/", "author": "Archit" }
616	Congressman speaks out against Gandhi family? No, it is a staged video - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 27th April 2019 / 7:50 pm “Finally, a congressman speaks…and speaks the truth!! It is time for @INCIndia to think about what they want Slavery of @RahulGandhi@priyankagandhi or NATION.” The above message has been tweeted by Gaurav Pradhan, a popular Narendra Modi supporter on social media. Accompanying the message is a video clip in which a bald gentleman is speaking to the camera. Pradhan, who has spread misinformation in the past, claims that this person is a Congressman. Finally, a congressman speaks…and speaks the truth!! It is time for @INCIndia to think about what they want Slavery of @RahulGandhi @priyankagandhi or NATION pic.twitter.com/03bfiUKpM5 — चौकीदार #GauravPradhan 🇮🇳 (@DrGPradhan) February 18, 2019 The video clip is roughly two and a half minutes long. The video begins with the gentleman referring to a core committee meeting of the party, and then goes on to say that the mother and son are destroying the party. He further criticizes the nepotism and patronage that has come to characterize the party, and also refers to Manmohan Singh as a ‘remote-controlled’ leader. Towards the end of the video, he is heard saying, “These are my views” (translated). It has been shared on Facebook by a page Namo Again 2019 with the claim that the person is Congress leader Ajai Rai, who will be contesting against Narendra Modi from Varanasi. The video clip has been viewed over 69,000 times so far and shared over 3300 times from this page since it was posted on April 25. ವಾರಣಸಿ ಮೋದಿ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಸ್ಪರ್ದೆ ಮಾಡಲಿರುವ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ನಾಯಕ ಅಜಯ್ ರಾವ್ ಅವರ ಮಾತು ಕೇಳಿ. ತನ್ನ ಪಕ್ಷ ಮತ್ತು ಅದ್ಯಕ್ಷರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಇರುವ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ. Posted by Namo again 2019 ನಮೋ 2019 on Thursday, April 25, 2019 The video clip has been posted by several Facebook and Twitter users on their timelines. The person seen in the video is not a leader or member of the Congress party as claimed by Gaurav Pradhan. Nor is he Congress candidate from Varanasi, Ajay Rai. He is Anil Boolchandani, a businessman and resident of Bhopal, according to his Facebook profile. Boolchandani had posted this video clip on his profile on February 8. It may be noted that the caption of the video says “मेरे दुवारा नाटकीय रूपांतरण…” (My dramatic act- translation). मेरे दुवारा नाटकीय रूपांतरण… Posted by Anil Boolchandani on Friday, February 8, 2019 It may be added that Boolchandani is a BJP supporter, as is evident from his Facebook profile. He was recently clicked with controversial BJP candidate from Bhopal, Sadhvi Pragya Thakur. समर्थ सक्षम और राष्ट्रीय विचारधरा के समर्थक……. सम्पूर्ण सिन्धी समाज साध्वी प्रज्ञा सिंह ठाकुर के समर्थन में एक जुट… Posted by Anil Boolchandani on Friday, April 26, 2019 Mr. Boolchandani was merely staging an act, as asserted by him in the post above. This video was picked up by the pro-BJP social media ecosystem and circulated widely with a false claim. Arjun Sidharth is a writer with Alt News. He has previously worked in the television news industry, where he managed news bulletins and breaking news scenarios, apart from scripting numerous prime time television stories. He has also been actively involved with various freelance projects. Sidharth has studied economics, political science, international relations and journalism. He has a keen interest in books, movies, music, sports, politics, foreign policy, history and economics. His hobbies include reading, watching movies and indoor gaming. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	27th April 2019 / 7:50 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congressman-speaks-out-against-gandhi-family-no-it-is-a-staged-video/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
617	Congress's Surjewala shares 2012 image from Nepal as 'new India', deletes later - Alt News Archit 19th May 2020 / 8:23 pm / Last updated: 19th May 2020 On May 19, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted an image of a woman riding a bicycle with an infant wrapped on her back and a sack tugged on to the cycle’s rear seat. Surjewala wrote in Hindi, “New India’s truth (translated from न्यू इंडिया का सच!).” This tweet was retweeted at least 190 times. Surjewala subsequently deleted the tweet without any clarification. Below is a screenshot of an archived link of the tweet that can be accessed here. Readers should note the time stamp on the archived tweet is not as per the Indian Standard Time (IST). Alt News performed a reverse image search on Bing, and found that the viral image was published on UK-based blog ‘cyclechic.co.uk‘. The image on the 2016 article was sourced to Pinterest which credited it to “Info News.” The caption on the image reads, “This picture of a mother and her baby was taken in Nepalgunj, Nepal where bicycle travel is the usual transportation.” However, the link to Info News is no longer functional. On May 19, Times of India published a fact-check report and found that the image is available on European Pressphoto Agency. As per the details on the stock photo agency, the image was clicked by Narendra Shrestha on June 29, 2012. The caption reads, “A Nepalese mother carrying a child on her back as she travels on a bicycle towards Nepalgunj city, some 573 kilometers from capital Kathmandu, Nepal, 29 June 2012.” Thus Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted an 8-year-old image from Nepal and India and later took it down. This was in the backdrop of migrant workers, stranded across the country due to the lockdown, taking all possible measures to return to their native states. 🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	19th May 2020 / 8:23 pm / Last updated: 19th May 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congresss-surjewala-shares-image-from-2012-as-new-india-deletes-later/", "author": "Archit" }
618	Congress's video on PM Modi's relationship with China includes old photo with Japanese PM Shinzo Abe - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 15th August 2020 / 12:37 am / Last updated: 16th August 2020 The official handle of the Congress party tweeted a video on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) relationship with China, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been ‘cosying’ up with the country. The video has now been taken down. “Maintaining a friendship with China, which has occupied Indian territory, and giving it a clean chit, doesn’t this deceive Mother India?” the tweet read. The video carried several pictures of PM Modi with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The photo below was also a part of the video. Himachal Pradesh Congress Sevadal and Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee Minority Department also shared the video. The photograph in question can be seen at 42 seconds. India and China’s diplomatic relationship took a blow after 20 Indian soldiers were martyred in a face-off in Galway valley on June 15. Chinese soldiers had reportedly infiltrated Indian territory which was refuted by New Delhi. The image was found in the archives of the Associated Press. It was shot by photographer Shizuo Kambayashi on September 1, 2014, when PM Modi met his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe during a signing ceremony at Akasaka State Guesthouse in Tokyo. “Japan and India agreed Monday to step up their economic and security cooperation as Modi won pledges of support for his effort to revitalize the lagging Indian economy,” read its description. In the past few days, Congress or its members were also found sharing misinformation to target Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. A video of a water-logged bus from Jaipur and an old clip of a couple swimming inside their flooded house in Prayagraj were promoted as Delhi. Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	15th August 2020 / 12:37 am / Last updated: 16th August 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/congresss-video-on-pm-modis-relationship-china-includes-old-photo-with-japanese-pm-shinzo-abe/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
619	Conspiracy theory about Ankit Saxena's murder circulates on social media - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 7th February 2018 / 7:08 pm / Last updated: 8th February 2018 A new conspiracy theory has taken shape and is now circulating among some sections on social media. The theme of the conspiracy is the murder of Ankit Saxena is the handiwork of Hindutva elements. Saxena, 23, was murdered by the family of the woman he was in love with, in a case of honour killing. Amaresh Misra, who designates himself as the President of the Kisan Kranti Dal, a political party based in Uttar Pradesh and a scriptwriter, has close to 5000 followers on Facebook. He regularly posts his views and opinions on a number of social, economic and political issues. Most of his posts are directed against the ruling party and the Government. To cut a long story short, Misra is basically casting doubts on the official version of events. Misra’s post can be read here. According to his theory, 2. It is suspicious how Ankit Saxena’s parents were quick to issue a statement asking for the issue to not be communalised. They seem to have been tutored. 3. The issue was politicised when Deepak, a friend of Ankit who is an alleged Bajrang Dal activist accompanied BJP leader Manoj Tiwari when the latter visited Ankit’s family and asked Kejriwal to break his silence on the matter. 