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734	Did Indian students in Ukraine pay no heed to "enough warnings" by the govt? - Alt News Kalim Ahmed 5th March 2022 / 5:05 pm In the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, thousands of Indian students were left stranded. Many of them made distress videos from their universities in Ukraine, while several others criticised the government’s delayed or inadequate response after returning home. This has given rise to a barrage of misinformation and propaganda on social media and mainstream media alike, attempting to shift the blame of the students’ predicament on the students themselves. Alt News debunked a video where a false quote was attributed to mock a student. In another instance, a student was falsely accused of “pretending” to be in Ukraine. Now, a video is viral that shows students mocking television news media’s coverage of events leading up to the invasion. While some students can be heard denying the possibility of a war, others can be heard saying that Russia has withdrawn some of its troops. This clip is being shared on social media to claim there were “enough warnings” issued by the government ahead of Russia’s assault on February 24, but the students did not take them seriously. There were enough warnings before the war broke out but students did not take them seriously as you can see in video What this Govt has done for their return is unprecedented. Modi has again proven his commitment to each of 135 Cr Indians. It pains to see ppl being thankless💔 pic.twitter.com/zCA3nAna4B — 𝚂𝚞𝚍𝚑𝚒𝚛🏌️‍♂️🇮🇳 (@seriousfunnyguy) March 3, 2022 There were enough warnings before the war broke out but students did not take them seriously as you can see in video pic.twitter.com/JXAG1A1I97 — Saffron Soul 2.0 🚩 (@SaffronS0ul) March 3, 2022 Students who were making fun of the issued advisory from government & now sending SOS 🤦‍♀️ Inlogo ko airport par chaar jooten lagana chahiyehttps://t.co/Zq9vz3RYZv pic.twitter.com/HUq963n9gH — Prisha (@MeetPrisha) March 3, 2022 The video has also been shared by multiple users on Facebook. We rummaged through the replies to tweets carrying the video and came across multiple links to the YouTube channel that had originally posted the video on February 16. The complete video starts with a montage of different clips from Indian television news. In one clip, a news anchor says “only 1 hour and 23 minutes left” before the war begins. From the very beginning, the tone of the vlog is established – a light-hearted mockery of how dramatically events were presented by TV news. At 2:33 minutes the interviewer (Sourav) laughs saying Russia is going to invade in 1 hour 20 minutes. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PniRYn_FWic] This bit from the complete video is being shared to portray that the students did not take the threat of a Russian invasion seriously despite the Indian government issuing “enough warnings”. Before this video was uploaded on YouTube, the Indian Embassy had issued one advisory. This can hardly be classified as “enough warnings”. Moreover, the advisory did not urge Indian nationals to immediately leave Ukraine while commercial options are available but said those whose stay is “non-essential may consider” leaving on a temporary basis. ADVISORY FOR INDIAN NATIONALS IN UKRAINE.@MEAIndia @DrSJaishankar @PIB_India @DDNewslive @IndiainUkraine @IndianDiplomacy @OIA_MEA pic.twitter.com/huitNLnSS3 — India in Ukraine (@IndiainUkraine) February 15, 2022 Furthermore, at 2:10 minutes in the vlog, a student says that Russia has pulled back some of its troops. This is correct. On February 15, Russia indeed said that it is pulling back some of its troops from the Ukrainian border. The news was reported by multiple media outlets. In a rapidly changing situation, with updates being reported every few hours, it would be dishonest to conclude that these students did not care for their own safety on the basis of a video that was recorded at least eight days before the invasion. The Indian Embassy in Ukraine had also asked the students to “not panic” and maintained this stance until February 20. On February 16, the Embassy issued an FAQ for students where it asked them to not panic. The first question on the FAQ was regarding overbooked flights. It is important to note that there was only one direct flight to Delhi and the rest were connecting flights. That same day, an hour later, another release was issued by the Embassy that again asked students not to panic. @meaindia @PIB_India @DDNewslive pic.twitter.com/DnhFlIlkmY — India in Ukraine (@IndiainUkraine) February 16, 2022 On February 18, three special Air India flights were announced which would operate on “22nd, 24th and 26th February”. #FlyAI : Air India will operate 3 flights between India-Ukraine (Boryspil International Airport) India on 22nd, 24th & 26th FEB 2022 Booking open through Air India Booking offices, Website, Call Centre and Authorised Travel Agents.@IndiainUkraine — Air India (@airindiain) February 18, 2022 However, students were complaining that the flights were being quickly sold out and many of them were also unable to afford the high fares. On February 20, the Embassy issued a second advisory asking all nationals whose stay is not essential and “all” students to leave Ukraine by available commercial or charter flights. The language of the advisory changed from “not to panic” to “leave”. ADVISORY FOR INDIAN NATIONALS IN UKRAINE.@MEAIndia @DrSJaishankar @PIBHindi @DDNewslive @DDNewsHindi @IndianDiplomacy @PTI_News @IndiainUkraine pic.twitter.com/i3mZxNa0BZ — India in Ukraine (@IndiainUkraine) February 20, 2022 The next day, on February 21, three more Air India flights were announced – one on February 25 and two on February 27. Advisory on Flights between India-Ukraine as on 21 February 2022 Kind attention: Students/Indian Nationals in Ukraine @MEAIndia @PIB_India @DDNewslive @IndianDiplomacy @PIBHindi pic.twitter.com/wUrI80IKVs — India in Ukraine (@IndiainUkraine) February 21, 2022 On February 22, Air India operated a flight as scheduled and brought back 242 Indian nationals. The same day, the embassy announced another advisory to students that asked them to “immediately leave”, rather than wait for confirmation from university officials regarding online classes. ADVISORY TO INDIAN STUDENTS IN UKRAINE.@MEAIndia @PIB_India @IndianDiplomacy @DDNewslive @PTI_News @IndiainUkraine pic.twitter.com/7pzFndaJpl — India in Ukraine (@IndiainUkraine) February 22, 2022 On February 24, the second flight scheduled by Air India had to return back to India as Ukraine had shut down its airspace for commercial flights. By now, Russia had already announced to invade Ukraine. Looking at the timeline of the events, it is evident that the students did not anticipate a full-fledged war. They were hoping that online classes would be announced and they would be able to leave on time. The government’s first few advisories asked the students to leave as a precautionary measure. The Indian Embassy advised citizens to “immediately leave” only on February 22. In comparison, the US state department had recommended on January 23 that all US citizens in Ukraine should depart the country immediately. The US issued more than 10 notices until February 24 that informed citizens of the increased threat from a possible Russian invasion and advised them to depart when commercial flight options remain available. On February 11, Biden’s national security advisor Jake Sullivan warned during a press briefing, “Any American in Ukraine should leave as soon as possible, and in any event in the next 24 to 48 hours.” The Indian government has garnered criticism for its response to the crisis. A pattern has emerged online and on mainstream media to blame the students for their plight. Not only are the government’s delayed measures being exaggerated but the students are being mocked, trolled and portrayed as “entitled millennials” with unreasonable expectations from a caring administration. 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… 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 March 2022 / 5:05 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-indian-students-in-ukraine-pay-no-heed-to-enough-warnings-by-the-govt/", "author": "Kalim Ahmed" }
736	Did IT dept seize Rs 100 crore from Chhattisgarh CM's dy secretary's house? - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 16th March 2021 / 5:46 pm / Last updated: 30th July 2021 A viral claim suggests that the Income Tax (IT) department confiscated Rs 100 crore from the residence of the deputy secretary in the Chhattisgarh chief minister’s office, Saumya Chaurasia. A newspaper clipping and an image of stacks of cash and gold have been shared to support the claim. Alt News has received several requests to fact-check the claim on our WhatsApp helpline number (76000 11160) and mobile application. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporter Arun Pudur had shared the same earlier in March. He tweeted, “”Income Tax Department raided the house, the officers were stunned to seize 100 crore cash was recovered and more than 30 kg of gold [sic].” The identical claim was also promoted in Hindi – “ये है #छतीसगढ़ के कांग्रेसी मुख्यमंत्री की उप सचिव #सौम्या_चौरसिया।छत्तीसगढ़ प्रशासनिक सेवा 2008 बैंच की अफसर है।इनकम टैक्स विभाग ने इनके घर छापा मारा तो अधिकारी नगद देख कर हिल गये 100 करोड़ नगद। 25 किलो से अधिक का सोना,अनगिनत प्रॉपर्टी के कागज मिले है।” Below is a tweet by Puneet Pandya whose bio identifies him as former executive member of the BJP. While the news has been shared as recent, incidentally it was also widespread last year. BJP supporters Ankit Jain and Rishi Bagree shared the claim on March 2, 2020. Before we begin to fact-check the primary claim, it must be pointed out that the photograph of stacks of cash and jewellery was found in reports from 2016. According to NDTV, “The Income Tax department on Saturday (December 10, 2016) seized ₹ 5.7 crore cash in new notes, 32 kgs of gold biscuits and jewellery and ₹ 90 lakh worth old notes stashed inside the bathroom tiles of a hawala dealer in Challakere in Karnataka.” The Economic Times, in another report from 2016, credited the image to PTI. A photograph of Dainik Bhakar’s report from last year has been shared with the above image. ‘CM’s deputy secretary’s bungalow sealed, Rs 100 crores recovered so far’ reads its headline. The report says that income tax officials from Delhi and Mumbai were on the third day of investigation when they spent 30 hours in chief minister Bhupesh Baghel’s deputy secretary Saumya Chaurasia’s bungalow in Bhilai. The officials sealed her residence and two dozen other properties of prominent individuals. “It is being said that they recovered more than Rs 100 crore cash, jewellery in large quantities, land papers and transaction slips,” according to the report. However, follow-up reports by Dainik Bhaskar have no mention of the confiscated items. The only other media outlet that reported IT officials found Rs 100 crore cash, jewellery and property documents was The Free Press Journal which does not carry an official statement of the IT department. Alt News spoke with Chhattisgarh-based senior journalist Alok Putul who is familiar with the case. Putul said that the IT department did not issue any statement which said that cash was recovered from Saumya Chaurasia’s residence. He added that the IT department also raided properties of other prominent individuals and claimed to have found evidence of Benami transactions worth Rs 150 crore. The Ministry of Finance had issued a press release on March 2, 2020 which said, “On 27.02.2020, Income Tax Department conducted a search on a group of individuals, hawala dealers and businessmen in Raipur… Incriminating documents and electronic data seized during the search show that substantial amount of illegal gratification was being paid to public servants and others every month. Further, daily details of unaccounted sales, bank accounts opened in the names of employees having transactions worth crores and an unaccounted bank account have been found. Details of benami vehicles, hawala transfers, transfer to Kolkata-based companies and creation of shell companies with huge land bank have also been found and seized. Search has also resulted in seizure of substantial amount of cash. The total unaccounted transactions unearthed till date are over Rs. 150 crore and the figure is likely to substantially increase after the seized evidences and leads found during the search are further scrutinized and investigated.” The press release states that the IT department seized cash but it neither mentions the amount nor the property where the cash was recovered. Moreover, both the cash and the unaccounted transactions of Rs 150 crore pertain to the entire investigation. CM Bhupesh Baghel had termed the raids “vendetta politics” of the BJP. “The central government is rattled because we have started investigations against people involved in scams during the BJP’s rule,” he said at the time. The photograph of stacks of cash and jewellery taken after a 2016 raid in Karnataka was also widespread last year and linked to the Chhattisgarh raid. Alt News has attached posts from March 2020 earlier in the report. Vishvas News had investigated the claim last year where it cited a report by Nai Dunia. According to Nai Dunia, “On Thursday (February 27, 2020), the income tax department arrived in Chhattisgarh. The team raided the Sector-9 bungalow of excise department OSD Arun Pati Tripathi. During the investigation, another team reached the bungalow of Saumya Chaurasia at Surya Residency on Junwani Road.” The report has no mention of any cash confiscated however, it does state that the income tax department found evidence of Benami transactions worth Rs 150 crore. Vishvas News further quoted Arun Upadhyay, Dainik Jagran’s Raipur editor. Upadhyay informed that the income tax department raided officials, leaders and businessmen in Chhattisgarh since the morning of February 27, 2020. The raids were conducted on 25 properties of 13 individuals. The residence of the chief minister’s deputy secretary Saumya Chaurasia was also raided. “The IT department claimed that during their investigation they found evidence of Benami transactions worth Rs 150 crores…Neither was any picture released by the officials nor was there any news of large quantity of currency notes and gold recovered,” he furthered. Dainik Bhaskar’s report from last year misquoting the income tax department was shared to promote the false claim that officials confiscated Rs 100 crore cash and jewellery from Chhattisgarh CM’s deputy secretary Saumya Chaurasia’s bungalow. 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	16th March 2021 / 5:46 pm / Last updated: 30th July 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-it-dept-seize-rs-100-crore-from-chhattisgarh-cms-dy-secretarys-house/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
737	Did it take 19 photographers 62 days to capture this bird? Fact-check - Alt News Archit 2nd December 2019 / 9:06 pm On November 29, Kiran Bedi, Lt Governor Pudducherry, shared a video of a bird claiming that it took 19 photographers and 62 days to capture the bird. The text of her tweet, “In Tamil it is called Suraga bird. It took 19 photographers 62 days to capture this video. Share the video of this unusual bird. I recvd this. Am Sharing it further as recvd.” The tweet was shared over 2,000 times and liked more than 6,700 times. In Tamil it is called Suraga bird. It took 19 photographers 62 days to capture this video. Share the video of this unusual bird. I recvd this. Am Sharing it further as recvd. pic.twitter.com/eYZBjXKZfP — Kiran Bedi (@thekiranbedi) November 29, 2019 She also shared the same post on Facebook which was shared more than 450 times and liked over 1,300 times. Many people have shared the same video on social media. Alt News did a reverse image search on Google of a screenshot from video and found a report by News 18 which states that the bird is the Lyrebird from Australia. This video has been viral on social media since early October and covered by news outlets like ABC Adelaide and The Indian Express. According to the News 18 report, the video was upload by the Facebook page ‘Four Finger Photography’ on September 30, 2019. Alt News found the page which had shared the same video on September 29, 2019. The description along with the video suggested that it was shot at Adelaide Zoo in Australia. Neither any news reports nor ‘Four Finger Photography’ claimed that it took “19 photographers (and) 62 days” to capture the video. Amazing Lyrebird sing ❤️🇦🇺👌👍 Four Finger Photography Copyright © 2019 Australia 🇦🇺 Please Like my page if would like to see more videos and photos 🙂 YouTube videos and subscription https://www.youtube.com/user/daciavalbamakoba Posted by Four Finger Photography on Sunday, 29 September 2019 Alt News spoke to Miklos Nagy, the owner of ‘Four Finger Photography’. Nagy confirmed that it was he who had shot the video at Adelaide Zoo. Two years ago, Adelaide Zoo had uploaded a video of the Lyrebird on their Facebook page. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, “Lyrebird, (genus Menura) is either of two species of Australian birds (family Menuridae, order Passeriformes) named for the shape of their tail when spread in courtship display. The name also aptly suggests a musician.” Alt News also spoke with Tamil Nadu-based bird enthusiasts to authenticate whether the term ‘Suraga’ is used to describe the Lyrebird in Tamil. M.Yuvan, a bird enthusiast from Madars Naturalist Society, said, “Tamil names exist for birds found in Tamil Nadu/Peninsular India. Lyrebird is Australian, therefore, it is unlikely to have a Tamil name.” Another Tamil Nadu-based bird enthusiast, Soundararaj Subbian, currently a member of Coimbatore Nature Society, added, “To my knowledge, there is no Tamil name for it.” Therefore, it seems extremely unlikely that ‘Suraga’ is the Tamil equivalent for Lyrebird. The video shared by Kiran Bedi is a cropped version of the video posted by ‘Four Finger Photography’ and is been circulating on social media with a false narrative that “it took 19 photographers and 62 days to shoot this video.” The original video was shot by an Australia-based photographer Miklos Nagy who holds the copyright for ‘Four Finger Photography’. In the past, we have compiled various instances of Kiran Bedi falling for inauthentic posts viral on WhatsApp and sharing them on her social media accounts. 🙏 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	2nd December 2019 / 9:06 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-it-take-19-photographers-62-days-to-capture-this-bird-fact-check/", "author": "Archit" }
738	Did Jawaharlal Nehru ever say "I am English by education, Muslim by culture and Hindu by accident"? - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 5th November 2018 / 11:27 pm / Last updated: 15th March 2019 A statement which is attributed to India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru has circulated online for the past few years. According to this quote, Nehru had said, “I am English by education, Muslim by culture and Hindu merely by accident”. Among those who claimed that Nehru had said this include BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya who had tweeted this in 2015. By education I am an Englishman, by views an internationalist, by culture a Muslim and a Hindu only by accident of birth. – #Nehru — Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) November 14, 2015 Recently, in a debate on Republic TV in September 2018, national BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra had made the same claim. The video is posted below. There are several versions of this quote shared on social media, with subtle variations. In an article published in The Indian Express in March 2018 in which he reviewed a book by Shashi Tharoor, Dalit scholar Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd had claimed that Nehru had said these words. The quote has also been referred to by the website www.india.com in an article which showed the ‘grey side of India’s first PM’. The same has been alleged by a viral poster stamped with ShankhNaad, which has given a reference to this quote- the work of a retired bureaucrat, V Sundaram. Alt News searched and found a blog which contained this write-up titled Cry for a Hindu Nation. Here too, Jawaharlal Nehru has been credited with these words. Alt News searched for this quote online and came across an article by the fake news website Postcard News, which had used the quote in the title itself. The article was published on February 25, 2018. Apart from Postcard News, Alt News found that a number of blogs too had referred to this quote. On further probing, we found a reference to this remark in the book The Nehrus: Motilal and Jawaharlal by B R Nanda, who was a writer and the biographer of Mahatma Gandhi, apart from books on both Motilal Nehru and Jawaharlal Nehru. According to Nanda, it was N B Khare, a leader of the Hindu Mahasabha who had described Nehru as ‘English by education, Muslim by culture and Hindu by an accident of birth’. Nanda has also referred to this quote in another book, Motilal Nehru, in which he attributes this quote to a ‘critic’ who had referred to ‘Motilal’s son’ in these words. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in his book Nehru: The Invention of India alludes to this quotation, once again quoting Hindu Mahasabha leader N B Khare. This is further corroborated by disgraced journalist and former minister M J Akbar who The Quint has quoted as saying, “The president of Hindu Mahasabha in 1950, NB Khare was only repeating an old story when he called Jawaharlal Nehru “English by education, Muslim by culture and Hindu by accident”. Both the sources presented above refer to this quotation as having been made by N B Khare and NOT Jawaharlal Nehru. Khare began his politics with the Congress party and had served as a member of the viceroy’s executive council. Khare was also elected to the Constituent Assembly of India which was tasked with framing the Constitution. In 1949, he joined the Hindu Mahasabha and served as its president till 1951. Alt News decided to dig deeper to find out the source of this misinformation. In the process, we came across Rafiq Zakaria’s A Study of Nehru, published in 1959. The work is a compilation of commentaries on Nehru by numerous eminent political personalities from India and abroad. One of the contributors to this volume is none other than N B Khare. On page 215 of the volume, Khare’s write-up, titled The Angry Aristocrat is a critique of Jawaharlal Nehru. Here, he has claimed that Nehru in his autobiography had said that he (Nehru) is English by education, Muslim by culture and Hindu by an accident of birth. Alt News searched for this statement in Jawaharlal Nehru’s autobiography. Interestingly, it is nowhere to be found. Presented below is an excerpt from the autobiography in which Nehru ruminates about ‘Muslim culture’, arguing that the term signifies not a monolithic culture but a syncretic tradition that developed over the course of centuries of cultural exchange. “But what is this ‘Muslim culture’? Is it a kind of racial memory of the great deeds of the Arabs, Persians, Turks, etc.? Or language? Or art and music? Or customs? I do not re- member any one referring to present-day Muslim art or Muslim music. The two languages which have influenced Muslim thought in India are Arabic and Persian, and especi- ally the latter. But the influence of Persian has no element of religion about it. The Persian language and many Persian customs and traditions came to India in the course of thousands of years and impressed themselves powerfully all over north India. Persia was the France of the East, sending its language and culture to all its neighbours. That is a common and a precious heritage for all of us in India.” This leads us to conclude that the first reference to this alleged remark by Jawaharlal Nehru was made in 1959 by none other than N B Khare, who is credited by scholars for having made this remark about Nehru. Jawaharlal Nehru was the president of the Indian National Congress in 1929, the same year the organisation passed a historic resolution demanding ‘purna swaraj’ or complete independence from British rule. At this session held in Lahore, in his presidential address, Jawaharlal Nehru had spoken about the need for shunning religious dogmatism, and flayed the idea of nationhood based on religion. Referring to his birth as a Hindu, Nehru had said, “I was born a Hindu but I do not know how far I am justified in calling myself one or in speaking on behalf of Hindus. But birth still counts in this country and by right of birth I venture to submit to the leaders of the Hindus that it should be their privilege to take the lead in generosity. Generosity is not only good morals, but is often good politics and sound expediency. And it is inconceivable to me that in a free India the Hindus can ever be powerless.” Jawaharlal Nehru has been incessantly vilified on social media, where fake quotes and shared photoshopped images to malign him. Earlier, a ‘letter’ falsely claimed to have been written by Nehru calling Subhas Chandra Bose a “war criminal” was widely shared. In 2017, photograph of Nehru with his sister Vijayalakshmi Pandit was posted by BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya to insinuate philandering. There are numerous such instances chronicled by Alt News. Nehru’s political ideology and his legacy is anathema to the right-wing social media network. From rumours over his genealogy to his relationship with Subhas Chandra Bose, his education policy and his equation with the RSS, among other things, India’s first prime minister remains a compelling figure in the annals of politics more than five decades after his death. 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. The UK’s longest-serving monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, passed away last week. In the backdrop of… In April 2021, user TrueIndology made a series of claims regarding Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar’s… A day after the Supreme Court upheld the findings of a special investigation team (SIT)… Tata Sons made the winning bid of Rs 18,000 crore for Air India, the airline… Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday claimed that Hindu Mahasabha leader Vinayak Damodar Savarkar filed…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	5th November 2018 / 11:27 pm / Last updated: 15th March 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-jawaharlal-nehru-ever-say-i-am-english-by-education-muslim-by-culture-and-hindu-by-accident/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
739	Did Jharkhand CM give an interview under the influence of drugs? False claim - Alt News Kinjal 3rd June 2019 / 9:18 pm “इतना गांजा फूंका है कि प्रेस वाली भी नाक बंध कर ली, ये है झारखंड के मुख्यमंत्री महोदय।, जय हो खाजपा (He has smoked so much cannabis that even the journalist held her breath. This is Jharkhand’s Chief Minister. Jai ho Khajpa.)” – read a message shared with an image of ABP News journalist Nidhi who can be seen holding her nose while interviewing Jharkhand’s Chief Minister Raghubar Das. The post was made by a Facebook page Abhijit Raj who describes himself as a Congress politician. He has now taken down the image, however, its screenshot can be seen below. Several individual users also circulated the same imagery with the identical claim. इ देखो झारखंड के मुख्यमंत्री को ……………. शुद्ध देशी महुआ मार के बयानबाजी कर रहा है ससुरा । भगवान बचाये इन रिपोर्टरों को संडास जैसी गंध से…………… Posted by Beettoo Godiet on Monday, 27 May 2019 The photograph was also shared on Twitter. इतना गांजा फूंका है कि प्रेस वाली भी नाक बंद कर ली, ये है झारखण्ड के मुख्यमंत्री महोदय, जय हो @INCJharkhand @IYCJharkhand @drajoykumar pic.twitter.com/qy4LxsA6cX — पं. अविराम चौबे (@viramchaubey) May 28, 2019 The claim shared on social media is false. ABP News journalist Nidhi herself clarified the same via a tweet. I was clicked while I was rubbing my nose which is a common. I refute all the social media claims which wrongly state that I had covered my nose because of any undesirable smell.@dasraghubar @ceojharkhand pic.twitter.com/o7GzReDRJL — nidhi (@social_nidhia) May 28, 2019 Nidhi did not cover her nose because of a smell of drugs from Chief Minister Raghubar Das but was merely rubbing her nose. This was earlier debunked by Dainik Bhaskar. 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	3rd June 2019 / 9:18 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-jharkhand-cm-give-an-interview-under-the-influence-of-drugs-false-claim/", "author": "Kinjal" }
740	Did Johns Hopkins hail UP among toppers in managing COVID across the world? - Alt News Archit 13th April 2021 / 5:14 pm / Last updated: 14th April 2021 In the first week of April, media outlets reported that an unnamed study by Johns Hopkins University found that Uttar Pradesh’s management of crisis during the pandemic was among the best in the world. Newsroom Post tweeted, “Yogi govt’s Covid-19 strategy endorsed by John Hopkins University, state dubbed among toppers”. Yogi govt’s Covid-19 strategy endorsed by John Hopkins University, state dubbed among ‘toppers’#UttarPradesh #COVID19 @myogiadityanath https://t.co/rYYRGE5FwZ — Newsroom Post (@NewsroomPostCom) April 5, 2021 As per Newsroom Post, Johns Hopkins study stated Uttar Pradesh is among the toppers in managing coronavirus pandemic across the globe. “When the entire world is again gripped with the fresh wave of COVID-19, the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh has been found well-equipped with governmental health infrastructure available right there to guide, monitor, and control operations,” the report said. The official Twitter handle of the UP government also posted a newspaper clipping dubbing the state as among ‘toppers’ in COVID management. ‘Uttar Pradesh among toppers in Covid Management’ pic.twitter.com/jWvqDX4mEC — Government of UP (@UPGovt) April 6, 2021 Similar reports were published by The Pioneer, UNI India and Web Dunia. An Uttar Pradesh-based journalist informed Alt News that state officials shared a WhatsApp message on a group exclusively for media professionals. The message was in the form of a press note with links to the said study. Study prepared by Johns Hopkins in collaboration with UP government The report in question is titled, ‘Preparation for and Response to COVID19 in a resource-constrained setting’. It has been prepared by the Government of UP and Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr KV Raju, Economic Advisor to UP CM Yogi Adityanath, is one of the authors of the report. Furthermore, the report is not a comparative study. It does not analyse the UP government’s response to COVID as compared to other Indian states or countries across the globe. Statement from Dr David Peters Dr David Peters, a professor at the Johns Hopkins’ Department of International Health, who is one of the authors of the study refuted claims made by Indian media. “The case study covered activities in UP from January 30, 2020, to January 15, 2021, and aimed to document the range of actions taken in Uttar Pradesh in response to COVID-19 and to identify lessons for how to respond in resource-constrained settings. As you can see in the report itself, the case study did not make comparisons to other countries or states, nor make claims about which states or countries are top performers,” he told Alt News. “The COVID pandemic is ongoing, and the report identified how “it is imperative that the government of Uttar Pradesh continues its ongoing efforts to control the epidemic,” he continued while identifying the following lessons and recommendations (page 48-51) for the state – Newsroom Post, Web Dunia and The Pioneer hailed Uttar Pradesh as a topper in COVID management citing a report by Johns Hopkins. The report in question was jointly prepared by the UP government. This is not the first time media in India published articles hailing Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The misleading report that UP’s Gross State Domestic Product surged to the second spot was published by several outlets last month. In January, the media presented the UP government’s ad in TIME magazine as CM Adityanath’s COVID management being commended. 🙏 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… 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	13th April 2021 / 5:14 pm / Last updated: 14th April 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-john-hopkins-hail-up-among-toppers-in-managing-covid-across-the-world/", "author": "Archit" }