4. The deaths of Ankit Saxena is an elaborate conspiracy by the Sangh parivar through the new tactic of seemly isolated events that keep communal tension high. Misra’s post has been shared to a significant extent by social media users to assert that the crime is the handiwork of right-wing Hindutva elements. The online publication Siasat Daily too published Misra’s post on Saxena’s murder, along with Milli Gazette, National Speak and Caravan Daily. Misra in his post claims that “A cursory check in the area reveals that THERE IS NO MUSLIM HOUSEHOLD IN THE ENTIRE RAGHUBIR NAGAR B BLOCK AREA! Its not as if there WAS a household and members fled after the gory incident! People of that area do not recall a Muslim family in B Block for the last twenty years!”. Hindustan Times reported on the presence of an inter-faith couple right opposite the building where the girl and her family live, in Raghubir Nagar. Alt News spoke to the Hindustan Times reporter who confirmed the presence of members of the minority community in the housing society. Moreover, there is a mosque barely 500 metres away from B-block park. As can be seen from the Google map above, there is a mosque which is roughly 500 metres away from B-block park in Raghubir Nagar. B-Block is where the girl and her family live. Also shown in the map is the Khyala police station where the complaint was lodged. Further proof of the presence of Muslims in Block B of Raghubir Nagar is confirmed by a cursory glance at the electoral roll of the area which is available on the website of the Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi. Even though the electoral roll is public, Alt News has not published the names for the sake of privacy. The electoral roll in this file which lists out only a section of Block B shows at least 18 houses with possibly Muslim names. Thus, the claim that not a single Muslim lives in Block B of Raghubir Nagar is patently false. At another place, Misra says “Also, there is no Muslim family that runs a beauty parlour. There is an ABANDONED beauty parlour in Block C. And yes, IT USED TO BE RUN BY A MUSLIM FAMILY. But that family migrated at least five years ago!” This claim too is false as reports by Indian Express and Times of India have quoted both the landlord and the family vis-a-vis the beauty parlour. Misra also suggests through his post that Ankit Saxena was murdered in a diabolical plan by the Sangh parivar. This claim too falls flat on its face as there are confirmed reports that the girl’s family has confessed to the killing. Ankit Saxena was reportedly murdered by the girl’s father and maternal uncle. The girl had issued a statement saying that Ankit had been killed by her family members. The post also disregards the appeal made by Ankit’s family urging peace and harmony, and asking people to stop circulating morphed images and fake messages. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgjLl6pbIDA&feature=youtu.be Saxena’s killing is a grave tragedy, the collective reaction to which has been rather mature and sober. In such a scenario, it is disconcerting to note that those who publicly champion the cause of liberty and truth are deliberately sowing the seeds of suspicion, mistrust and doubt over the events surrounding Saxena’s murder and pandering to a tendency of confirmation bias, without recourse to a shred of evidence to back their claims. “To investigate the basics is a fundamental norm of journalism”, said Misra in his post. No one can disagree with it, but platitudes ought to be accompanied by practice. Arjun Sidharth is a writer with Alt News. He has previously worked in the television news industry, where he managed news bulletins and breaking news scenarios, apart from scripting numerous prime time television stories. He has also been actively involved with various freelance projects. Sidharth has studied economics, political science, international relations and journalism. He has a keen interest in books, movies, music, sports, politics, foreign policy, history and economics. His hobbies include reading, watching movies and indoor gaming. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	7th February 2018 / 7:08 pm / Last updated: 8th February 2018	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/conspiracy-theory-about-ankit-saxenas-murder-circulates-on-social-media/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
620	Contact - Alt News If you wish to forward content that is viral and you think needs fact-checking, then kindly forward it to our WhatsApp tipline (+917600011160). We have a small team so we may not respond to everything that is forwarded on this number, but please do send in your queries as it helps us in keeping an eye on information that is viral. We often respond back with our fact-checks for issues that we have debunked. We can be reached at [email protected]. For media queries, email the editor. For complaints, send an email to Nirjhari Sinha at [email protected]. Alternatively, send a message using the form below. Error: Contact form not found.	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	null	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/contact/", "author": null }
621	No arrests made after 2018 Varanasi flyover collapse? False claim viral - Alt News Archit 5th February 2022 / 3:34 pm / Last updated: 5th February 2022 Since January 28, several social media accounts have been posting an image of cars flattened under the debris of a collapsed flyover. As per social media claims, this image is from a 2018 incident that took place in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi. The claims suggest that the contractor of the project is yet to be arrested under the Yogi Adityanath-led UP government. (Viral text: 5 मई 2018 वाराणसी पुल हादसा याद है वो ठेकेदार योगी को आज तक नही मिल पाया.) Facebook page Unofficial: Arvind Kejriwal with over one lakh followers posted this claim. This has been shared over 5,000 times. Similarly, several high network Facebook pages have shared the claim, including BJP mukt Bharat, I Am With Raja Gurjot Singh, INDIA सोशल मीडिया, Samajwadi ItCell. Using the social media monitoring tool, CrowdTangle, we found that the claim was amplified by hundreds of other pages on Facebook [view PDF]. This claim was also made by several Twitter users. Alt News performed a reverse image and found that this image is indeed from May 15, 2018, and pertains to an incident that occurred in Varanasi. A bridge near the cantonment railway station area had collapsed. The viral photo is available on the stock image platform Alamy and was clicked by Prabhat Kumar. The Hindu had reported that the flyover was under-construction and a part of it collapsed, leaving at least 18 dead. The report said, “Around a dozen persons were also injured and at least seven vehicles, including a mini-bus and a tempo, crushed under the girder which fell on the traffic.” A day after the incident, as per The Hindu, an FIR was lodged at the Sigra police station. It did not name specific individuals but listed supervisory officials, contractors and staff appointed by the UPSBC for various tasks. The following sections were invoked — Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), Section 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and Section 427 (mischief) of the Indian Penal Code. Sections 3 and 4 of the Public Property Damage Prevention Act 1984 are also mentioned in the FIR. Two months later, eight people were arrested. The Director-General of Police Om Prakash Singh told The Wire Hindi that the action was taken based on technical evidence gathered with the help of scientists from the Central Building Research Institute at Roorkee, Uttarakhand. The investigation found that there were several lapses in the construction. Among those arrested were project managers and engineers and contractor Saheb Hussain. In the same month, Police Commisnerate Varanasi tweeted a statement that lists the same names of those arrested. As per this statement, 15 people had died. Alt News spoke with the SHO of Sighra police station who informed, “The social media claim is false. Eight people were arrested including the contractor.” To sum it up, prior to the upcoming UP elections several social media accounts shared a misleading narrative of a 2018 incident from Varanasi. As per the claim, in 2018, a flyover had collapsed in Varanasi but almost four years later the contractor is yet to be arrested. However, according to media reports and the police, eight people were arrested, including the contractor. 🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… Following Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win against Argentina in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, speculation about… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery. Several users have shared images of the…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	5th February 2022 / 3:34 pm / Last updated: 5th February 2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/contractor-of-2018-varanasi-flyover-collapse-yet-to-be-arrested-under-yogi-govt-false-claim/", "author": "Archit" }