741	Did Kabir, Nanak and Gorakhnath 'sit together' and discuss spirituality as claimed by PM Modi? - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 30th June 2018 / 6:02 pm / Last updated: 9th July 2018 Prime Minister Narendra Modi was at Maghar in Uttar Pradesh on June 28 to pay homage to Kabir on his death anniversary. Maghar is the place where Kabir breathed his last. The poet and mystic, along with Nanak, Namdev, Chaitanya and Jnanesvara among others represented a stream of practice and thought popularly known as the Bhakti movement, which spanned medieval India and stressed on devotion, tolerance, harmony and fraternal love. In his address, the Prime Minister extolled the greatness of Kabir and said,“I once again salute Mahatma Kabir in this land of nirvana. It is said that Sant Kabir, Guru Nanak Dev and Baba Goraknath sat together at this place and discussed spirituality” (translated).” PM Modi referred to three famous persons of the medieval era- Kabir, Nanak and Gorakhnath. He also stated that the three were contemporaneous- assembling at Maghar to discuss spiritual matters. A close look at the history of medieval India, however, belies this claim. Let us look at each of these names and the years in which they are believed to have lived. Kabir, mystic saint and poet whose dohas are recited to this day, has been placed by most historians in the 15th century CE although the dates are not conclusive. Kabir was part of a tradition within the Bhakti movement known as nirguna (without attributes, boundless divine consciousness). David Lorenzen, author and scholar of South Asian history in his paper Who Invented Hinduism states that Kabir lived through the 15th century. He writes, “Kabir lived in Banaras between about 1450 and 1520 A.D., and is said to have been raised in a Muslim family before becoming a follower of the Vaishnava guru Ramananda.” Linda Hess, author and scholar on Kabir concurs, placing Kabir between 1398-1518 CE. Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism and another famous proponent of nirguna bhakti belongs to the 15th and 16th centuries. Guru Nanak was born in 1469 CE at present day Nankana Sahib near Lahore. He is said to have lived till 1539 CE. PM Modi is correct to the extent that both Kabir and Nanak were contemporaries. There are also many similarities in their teachings, and both poet-saints are said to have inspired and influenced each other. But what about Gorakhnath? Gorakhnath is considered to be the founder of the nath movement, which is a Shaivite yogic tradition. He is credited with setting up the monastic order of the movement. According to numerous scholars, Gorakhnath lived in the 12th century CE, the period when the nath movement flourished. Gorakhnath and the Kanphata Yogis by George Weston Briggs which is considered among the most authoritative texts of the nath panthi movement states, “There is thus found in the Jnaneswari a literary reference to Gorakhnath, which gives him a definite place in history. If the usual date 1290, for the Jnaneswari be accepted, Gorakhnath may be placed not later than 1225. There is, however, some uncertainty concerning the date of this work. While it may be said that the poem was written not later than 1290, it may have been written earlier.” Jnanesvari is a commentary on the Bhagvad Gita which was written by Jnaneshvara (or Dnyaneshvara), Marathi poet-saint in the 13th century CE. This is corroborated by Indologist and scholar Dr. James Mallinson who writes in Nath Sampradaya that Gorakhnath lived in the 12th century CE. There are two references to conversations or dialogues which supposedly took place between Kabir, Nanak and Gorakhnath. In the Janam Sakhi of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism is represented as talking to Gorakhnath and Matsyendranath, the founder of Hath Yoga. Gorakhnath ki gosthi on the other hand speaks of a conversation between Gorakhnath and Kabir. However, scrutiny of the verses have led scholars to conclude that references to these dialogues are allegorical, and that Gorakhnath was born much earlier than Kabir and Nanak. Depending on the context, PM Modi laces his oratory with historical references, but he has been caught on the wrong foot on earlier occasions too. In May 2018, he had wrongly claimed that no Congress leader had visited Bhagat Singh when the latter was imprisoned by the British. It is true that both Nanak and Kabir were inspired by the teachings of Gorakhnath which manifests in their devotional hymns. It is also true that legends speak of dialogues between them, but legends are not fact. The weight of scholarly opinion definitively places Gorakhnath at least three centuries apart from Nanak and Kabir. 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	30th June 2018 / 6:02 pm / Last updated: 9th July 2018	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-kabir-nanak-and-gorakhnath-sit-together-and-discuss-spirituality-as-claimed-by-pm-modi/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
742	Did Kanhaiya Kumar say "Hanuman burnt Lanka as another man's wife was insulted"? False claim - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 29th April 2019 / 11:23 pm / Last updated: 1st May 2019 An infamous Twitter handle @squintneon posted a video of CPI’s Begusarai candidate Kanhaiya Kumar and alleged that the young politician said that Hanuman set fire to Lanka because somebody else’s wife was disrespected. “Hanuman doosre ki bibi ke apmaan ke liye Lanka jala diye,” read the first sentence of the tweet, which subsequently termed Kumar’s alleged statement “anti-woman and anti-Hindu”. @squintneon, run by state social media in-charge of ABVP Assam, Manas Jyoti Sharma, added that people like Kanhaiya Kumar are the ones who stand and watch when women get raped or molested. @squintneon attempted to portray that Kumar disregarded a deity in Hinduism. “Hanuman doosre ki bibi ke apmaan ke liye Lanka jala diye” – Kanhaiya Kumar This is not just Anti-Hindu rant but Anti-women as well. these are the people who stand & watch when women gets R*ped or Molested. sums up the kind of cretins contesting elections pic.twitter.com/YFhFgTiBfd — Chowkidar Squinty🌈 (@squintneon) April 29, 2019 The 25-second clip was soon picked up by other social media users. The statement ascribed to the CPI candidate was not uttered by him. This is apparent if one watches the 25-second clip. Kumar did not say “apmaan (disrespect)” but said “apharan (kidnap)”. His complete statement is – “दूसरे की पत्नी जो है उनका अपहरण हुआ उसके लिए लंका जला दी. और यहाँ हनुमान जी के नाम पे अपने देश के लोगो का घर जला रहे है. (Hanuman ji burnt Lanka for another man’s wife and here, in the name of Hanuman ji, the houses of our own people are burning.)” Upon searching for videos of Kumar with the keywords – “Kahnaiya Kumar Hanuman speech” – we found that this particular speech is at least a year old. Kumar was talking about the appropriation of Hanuman, who has now become a prominent symbol of Hindutva. https://youtu.be/MiQSaflhgbU?t=345 Misinformation targeting Kanhaiya Kumar has often found a place in social media. Earlier, another one of his speeches was presented with false rhetoric. 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	29th April 2019 / 11:23 pm / Last updated: 1st May 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-kanhaiya-kumar-say-hanuman-doosre-ki-bibi-ke-apmaan-ke-liye-lanka-jala-diye/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
743	Did Kanhaiya Kumar say slain Naxals are 'martyrs'? Old, clipped video viral - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 3rd May 2019 / 3:07 pm / Last updated: 7th April 2021 A video clip of National Executive Council member of Communist Party of India Kanhaiya Kumar’s interview with NDTV journalist Ravish Kumar was shared by BJP UP spokesperson Shalabh Mani Tripathi with the claim that Kanhaiya termed Naxalites “martyrs”. The video has been shared after 22 security personnel were killed in a Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur. Tripathi also shared the video on his Facebook profile. देश और संविधान के खिलाफ खूनी जंग छेड़ने वाले गुनाहगार इनकी नजर में भोलेभाले हैं,ये उनके लिए शहीद का दर्जा चाहते हैं !! JNU में पले ऐसे अनपढ गद्दारों से बेहतर तो गांवों की पाठशालाओं के नौजवान हैं,उनके हृदय में सेना और राष्ट्र के लिए जज्बा और प्यार तो है !! शहीदों को शत शत नमन 🙏 pic.twitter.com/UQxvNpSZcK — Shalabh Mani Tripathi (@shalabhmani) April 4, 2021 In the clip, Kanhaiya can be heard saying, “The martyrdom of all martyrs should be recognised. War should be fueled against those who are making them martyrs. The ones who were termed Naxals and killed, they are also martyrs.” (सारे शहीदों को शहादत का दर्जा देना चाहिए औऱ जो इन्हें शहीद बना रहे हैं उनके खिलाफ जंग छेड़ी जाए। मैं कहता हूं कि जन्हें नक्सली बताकर मारा जा रहा है वो भी शहीद हैं.) Another user Dr. Kaushal K.Mishra @drkaushalk shared the clip with the same claim. देश और संविधान के खिलाफ खूनी जंग छेड़ने वाले गुनाहगार इनकी नजर में भोलेभाले हैं,ये उनके लिए शहीद का दर्जा चाहते हैं !! JNU में पले ऐसे अनपढ गद्दारों से बेहतर तो गांवों की पाठशालाओं के नौजवान हैं,उनके हृदय में सेना और राष्ट्र के लिए जज्बा और प्यार तो है !! शहीदों को शत शत नमन 🙏 pic.twitter.com/rzEv7ieQY2 — Dr. Kaushal K.Mishra (@drkaushalk) April 5, 2021 It is widespread on both Twitter and Facebook. The same video was circulated in the aftermath of the Maharashtra Naxal attack on May 1, 2019 where 15 security personnel were martyred. Among those who circulated the clip was BJP MLA Rameshwar Sharma (archive). नक्सलियों को शहीद का दर्जा 🤔 श्रीमान @digvijaya_28 जिस #कन्हैया का समर्थन करते है अपने चुनाव प्रचार के लिए भोपाल बुला रहे है सुनिए उस कन्हैया कुमार के नक्सली विचार । @SadhviPragya_MP @jhaprabhatbjp @vinay1011 @vijeshlunawat @SuhasBhagatBJP @HinduSannyasin pic.twitter.com/VgpYjOuwBl — Chowkidar Rameshwar Sharma (@rameshwar4111) May 2, 2019 BJP member Surendra Poonia also tweeted the video, drawing over 22,000 views at the time (archive). The clip that most social media users posted, carried a stamp of ‘Political Kida’, which is a prominent pro-BJP propaganda page that regularly shares misinformation. Never Forget, For Anti-nationals like Kanhaiya Kumar, the Maoists who kill our Jawans are ‘Shaheed’, ‘Gareeb ka Beta’. Posted by Political Kida on Wednesday, 1 May 2019 Alt News located the video of Kanhaiya’s complete interview with Ravish Kumar and found that the portion viral on social media was lifted from a 2016 interaction. The description of the video reads, “After his arrest on sedition charges, JNU student union president Kanhaiya Kumar was released on bail yesterday (Thursday). In an exclusive interview with NDTV, he said, “I did not organise the program held on February 9. I do not know whether anti-national slogans were raised or not because I wasn’t present at the spot”.” The interview was about the 2016 JNU sedition row. At about 37:16 minutes into the video, Ravish Kumar says, “ये बहुत तर्क चल रहा है कि सीमा पर जवान शहीद हो रहे हैं और आप इस तरह से मिनिमम यूनिटी जैसी अय्य़ाशी जैसी बात कर रहे हैं। सब आप पढ़े लिखे लोग हैं, आप ऐसी बातें क्यों कर रहे हैं? ये चल रहा है, खथरनाक सा सवाल है और कई बार तो लगता है इसका जवाब ही नहीं होता है। आपने कहा था आपके भाई की शहादत हई थी सीआरपीएफ में थे, नक्सलियों से लड़ते हुए। कभी आपको लगा कि आप उनकी शहादत को कमतर कर रहे हैं…” An approximate English verbatim of his question is: “There is growing rhetoric that jawans are getting killed at the border and you are talking about irrelevant topics of minimum unity. You are educated folks, why are you saying such things? This has been going on and it’s a very dangerous question and sometimes, there is no answer to such questions. You had said that your brother was in the CRPF and was martyred while fighting Naxalites. Have you ever felt that you are demeaning the martyrdom of your brother?” To this, Kanhaiya replied, “रवीश जी, हम किसी की शहादत को कमतर नहीं करना चाहते। हमारी तो लड़ाई ही यही है कि सारे शहीदों को शहादत का दर्जा देना चाहिए औऱ जो इन्हें शहीद बना रहे हैं उनके खिलाफ जंग छेड़ी जाए। मैं कहता हूं कि जन्हें नक्सली बताकर मारा जा रहा है वो भी शहीद हैं, आदिवासी हैं। जो तथाकथित नक्सली हिंसा मे शहीद हो रहा है वो भी उनके जैसा गरीब का बेटा है। जो लोग इस देश में अनाज उपजा रहे हैं.. मेरे देश की धरती सोना उगले, उगले हीरे-मोती… वो किसान जो मर रहे हैं वो भी इस देश के शहीद हैं, और जो सीमा पर लोग मर रहे हैं वो भी शहीद हैं। इन सारे शहीदों को एकजुट होना है। ये सारे परिवार जो हैं इनके परिवार को शहीद के परिवार का दर्जा मिलना चाहिए। और ये सारे शहीद जब रोड़ पर निकलेंगे एक साथ, जय जवान-जय किसान, मजदूर, आदिवासी, किसान का बेटा.. ये सब जब एक साथ होगा, तभी वो लोग जो इनको शहीद बना रहे हैं उनकी राजनीति को एक्सपोज किया जाएगा कि लड़ाई होती क्यों है… लड़वाते कौन हैं..” This translates to: “Ravish ji, I do not want to demean anybody’s martyrdom. The martyrdom of all martyrs should be recognised. War should be fueled against those who are making them martyrs. The ones who were termed Naxals and killed, they are also martyrs, Adivasis. The ones who are getting killed in so-called Naxal violence, are also sons of poor men just like them. The farmers who are dying are also martyrs of this country. And the ones dying at the borders are also martyrs. All these martyrs should be recognised. Their families should be acknowledged as families of martyrs. When such martyrs – farmers, labourers, Adivasis and farmers’ sons – come together on the streets, only then those who are making these people martyrs, their politics will be exposed – why violence takes place and who initiates it?” Kanhaiya’s statements, given to Ravish Kumar three years ago, can be interpreted as the young politician talking about the injustice meted out to poor farmers, labourers and Adivasis who are killed in violence garbed under the shroud of an onslaught against Naxalites. The part where he refers to those termed as Naxals and killed, he was talking about the people who are falsely labelled as Naxalites and killed. Moreover, the interview took place in 2016, therefore, Kanhaiya could not have been referring to either the Maharashtra Maoist attack or the one that recently occurred in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur. Another clip from the same interview was pushed into the fake news ecosystem on social media in 2019. Here, Kanhaiya can be heard saying, “The killing of innocent Adivasis who have been accused of being a Naxalite, I do not support this as well. People kill innocent Adivasis by terming them ‘Naxalites’, and the ones who are standing in support of these Adivasis are also termed Naxalites and killed.” (किसी भोले-भाले आदिवासी को नक्सली बता कर मार देना, उसका भी समर्थन नहीं करते हैं। और ये लोग जो भोले-भाले आदिवासी को भी मारते हैं , नक्सली बता कर मारते हैं, आज जो लोग आदिवासियों के पक्ष में खड़े हो रहे हैं, उनको नक्सली बता कर के मार रहे हैं।) कन्हैया कुमार नक्सलियों को मानता है भोला भाला नक्सली हिंसा को ‘तथाकथित’ कन्हैया कुमार नक्सलियों को मानता है भोला भाला नक्सली हिंसा को ‘तथाकथित’ Posted by India272+ on Wednesday, 1 May 2019 This video was shared on Twitter as well. कन्हैया कुमार नक्सलियों को मानता है भोला भाला #naxalattack #gadchiroli #Naxal pic.twitter.com/ztpasDgalp — Chowkidar Ranjitsinh Chudasama (@bk_chudasama) May 1, 2019 In the complete video, at around 10:33 minutes, Kumar says, “अब देखिये मेरे घर में मेरा भाई CRPF में था और वो मारा गया। उनका नाम पप्पू था। वो मारे गए। और मज़ेदार बात ये है कि जो मुझे पूछा जाता है कि तुम नक्सली लोग हो, वो नक्सली हिंसा में ही मारा गया। लेकिन इस बात को कैसे मिला दिया जाता है। नक्सली हिंसा अपनी जगह पर गलत है, हम उसको समर्थन नहीं करते हैं। लेकिन किसी भोले-भाले आदिवासी को नक्सली बता कर मार देना, उसका भी समर्थन नहीं करते हैं। और ये लोग जो भोले-भाले आदिवासी को भी मारते हैं , नक्सली बता कर मारते हैं, आज जो लोग आदिवासियों के पक्ष में खड़े हो रहे हैं, उनको नक्सली बता कर के मार रहे हैं। ये बहुत खतरनाक ट्रेंड है इस देश के लिए।” An approximate English verbatim of his statements is as follows: “In my home, my brother was in the CRPF and was killed in Naxal attack. His name was Pappu and he was killed. It is ironical that people say “you are a Naxalite” and he was killed in Naxal violence. Two separate issues are being mixed here – Naxal violence is wrong and we do not support it but the killing of an innocent man who has been accused of being a Naxalite, I do not support this as well. People kill innocent Adivasis by terming them ‘Naxalites’, and the ones who are standing in support of these Adivasis are also termed Naxalites and killed. This is a very dangerous trend for the country.” In the aforementioned portion of the interview, Kanhaiya was not calling Naxalites ‘innocent’ but was using the term for tribals who are wrongly accused of being Maoists and killed. Earlier, another video of Kanhaiya Kumar was lifted from an old speech, clipped and presented on social media to portray that he made an anti-Hindu statement. 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	3rd May 2019 / 3:07 pm / Last updated: 7th April 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-kanhaiya-kumar-say-slain-naxals-are-martyrs-no-old-clipped-video-viral/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
744	Did Khalistan supporters participate at Rahul Gandhi's event in the UK? - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 28th August 2018 / 4:33 pm / Last updated: 23rd August 2021 A video that shows a group of people chanting anti-India and pro-Khalistan slogans has been shared on social media. “You tell me, how can I let Congres rule my country? Khalistan terrorists reached Rahul Gandhi’s meeting in London. Slogans of Congress party zindabad and Hindustan murdabad were raised.” कैसे सौंप दु मै काँग्रेस को अपना देश,आप ही बताओ लंदन मे राहुल गांधी की सभा मे पहुचे खालिस्तानी आतकंवादी काँग्रेस पार्टी जिंदाबाद और हिन्दुस्तान मुर्दाबाद नारे लगाये👇👇 pic.twitter.com/k4KHukgJ9s — 🔱 रुद्र राजपूत 📿 (@RudraVSR) August 19, 2021 The clip has been shared on Facebook as well. कैसे सौंप दु मै काँग्रेस को अपना देश,आप ही बताओ…लंदन मे राहुल गांधी की सभा मे पहुचे खालिस्तानी आतकंवादी…काँग्रेस पार्टी जिंदाबाद और हिन्दुस्तान मुर्दाबाद नारे लगाये…👇👇 आपके पास जितने भी ग्रुप है सब मे भेजो Posted by Nayna Patel on Friday, 20 August 2021 The same video was shared by BJP worker Priti Gandhi in 2018. ABSOLUTE SHOCKER!!! At the Indian Overseas Congress meeting in London, anti-India, pro-Khalistani protesters are participating in the event. @RahulGandhi you owe a serious explanation for this dangerous, anti-national narrative being created against India. #RahulGandhiInLondon pic.twitter.com/Te70fQrq8f — Priti Gandhi (@MrsGandhi) August 26, 2018 According to Naomi Canton who reports for The Times of India in the UK, the event was interrupted by four protesters who had “managed to evade heavy security to enter Rahul Gandhi’s event…”. TOI speaks to the Khalistani intruders who gatecrashed Rahul’s event https://t.co/Eq44dogy6C — Naomi Canton (@naomi2009) August 27, 2018 Speaking to TOI, Shamsher Singh, spokesperson for the National Sikh Youth Federation who had gatecrashed the event with three of his associates said, “We slipped in through a side door to the venue at 5.30 pm as the security was lax. Once inside, security asked us a few questions but we confidently walked through and said we are here for the event. We got a table and sat down.” Moreover, television news channels have reported that slogans hailing the Congress party were chanted in response to the slogans raised by the Sikh separatists who had gatecrashed the event. It has been observed on numerous occasions that videos and/or images are taken out of context and given misleading captions and meanings for purposes of political propaganda. This instance is no different; a disruption was sought to be portrayed as participation and advocacy of a secessionist position. 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	28th August 2018 / 4:33 pm / Last updated: 23rd August 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-khalistan-supporters-participate-at-rahul-gandhis-event-in-the-uk/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