622	Contradictory media reports - Was it Kolkata or Goa that launched India's first biogas bus? - Alt News Sam Jawed 22nd August 2017 / 2:29 pm It was a proud moment when the Chief Minister of Goa announced his ride in India’s first biogas bus launched by Goa government. The bus was flagged off on Independence Day by the Governor of Goa who took a drive to Raj Bhavan in it. There was however one small problem with the announcement. As per media reports, India’s first biogas bus was already launched in Kolkata in April this year. Took a ride in India's 1st bio-gas bus launched by Goa Govt. #TransformingIndia pic.twitter.com/nbd7QLGKYZ — Manohar Parrikar (@manoharparrikar) August 19, 2017 Hon'ble Governor of Goa Smt Mridula Sinha ji flags off India's 1st bio-gas bus & takes a drive to Raj Bhavan. pic.twitter.com/sPHApMM9if — Manohar Parrikar (@manoharparrikar) August 15, 2017 Make In India official handle also announced that India’s first biogas buses, by Scania, are on the streets of Goa. Green lane: #ICYMI India's first bio-gas buses, by Scania, are on the streets of Goa. #MakeInIndia Know more at https://t.co/xM65BOi9xn https://t.co/VdoeHfjaAl — Make in India (@makeinindia) August 21, 2017 Make In India provided a link to a Times of India article which elaborated that the “Goa government launched India’s first biogas-run bus as a pilot project on the occasion of Independence Day today. They intend to have approximately 40 such buses in the state by February 2018 which will run on the eco-friendly fuel.” In April this year, the same newspaper (Times of India) had announced the first biogas bus in Kolkata with flat Re 1 fare. First biogas bus in Kolkata with flat Re 1 fare https://t.co/FN5uRBbVhX via @TOICitiesNews (Representative image) pic.twitter.com/m1o5apGQo8 — Times of India (@timesofindia) April 2, 2017 The same was also reported by others like Hindustan Times, Deccan Herald, Indian Express and NDTV. They reported that the initiative was undertaken under a central subsidies plan of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. The buses were built in Delhi using Tata Motors chassis. Asian age had published a picture of the biogas bus launched in Koklata. Jyoti Prakash Das, Chairman and Managing Director of Phoenix India Research & Development Group, told NDTV “We are the first one to launch biogas bus in the entire south east Asia. Now old buses which have run for 15 or 20 years, can also be given a fresh lease of life with this clean and cheap fuel, and we are in the process of seeking government approval for the same.” Government of India encourages biofuels i.e. biogas, biodiesel and bioethanol. India’s first ethanol-run buses were launched in Nagpur in August 2014. On the lines of ethanol, Nagpur Municipal Corporation had also started the process to launch the nation’s first biogas and biodiesel city buses. In July 2017, Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) launched India’s first biodiesel buses. If we are to go by media reports, India’s first biogas bus was launched in Kolkata in April, 2017 and not in Goa. However, confusion still remains about India’s first biogas bus. Parrikar’s tweet and media reports on launch of the Goa biogas bus contradict the earlier media reports about the Kolkata biogas bus being India’s first biogas bus. It is surprising that sections of media that carried the story about the launch of India’s first biogas bus in April did not bother to check and clarify before running another story with the same claim in August. Nobody's cheerleader, I tweet at @samjawed65 Following Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win against Argentina in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, speculation about… Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery. Several users have shared images of the… The brutal murder of Shraddha Walker has been widely covered across news media over the… A 1:34-minute-long CCTV camera clip is being widely circulated on social media in which viewers… The teaser of a movie titled ‘The Kerala Story’ is being widely shared on social…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	22nd August 2017 / 2:29 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/contradictory-media-reports-kolkata-goa-launched-indias-first-biogas-bus/", "author": "Sam Jawed" }
623	Coordinated troll attack on MakeMyTrip following tweets on beef ban by the co-founder. Ease of doing business? - Alt News Sam Jawed 1st June 2017 / 4:08 pm / Last updated: 1st June 2017 In the world of social media, expressing a personal opinion on a controversial issue can turn out to be a risky business proposition. Keyur Joshi, the co-founder of ‘MakeMyTrip.com’, India’s leading online travel company, is learning this the hard way. In November 2015, Aamir Khan’s comments about growing intolerance in the country sparked off a massive online boycott of Snapdeal. With calls to “#BoycottMakeMyTrip”, a similar systematic troll attack on MakeMyTrip.com is under way. The Commanders are taking their position and online lynch mobs are being mobilized to not only systematically uninstall and down-rate the App of the company, but also boycott its business. This latest round of outrage got triggered off by two tweets of Joshi. Upset over the recent regulations on the sale of cattle, Joshi tweeted, “#Beefban I am a strong supporter of @narendramodi & a vegetarian for life. But I will now eat beef only in India to support freedom for food.” He followed it up with another tweet saying, “#Beefban if Hinduism takes away right to choice of food, I rather not be a Hindu. @narendramodi @BJP4India cannot decide what people eat”. Let us trace how the initial spontaneous outrage gave way to a concerted troll attack with calls to boycott the company. Joshi had put forward his point in strong language. Needless to say, his words caused immediate outrage in the right-wing ecosystem on Twitter. While some rushed to take screenshots of the tweet, others wrote to the company to reconfirm Joshi’s involvement with them. The sentence, “No reply in 6 hours would be considered affirmative” is a fine example of the urgency and the underlying tone. MakeMyTrip.com was quick to respond, saying “The views expressed by Mr.Joshi on Twitter are his personal thoughts & do not reflect the views of MMT. He is not a current employee of MMT”. Joshi is the co-founder of the company and is technically not an employee. On the company website, he is listed under “Board Directors and Advisors”. Not surprisingly, the response of the company was perceived as unsatisfactory. “Bluffs don’t work here. He is associated as ‘Board Director and / or Advisor’ as off now“, commented the Twitter user who had contacted the company to confirm his employment status. Seeing the outrage building up, Keyur Joshi first tried to clarify that his opinion was limited to the addition of Buffaloes as non-tradable animals. Following this he posted an apology and withdrew his comments. He also deleted his initial tweets. Finally on seeing no signs of the backlash subsiding, he deactivated his twitter account. The outrage continued to build up as Joshi’s remarks were seen by some as “an insult to Hindu faith”. Soon the outrage gave way to calls for boycott, led by prominent right-wing accounts. The apology was not considered good enough and the focus shifted to hurting the company through an economic boycott. While for some, a boycott of the business, may have been a personal reaction, soon a mob was out to teach MakeMyTrip.com, a lesson. As one twitter user said on being reminded of Joshi’s apology, “We will also apologise after losses increase”. With calls to “shut down” the company, the commanders of the online lynch mobs started taking their position. The controversy over the tweets has now led to a systematic, well-coordinated attack on the company. The hashtag, #BoycottMakeMyTrip is being used to mobilize support. Images of cancellation of tickets or uninstalling the App are being posted online. The ratings of the App are being monitored and negative reviews have already started appearing. The pattern that we see emerging above is similar to the one we have seen earlier in the Snapdeal and SnapChat boycott. Down-rating is a favorite strategy for trolls and has also been used in the case of book reviews of authors they see as opposed to their world view. Recent books of journalists, Barkha Dutt, Swati Chaturvedi and Rana Ayyub are some examples that you can read here. On one hand India is out to establish a leading position in the digital world with a host of new initiatives, and on the other, its online mobs that also happen to be loyal to the Government are engaging in a systematic attack on businesses. Dissenting personal opinions are once again being shown their place. Nobody's cheerleader, I tweet at @samjawed65 Following Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win against Argentina in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, speculation about… Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery. Several users have shared images of the… The brutal murder of Shraddha Walker has been widely covered across news media over the… A 1:34-minute-long CCTV camera clip is being widely circulated on social media in which viewers… The teaser of a movie titled ‘The Kerala Story’ is being widely shared on social…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	1st June 2017 / 4:08 pm / Last updated: 1st June 2017	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/coordinated-troll-attack-makemytrip-com-following-tweet-co-founder-ease-business/", "author": "Sam Jawed" }
624	Copy-paste journalism: 'Chinese' has not been declared an official language of Pakistan - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 22nd February 2018 / 2:25 pm On February 19, news reports emerged that Pakistan has declared Mandarin as one of its official languages. This information was first put out by the Pakistani news channel Abb Takk news. Senate Approves Motion to Declare Chinese as Official Languagehttps://t.co/GpMvhR0anu pic.twitter.com/lbbinXweXb — AbbTakk (@AbbTakk) February 19, 2018 In no time, other news organisations followed suit. Across the border, Indian media agencies too reported this story, including news feed agency ANI. Basing its report on Pakistani channel Abb Takk news which first put out this information, ANI wrote “The Pakistani Senate on Monday approved a motion to declare Mandarin as one of the official languages of Pakistan. The motion said the step was necessary in view of ties between Pakistan and China, AbbTakk News reported.” Television channels India Today and Times Now too reported that Mandarin had been announced as an official language of Pakistan. Newspapers were not to be left behind, as a number of them reported this news. The news turned out to be fake. The Pakistani senate had not passed any such resolution declaring Mandarin as an official language of the country. This was pointed out by social media users. Dozens of major media outlets, mostly Indian ones, have been incorrectly reporting that Pakistan made Chinese an official language, but apparently that is fake news and the Pakistani Senate actually just passed a measure for Mandarin language classes.https://t.co/TeMc7puebQ — Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) February 20, 2018 What has transpired instead was that the Pakistani parliament had passed a motion to offer Chinese Language courses for Pakistani students in order to enhance communication, reduce communication gaps and secure jobs under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. The motion had been passed by PPP leader Khalid Parveen and it stated: “This House recommends that in view of the growing collaboration between Pakistan and China under the CPEC, courses of the Official Chinese Language should be launched for all current and prospective Pakistani CPEC human resource in order to overcome any costly communication barriers.” Reports of Pakistan adopting Chinese as official language might be mistaken? This was was being considered: pic.twitter.com/SL7nBMBjC0 — Dhruva Jaishankar (@d_jaishankar) February 19, 2018 An error in reporting by a Pakistani news channel was relayed by its Indian counterparts without verification. The news turned out to be false, but this was realised by mainstream media publications only after they had reported it. Most news organisations later deleted this report. This tendency to copy-paste reports instead of independently checking their veracity has been observed in other instances as well. Last week, reports went viral that the owner of Rotomac pens has fled the country after he defaulted on Rs.800 crore borrowed from banks. Multiple news outlets published this news without checking its authenticity. After #NiravModi, Rotomac Pen’s Rs. 800 crore defaulter flees country https://t.co/P3HUOCCLXPpic.twitter.com/TClzv8KSpc — NDTV (@ndtv) February 18, 2018 #FrontPage Another Nirav Modi in making? Rotomac Pen’s Rs 8 billion defaulter flees country #PNBScamhttps://t.co/LQyH5Gh6japic.twitter.com/6x6z87Af4D — Business Standard (@bsindia) February 19, 2018 The news that Vikram Kothari, owner of the parent company of Rotomac pens had fled the country turned out to be false when it emerged that he was within the country. Kothari was arrested by the CBI and his properties were raided. Earlier, when Ram Nath Kovind took over as President, news organisations reported how he had gained up to 3 million followers on Twitter in the span of an hour. A customary check would have revealed that it was the transition of data from the official account of the President of India, as a result of which followers got ‘transferred’ when Kovind inherited the official account from Mukherjee. This simple detail totally escaped a number of news organisations. And who can forget last year’s brouhaha over what Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegl had ‘allegedly’ said about India, ‘news’ which was reported by a number of media publications leading to ‘nationalist’ outrage which claimed Snapdeal and Miranda Kerr among its victims. Authentication of information through independent verification is a sine qua non in journalism and inevitable to building and preserving credibility as a news organisation. Unfortunately, what we have seen in quite a few instances in recent times is a propensity for copy-paste journalism. Arjun Sidharth is a writer with Alt News. He has previously worked in the television news industry, where he managed news bulletins and breaking news scenarios, apart from scripting numerous prime time television stories. He has also been actively involved with various freelance projects. Sidharth has studied economics, political science, international relations and journalism. He has a keen interest in books, movies, music, sports, politics, foreign policy, history and economics. His hobbies include reading, watching movies and indoor gaming. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	22nd February 2018 / 2:25 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/copy-paste-journalism-chinese-not-declared-official-language-pakistan/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
625	Coronavirus: Image showing sulphur dioxide forecasts falsely linked with mass cremation in Wuhan - Alt News Archit 24th February 2020 / 8:28 pm Since February 10, several media outlets – national and international – have published a report saying that an increase in sulfur dioxide levels in Wuhan and Chongqing is possibly linked with mass cremation of coronavirus victims. These reports include a screenshot of an image from windy.com, a Czech-based weather service, as the primary source to show “sulfur dioxide levels in Wuhan were at a staggering 1,350 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3).” Some of the media organizations which published this report are Daily Mail, The Sun (archive link), WION (archive link) and India Times. On February 9, Twitter account @inteldotwav posted (archive link) the same image from Windy and said that massive release of sulfur dioxide (SO2) gas from the outskirts of Wuhan is commonly associated with the burning of organic matters. Since then it has been retweeted over 12,000 times. Even @livecrisisnews, a Twitter account that claims to offer reliable news on pandemics (as per Twitter bio) also shared this screenshot and posted (archive link), “Sulfur dioxide gas in Wuhan, commonly associated with the burning of organic matters”. What are they burning? #coronavirus #coronavirusoutbreak #wuhan source: windy.com” The articles by Daily Mail, The Sun (archive link), WION (archive link) and India Times speculate that an increase in SO2 level indicate that mass cremations could be taking place in Wuhan and Chongqing. This wasn’t backed with evidence and the reports add that the same hasn’t been verified. For instance, The Sun’s article reads, “But it is not certain that the high SO2 levels are due to burning virus victims because the colourless gas is also produced by the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil and through industry.” India Times and Daily Mail have pulled down their reports. Alt News reached out to Raj Bhagat Palanichamy, a remote sensing expert at World Resources Institute, India. “The images that have been shared as satellite images are not really satellite images. These are in fact results of the GEOS-5 Model which are visualized and shared by windy.com. The ones shown in images are forecasted levels of SO2 and are not observations,” said Palanichamy. Palanichamy added, “The GEOS-5 model uses emission inventories which had been created prior to model runs and the forecast runs do not include live observations. Any short term (particularly unpredictable) change in artificial pollutant sources won’t play any role in the outcome of the model. The SO2 forecast maps produced by models hence should not be related to Novel Coronavirus or socio-economic effects caused by it. On the other hand, SO2 levels could be monitored by ground stations and satellite images. They don’t show any unusual changes in the said time periods as the news articles claim.” When Alt News inquired why were the Windy readings so high, Palanichamy explained, “The Windy image being a model based on emission inventories for artificial sources and the dispersion of pollutants is determined by meteorological phenomena. Since the model assumes business as usual scenario for artificial sources and wouldn’t account for short term changes, the highly pollutant Chinese cities like Wuhan have higher values.” While responding to queries on Windy’s ‘general discussion’ page, Korina Karamalaki, community manager at Windy responded, “windy.com gets the SO2 mass data from NASA model GEOS-5, but we don’t display archive data. There is an explanation of data right in the layer.” The screenshot below shows the Windy homepage – the button highlighted in yellow gives information about data displayed. The section highlighted in red shows that the data is indeed sourced from NASA. On February 13, Full Fact, a UK-based independent fact-checking charity, reported on the issue. Dr Arlindo M da Silva, a research meteorologist from NASA’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, told the organization that the GEOS-5 sulfur dioxide models do not “assimilate real satellite data” into their forecasts, instead are based on past evidence of emission levels. ‘Verifying GEOS-5 sulfur dioxide simulations, a 2013 research by NASA’s Global Modelling and Assimilation Office, stated, “when comparing modelled SO2 with observed (blue) SO2 from a sampling station during the 2010 Frostburg field campaign, the control run (red) overestimated SO2 by a factor of 4-5, and though the results were much better in the revised run (black), they were still high.” According to the World Air Quality Index project, a non-profit project started in 2007, the index of SO2 level in Wuhan has been rated good air quality index since February 10 (Monday). The project provides air quality information for more than 100 countries, covering more than 12,000 stations in 1,000 major cities, via two websites: aqicn.org and waqi.info. ‘Emission characteristics of harmful air pollutants from cremators in Beijing, China,’ a journal published in May 2018 by National Center for Biotechnology Information studies states, “The process of corpse cremation generates numerous harmful air pollutants, including particulate matter (PM), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and