745	Did Kolkata Metro come out in support of passengers who thrashed a young couple? - Alt News Alt News Desk 2nd May 2018 / 9:26 pm / Last updated: 11th July 2018 “Dear commuters, there is a fake post circulating in the social media claiming that Metro Railway supports the passengers who allegedly thrashed the couple. The fact is that Metro Railway, Kolkata, strongly condemns the unfortunate incident and is against moral policing.” Metro railway, Kolkata took to Facebook to clarify its position regarding a post justifying bearing up of a young couple for hugging in public. The shocking post justifying the attack is now deleted and Kolkata Metro is claiming that it is a fake post. What is the truth? Kolkata Metro initially posted that they are enquiring into the incident even though no complaint has been lodged by anyone. They also stated that they are against moral policing. However in reply to this post, was a comment by Kolkata Metro saying that nothing wrong was done by the passengers in beating up the couple and that the young generation is asking for it. We have seen several instances of photoshopped screenshots being circulated but in this case Alt News doesn’t believe that the screenshot is photoshopped. This is because several Facebook users had taken screenshots of this comment, evidently taken from different phones. The comment was posted by the official page of Kolkata metro and subsequently deleted. A likely explanation is that the person handling the Kolkata Metro Page posted the comment that he was intending to post from his personal profile and deleted it on realising his mistake. There have been several instances where the operator of the account forgets to switch profiles and accidentally posts a personal message from the official profile. This was recently seen in the case of ICC posting a non cricket related political tweet. There have been several instances in the past as well. When such a blooper occurs, it is best to apologize for it and initiate an enquiry into how it happened. Kolkata Metro should have done the same. 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	2nd May 2018 / 9:26 pm / Last updated: 11th July 2018	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-kolkata-metro-come-out-in-support-of-passengers-who-thrashed-a-young-couple/", "author": "Alt News Desk" }
746	Did lack of financial support by Nehru govt force Indian football team to play barefoot in 1948 Olympics? - Alt News Jignesh Patel 12th November 2018 / 7:20 pm / Last updated: 28th July 2021 A photo of barefooted sportsmen has been juxtaposed with an image of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru debarking with his pet. This has been shared with the claim that the 1948 Indian football Olympics team did not have enough money to purchase shoes but Nehru got his clothes dry-cleaned from Paris. The picture above is of the Indian football team playing the 1948 London Olympics.Azad India’s football team did not have enough money to buy shoes.Some players wore socks & others played barefoot.This was the time when Nehru’s clothes went to Paris to be dry-cleaned pic.twitter.com/CtQkWVYa4V — Kavi🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳 (@kavita_tewari) July 26, 2021 The collage is massively widespread on Facebook. The claim has been circulating since 2018. Facebook page, Social Tamasha, wrote on July 19, 2018, “ऐसे थे कांग्रेस नवाबों के ठाठ (such was the pomp of Congress’ nawabs).” The post similarly said that the Indian football team did not have shoes when Nehru’s dog was travelling in aeroplanes. ऐसे थे कांग्रेस नवाबों के ठाठ Posted by Social Tamasha on Thursday, 19 July 2018 Another Facebook page Bharat Positive had shared the same image with their page logo on November 4, 2018. At the time of writing this article, it had accumulated close to 6,900 shares and 10,000 likes. Many Facebook users also shared similar claims. Alt News reverse searched the images on Google and found that they are genuine. An article published by Frontline carries an image where Talimeren Ao, India’s first football captain was shaking hands with G. Robert, captain of the French team. Whereas, Nehru’s photograph was found on a website owned by The Times of India Group called Times Content. According to the website, this image was clicked around January 1961. So, while the images are genuine, is there any truth to the claim that Indian players were forced to play barefoot because of a lack of finances and support from the Indian government? Before the Indian football team was selected for the 1948 Olympics on May 7, 1948, the players had to play two trial matches for team selection. An Indian Express report published on the same day stated, “The first of the two trial matches for the selection of the Indian football team for the London Olympics was played today on the Calcutta F.C ground before a fairly big crowd. All the players turned out in boots, owing to the ground having become greasy after a heavy mid-day shower.” Based on this report, it was evident that the players had soccer boots even before the tournament started. While the players definitely had boots before the tournament, did they carry them along to London? Alt News found a copy of the 1948 schedule of the Indian Olympics football team tour of Europe. Based on the schedule of matches, we looked up reportage for various matches. We found a September 1, 1948 report published in the British daily Birmingham Daily Gazette by an English sports journalist named John Camkin. The report was about the match between India and Boldmere St Michaels FC on August 31, 1948, in which Camkin reported that the Indian players were forced to play in boots because of the damp ground – “The tourist had been compelled to take to boots, a most unusual item of football gear to them, because of the heavy rain that fell throughout their game with the heroes of last season’s Amateur Cup……..The Indians were undoubtedly handicapped by the boots and general conditions-one said afterwards that normally they would have scored another four goals- but their snappy ground passing left no doubt as to their formidable quality on dry pitches.” Based on the below reportage, it was evident that Indian players had boots during the tour of which the London Olympics was a part. We also found further evidence of Indian players having access to boots during the London Olympics. In his book, ‘Stories from Indian Football’, journalist Jaydeep Basu has also quoted a statement from B.D Chatterjee, Indian football coach, according to which Chatterjee said, “They had boots with them in case they prone to yielding in which case they would wear them but they prefer to play in their bare feet”. According to a report by The Hindu, this statement was given to Reuters during one of the pre-Olympics friendly matches that India played against the Metropolitan Police on July 16, 1948. Alt News contacted Jaydeep Basu to confirm the reference of this quote. In a conversation with Alt News, the author said, “In one of the chapters in my book, which dealt with barefoot football, I had cited a Reuters report to quote B.D Chatterjee. Whatever you have been hearing about the rumours that they (Indians) didn’t have boots to play, it’s absolutely rubbish. Indians used to play barefoot those days. They played the 1948 Olympics, 1951 Asian Games and 1952 Olympics barefoot. After the 1952 Olympics where India was beaten by Yugoslavia 10-1, the All India Football Federation realised that they should use boots. In India, nobody used to play in boots except for a few. Also, the FIFA regulation came later which said that anyone who has to play International football has to play in boots. Even in 1911, when Mohun Bagan won the historic IFA shield, all but one of the players were barefoot. Indians used to play barefoot that’s all. If they can travel to London, they can also buy boots. It is simple logic.” In the historic match between India and France on 31 July, 1948 which India lost by 2-1, The Indian Express reported that 8 out of the 11 players played barefoot. In his book ‘Nation at Play: A history of sports in India’, Ronojoy Sen writes, “For the Indians, playing (barefoot) against booted footballers wasn’t unusual; in fact, it contributed to their on-field skills……Manna (Indian football player) replied that it was easier to keep the ball under control.” In the 1948 Olympics, the majority of the Indian sportsmen had played barefoot as can be seen in the photograph below. However, the player on the extreme left can be seen in shoes. It is, thus, clear that the Indian football team was not forced to play without boots because of a lack of financial support but preferred to remain barefoot during the games because that is what they were accustomed to. The players continued to play barefoot till the change in International regulations mandated them to wear boots. Social media narratives suggesting otherwise are an attempt to portray India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru as apathetic to the conditions of the country’s players. As we have observed in the past, history has often been distorted to malign Nehru. 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 November 2018 / 7:20 pm / Last updated: 28th July 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-lack-of-financial-support-by-nehru-govt-force-indian-football-team-to-play-barefoot-in-1948-olympics/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
747	Did Mahua Moitra violate Model Code of Conduct as alleged by BJP? - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 12th November 2019 / 10:09 pm / Last updated: 13th November 2019 BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya tweeted a copy of a complaint filed by the party’s West Bengal unit with the election commission against an alleged violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by the TMC. The complaint was with regard to the by-polls in the state scheduled to be held on November 25. The BJP alleged that the officer-in-charge of Thanapara police station, Sumit Kumar Ghosh, has been regularly participating in door-to-door campaigning by TMC MP Mahua Moitra in Nadia district. “The Bharatiya Janata Party demands immediate transfer of Shri Ghosh from this [his] duties and kept out of districts in which the MCC is operative,” reads the complaint. करीमपुर उपचुनाव के लिए #TMC हर तरह के हथकंडे अपना रही है। पार्टी की सांसद महुआ मोइत्रा के साथ थानापारा की थाना प्रभारी सुमित कुमार घोष नियमित रूप से चुनाव प्रचार करते नजर आ रहे है। ऐसा लग रहा है कि #WestBengal पुलिस #TMC में शामिल हो गई है। pic.twitter.com/FCH27WOSCc — Kailash Vijayvargiya (@KailashOnline) November 11, 2019 The image tweeted by Vijayvargiya shows Moitra in the accompany of a man dressed in black who is claimed to be the O/C. Vijayvargiya’s tweet states, “करीमपुर उपचुनाव के लिए #TMC हर तरह के हथकंडे अपना रही है। पार्टी की सांसद महुआ मोइत्रा के साथ थानापारा की थाना प्रभारी सुमित कुमार घोष नियमित रूप से चुनाव प्रचार करते नजर आ रहे है। ऐसा लग रहा है कि #WestBengal पुलिस #TMC में शामिल हो गई है (TMC is employing all kinds of tactics for the Karimpur by-elections. The officer in charge of Thanapara Sumit Kumar Ghosh is regularly campaigning for party’s MP Mahua Moitra. It seems as if the West Bengal police have joined TMC.)” This claim was earlier tweeted by the social media in-charge of West Bengal BJP Mahila Morcha, Keya Ghosh. Seen here campaigning alongwith TMC MP Mahua Moitra is Thanapara P.S. OC Sumit kr. Ghosh who is regularly seen going for door to door campaign for the upcoming Karimpur by-election. Has Bengal police become a TMC stooge? @narendramodi @AmitShah pic.twitter.com/vnSd5ssVhC — Keya Ghosh (@keyakahe) November 11, 2019 However, the photograph of Moitra with the police officer has been circulating on social before the BJP filed an official complaint. The post below was made on November 4 and has been shared with a Bengali text which claims that the image was shot “yesterday”, meaning November 3. The message further adds that this must be brought to the attention of the EC. “তূণমুল সাংসদ মহুয়া মৈত্র , ওনার পিছনে যে ভদ্র লোকটিকে Black জামা পরে আছে দেখতে পাচ্ছেন ইনি হলেন করিমপুর বিধানসভার,” is the complete text in Bengali. তূণমুল সাংসদ মহুয়া মৈত্র , ওনার পিছনে যে ভদ্র লোকটিকে Black জামা পরে আছে দেখতে পাচ্ছেন ইনি হলেন করিমপুর বিধানসভার… Posted by ভবানী প্রসাদ চ্যাট্টার্জ্জী on Sunday, 3 November 2019 That the officer’s presence violates the MCC is a false claim as the image in question dates back to August 18, 2019. It was shared by Mahua Moitra on her Facebook page. Posted by Mahua Moitra – মহুয়া মৈত্র on Sunday, 18 August 2019 According to PRS, “The MCC is operational from the date that the election schedule is announced till the date that results are announced.” The election dates for the November by-polls in West Bengal were announced on October 25. Speaking with Alt News, Moitra said, “They put a false complaint using a photo from August 18 from my official website when the MCC was not in effect and I had gone normally. We have filed a case with the EC.” Need a special law just to tackle the fake news menace. Shameful lows that the ruling party has fallen to. pic.twitter.com/ePTvKjQ7rM — Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) November 12, 2019 She further informed that her visit was a part of a Rogi Kalyan Samiti (RKS) meeting. “It was held at Natidanga Block Primary Health Centre (BPHC). I am the President of RKS . BDO, OC and doctors are all members. After the meeting, one of the RKS members invited us to his home for sweets. So we went from the hospital and stopped on the way to see some vegetable fields. The photo was taken outside the home of the member.” Several other pictures of Moitra during her visit to Nadia district were uploaded on her Facebook page on August 18, the same day the viral image was uploaded. She can be seen wearing the same saree in these photographs. The BJP filed a complaint with the Election Commission claiming that the Model Code of Conduct was violated by the TMC ahead of the November by-polls in West Bengal. However, BJP’s allegation was untrue as it was based on a photograph uploaded on August 18 and the MCC has been operational only since October 25. 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	12th November 2019 / 10:09 pm / Last updated: 13th November 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-mahua-moitra-violate-model-code-of-conduct-as-alleged-by-bjp/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
748	Did Mamata Banerjee say "give me 42 seats, I'll make Hindus cry"? Fake newspaper clipping shared - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 30th April 2019 / 9:09 pm / Last updated: 30th April 2019 A purported newspaper clipping of popular Bengali daily বর্তমান (Bartaman) is shared on social media with its headline reading, “৪২টা আসন দিন হিন্দু কীভাবে কাঁদা তে হয় দেখিয়ে দেব: মমতা (Give me 42 seats & I’ll show you how to make the Hindus cry: Mamata)” Mamta says, Win me 42 seats & I’ll show you how to make the Hindus cry. Bengali newspaper BARTAMAN HEADLINES Jaago Hindus jaago, abhi nahi to kabhi nahi. Go out in big numbers and cast your votes against this Goonda party. pic.twitter.com/qZZXFBWkxw — Ameeth Vorra (@ameethvorra) April 29, 2019 The clipping has been circulated on Facebook as well. Mamta says, Win me 42 seats & I’ll show you how to make the Hindus cry. 🤔 Bengali newspaper ..BARTAMAN HEADLINES Posted by Mukesh Bhartiya on Tuesday, 30 April 2019 Social media users also sent a query about the newspaper cutting to Alt News. A careful glance at the clipping is sufficient to reveal that the image has been morphed. The font, size and colour of the words “হিন্দু (Hindu)” and “কাঁদা তে (cry)” do not match the words in the rest of the sentence. They are not in perfect alignment, are larger than the other words and are in a deeper shade of black. When we searched for the clipping on Facebook, we found that a user had uploaded the original photograph of the newspaper even though he had shared it with the false claim viral on social media. Please guys vote Mamta says, Win me 42 seats & I’ll show you how to make the Hindus cry. Bengali newspaper BARTAMAN HEADLINES Posted by Bhavana Kamdar on Monday, 29 April 2019 As evident, a few words of the original headline have been replaced. The word “দিল্লি (Delhi)” has been edited to “হিন্দু (Hindu)” and the word “কাঁপাতে (shake)” has been replaced with “কাঁদা তে (cry)”. The original headline reads, “৪২টা আসন দিন, দিল্লি কীভাবে কাঁপাতে হয় দেখিয়ে দেব: মমতা (Give me 42 seats and I will show you how to shake things up in Delhi.)” We also found the Bartaman article on the daily’s website. According to the report, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee made the statement at an election rally for TMC candidate Apurba Sarkar in Berhampur on April 19. The newspaper clipping floating on social media is photoshopped. Recently, Congress president Rahul Gandhi was also targeted using a fake newspaper clipping. 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	30th April 2019 / 9:09 pm / Last updated: 30th April 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-mamata-banerjee-say-give-me-42-seats-ill-make-hindus-cry-fake-newspaper-clipping-shared/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