heavy metals.” The emission concentrations are affected by various factors such as “fuel type, cremator type, flue gas post-treatment system and operational maintenance.” The journal provides an infographic that compares the levels of particulate matter and gaseous pollutants emitted with/ without post-treatment. As per the infographic, SO2 concentration is the least out of all the pollutants. Neither did any media reports mention this fact, nor did they provide any information on the emissions of other major pollutants during cremations. Open, a Milan-based nonprofit media organization, also published a fact-check on February 12. They reached out to Pellegrino Conte, a chemistry professor at the University of Palermo, who said concentration must be greater than 50 micrograms/kg in order to have damage. As per Conte’s calculation, 50 micrograms of SO2 per cubic meter of air in the first 10-kilometres of Wuhan’s air space would mean 30 million bodies have been cremated. Euro News also quoted Conte in their fact-check on February 13. Therefore, the claim that the increase in sulfur dioxide (SO2) might be a sign of mass cremations in Wuhan cannot be ascertained using windy.com’s data. As per the World Air Quality Index, SO2 levels in Wuhan are not concerning. 🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023. In a 2-minute video, a man recommends a “technique” to prevent infection from Omicron, the… A video of a set of iron nails that appear to melt after being placed… Several social media users have shared an image that shows two columns — ‘Cepa/variante’ (Spanish… A 90-second video of a man dissecting a banana has been shared on the internet…. The Taliban has formed an all-male government after taking over control in Afghanistan. On September…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	24th February 2020 / 8:28 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/coronavirus-image-showing-sulphur-dioxide-forecasts-falsely-linked-with-mass-cremation-in-wuhan/", "author": "Archit" }
626	Coronavirus in broiler chicken? H5N1 bird flu outbreak in China falsely linked with CoV - Alt News Dr. Sumaiya Shaikh 10th February 2020 / 1:11 pm / Last updated: 10th February 2020 China culled around 18,000 chickens in Shaoyang city in the southern province of Hunan as a result of a flu outbreak, amidst the coronavirus epidemic. Social media rumours in India started circulating, mostly in Marathi and Hindi, that the broiler chicken has been infected with Coronavirus and people should avoid consuming it. Viral social media rumour in Marathi and Hindi: “बाॅयलर चिकनमध्ये कोरोना व्हायरस सांपडले आहे. तरी सर्वांना सूचित करण्यात येते की, बाॅयलर चिकन खाऊ नये.(मुस्लिम कम्युनिटी खार मुंबई.)” “BOILER CHICKEN ME KORONA VIRUS KO PAYA GAYA HAI. TAMAM LOGO SE APPEAL KI JATI HAI KE BOILER KE GOSHT KA ISTEMAL NA KARE…. MUSLIM COMMUNITY MUMBAI. KHAR. DUAA KI Appeal.” Rough translation: “There is a coronavirus in the broiler chicken. Thus, everyone is informed to avoid consuming broiler chicken. (Muslim community, Khar, Mumbai)” A Facebook user Jits Scenic has posted images of chicken with the message, “Carona virus has been found in boiler chicken.Request to all of you not to eat boiler chicken.And please share it everywhere.” “High alert: Chicken infected from corona virus found in Bangalore today, kindly circulate the message and avoid consumption of chicken. Spread to your dear ones.” Carona virus has been found in boiler chicken.Request to all of you not to eat boiler chicken.And please share it everywhere Posted by Jits Scenic on Tuesday, 4 February 2020 The claim has been shared via Youtube videos as well. Alt News has received multiple fact-check requests on its official mobile application available on Google Play Store. False H5N1 and Coronavirus are two distinct infections, where H5N1 rarely infects people-people, Coronavirus is most infectious if people get in contact with those who are infected. In parallel to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), the Chinese government has now confirmed another highly pathogenic strain of the H5N1 bird flu in Hunan province. The 18,000 chickens that had been culled in Shaoyang city in the southern province of Hunan were due to the H5N1 bird flu outbreak, as confirmed by China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Between 2003-2020, WHO data suggests that H5N1 avian flu has killed 455 people worldwide. The influenza A virus subtype H5N1, also known as A(H5N1) or simply H5N1, can be treated in humans by available antiviral medicines. The H5N1 virus is sensitive to high heat 70 degrees C or more. Average temperatures used for cooking, 100 degrees C or more (which is the boiling point of water) will denature the virus. To date, no evidence indicates that any person has become infected with the H5N1 virus following the consumption of properly cooked poultry or its products, even in cases where the food item contained the virus prior to cooking. The 18,000 chickens were thus culled due to H5N1 avian flu, and not the Coronavirus infection (2019-nCoV). While thoroughly cooked chicken remains safe for consumption, a large number of human infections with the H5N1 virus have been linked to home slaughter and improper handling of infected or dead chicken carcasses before cooking. Proper handling and cooking of chickens and other types of poultry can further lower the risk of human infections. It is noteworthy that the outbreak of Coronavirus has given rise to false messages on social media attempting to build a narrative against the consumption of meat. Earlier, a video of an exotic meat market in Indonesia was shared as a ‘dirty’ marketplace in Wuhan, China – the epicentre of CoV epidemic. Another video related to the 2019 African Swine Fever outbreak was also linked with CoV. Alt News Science is no longer edited by Dr. Sumaiya Shaikh From 2017-2021, Dr. Shaikh was the Founding-Editor for Alt News Science. Her main role is as a neuroscientist researching violent extremism and psychiatry. Follow @Neurophsyik In a 2-minute video, a man recommends a “technique” to prevent infection from Omicron, the… A video of a set of iron nails that appear to melt after being placed… Several social media users have shared an image that shows two columns — ‘Cepa/variante’ (Spanish… A 90-second video of a man dissecting a banana has been shared on the internet…. The Taliban has formed an all-male government after taking over control in Afghanistan. On September…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	10th February 2020 / 1:11 pm / Last updated: 10th February 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/coronavirus-in-broiler-chicken-h5n1-bird-flu-outbreak-in-china-falsely-linked-with-cov/", "author": "Dr. Sumaiya Shaikh" }
627	Coronavirus: Malaysian govt's 'Restricted Movement Order' shared as notice by PMO India - Alt News Jignesh Patel 21st March 2020 / 5:30 pm Several messages, videos and audio clips, which turned out to be false, are creating panic on social media in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Now, Alt News has received a press release claimed to be issued by the Prime Minister of India’s Office. Social media users have sent us the document on our official WhatsApp number. The press release is dated March 18, 2020, and is titled, “NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL, PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE”. The document informs about “Restricted Movement Order” from March 18 to March 31, 2020. “The National Security Council had a coordination meeting between government agencies on 17 March 2020 to ensure the smooth implementation of the Order,” states the document. The press release hints at a potential lockdown when it says, “To ensure the effectiveness of the Order, the general public is advised to stay home at all times except to fulfil basic needs.” It may be noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for a 14-hour voluntary lockdown on March 22. A user posted a screenshot of the “press release” and asked for a confirmation on the authenticity of the document while tagging the official Twitter handle of PMO India. Alt News found that the above press release has not been issued by the Indian Prime Minister’s office. The press release has nothing to do with the Indian government. In fact, the document doesn’t even mention the word ‘India’ or ‘Indians’ even for once. A Google search with keywords (“Restricted Movement Order“) revealed that the order was issued by the Malaysian National Security Council. We then searched for the word Malaysia (in the document) and found the phrase, “Malaysians working in Singapore/Thailand/ Brunei / Indonesia”. This corroborates the fact that a document was issued by the Malaysian government for their citizens as it talks about Malaysian nationals. On March 18, Singapore-based media outlet Channel News Asia reported, “The Malaysia government on Wednesday (Mar 18) imposed a restricted movement order that bars its citizens from going overseas and foreigners from entering the country until the end of March.” According to this explainer, all foreigners including Singaporeans with Malaysian permanent residence who are not employed in “essential services” will be not be allowed to enter Malaysia during the period of Restricted Movement Order. The same press release in Malay can be found on the official website of Malaysia’s PMO. Press Information Bureau’s (PIB) fact-check wing has rubbished the press release and stated that no such document has been issued by the Indian PMO. Claim: A Press Release regarding movement restriction is widely getting circulated on #WhatsApp claiming to be of Government of India.#PIBFactCheck: No such Press Release has been issued by @PMOIndia. pic.twitter.com/6CQOJUhSpG — PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) March 19, 2020 According to Channel News Asia’s tracker, the country’s total number of COVID-19 positive cases has surged to 1,180. In conclusion, a document which essentially talks about the “Restricted Movement Order” issued by the Malaysian government is doing the rounds on the Indian social media ecosystem with an impression that it was issued by the Indian government. Jignesh is a writer and researcher at Alt News. He has a knack for visual investigation with a major interest in fact-checking videos and images. He has completed his Masters in Journalism from Gujarat University. Following Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win against Argentina in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, speculation about… Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery. Several users have shared images of the… The brutal murder of Shraddha Walker has been widely covered across news media over the… A 1:34-minute-long CCTV camera clip is being widely circulated on social media in which viewers… The teaser of a movie titled ‘The Kerala Story’ is being widely shared on social…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	21st March 2020 / 5:30 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/coronavirus-malaysian-govts-restricted-movement-order-shared-as-notice-by-pmo-india/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
628	Coronavirus: Mock drill video from Pune shared as real - Alt News Archit 25th June 2020 / 8:09 pm / Last updated: 25th June 2020 On June 24, The Hindu reported, “Pune district reported more than 192 new COVID-19 cases, the highest surge till now over a 12-hour span, taking the district’s case tally to 17,043.” In the backdrop of this, a 30-second video is being shared where a man lying on the roadside is put inside an ambulance by medical workers dressed in protective suits. “Corona patients have started appearing in public places on the streets of Pune,” reads the accompanying claim. Several Twitter users have posted (1, 2) the video. Corona patients have started appearing in public places on the streets of Pune 😢 The situation is dire, kindly please take care of yourself and your family Stay safe …🙏🏻#corona #pune pic.twitter.com/Qr7UWBEyW5 — Naser (@Naser23111034) June 23, 2020 Alt News has received several requests to fact-check this on WhatsApp (+917600011160) and on our official Android application. Alt News performed a keyword search and found that Pune Mirror had uploaded the video. As per their report, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) health officials conducted a mock drill at the Deccan Corner to calculate the response time of authorities in case of a COVID related emergency. #PMC health officials conducted a mock drill at Deccan Corner to know the response time of concern authorities in case a COVID related emergency arises#coronavirus #coronavirusinindia #CoronaOutbreak pic.twitter.com/D4XQe6HEpX — Pune Mirror (@ThePuneMirror) June 23, 2020 Mayor of Pune Murlidhar Mohol also tweeted the video and clarified the same. He wrote in Marathi, “A mock drill was conducted in Pune today, against the backdrop of corona infection in the Deccan area. This mock drill is done to check the alertness of all the systems. But this video is being spread in a different sense in social media. Please take note!” पुण्यात आज डेक्कन परिसरात कोरोना संसर्गाच्या पार्श्वभूमीवर मॉक ड्रिल करण्यात आले होते. सर्व यंत्रणांची सतर्कता तपासण्यासाठी हे मॉक ड्रिल करण्यात येत असते. मात्र या व्हिडीओचा वापर करुन वेगळ्या अर्थाने समाजमाध्यमांमध्ये पसरवला जात आहे. कृपया आपण सर्वांनी याची नोंद घ्यावी ! pic.twitter.com/EPHYBR5Bv6 — Murlidhar Mohol (@mohol_murlidhar) June 23, 2020 Thus, a video of a mock drill conducted by PMC authorities was falsely shared as an actual coronavirus patient being attended. Earlier, mock drill videos from Bhagalpur Central Jail and Hajipur Jail in Bihar were shared with similar false claims. Another mock drill video conducted by Punjab police was circulating as a genuine COVID-19 case. 🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023. Following Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win against Argentina in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, speculation about… Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery. Several users have shared images of the… The brutal murder of Shraddha Walker has been widely covered across news media over the… A 1:34-minute-long CCTV camera clip is being widely circulated on social media in which viewers… The teaser of a movie titled ‘The Kerala Story’ is being widely shared on social…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	25th June 2020 / 8:09 pm / Last updated: 25th June 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/coronavirus-mock-drill-video-from-pune-shared-as-real/", "author": "Archit" }
629	Video on old COVID guidelines shared to advise against the use of masks - Alt News Kinjal 31st August 2020 / 5:28 pm A video featuring people waiting at a bus stand has taken social media by storm. In the clip, a woman without a face mask can be seen sitting among people who are all wearing one. One of these people asks the woman why she is not wearing a mask. In response, she says that healthy people do not need to wear masks. She tells him that masks are required only in case of a cold or while visiting hospitals or caring for a sick person. After this, the people sitting around her also take off their masks. At the end of the clip, the logos of the National Health Mission and Madhya Pradesh government are visible. The video has confused several social media users as people have been fined for not wearing masks but this video by the National Health Mission promotes selective use of masks. On August 22, Facebook user Dipak C. Jriwala shared the video with a Gujarati caption – “આમાં આપણે શું સમજવું નેશનલ ઓથોરિટીઝ આ જાહેરાત આપે છે અને ગુજરાત સરકાર હજાર રૂપિયાનો દંડ કરે છે. (What should we take away from this advertisement? The national authorities have issued this and at the same time, the Gujarat government is fining thousands of rupees)”. The video had received 2,900 views at the time of writing. (archived link to the post) આમાં આપણે શું સમજવું નેશનલ ઓથોરિટીઝ આ જાહેરાત આપે છે અને ગુજરાત સરકાર હજાર રૂપિયાનો દંડ કરે છે 🤔😜🤪😄🤔🤪😄🤔🤔🤔🤔 Posted by Deepak C. Jariwala on Saturday, 22 August 2020 The clip is also being shared on WhatsApp with this caption. We received requests to verify it on the official Alt News Android app and our WhatsApp number (+917600011160). The clip has also been shared on YouTube with the same claim. The Collector of Jabalpur had tweeted this video on March 18, before the lockdown when COVID cases reported in the country were low. He wrote in the caption, “COVID-19: Is it mandatory for everyone to wear a mask? No… Watch this video to find out who should wear a mask #covidindia #CoronavirusOutbreak.” COVID-19 : मास्क पहनना क्या सभी के लिए जरूरी है? नहीं… मास्क किन लोगों को कब पहनना चाहिए, जानने के लिए देखें… यह वीडियो…#covidindia #CoronavirusOutbreak pic.twitter.com/KVGB5wpJ1p — Collector Jabalpur (@jabalpurdm) March 18, 2020 We noticed that many officers and official bodies in Madhya Pradesh had shared this video with the same message on March 18, such as the Collector of Ashoknagar (archived link to the tweet), the Public Relations Department Bhopal Government of Madhya Pradesh (archived link to the tweet), the District Public Relations Office of Gwalior (archived link to the tweet), the Collector of Gwalior (archived link to the tweet), the PRO JS Ashoknagar (archived link to the tweet), and the Collector of Jabalpur (archived link to the tweet). Some of these tweets have now been deleted. After speaking with the Department of Public Relations, Madhya Pradesh, we were told, “This video was made according to the health guidelines in March. It was removed after a change in the guidelines of the Health Department. Now, this video from March is being shared. According to the current guidelines, the wrong information is being shared.” It is noteworthy that the first case of Covid-19 in India was reported on January 30, 2020. As of February 15, there were three coronavirus positive patients in the country. Since then, the number of corona patients in India had increased to 169 by March 18. The number of coronavirus patients continued to grow steadily since. A nationwide lockdown was announced by the end of March. The first such lockdown in the country came into force from March 23 when 499 cases of coronavirus had been reported in the country. On March 6, the World Health Organization (WHO) released guidelines regarding the use of masks. It suggested that healthy individuals did not need to wear a mask. It suggested wearing masks only if you had been close to an infected person or experience symptoms yourself. It also advised wearing a mask if you were sneezing or had a cough. On February 29, the American Surgeon General also advised people not to wear masks. On March 21, Alt News had published an article titled ‘Do masks help to prevent the spread of coronavirus?’ Are there cases of #coronavirus #COVID-19 in your country/city? Know who should wear face masks pic.twitter.com/8Jd4DlUpns — WHO South-East Asia (@WHOSEARO) March 6, 2020 Two months later on June 5, the WHO updated its guidelines on the use of masks and said that it was necessary for all persons to wear masks in areas with higher infection rates of Covid. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros stated that it was necessary for people working in hospitals or clinical areas to wear masks. People over 60 years of age were also required to wear medical masks in crowded areas. Wearing a mask was mandatory in areas where following social distance guidelines was not possible. The viral video suggesting that not all people had to wear masks is actually from March 18, back when the World Health Organization (WHO) itself issued such guidelines. On June 5, the WHO announced changes to these guidelines and advised all people to wear masks in areas with high rates of infection. Kinjal Parmar holds a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology. However, her keen interest in journalism, drove her to pursue journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. At Alt News since 2019, she focuses on authentication of information which includes visual verification, media misreports, examining mis/disinformation across social media. She is the lead video producer at Alt News and manages social media accounts for the organization. Following Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win against Argentina in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, speculation about… Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery. Several users have shared images of the… The brutal murder of Shraddha Walker has been widely covered across news media over the… A 1:34-minute-long CCTV camera clip is being widely circulated on social media in which viewers… The teaser of a movie titled ‘The Kerala Story’ is being widely shared on social…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	31st August 2020 / 5:28 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/coronavirus-old-guidelines-video-mask-viral/", "author": "Kinjal" }