749	Edited video shows Manish Sisodia accusing AAP of 'no vaccination, only ads' - Alt News Priyanka Jha 28th June 2021 / 1:15 pm Major Surendra Poonia recently shared a 30-second video and wrote, “Why doesn’t Arvind Kejriwal listen to Manish Sisodia? #AdManKejriwal.” In this clip, Sisodia can be heard saying, “They run full-page ads in newspapers all over the country. Every day there are a handful of ads in numerous newspapers. Had they spent this money on procuring vaccines, it would have been enough to cover the whole country. I want to emphasize that the public needs vaccines, not advertisements. And on top of that, they are pressurising officers to continue pushing out advertisements. They aren’t providing vaccines, just printing ads endlessly.” The video shows a newspaper ad featuring Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal as Sisodia speaks. Facebook page Political Kida, which has been caught sharing false news on multiple occasions, shared the video and accused Kejriwal of “no vaccination, only ads”. Sisodia Slams Kejriwal For “No Vaccination, only Ads” Posted by Political Kida on Thursday, June 24, 2021 The video is massively widespread on pro-Modi pages on Facebook. It is evident the video has been edited due to the number of jump cuts that appear. Alt News discovered that the original video pertains to a June 21 press conference addressed by Manish Sisodia where he was criticising the centre’s vaccination efforts. He also tweeted a video of the occasion. Addressing an important Press Conference \| LIVE https://t.co/CCdbez8UeJ — Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) June 21, 2021 The portions featured in the viral clip appear after the 5-minute mark. We have highlighted the various parts of the address that have been stitched together to manufacture the edited video. “Ads by BJP-ruled states are featured in newspapers all across the country. Along with this, the centre has run its own ads separately. However, they all say the same thing, ‘The world’s biggest free vaccination campaign’. The same advertisement has been reprinted by the Uttar Pradesh government across India. And the Uttarakhand government followed suit. Now, the Karnataka government is running such ads in New Delhi. So there aren’t vaccines available across the country, but vaccine-related ads. All the BJP state governments run full-page ads in newspapers all over the country. Every day there are a handful of ads in numerous newspapers. Had they spent this money on procuring vaccines, it would have been enough to cover the whole country. I repeat, they asked the Delhi government, like the Karnataka government, to run the ad too, thanking Mr Modi for the free vaccines. They threatened and pressured our officers to promote their toolkit. I want to emphasize that the public needs vaccines, not advertisements. I request the centre and the prime minister to understand that the country needs vaccines, not ads. Like I said, Delhi needs 2.94 crore vaccines. BJP should be ashamed for administering only 15 lakh vaccines and pressurising officers to run ads. There are no vaccines, only ads. Right now, Delhi needs 2.3 crore vaccines. Please procure these for us in the next two months. On behalf of the Delhi government, I assure you that we will run ads thanking you for your efforts. They aren’t providing vaccines, just printing ads endlessly. We need vaccines, Mr Modi. How can we thank you when we don’t have vaccines?” The Aam Aadmi Party Twitter handle had also shared the video. Hon’ble Dy CM @msisodia addressing an important Press Conference \| LIVE https://t.co/R3M34teqrK — AAP (@AamAadmiParty) June 21, 2021 Apart from the misinformation on vaccines, the viral video also carries a poster that appears at the 0:18 mark. This is a morphed poster previously fact-checked by Alt News. An old poster on the redevelopment of Rohtak Road was morphed to show Kejriwal congratulating Delhi and the construction of a speed breaker. 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	28th June 2021 / 1:15 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-manish-sisodiya-slam-arvind-kejriwal-for-vaccination-ads-in-newspaper-edited-video-shared-with-false-claim/", "author": "Priyanka Jha" }
750	Did Modi govt claim it has no plans to implement nationwide NRC? Media misreports - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 4th February 2020 / 9:33 pm / Last updated: 4th February 2020 A piece of ‘breaking news’ was flashed on television screens across the country on February 4. Leading channels claimed that the home ministry, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, said that the government has not taken any decision to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) pan-India. “Will protests at Shaheen Bagh end, now that the home ministry has announced that there are no plans for nationwide NRC?” – read a tweet by News18 India. During the broadcast, anchor Anand Narasimhan asked the channel correspondent reporting from Shaheen Bagh, “The question is why are they [protesters] taking kids along? These children should either be in school or at home…ask them if NRC is not going to be implemented, what are they protesting for?” The reporter then went around telling protesters that the government has said that NRC will not be implemented. The channel displayed a news ticker during the broadcast that read (highlighted in green below) – “Who gains from Shaheen Bagh protests?” The media outlet ran a similar broadcast from its English channel claiming, “MHA makes it official: No plans of NRC. First official confirmation from MHA in the Parliament.” #NewsAlert – MHA makes it official: No plans of NRC. First official confirmation from MHA in the Parliament. @Arunima24 with details while @narendrataneja, @brijeshkalappa, and @warispathan present their views. #CitizenshipShowdown pic.twitter.com/hyzPFd8q2e — News18 (@CNNnews18) February 4, 2020 On February 4, Lok Sabha MPs Chandan Singh and Nama Nageswara Rao questioned the home ministry on nationwide NRC. In a written reply, MoS home affairs Nityanand Rai said, “Till now, the government has not taken any decision to prepare National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) at the National level.” The operative word here is “till now” meaning that the government has not taken a decision to prepare NRC at national level ‘yet’. The question of nationwide NRC has been posed to the government in the past well. Rummaging through multiple written replies in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, Alt News observed that the government has never explicitly stated that NRC will not be implemented pan-India but used words such as “at present” or “till now”. On June 25, 2019, opposition members asked the home ministry in the Lok Sabha, “whether there is any proposal to extend NRC across the country and if so, the details thereof.” Mos Rai’s reply to the question was, “Sir, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is being updated at present in the State of Assam as per the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955…“ On January 2, 2019, MoS home affairs Hansraj Gangaram used similar language. “At present, there is no proposal to extend the National Register of Citizens to states other than Assam,” he said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. On July 10, 2019, the government was specifically asked in the upper house of the Parliament if NRC will be implemented in West Bengal. The home ministry used the phrase “at present” here as well. It is noteworthy that on November 20, 2019, in the Rajya Sabha, home minister Amit Shah had confirmed pan-India NRC. The government has stated several times that there are no plans to implement NRC “at present” or “till now”. However, multiple media organisations did not report MoS Rai’s latest statement verbatim. Apart from News18, a plethora of organisations claimed that the home ministry said that no NRC will be prepared pan-India. A tweet by IANS said, “The #HomeMinistry has said in a written reply in the #LokSabha on Tuesday that the government has not taken any decision on preparing a nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC).” Janta Ka Reporter tweeted the same, sourcing the information from IANS. Incidentally in another tweet IANS correctly reported, “#NityanandRai replied that so far the government has not taken any decision on the #NRC” News Nation inaccurately tweeted, “#BREAKING \| Modi government clarifies in Lok Sabha that it has no plans to carry out National Register of Citizens (NRC) across the country.” The Times of India also carried an inaccurate report. The word “so far” features only later on in the article. Similar reports were published by Asianet News, National Herald, TV9 Kannada, Zee News and NDTV. ABP carried an article titled, “Government’s big statement on NRC, said in the Lok Sabha – There has been no decision to implement NRC on a national level.” The home ministry’s written reply in the Lok Sabha on nationwide NRC, where the government said that it has not made any plans “till now” to prepare a pan-India provision, was inaccurately reported in the media. 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 February 2020 / 9:33 pm / Last updated: 4th February 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-modi-govt-claim-that-it-has-no-plans-to-implement-nationwide-nrc-media-misreports/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
751	Video of Jharkhand police mock drill shared as MP police firing at farmers in Mandsaur - Alt News Jignesh Patel 11th July 2018 / 10:15 pm / Last updated: 14th July 2018 “पहली बार मध्य प्रदेश के मंदसौर शेहर का गोली कांड video वायरल. देखिए किस तरहा मध्य प्रदेश की bjp सरकार ने मासूम किसानो पर अपनी क्रूरता का परिचय दिया था. किसान अपनी जाइज़ मांगे इस क्रूर सरकार से कर रहे थे, उन मांगो के बदले इस सरकार ने उन किसानो को मौत के नींद सुला दिया.” (For the first-time, a video of police firing in Mandsaur city of Madhya Pradesh goes viral. See how the Madhya Pradesh BJP government gave an introduction of their cruelty to the innocent farmers. The farmers were conveying their justified demands to this cruel government. Instead of fulfilling their demands this government gave them death. -translated) A video with the above text has been shared by a Facebook account. It may be recalled that in June 2017, a farmers’ agitation in Mandsaur, MP had resulted in police firing. Six people had died in the violence. पहली बार मध्य प्रदेश के मंदसौर शेहर का गोली कांड video वायरल …देखिए किस तरहा मध्य प्रदेश की bjp सरकार ने मासूम किसानो पर अपनी क्रूरता का परिचय दिया था…. किसान अपनी जाइज़ मांगे इस क्रूर सरकार से कर रहे थे, उन मांगो के बदले इस सरकार ने उन किसानो को मौत के नींद सुला दिया… 👇👇👇 Posted by Abhishek Mishra on Tuesday, 10 July 2018 As seen in the video, policemen are in a kneeling position with their guns pointed at a crowd which can be heard shouting some slogans. Some gunshots are fired at the horde and the assembly scatters, when the two men are apparently shot down. Policemen can be seen running with a stretcher to the spot. After a while, the police company starts marching in the direction in which people had escaped. Sometime later, an ambulance starts moving in the same direction with an announcement in the background. If you see the video, there are two stark observations which suggest that the video is a mock drill and not an actual police shooting: Multiple pages on Facebook have shared the video with the text claiming farmers are being shot by the Mandsaur police. Moreover, Alt News found the same video captioned “Human rights in India. To shed light on the UNHRC report that was being shrugged by the GOI.” shared on a Facebook page, India Resists: updates and perspectives on people’s movements. Alt News did a Google reverse image search of the keyframes using Invid verification plugin. As it turned out, a YouTube video published on Nov 1, 2017, titled “Moke Dreal of Khunti Police” was found. The title calls it a mock drill carried out by Khunti Police. Moreover, many name boards in the shops are visible in the video. Alt News Google searched the shop name, “Jagdamba steel Khunti” and found that the two match. In a conversation with Alt News, the owner of Jagdamba Steel has confirmed that a mock drill was carried out by the police on October 31, 2017. It may be reiterated that an announcement in the background was enough to raise suspicion and contradiction to the claims made with the video. Furthermore, we found one more video of the same mock drill filmed from a different angle and time-frame. In the video, policemen on the standby position can be seen near a stage setup and importantly, the crowd stays well organized on the edges of the road throughout the mock drill. This post follows the same pattern of captioning a video with an unrelated narrative which gets shared by multiple users on different platforms. All such videos which turn out to be patently false are mostly found lacking in basic information or context. While police firing had indeed take place at the farmers’ agitation in Mandsaur last year, a closer look at this particular video would have revealed that the events depicted in it are not an actual incident of firing but only a simulation, as there were enough cues in it to suggest the same. 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	11th July 2018 / 10:15 pm / Last updated: 14th July 2018	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-mp-police-open-fire-on-protesting-farmers-as-claimed-on-social-media/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
752	Old, unrelated visuals falsely shared as Muslims in Bareilly thrashed cops - Alt News Kinjal 29th September 2021 / 9:45 pm A photo of an injured policeman and a video that shows a mob thrashing cops is viral. According to the accompanying message, the Bareilly Civil Lines police issued challans to a few people, who in turn began attacking the police officers. It is alleged that the perpetrators were Muslims. Along with this, the situation in Afghanistan has also been referenced in the posts. Twitter user Nishit Kumar tweeted a few pictures with the same claim. Some other Twitter users also posted the image and accompanying claim. (Link 1, Link 2, Link 3) Twitter handle @hamarahindusta3 amplified the video with a similar message. (Archive link) बरेली सिविल लाईन्स न्यूज़ पुलिस द्वारा चालान काटने पर मुसलमानों ने उनकी पिटाई की जो कानून को चुनौती है! यह वीडियो बताता है की आगे हिन्दुस्तान मे क्या क्या होगा \| कौन देश चलायेगा! और सबका भविष्य क्या होगा ! कड़वा सच यह है कि देश को बाहर से ज्यादा अन्दर से बहुत ज्यादा खतरा है! pic.twitter.com/F6vNizifOt — हिंदुस्तान (@hamarahindusta3) September 26, 2021 The video is widespread on Facebook, and the images have made their way to WhatsApp as well. The video and pictures pertain to separate incidents and will be debunked in this fact-check one by one. Video We had already fact-checked this video in March 2021 when it was being shared on social media with the same claim. According to a Dainik Bhaskar report dated March 23, 2021, “The incident occurred in Jurhera town near the border of Bharatpur and Haryana. A police constable of Haryana’s Punhana Police Station had come to Jurhera to investigate a case. While passing through the market, the police car collided with another vehicle. Following the collision, there was an altercation between the officer and the youth in the other vehicle. The matter escalated to the extent that the enraged youths caught hold of the constable and thrashed him fiercely.” Alt News had contacted IG Prasanna Khamesra of Bharatpur range to get to the bottom of the incident. “This incident occurred on February 23 in Jurhera town but no officers from the Rajasthan Police are involved. A group of officers in the Haryana Police had come to Jurhera. There is absolutely no Hindu-Muslim angle here. What happened was that two minors ran away from Haryana and came here. When the Jurhera Police informed the Haryana Police about this, they sent their officers to retrieve the two. This was when their car collided with a local leader. Following a scuffle between both parties, the head constable of the Haryana Police was beaten up by one or two people and locals, though the matter was resolved later. The SHO of Punhana also reached the scene, and both parties mutually consented to not file any charges. The officer also handed the minors over to them,” he said. Images Bareilly Police clarified on Twitter on September 27 that the bleeding policeman seen in the picture was a head constable appointed in GRP Kanpur who died by suicide on September 20, 2021, in Prayagraj. The Senior Superintendent of Police of Bareilly had also issued a statement on the matter. सोशल मीड़िया प्लेटफॉर्म पर एक पुलिसकर्मी की खून से लथपथ फोटो लगाकर भ्रामक कथन के साथ पोस्ट वायरल किये जाने एवं भ्रामक एवं अफवाह फैलाने वालों के विरुद्ध की जा रही कार्यवाही के सम्बन्ध में वरिष्ठ पुलिस अधीक्षक जनपद बरेली की बाईट । #UPPolice @Uppolice https://t.co/sVFxcIrqg0 pic.twitter.com/dPiRzpl8j0 — Bareilly Police (@bareillypolice) September 27, 2021 According to a Dainik Bhaskar story dated September 20, 2021, Head Constable Chintamani Yadav, who had been posted in Kanpur, died by suicide by shooting himself with his government-issued pistol in the Police Lines bathroom. The article said that the reason for the suicide was being investigated. Kanpur Police issued a statement regarding the incident. It said that Chintamani had been posted in Kanpur since 2019 and the reason for his suicide was under investigation. They also added that his family members had no doubts that his death was a suicide. #कानपुर जीआरपी सिपाही ने अपनी ही सर्विस रिवाल्वर से कनपटी पर गोली मारकर जीवन लीला समाप्त कर दी कानपुर सेंट्रल स्टेशन की जीआरपी पुलिस में 2005 से तैनात चिंतामणि यादव अस्पताल ले जा रहे थे तो रास्ते में ही चिंतामणि की मौत हो गई @GRPKanpur @KanpurPolice pic.twitter.com/DQ8tHjo1iD — Initiate News (INA NEWS) (@ina24news) September 20, 2021 To sum it up, photos and videos from two separate incidents were shared with the false claim that a group of Muslims thrashed police officers in Bareilly. 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. 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	29th September 2021 / 9:45 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-muslims-beaten-up-bareli-police-due-to-challan-false-claim/", "author": "Kinjal" }