630	Coronavirus: Old photos of bank robbery in Venezuela shared as Italians discard wealth on streets - Alt News Archit 1st April 2020 / 4:26 pm / Last updated: 2nd April 2020 A set of images that shows piles of cash on a street has gone viral on social media. A Facebook user posted two such images along with the caption, “People in Italy threw their wealth on the streets. They say it’s of no use anymore. (इटली में लोगों ने अपनी दौलत सड़कों पर फेंक दी। उनका कहना है कि ये किसी काम की नहीं।)” Similarly, other users on Facebook and Twitter also shared these images with the same caption. A Twitter user @ynm_xo also posted shared the images and wrote in English, “Italians threw their money on the streets saying it is of no use, since you can’t even buy life with your own money.”(archive link) Alt News has received fact-check requests on its official Android application for a similar photograph which has been shared with the same claim. Image 1 and 2 Alt News performed a reverse image search on Google and found that these images show scenes after the Venezuelan bank Bicentenario, Merida was looted. On March 11, 2019, Twitter handle @ConflictsW, managed by Aurora Intel which tracks conflicts across the world, tweeted the viral images along with other photographs from the same area. The bicentenario bank in Merida was looted, people left the Venezuelan bolivars behind and left the money on the street and set fire to piles of Venezuelan bolivars to prove its worthless #Venezuela #SinLuz pic.twitter.com/YJlT2qFPrY — CNW (@ConflictsW) March 11, 2019 A video package in Western Journal’s report from March 13, 2019, also shows a tweet which includes these images. Additionally, the photographs were posted on the social media site Imgur on March 12. Maduradas, a Venezuela-based news website, had published an article on March 12 that complied images and tweets about the incident. This article included tweets by a Venezuelan politician William Dávila and Venezuela-based photojournalist Nellie Belén Izarza. Dávila’s tweet also spoke about the robbery at Banco Bicentenario. Saquearon el banco bicentenario que está subiendo por la avenida 3 arriba de glorias patrias y querían saquear los árabes, en Merida. — Williams Dávila (@williamsdavila) March 12, 2019 Image 3 Alt News performed a reverse image search and found that this image was posted on Imgur on March 17, 2019. According to these posts, this image is also from Venezuela. While Alt News could not authenticate the exact source, it is highly probable that it depicts the aftermath of the robbery at Merida because a) the image is similar and b) it surfaced on the internet around the same time. Former Ambassador of Italy in Pakistan Stefano Pontecorvo called out a tweet which claimed that Italians threw currency notes in light of the coronavirus pandemic and growing loss of life. This is FAKE NEWS. It is a picture of Venezuela when they threw away the banknotes of old currency no longer in use. Let’s stop this bs. Italians are using their money to help in the struggle against #coronavirus . This post is simply stupid. With a PhD check your sources…. https://t.co/4YHNJQ8hOa — Stefano Pontecorvo (@pontecorvoste) March 31, 2020 It is noteworthy that the Venezuelan economy has spiralled into hyperinflation, starvation and unemployment due to a wide range of issues under the governance of President Nicolás Maduro and his predecessor Hugo Chávez who died in 2013. A February 2019 BBC report states, “According to a study by the opposition-controlled National Assembly, the annual inflation rate reached 1,300,000% in the 12 months to November 2018. By the end of last year, prices were doubling every 19 days on average. This has left many Venezuelans struggling to afford basic items such as food and toiletries.” The unfavourable economic conditions have devalued the country’s currency to the extent that money is regarded as worthless. In December 2019, Al Jazeera reported how some Venezuelans are making craft from devalued money to extract value from their decimated currency. We compared the green coloured notes seen in the third image with the 50 Bolívar Fuerte and found them to be identical. The Bolívar Fuerte is Venezuela’s old currency which was replaced by the Bolivar Soberano in August 2018. By December 2018, all Bolívar Fuerte currency notes were withdrawn. The Bicentenario Bank was looted in March 2019 when the Bolívar Fuerte was worthless. This explains why the notes were discarded on the road. These photographs were earlier debunked by American fact-checking organisation Snopes. Thus the social media claim that Italians, frustrated with the large number of deaths due to the coronavirus pandemic, threw their money on the road is false. 🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023. A minute-long video clip of a woman being physically assaulted is viral on social media…. Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery. Several users have shared images of the… A 1:34-minute-long CCTV camera clip is being widely circulated on social media in which viewers… Trigger Warning: Violent Content. Viewer discretion is advised. Over the past few months, rumours of… The teaser of a movie titled ‘The Kerala Story’ is being widely shared on social…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	1st April 2020 / 4:26 pm / Last updated: 2nd April 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/coronavirus-old-photos-of-bank-robbery-in-venezuela-shared-as-italians-discard-wealth-on-streets/", "author": "Archit" }
631	Coronavirus: Old prank video shared as man scaring off people in Goa during lockdown - Alt News Jignesh Patel 30th March 2020 / 1:31 pm A video of a person scaring bikers on the road was tweeted by Jio News on March 29 suggesting that this was an “innovative way to make people stay indoors” during the lockdown imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The handle claimed that the incident occurred in Goa. Take a look at this man’s innovative way to make people stay indoors in #Goa.#usergeneratedcontent #stayhomestaysafe #coronavirus #lockdown pic.twitter.com/N03Ox9d3dQ — JioNews (@JioNews) March 29, 2020 Goa News Hub, which calls itself as the “News portal of Goans, for Goans, by Goans”, was one of the earliest to tweet the video on March 28. The handle said, “And this stunt on Amona bridge is going viral. More effective than lathis.” Alt News broke the video into multiple frames using the digital verification tool InVid. We then performed a Google reverse image search of one of the keyframes and found that the video is almost one-year-old. We located an Indonesian Facebook post where the same video was posted on May 14, 2019. Prank Pocong… Sampek manjat jembatan hahaa Prank Pocong… Sampek manjat jembatan hahaa Posted by Berita Viral & Komedi Terkini on Monday, 13 May 2019 Indonesian news website Viva had also published an article on the video on May 13, 2019. As per the report, a man shrouded as a corpse pretending to be the Indonesian ghost “pocong” sitting on a road shoulder while a person records the video. The article cited an Instagram post by parodiviral, which now ceases to exist. Alt News was then able to trace the video back to May 11, 2019, on YouTube. It was posted by a YouTube vlogger named Sutan Sikumbang. The ‘about us’ section of the channel says that he makes “video chat prank”. We found a remark by Sutan posted in the comments section which confirmed that the video is from Indonesia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVfZugPiNY8 He wrote, “Try listening to it, he is using our special Minang language, his location in Padang Pariaman district is a village name Sunar.” Alt News couldn’t independently verify the location and context of this video. Nonetheless, it is certain that the video is old and was viral in Indonesia at least ten months ago. India Today’s official Twitter handle had tweeted the video on March 29 with the same claim that a man was scaring people off in Goa to keep them indoors. However, the channel clarified 12 hours later that the clip represents a 2019 prank in Indonesia. While the video garnered 288 retweets, it is noteworthy that the correction tweet has only 10 retweets. The video was also tweeted by Aaj Tak and India Today anchor Rahul Kanwal. Editor of news agency ANI Smita Prakash posted the video at least three hours before India Today. She too clarified later that the clip was neither shot in Goa nor during COVID-19 lockdown. However, while her original tweet has 2,600 retweets, the clarification tweet has garnered only six retweets so far. A 10-month-old and unrelated video most likely from Indonesia was shared as an “innovative” method used in Goa to keep people inside their homes during the 21-day lockdown across the country. Jignesh is a writer and researcher at Alt News. He has a knack for visual investigation with a major interest in fact-checking videos and images. He has completed his Masters in Journalism from Gujarat University. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	30th March 2020 / 1:31 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/coronavirus-old-prank-video-shared-as-man-scaring-off-people-in-goa-during-lockdown/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
632	Aaj Tak's fact-check that alcohol, weed don't cure coronavirus infection viral with misleading claim - Alt News Priyanka Jha 5th March 2020 / 6:58 pm / Last updated: 5th March 2020 On March 4, Facebook page ‘Humans of Hindutva’ shared two images (archive link) of a television screen tuned in to Aaj Tak. In the first image, we can see “Alcohol and weed cure coronavirus? (शराब और गांजे में कोरोना वाइरस का इलाज?)” written in bold text. Similarly, the second image reads – “Taking a peg of alcohol can destroy coronavirus? (शराब के पैग लगाने से कोरोना वायरस का ख़ात्मा?) The images shared with the caption, “Meanwhile Aaj Tak team has completely lost their minds” received over 500 shares. Similarly, several social media users posted photos of Aaj Tak’s broadcast with the claim that the channel said that alcohol and marijuana can cure coronavirus infection. On February 22, Aaj Tak posted a 15-minute video on YouTube with the title: “Is the cure for coronavirus hidden in alcohol or weed? (Translated from: क्या Alcohol और Weed में छिपा हैं coronavirus का इलाज?]. The first five minutes of the broadcast fact-checked these claims associated with coronavirus. Photos of the fact-check have been taken out of context on social media and presented with the opposite claim – that the channel asserted that the infection can be cured with alcohol and cannabis. According to Aaj Tak, Shiv Sena-backed daily newspaper Saamana published an article that claimed alcohol can cure coronavirus. Alt News rummaged through Saamana’s e-papers prior to February 22 and found that such an article was indeed published on the front page of the February 14 edition. Apart from the alcohol claim, Aaj Tak also fact-checked the viral message that marijuana has medicinal properties capable of curing coronavirus infection. This was debunked by Alt News Science when filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri had shared a meme claiming the same, The screenshots (attached below) taken at 0:41 and 1:04 marks were posted by Facebook page ‘Humans of Hindutva’. This wasn’t an isolated case when photos of Aaj Tak’s fact-check report were taken out of context and used to promote the same misinformation the channel attempted to debunk. Its fact-check report on the viral claim that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to scrap Rs 2000 notes was misused in a similar fashion. It is noteworthy that the misuse has been possible because Aaj Tak does not explicitly state during its broadcast (as evident in the above screenshots) that the text flashed on the screen is actually the viral message and not a fact stated by the channel. A fact-check report by News18 was also taken out of context in the past for the same reasons. In conclusion, photos of a fact-check report by Aaj Tak that alcohol and cannabis cannot be used against coronavirus infection were taken out of context and widely shared on social media, She specializes in information verification, examining mis/disinformation, social media monitoring and platform accountability. Her aim is to make the internet a safer place and enable people to become informed social media users. She has been a part of Alt News since 2018. Following Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win against Argentina in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, speculation about… Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery. Several users have shared images of the… The brutal murder of Shraddha Walker has been widely covered across news media over the… A 1:34-minute-long CCTV camera clip is being widely circulated on social media in which viewers… The teaser of a movie titled ‘The Kerala Story’ is being widely shared on social…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	5th March 2020 / 6:58 pm / Last updated: 5th March 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/coronavirus-screenshots-from-aaj-taks-fact-check-shared-with-misleading-claim/", "author": "Priyanka Jha" }
633	Coronavirus: Video of an undertrial in Mumbai falsely viral as Nizamuddin markaz attendee spitting at cop - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 2nd April 2020 / 8:40 pm / Last updated: 8th April 2020 Delhi’s Nizamuddin has emerged as a coronavirus hotbed after numerous people who attended a Tablighi Jamaat meet in mid-March tested positive for the viral infection. Since the news broke out, the issue has been massively communalised on social media and by a number of mainstream media outlets. In the latest attempt, a video of a man inside a police van, spitting on a cop, has been shared by numerous individuals online. Alt News has received fact-check requests for the video on its official mobile application where the claim suggests that the man was an attendee at the meet organised at Nizamuddin Markaz. The same has also found its way to Facebook where it has been uploaded with the following text in Hindi – “जिनको सबूत चाहिए वो ये देख लों फरिश्तों की करतूतें । शान्ति से थूक का परिचय देते हुए । ये कल भी थूक रहे थे आज भी (Those who wanted proof, here it is. The action of angles. Peacefully spitting. They were spitting yesterday, they are also spitting today.)” Below is a post by Facebook user Meghraj Choudhary. It has garnered over 1 lakh views and 6,500 shares. जिनको सबूत चाहिए वो ये देख लों 👇 आतंकवादियों की करतूतें Posted by Meghraj Choudhary on Thursday, 2 April 2020 From a Facebook page ‘Salo Ab tm dost ko SIKHaOge’, the clip has received 450 shares. The clip is also circulating on Twitter. It has received 2,000 retweets from the handle @Being_Ridhima. जिनको सबूत चाहिए वो ये देख लो 👇 pic.twitter.com/BW07ExjGmf — Ridhima Pandey (@Being_Ridhima) April 2, 2020 The video is floating in the backdrop of CRPO Northern Railway claiming that people from Tablighi Jamaat were unruly at quarantine centres and spat on medical workers. The people who attended the congregation at Nizamuddin Markaz were taken to hospitals and quarantine centres in buses. The vehicle in the video looks like a police van. Furthermore, there are no health workers in the van and nobody is wearing protective masks. A keyword search on YouTube – ‘man spits police van’ – led us to a report by Times of India. According to the report, “An undertrial allegedly attacked and spit on a few members of the Mumbai police escort party on Saturday. Reportedly, he was upset with the policemen for not allowing him to have home-cooked food brought by his family.” An undertrial is a person who awaits trial for a crime. https://youtu.be/JzBOwwzk2ik The incident was reported by Mumbai Mirror on February 29, 2020, and the accused was identified as Mohammad Sohal Shaukat Ali. His family members had got him food at the court which the police disallowed him from consuming. In the video, Ali can be seen arguing and abusing the cops of Mumbai’s Thane police. Therefore, the video is unrelated to Tablighi Jamaat meet and has been shared to falsely portray that the man was an attendee spitting at cops to spread coronavirus infection. Earlier, a video of a Sufi ritual was falsely viral as intentional mass sneezing inside Bagle Wali masjid. We have debunked another video that shows Bohra Muslims practising the custom of licking utensils to not waste leftover food. This too was falsely shared as the Muslim community spreading the disease. Note: The number of positive cases of the novel coronavirus in India is over 2,300 and close to 70 deaths have so far been reported. The government has imposed a complete restriction on movement apart from essential services to tackle the pandemic. Globally, more than 9.5 lakh confirmed cases and over 48,000 deaths have been reported. There is a sense of panic among citizens, causing them to fall for a variety of online misinformation – misleading images and videos rousing fear or medical misinformation promoting pseudoscience and invalid treatments. While your intentions may be pure, misinformation, spread especially during a pandemic, can take lives. We request our readers to practice caution and not forward unverified messages on WhatsApp and other social media platforms. Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News. Following Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win against Argentina in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, speculation about… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The CCTV footage of a man violently flinging a child on the ground has created… A minute-long video clip of a woman being physically assaulted is viral on social media…. Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery. Several users have shared images of the…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	2nd April 2020 / 8:40 pm / Last updated: 8th April 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/coronavirus-video-of-an-undertrial-in-mumbai-falsely-viral-as-nizamuddin-markaz-attendee-spitting-at-cop/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }

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