753	Did NDA Govt recover Rs 4 lakh crore of NPAs as claimed by BJP and PM Modi's app? - Alt News Alt News Desk 23rd April 2018 / 2:29 pm / Last updated: 11th July 2018 An infographic tweeted by the official BJP twitter account on April 14 made a claim that “Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016 has resulted in recovery of Rs. 4 lakh crore out of staggering Rs. 9 lakh crore of NPAs or bad loans given to the corporates under UPA government.” The incredible claim was faithfully tweeted by scores of unsuspecting followers. Other than the loyalists and the most gullible, it is a claim that most would find difficult to believe. Alt News digs deeper to get to the bottom of this tall claim. The original tweet has now been deleted, a grab of which can be seen below. The Prime Minister’s website also carried this story in the media section and has now been deleted. The figure of recovery of Rs. 4 lakh crore was traced to an Economic Times article on April 4 titled “Rs 4 lakh crore NPAs have returned due to insolvency system: Official” which reported that “Less than half of the staggering Rs 9 lakh crore worth of non-performing assets (NPAs), or bad loans, accumulated by banks had returned due to the system set in place by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016”. The IANS report quoted Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas as the official who revealed this figure while speaking at the conference on Resolving Insolvency organised by industry chamber CII. Like all pro-government stories, this news story was also circulated by PM Modi’s NaMo App and dutifully shared by BJP/NDA Ministers, MPs and MLAs on social media. The information was picked up by fake news website Postcard News which spiced it up further with the headline, “Massive crackdown by Modi government on NPAs”. Surprisingly or may be not so surprising because of their political leanings, many including CAs, self-professed slayers of hoaxes and promoters of The True Picture, an alleged fact checking website promoted by Union ministers fell for these figures. “NPA by Congress: 9 lakh crore, recovery by Modi: 4 lakh crore” and “44.44% of outstanding NPAs of 9 Lakh Crores have returned” due to the recently launched insolvency system sounded entirely believable to them. Massive Crackdown by Modi government on NPAs!!! Know how Modi government helped to bring back Rs 4 lakh crore back into system from defaulters!!https://t.co/qzAgn0j5RU — CA. RAJEEV GUPTA (@RajeevGuptaCA) April 7, 2018 This is a fake news. Waiver = Don’t pay bank, govt pays. Typically given to farmers. Write off: Technical accounting entry. All loan recovery proceedings go on. NPA by Congress: 9 lac cr. Recovery by Modi: 4 lac cr. No corporate got waiver. Write off is only for clean books. https://t.co/g1hJhu0pMR — Ashu😎 (@muglikar_) April 4, 2018 Rs 4 lakh crore NPAs have returned due to insolvency system says corporate affairs Secretary. The amount is 44.44% of outstanding NPAs of 9 Lakh Crore. btw many more will happen in Next two quarters. https://t.co/YIxeXuXmZL — Vijay (@centerofright) April 5, 2018 After the news did rounds of Postcard news and right-wing handles, it was shared by BJP without checking with their own government sources about the accuracy of the data. RBI data on recovery of NPAs however tells a different story. According to RBI data presented by Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla in response to a query in Rajya Sabha, over the last four years, the public sector banks recovered only Rs 29,343 crore out of Rs 2.73 lakh crore of bad loans that were written off. Even though banks have failed to recover the bulk of bad loans, it is important to keep in mind the important distinction between loan write-off and loan waiver. Many on social media have been confused about this and have projected the loan write-off as loan waiver by the banks. A write-off does not mean that the borrower has been given a clean chit. There will be ongoing attempts to recover the balance, including through the system put in place by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). The final result of recovery efforts remains to be seen. For now the recovery rate has been 10.77%, which means that more than 89 per cent of the non-performing assets (NPA) written off by state-owned banks during the four-year period could not be recovered during this period. Alt News contacted, Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas to get a clarification from him about the discrepancy between the RBI data and what he was quoted by media as saying. He told Alt News in a written response that “I have been misquoted in the media on this matter. What I stated was that, nearly 50% of the NPAs have got referred to the system put in place under IBC.” He further clarified that the basis of the 4 lakh crore figure by explaining that “at present cases involving Rs 3.30 lakh crore have been referred to NCLT. In addition to this claims amounting to Rs. 83,000 crore have got settled before admission. Together it exceeds 4 lakh crores”. The tall claim made by BJP via its tweet seems to be an error and it was deleted once the error was realized. The so-called fact checkers of the right-wing who have been waxing eloquent about the difference between loan write-off and loan waiver fell for such an obviously false claim. They believed that Modi government has magically recovered 4 lakh crore out of the total NPA of 9 lakh crore and shared the false information widely on social media. The source of misinformation was The Economic Times article that published the IANS report without basic fact-checking. Doubts were raised by Indian Express and Firstpost both of which pointed out the inconsistency with the RBI data. The issue has now been clarified by the Secretary, Corporate Affairs that 4 lakh crore is the amount referred to the system put in place under IBC and NOT the amount of NPAs recovered. 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	23rd April 2018 / 2:29 pm / Last updated: 11th July 2018	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-nda-govt-recover-rs-4-lakh-crore-of-npas-as-claimed-by-bjp-and-pm-modis-app/", "author": "Alt News Desk" }
754	Did NDTV report encounter of terrorists in Kashmir as death of civilians? - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 9th August 2018 / 6:37 pm “Army gun down 5 terrorists in J&K but @ndtv call them Citizens Pls for sake of this Nation and our brave soldiers STOP watching @ndtv Unsubscribe @ndtv and all its channel, Twitter Handles, FB and uninstall @ndtv APP”, tweeted Gaurav Pradhan, a right-wing social media user who is followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Twitter. Along with the message, a screenshot has been attached showing the ticker (bottom text) of NDTV India which reads, “5 नागरिकों की मौत के विरोध में कश्मीर बंद” (Kashmir shut down due to protest over death of 5 civilians- translated). Army gun down 5 terrorists in J&K but @ndtv call them Citizens Pls for sake of this Nation and our brave soldiers STOP watching @ndtv Unsubscribe @ndtv and all its channel, Twitter Handles, FB and uninstall @ndtv APP pic.twitter.com/753z8t7W6M — #GauravPradhan 🇮🇳 (@DrGPradhan) August 6, 2018 A Facebook page Great Narendra Modi too shared this message on August 7, which has been shared over 1600 times so far. The page has over a million followers. It was also shared by the Facebook page of Postcard News. Posted by ग्रेट नरेन्द्र मोदी on Tuesday, August 7, 2018 It may be noted that on August 4, 2018, an encounter took place between security forces and terrorists at Kiloora in Shopian, in which five terrorists were gunned down. 4 more bodies of terrorists visible at encounter site kiloora Shopian taking the total to 5 terrorists killed. Good Job boys , good for peace. — Shesh Paul Vaid (@spvaid) August 4, 2018 In the wake of this incident, right-wing social media users have shared the snapshot of NDTV India to claim that NDTV is an ‘anti-national news organisation’ which ‘deserves to be boycotted’ as it referred to slain terrorists as civilians. However, a snapshot of the report by NDTV of this recent encounter does not match with what has been circulated. Alt News contacted NDTV which provided us with a screenshot of this news which was broadcast on the channel on August 4, 2018. Alt News discovered that this particular claim, although being shared now on social media, has been circulating over the past three months. All those who have shared this message have used the screenshot which says, “5 नागरिकों की मौत के विरोध में कश्मीर बंद” (Kashmir shut down due to protest over death of 5 civilians- translated). The tweet posted below is the earliest instance that Alt News could find of this screenshot being used to target NDTV. It was tweeted on May 7, 2018. NDTV का हाथ आतंकवादीयो के साथ कश्मीर में मारे गए 5 आतंकवादी लेकिन NDTV वाले कह रहे हैं 5 नागरिकों की मौत pic.twitter.com/PUxURsuE1W — Ls Rajpurohith (@LsRajpurohith) May 7, 2018 Alt News found that this screenshot that has been circulated to target NDTV refers to a report of May, 2018 when an encounter between security forces and terrorists in the valley resulted in the death of 5 terrorists and an equal number of civilians. There are numerous reports by a number of media outlets including CNN News18, India Today and ANI which refer to this encounter which took place on May 6, 2018. Five civilians killed in an encounter between militants and security forces in Shopian, J&K https://t.co/Uo93TpUFDm — News18 (@CNNnews18) May 6, 2018 Clashes broke out between civilians and security forces in Shopian, Pulwama and other parts of South Kashmir following encounter of five terrorists in Shopian’s Badigam today; five civilians were killed in the clashes pic.twitter.com/Uvnk2rGX62 — ANI (@ANI) May 6, 2018 The video posted below has been taken from the website of NDTV. This report by NDTV India is of the same encounter which took place on May 6, 2018 in the valley and refers not only to the death of five civilians in the cross-fire but also the fact that five terrorists were shot dead by security forces in Shopian. The screenshot of NDTV shared on social media refers to the death of five civilians. The channel has been accused of referring to the slain terrorists as civilians. However, this is not true, since NDTV had reported on May 7, 2018 that five terrorists had been gunned down by security forces at Badigam in Shopian. Srinagar: Shutdown called by separatists in Kashmir over death of 5 civilians in clashes with security forces in Shopian, Pulwama and other parts of south Kashmir following encounter of 5 terrorists in Shopian’s Badigam yesterday (ANI) — NDTV (@ndtv) May 7, 2018 Insofar as the screenshot which has been circulated is concerned, NDTV was not wrong in reporting that five civilians had been killed in the cross-fire, but right-wing social media users made it seem as if the channel has deliberately referred to terrorists as civilians, on the basis of one snapshot which did not capture all the details of the event. Alt News has contacted NDTV to avail the snapshots of the report broadcast in May, 2018 and will update the story once we receive the same. 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	9th August 2018 / 6:37 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-ndtv-report-encounter-of-terrorists-in-kashmir-as-death-of-civilians/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
755	Did Nehru government scrap currency notes featuring Subhas Chandra Bose? - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 25th October 2018 / 5:49 pm / Last updated: 15th March 2019 An image of a currency note featuring Subhas Chandra Bose has appeared on social media, along with the claim that the currency note was demonetised by the Jawaharlal Nehru led Congress government. The Facebook page Modi Government on October 22 posted this image, which has been shared a whopping 14,000 times already. घटिया और गंदी सोच वाली है कांग्रेस …. Posted by Modi Government on Sunday, October 21, 2018 The text along with the image states, “नेताजी सुभास चंद्र बोस की तस्वीर वाला 5 का नोट जिसे नेहरूजी ने बंद करवा दिया था , ताकि भारतीय इस सच्चे स्वतंत्रता सेनानी को भूल जाये लेकिन इसे इतना शेयर करो की सरकार इसे वापस शुरू कर दे” (This is the 5 rupee note featuring Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose which was scrapped, so that Indians forget this freedom fighter, but share this to the extent that the government resumes printing it- translated). According to the currency note, it has been issued by Azad Hind Bank and features Bose wearing his trademark cap and performing the hand salute. Alt News found that another image of a currency note featuring Bose was posted by a Facebook user in the group WE SUPPORT NARENDRA MODI, in September 2018. This post claims that the image is of a 10 rupee note which was scrapped by Nehru. Did the Nehru led government demonetise currency featuring Subhas Chandra Bose as claimed by certain sections? It did not, for the simple reason that these currency notes whose images are circulating on social media, were never legal tender. They were issued in pre-independent India. The currency notes featuring Subhas Chandra Bose were issued by Azad Hind Bank, which can be seen inscribed on the currency note. Kanailal Basu’s book Netaji: Rediscovered states that the Azad Hind Bank was formed in Rangoon (now Yangon) in Burma (now Myanmar) in April 1944 for the purpose of organizing funds to finance the war effort against the British. The bank printed Indian currency notes and managed contributions from Indians from across the world. Azad Hind Bank also finds mention in Fiery Dragons: Banks, Moneylenders and Microfinance in Burma by Sean Turnell. There are several kinds of currency notes featuring Subhas Chandra Bose which were issued before independence by the Azad Hind Bank (also known as Bank of Independence). Some of these notes have found their way to the public domain, mainly forming part of personal collections. The Hindu had reported in January 2010 that one such currency note had been made public. The Telegraph, in a recent report, has stated that the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Birthplace Museum in Cuttack, Odisha has a rare collection of coins and currency notes which were issued by the Azad Hind Bank. In fact, a rather bizarre request had been made to the Central government in 2016 when several borrowers petitioned the Finance ministry seeking to repay loans through currency issued by the Azad Hind Bank. The request followed the declassification of files related to Bose. The Economic Times reports, “We have received representations from some individuals who want the currency issued by Azad Hind Bank or similar variants to be recognised as legal tender,” said one of them. “Some of them even want their existing loans to be repaid through these currency notes.” The second official said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had said it doesn’t have any record of such an entity and therefore the currency can’t be recognised as legal tender.” The claim that the Nehru government demonetised these currency notes featuring Subhas Chandra Bose is patently false. These notes were never recognized by the British Indian government or by the Indian government after independence, as they were issued by the Azad Hind Bank that was established by the ‘Provisional government of free India’ set up by Bose in 1943. Recently, a ‘letter’ of dubious authenticity claimed to have been written by Nehru calling Bose a ‘war criminal’ was shared widely on social media. Vested interests on social media have sought to portray Jawaharlal Nehru in poor light vis-a-vis Subhas Chandra Bose, outrightly accusing India’s first Prime Minister of deliberately scuttling the legacy of Bose, despite there being little evidence available in the public domain to suggest the same. 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	25th October 2018 / 5:49 pm / Last updated: 15th March 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-nehru-government-scrap-currency-notes-featuring-subhas-chandra-bose/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
756	Fake tweet shows News24 apologising and admitting it defamed Akhilesh Yadav at BJP's behest - Alt News Kinjal 30th December 2021 / 1:11 pm / Last updated: 12th January 2022 A screenshot of an alleged tweet by news channel News24 is viral on social media. The tweet reads, “Mr Akhilesh Yadav, News24 made a mistake. We apologise for defaming you at the behest of the BJP”. The post also contains a screengrab of a News24 broadcast where the headline reads, “150 crore Piyush Jain is a member of BJP.” Twitter user Rajesh SP shared the screengrab. बिग ब्रेकिंग न्यूज – भाजपा कार्यालय से डांट पड़ने के बाद न्यूज 24 ने श्री अखिलेश यादव जी से माफ़ी मांगने वाले ट्विट डीलीट किया और प्रोपेगंडा के तहत इसे फर्जी बताने लगे……😉🤦 pic.twitter.com/iXOElqFb5m — Rajesh SP (@ARajesh_SP) December 27, 2021 It is worth noting that Piyush Jain is a businessman from Kanpur. Rs. 200 crores of cash and other items were seized from his home during IT raids conducted on December 22-23 last year. Both the BJP and SP have been targeting one another since the news of the raid surfaced. However, there have been no reports confirming Jain’s political affiliations as of this writing. Several Twitter users also amplified the tweet, with captions like, “BJP will soon be apologising to the whole country.” The screenshot is widespread on Facebook. A closer look at the viral image is enough to confirm that it is fake. There are several inconsistencies that can be spotted here. The image below shows how the font of ‘News24’ in the caption is different from the rest of the text. There are also a few spelling errors. Furthermore, there are various differences in the format of News24’s broadcast and the one seen in the viral image. The headline that appears below the ‘Breaking News’ text is white, whereas the one seen in the image in question is yellow. In addition, the outlet itself clarified via its official Twitter handle that the viral tweet was fake. This fake screenshot is viral on social media. Pls ignore this. Please take cognisance @TwitterIndia @TwitterSupport #FactCheck #Fake pic.twitter.com/1FGWEPy00m — News24 (@news24tvchannel) December 26, 2021 To sum it up, a fake screenshot of a tweet attributed to News24 was circulated online to suggest that the channel apologised to Akhilesh Yadav for maligning his reputation at the behest of the BJP. 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	30th December 2021 / 1:11 pm / Last updated: 12th January 2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-news24-apologize-to-sp-leader-akhilesh-yadav-morphed-screenshot-viral/", "author": "Kinjal" }
757	Did Pak army admit 200 killed in Balakot? Indian media runs video without verification - Alt News Pratik Sinha, Pooja Chaudhuri & Priyanka Jha 13th March 2019 / 10:44 pm / Last updated: 14th March 2019 “Pakistan admits that 200 terrorists were killed.”; “Bodies of slain terrorists were shifted after IAF airstrike.”; “IAF Balakot airstrike proof.” “US-based Gilgit activist shares video.” – were the leading headlines on March 13 across Indian mainstream media outlets. ANI, News18, India Today, ABP News, Times Now, Dainik Bhaskar, Dainik Jagran, India TV and Zee News were among the media organisations that cited a video viral on social media and claimed that it represented the Pakistani army admitting that 200 terrorists were killed by the Indian Air Force in the February 26 airstrike. The above-stated narrative was, however, not verified by media organisations. Most of them sourced the story to a US-based Gigit activist, Senge Hasnan Sering, who incidentally stated to ANI, “I’m not sure how authentic this video is but Pakistan is definitely hiding something very important that has happened in Balakot.” #Pakistan military officer admits to “martyrdom” of more than 200 militants during Indian strike on #Balakot. Calls the terrorists Mujahid who receive special favors/ sustenance from Allah as they fight to support PAK government [against enemies]. Vows to support families pic.twitter.com/yzcCgCEbmu — #SengeSering ས།ཚ། (@SengeHSering) March 13, 2019 Zee News, which was one of the firsts to carry the report, was also at the forefront to alter the story a few hours later. From “a video on social media claims that 200 terrorists were killed but we cannot vouch for the same”, the news channel switched to, “Balakot video fake and represents a six-year-old incident.” Right-wing website OpIndia also carried a story on the alleged admission by Pakistani army personnel. Alt News found that the narrative broadcasted by mainstream media outlets was misleading. We stumbled upon several clues which suggested that the video did not represent the aftermath of IAF’s Balakot airstrike. At about 0:50 seconds in the video, an officer of the Pakistani army lifts a child to console him. Simultaneously, an audio commentary from behind the camera, directed at the boy, says – “ये रुतबा अल्लाह के कुछ ख़ास बन्दों को नसीब होता है. आपको पता है की कुछ 200 बन्दे ऊपर गए थे? इसके नसीब में लिखा हुआ था शहादत. हम रोज़ाना चढ़ते है, जाते है, आते है. तो ये अल्लाह के ख़ास बन्दे, जिसपे करम होता है, जिसपे उनकी ख़ास नज़र-ओ-करम होती है, उसको ये नसीब होता है…परेशान नहीं होना तुम्हारा वालिद मरा नहीं है, ज़िंदा है. मरा हुआ नहीं बोलते. (This is a privilege received by only a few men special to God. Did you know some 200 men went up? Martyrdom was in his destiny. We climb every day, we go and come back. So he is special to God, who had God’s mercy, and was destined for this. Don’t get worried, your father is not dead, he is alive. You shouldn’t say he is dead.)” 1) The part where the man says, “आपको पता है की कुछ 200 बन्दे ऊपर गए थे? (Did you know some 200 men went up?)”, does not represent the death of 200 terrorists. By ‘up’ he meant ‘up the mountains/ hills’ since the line immediately succeeding this statement was – “हम रोज़ाना चढ़ते है, जाते है, आते है. (We climb every day, we go and come back.)” 2) He was, therefore, talking about the death of only one man who went up the mountains or the hills with 200 other men but did not return. A few statements at the end act as additional confirmation – “परेशान नहीं होना तुम्हारा वालिद मरा नहीं है, ज़िंदा है. मरा हुआ नहीं बोलते. (Don’t get worried, your father is not dead, he is alive. You shouldn’t say he is dead.)” – where he was talking about the child’s father who died. 3) The army officer who is holding the boy did not make the statements. 4) Since the statements were made by someone who was standing behind the camera, we do not know if he was a private citizen or a member of the Pakistani army. When Alt News reverse-searched individual frames of the video, one of them redirected us to a few Facebook posts that carried stills of the same incident. عظیم ماں تیرے بیٹے کی لاش آئی ہے۔۔۔ خدا گواہ ہے شہادت کی موت⚰ پائی ہے۔۔ اللہ تعالیٰ شہید ہونے والے جوان کو جنت الفردوس میں اعلیٰ مقام عطا فرمائے اور اہلخانہ کو صبر کی تلقین عطا فرمائے۔۔آمین Posted by PAk Military MemEs on Sunday, 3 March 2019 We shall analyse these photographs one by one. We found that the instant represented in this photograph appeared in the video at about 0:27 seconds. One can evidently spot similarities between the video frame (left) and the photograph (right), Not only are the subjects in both images same, but the name tag on the Pakistan army officer’s uniform reads ‘Faisal’. The second photograph was of the same Pakistani army officer ‘Faisal’. As one can see in the collage below, the facial features match. In the third image, an army officer can be seen paying tribute to a dead man. We were able to confirm that this photograph was shot at during the same event by comparing the clothes of a man who was standing beside the dead body. It is, therefore, clear that these photographs pertained to the viral video. The Pakistani army officer Faisal was visible in both places and the photographs espoused the narrative of the audio commentary – that one man, the father of the child, died. Alt News traced the original video representative of the three photographs analysed in the previous sub-subsection. A Pakistani Facebook page had uploaded the video on March 1, where several people including Pak army officer Faisal, can be seen at the last rites of the man who died. احسان اللہ شہید جنازے کا ایک خوبصورت منظر ۔ Posted by ‎شینگاڑہ درہ نیوز‎ on Saturday, 2 March 2019 At different lengths in the video, the same shots as the photographs are visible. Moreover, this video also includes stills from the video viral on social media. This further confirmed that both the videos represented the same event. The Pakistani Facebook page had also uploaded other videos and imagery of the event. In one of the photographs, the face of the dead man is visible and the caption says that his funeral took place on March 1. عنایت اللہ او دہ عزیز الله اورور احسان اللہ خان جنازہ نن تاریخ 1.3.019.بروز جمعہ .am 11 شینگر گل کی ادا کی گئی ۔ Posted by ‎شینگاڑہ درہ نیوز‎ on Thursday, 28 February 2019 Furthermore, at about 1:09 minutes in the video, Pakistani army men can be seen burying the man while offering a garland that carries a tag that reads – ‘GOC 21 ARTY DIV.’ The complete video and other imagery uploaded by the Pakistani Facebook page confirmed that the event represented burial rites of an alleged soldier or a civilian who recently died. If one carefully watches the video and notices other photographs of the funeral, there is thick snow in the background. The Balakot airstrike took place on February 26 and accessing weather forecast of the time makes it evident that such thick layers of snow could not have formed in the region. Throughout the last week of February, the temperature in Balakot did not fall below minus 5-degree Celsius. While it is possible that it snowed at that temperature, it is unlikely that thick layers of snow accumulated since the temperature fell as high as 7-degree Celsius during the day and the snow must have receded. Moreover, ground reports from Balakot do not show any snow at the site of the airstrike. The photograph posted below, shot by a Reuters photojournalist, was clicked on February 28 and shows no sign of snow. The facts presented in this article conclusively establish that neither was the viral video from Balakot nor did it represent the Pakistani army admitting to the casualty of 200 terrorists. The audio commentary itself was sufficient to establish that the Pak army personnel were talking about the death of only one person. Indian mainstream media, however, broadcasted the unverified video as ‘breaking news’, some ironically running the story while declaring that they cannot vouch for the video’s authenticity. It is unfortunate that since the Pulwama attack, Indian mainstream media has been a prominent contributor to the misinformation cycle. [Update: Alt News reached out to sources in the Pakistani media who informed that the man who died was a civilian porter, Ehsanullah. He suffered a heart attack on February 28 while assisting an army unit. Ehsanullah’s funeral rites took place on March 1 in Singhara Darora, Upper Dir district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. We checked on Google maps that Balakot is at least 300 km away from the said location.] 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 March 2019 / 10:44 pm / Last updated: 14th March 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-pak-army-admit-200-killed-in-balakot-indian-media-runs-video-without-verification/", "author": "Pratik Sinha, Pooja Chaudhuri & Priyanka Jha" }
758	Did PM Modi announce total alcohol ban? No, photoshopped news clip viral - Alt News Priyanka Jha 3rd June 2019 / 9:17 pm “Modi ji’s important decision since barabanki liquor accident has been stopped by alcohol in whole india from tonight,” was a message viral along with an alleged screengrab of an Aaj Tak broadcast. Citing the media outlet, social media claims suggested that the Prime Minister has decided to ban liquor across the country. It’s noteworthy that 16 people had lost their lives last month in UP’s Barabanki after consuming poisonous alcohol. बाराबंकी शराब हादसे के बाद से मोदी जी का अहम फैसला आज रात से पूरे भारत मे अल्कोहल शराब बंद ।। Posted by अगर राजस्थानी हो तो पेज लाइक करो on Tuesday, 28 May 2019 Several individual users had shared the same message on their Facebook profiles. बड़ी खुशखबरी मोदी जी ने क्या बड़ा ऐलान ! आज रात से पूरे भारत में शराब बन्द ! 🍻🍻 Posted by Sawai Suthar on Tuesday, 28 May 2019 The alleged screengrab of the Aaj Tak broadcast has been floating on social media since 2017. Breaking News: आज रात 12 बजे से पुरे भारत में शराब बंद pic.twitter.com/cZ9RNQQIGi — $K™ BHARAT🇮🇳✌ (@solanki1112) January 8, 2017 The viral screenshot is not genuine and has, in fact, been photoshopped. This becomes evident if one carefully scrutinises the clip. In the image below, we have highlighted the portions that have been manufactured. 1. Aaj Tak’s logo is blurry and a part of it has been covered by graphics. It is not possible that a media channel does not broadcast its logo in a proper manner. 2 and 3. The newsflash on the screen – “आज रात से पूरे भारत में शराब बन्द” – is clearer than the rest of the text on the screen and is also written using a different font. The alphabet ‘श’ in ‘देश’ (marked as 2) does not have the same font as the ‘श’ in ‘शराब’ (marked as 3). 4 and 5. The ‘म’ in ‘नाम’ (marked as 4) and the ‘म’ in ‘में’ (marked as 5) is also different. 6. Furthermore, the background in the screengrab is atypical for a news channel to carry. Alt News found that the image of the Prime Minister used in the screengrab was lifted from a December 31, 2016 address to the nation. DD News had uploaded PM Modi’s complete speech where he can be seen in the same clothes as in the viral image. The background also matches. A piece of misinformation was attempted to be given genuineness by attributing it to a mainstream media outlet. Apart from the evident photoshop, one can also verify the message by cross-checking if the news was reported by other media organisations. A lack of reports points that it was false. 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	3rd June 2019 / 9:17 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-pm-modi-announce-total-alcohol-ban-no-photoshopped-news-clip-viral/", "author": "Priyanka Jha" }
759	Did PM Modi get a girl to call Rahul Gandhi 'Pappu'? No, its a satirical dubbed video - Alt News Jignesh Patel 5th November 2018 / 8:03 pm / Last updated: 19th March 2019 In a Facebook group, Punya Prasun Bajpai Fans club, an individual user has posted a video of PM Modi with a little girl. “This way the dignity of PM’s post will get erased. It was expected from foolish Modi. Only a lowlife can make a child make sit on his lap and make her utter foul language in a well rehearsed manner. -translated”, was the caption affixed to the video. In the 23-second clip, the little girl accompanying Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a podium can be heard saying, “Rahul Gandhi pappu hai”. This post has garnered close to 6,200 shares so far. Primarily, the video seems to have been dubbed with some other audio clip and was passed off as satire. However many social media users fell for the video posted by the Facebook page, believing it to be true. On Twitter, a user @erbmjha had tweeted the same clip on November 3, 2018 with an indication of the satire. Abey Yaar 😂😂😷 pic.twitter.com/EMiucaRr9D — BALA (@erbmjha) November 3, 2018 Another version of the dubbed video was tweeted in response to the aforementioned tweet. Abey Yaar 😂😂😷 pic.twitter.com/BnArl1zWCi — Baba Rangeela Popot (@Popat_Patra) November 3, 2018 Alt News found the original video posted by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s official YouTube channel on September 18, 2016. As suggested in the caption, “A specially-abled girl reads extract from Ramayana”. At 0:20, the girl starts off by introducing herself after which PM Modi asks her to recite the Ramayana. Although the video was passed off in a satirical manner, it ended up being mischievously shared by a Facebook page claiming it to be true. In the past as well, Alt News had found how several users on social media believed that a child said “Modi” in answer to Trump’s question, “who do you like the most?” 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	5th November 2018 / 8:03 pm / Last updated: 19th March 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-pm-modi-get-a-girl-to-call-rahul-gandhi-pappu-no-its-a-satirical-dubbed-video/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
760	Did PM Modi speak with martyr's wife after Pulwama attack? Video after 2013 Patna blast shared as recent - Alt News Jignesh Patel 18th February 2019 / 7:17 pm “कभी देखा है ऐसा प्रधानमंत्री जो खुद शहीद की पत्नी को फोन करे, एक बाप की तरह उनके आँसू पोंछने की कोशिश करे, देख कर आँखे नम हो जाएँगी (Have you ever seen a Prime Minister, who himself calls the martyr’s wife and tries to console her like a father. This video will bring tears to your eyes -translated)” reads the caption of a video, where a woman is supposedly speaking to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over a phone call. The video has gone viral on social media in the backdrop of the Pulwama terror attack. A post by a Facebook page Swadeshi Lehar has been shared close to 2800 times so far. Many other individual users on Facebook and Twitter have shared the video with an identical narrative. Alt News found that the video is more than five years old and dates back to the time when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. We found a video, uploaded by Zee News‘ official YouTube channel on November 2, 2013. “Narendra Modi called on the wife of Patna blast victim from Gopal Ganj, Munna Shrivastav, to offer his condolences. He was unable to visit the village due to bad weather.”, reads the caption attested with the video. Narendra Modi’s website had also published a post along with the same video, now circulating on social media, on November 2, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zoSNcQJn8U The woman, whom Modi was consoling over a telephonic conversation, seen in the video is Munna Srivastava’s wife, Priya Srivastava. Munna Srivastava was one of five people who were killed in a serial blast that reportedly took place before BJP’s Hunkar rally in October, 2013. An article published by The Indian Express on October 28, 2013, stated, “In the first such attack in Patna, five people were killed and over 70 injured when serial blasts targeted Narendra Modi’s rally in the state capital’s Gandhi Maidan.” As the weather conditions were unfavourable for Modi’s chopper to land in Srivastava’s town, he was unable to visit the family. In conclusion, an old video of a woman, whose husband had died in a serial blasts in Patna in 2013 was circulated widely as PM Modi consoling the wife of a martyr, in the backdrop of the recent terror attack on CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmir. 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 February 2019 / 7:17 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-pm-modi-speak-with-martyrs-wife-after-pulwama-attack-video-after-2013-patna-blast-shared-as-recent/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
761	Did PM Modi table new vaccine plan prior to Supreme Court criticism? - Alt News Archit 11th June 2021 / 4:29 pm / Last updated: 11th June 2021 Since January, the COVID-19 vaccination drive in India has been taking place in three phases. The third phase began on May 1 for adults aged between 18 to 44. PM Modi had directed states on April 19 to procure vaccines to begin this phase. In April itself, the Supreme Court had criticised the Centre’s policy in a suo motu case. On June 7, the Prime Minister announced that the Centre will now directly procure 75% of the vaccines and provide free vaccination to everyone above 18. Subsequently, several journalists and mainstream media outlets portrayed that the union government’s plan to revert to centralised procurement of vaccines was tabled on June 1 and the Supreme Court order hearing came out on June 2 – thus implying that PM Modi’s announcement was an independent decision and the Supreme Court’s observations had no bearing. Times Now editor Navika Kumar wrote, “I’m being told that reverting to centralised procurement policy for vaccines was on the @narendramodi @PMOTable on June 1. As a detailed presentation & his ok was inked the same day. SC hearing was on June 2. Over to opposition.” She later took down her tweet. ABP News anchor Vikas Bhadauria cited “govt sources”, claiming the centre’s plan was “already underway” by the time the SC’s hearing was held on “June 3”. An identical tweet that cited “govt sources” for the information was posted by numerous other journalists including Aman Sharma, Payal Mehta and Megha Prasad. Republic reported, “However, top sources in the Government of India have rebutted the claims of the Opposition by stating that the plan for Centralised free vaccinations was presented to PM Modi on June 1. The Prime Minister had given approval on the same day, whereas the Supreme Court observations on the same were given a day later i.e. on June 2.” Similar reports were published by media outlets ANI, Yahoo News, Times Now, Zee5, LatestLY, Live Hindustan and The Navhind Times. Readers should note that prior to Phase-III of vaccine roll-out, the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance in the last week of April with respect to COVID management by the Centre. Phase-III, also known as Liberalised Vaccination Policy, was criticised on multiple grounds by the apex court. This review is still ongoing. On April 30, the apex court had observed, “Prima facie, the rational method of proceeding in a manner consistent with the right to life (which includes the right to health) under Article 21 would be for the Central Government to procure all vaccines and to negotiate the price with vaccine manufacturers. Once quantities are allocated by it to each State Government, the latter would lift the allocated quantities and carry out the distribution. In other words, while procurement would be centralized, distribution of the vaccines across India within the States/UTs would be decentralized. While we are not passing a conclusive determination on the constitutionality of the current policy, the manner in which the current policy has been framed would prima facie result in a detriment to the right to public health which is an integral element of Article 21 of the Constitution. Therefore, we believe that the Central Government should consider revisiting its current vaccine policy to ensure that it withstands the scrutiny of Articles 14 and Article 21 of the Constitution.” (View page 40 of the April 30 order) Therefore, to imply that PM Modi penned down a plan to procure 75% of the vaccines and provide free vaccinations for those over 18 years prior to the apex court’s intervention is false. The Supreme Court hearing was on May 31 and the order was uploaded on June 2. Managing Editor of Live Law Manu Sebastian told Alt News, “The May 31 order passed by the bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud, L Nageswara Rao and S Ravindra Bhat was uploaded on June 2 on the Supreme Court website.” (View PDF of May 31 order) Media outlets and journalists overlooked the Supreme Court’s May 31 criticisms on Liberalized Vaccination Policy of the central government. In fact, the SC had suggested on April 30 itself that the Centre should be the one procuring all the vaccines. PHASE-I of vaccination started on January 16. The mode of procurement of vaccines was centralised. PHASE-II of vaccination rolled out on March 1. The mode of procurement of vaccines was centralised just like Phase-I. PHASE-III was effective since May 1. The mode of procurement of vaccines changed to decentralised. Those interested in reading more about the Supreme Court’s comments on Centre’s Liberalized Vaccination Policy should study the order hyperlinked above. An overview can be gained from Live Law reports — Centre’s Policy Of Paid Vaccination For 18-44 Years Prima Facie Arbitrary and Irrational: Supreme Court and ‘Free Vaccines For All’: A Powerful Impact Of Supreme Court’s Judicial Review. 🙏 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… 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	11th June 2021 / 4:29 pm / Last updated: 11th June 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-pm-modi-table-new-vaccine-plan-prior-to-supreme-court-criticism/", "author": "Archit" }
762	Did Priyanka Chopra wear a burqa while meeting Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh? - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 9th July 2018 / 7:22 pm In May 2018, Priyanka Chopra’s visit to a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh’s Cox Bazaar as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador invited much slander and abuse. Now, a photograph showing Chopra wearing a burqa is being shared across social media platforms with the claim that the actress had donned the attire when she met ‘extremist’ Rohingya Muslims in Bangladesh. दोगले फ़िल्मबाजों का दोगलापन, भारत मे घूमो तो फूहड़ परिधान लेकिन बांग्लादेश के कट्टरवादी रोहिंग्या मुसलमानों से मिलते समय बुरखा 🤣 Posted by योगी आदित्यनाथ की सेना on Thursday, July 5, 2018 The above post is by the Facebook page Yogi Adityanath Ki Sena. It was posted on July 5 and has been shared more than 11,000 times so far. The accompanying message says, “दोगले फ़िल्मबाजों का दोगलापन, भारत मे घूमो तो फूहड़ परिधान लेकिन बांग्लादेश के कट्टरवादी रोहिंग्या मुसलमानों से मिलते समय बुरखा” (Hypocrisy of hypocrite film stars, will wear anything in India but will wear burqa when meeting extremist Rohingya Muslims in Bangladesh- translation). Individual users on Facebook have shared/uploaded this photograph, and it has also been shared by social media users on Twitter. In 2011, Priyanka Chopra had starred in a movie directed by Vishal Bharadwaj named ‘Saat Khoon Maaf’. It was for this movie that Chopra had donned a burqa. The photograph dates back to 2010. It was uploaded by Outlook on its website. Posted below is a YouTube video of an extract from the movie in which Priyanka Chopra can be seen wearing the same burqa. There is yet another occasion where Chopra wore a burqa. This was tweeted by her in October 2015 and was part of the promotional campaign for Quantico. My chauffeur Maqbool Bhai got the burka from Mohammad ali road Mumbai.. @SamiRattner styled it #Quantico https://t.co/nwKm6ygb6y — PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) October 26, 2015 The Facebook page ‘Yogi Adityanath ki Sena‘ which shared the misleading image of Priyanka Chopra is notorious for spreading mis/disinformation in form of fake or misleading quotes, images and videos. Some of the instances documented by Alt News include fake quotes attributed to Jyotiraditya Scidia, Ravish Kumar, Rana Ayyub and Nana Patekar. Actress Priyanka Chopra has been at the receiving end of right-wing trolling on social media in recent times. Recently, a controversial episode of the American television series Quantico which showed a Hindu extremist as part of a terror plot on New York had attracted much criticism and ridicule, coming shortly on the heels of her visit to the Rohingya refugee camp. Now, the actress is once again in the crosshairs and continues to be targeted relentlessly. 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. 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	9th July 2018 / 7:22 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-priyanka-chopra-wear-a-burqa-while-meeting-rohingya-refugees-in-bangladesh/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
763	Morphed CNN graphic portrays Putin warning India to not interfere in Ukraine crisis - Alt News Kinjal 26th February 2022 / 8:17 pm In the midst of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, an alleged screengrab from a CNN News broadcast has gone viral on social media. The screengrab has a picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin along with the quote, “India should not interfere, otherwise be ready to face the consequences”. Twitter user Sonu Mehra tweeted this screengrab and remarked that Putin is warning India while the country’s media is propping up the Russian president. The tweet drew over 3,000 likes as of this writing. (Archived link to the tweet) पुतिन ने भारत को चेतावनी दी है, बीच में घुसने की कोशिश न करे वरना अंजाम भुगतने को तैयार रहे । और यहां की गोदिमीडिया साहब को विश्व का महान नेता बता रही है , 🥱😲😟🤔😧 pic.twitter.com/PQywivomSn — Sonu Mehra (@sonumehrauk) February 26, 2022 Twitter user @Manav_SS_Gupta tweeted the same image and garnered around 750 likes. (Archived link to tweet) Day Before Yesterday #Modi had long conversation ( 25 minutes ) with #Putin and the result 👇 Putin’s New Punchline pic.twitter.com/ERkx4iDrQ5 — 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐯 𝐆𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐚 (@Manav_SS_Gupta) February 26, 2022 Several other users have shared this screengrab on Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp. Through a simple reverse image search, Alt News found the original CNN report dated November 12, 2019. But unlike the viral screengrab, the original reads, “Top Russian official jokes about interfering in U.S. elections in 2020”. Above that text, it says “Putin’s New Punchline”. It is thus obvious that the original text has been replaced with the fake quote in the viral screengrab. ‘The Lead CNN’ had tweeted the original screengrab on Twitter on November 12, 2019. Russian interference in U.S. elections now comedy fodder for Kremlin @fpleitgenCNN reports https://t.co/CPKGSlRssa pic.twitter.com/o9kZeEBONT — The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) November 12, 2019 Thus, a screengrab of CNN’s broadcast was morphed to portray the Russian president warning India to not interfere in the Ukraine crisis. 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… 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	26th February 2022 / 8:17 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-putin-warns-india-and-say-not-to-interfare-otherwise-be-ready-to-face-the-consequences/", "author": "Kinjal" }
764	Did Rahul Gandhi announce contradictory figures as part of minimum income scheme? - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 26th March 2019 / 5:44 pm A claim viral on social media suggests that Rahul Gandhi, during his press conference regarding the minimum income guarantee scheme, promised Rs 12,000 per month to the poor, but said that Rs 72,000 will be deposited in their accounts every year. Mocking the Congress President’s math, several individual users and pages on social media raised questions on the remaining Rs 72,000. Among those at the forefront of making the assertion was a former officer of the Indian airforce and an incumbent BJP member, Major Surendra Poonia (archive). At the time of writing this article, the video of Rahul Gandhi shared by Poonia received nearly 45,000 views and 6,000 retweets. #MinimumIncomeGuarantee योजना की गणित देखो 12,000/महीना देने का वादा 12,000×12=1,44000/साल का फिर कहते है की हर ग़रीब के अकाउंट में साल में 72,000 रुपये आ जायेंगे बाक़ी 72,000 कहाँ जायेंगे🤔? अपनी जेब में या Swish बैंक में राहुलजी गणित सीख लो🙏देश @narendramodi जी चला लेंगे pic.twitter.com/T3vdG7negp — Major Surendra Poonia (@MajorPoonia) March 25, 2019 Another Twitter handle @narendramodi177 also shared the video that drew over 20,000 views (archive). The footage consists of two clips where, in the one on the left, Gandhi can be heard saying – “मैं ये आपको, हिंदुस्तान की जनता को, हिंदुस्तान के गरीबो से कहना चाहता हु की लाइन 12,000 रुपए महीने की होगी. (I want to tell you, India’s citizens, India’s poor that the line will be Rs 12,000 per month.)” In the clip on the right, the Congress President says, “बीस प्रतीशत सबसे गरीब परिवारों को हर साल बहत्तर हज़ार रूपए देने जा रही है. (20% of the poorest families will receive Rs 72,000 per year.)” The video was created by a Facebook page Nation Wants NaMo (archive). अभी से घोटाला शुरू? Posted by Nation Wants NaMo on Monday, 25 March 2019 The video viral on social media has been created by clipping parts of Rahul Gandhi’s March 25 press briefing on the minimum income guarantee scheme. The complete video reveals that the Congress President did not say that Rs 12,000 per month will be given to the poor and this amounts to Rs 72,000 a year. He, in fact, said that the individuals with income below Rs 12,000 will be the beneficiaries of the scheme, receiving a maximum of Rs 72,000 per year in their bank accounts. At 0:54 seconds in the complete video, Gandhi says, “जहा भी मैं जाता हु युवा, जनता, किसान, मज़दूर मुझसे पूछते है की ये आमदनी की लाइन, मिनिमम आमदनी की लाइन क्या होगी और इस स्कीम की स्ट्रेंथ क्या होगी, ये स्कीम कितने लोगो की मद्दत करेगी. तो मैं ये आपको, हिंदुस्तान की जनता को, हिंदुस्तान के गरीबो से कहना चाहता हु की लाइन 12,000 रुपए महीने की होगी। (Wherever I go, the youth, citizens, farmer and labourers ask me what will be the income line, what will be the minimum income line and what will be the strength of the scheme, how many people will benefit from it? I want to tell you, India’s citizens, India’s poor that the line will be Rs 12,000 per month.)” At 1:43 minutes during the speech, he further says, “कांग्रेस पार्टी…गारंटी करती है की २० प्रतीशत सबसे गरीब परिवारों को हर साल बहत्तर हज़ार रूपए देने जा रही है . (Congress party will guarantee that 20% of the poorest families will receive Rs 72,000 per year.)” The Congress President also explains the scheme a little more in dept at 5:48 minutes in the complete video – “मिनिमम इनकम लाइन 12000 रुपए की है. मिनिमम इनकम लाइन और उनकी जो इनकम में फर्क है वो सर्कार देगी. तो मान लो अगर आपकी इनकम 6000 है तो जो 12000 से इनकम कम है आपकी उसको टॉप अप करेगी. (The minimum income line will be Rs 12,000. The government will provide the difference between the minimum income line and the income of a person. For instance, if your income is Rs 6,000, the government will top up the income that falls below Rs 12,000).” This means that Congress aims to bring up the monthly income of every individual to Rs 12,000. If a person makes Rs 6,000 a month, the party, if it comes to power, guarantees to bear the remaining Rs 6,000. The limit on the maximum cash that the government will dispense is Rs 72,000 a year. Social media claims mocking Rahul Gandhi’s math are, thus, based on a misleading video. The Congress President has often been similarly targetted online with the use of morphed clips and photoshopped images. 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 March 2019 / 5:44 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-rahul-gandhi-announce-contradictory-figures-as-part-of-minimum-income-scheme/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
765	Did Rahul Gandhi apologise to Supreme Court over 'Chowkidar Chor Hai' comment? - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 23rd April 2019 / 7:48 pm On April 22, news poured in from some quarters that Congress President Rahul Gandhi had admitted before the Supreme Court that he had ‘lied’ over the Rafale deal. It was also reported that Gandhi had apologised to the apex court over his comment ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’. Soon, screenshots of television news reports regarding the same began circulating, and were shared widely on social media. The above post is by the Facebook page Modinama. It has been shared a whopping 46,000 times already. This is merely one of several pro-BJP pages which has shared this information, that Rahul Gandhi had apologised to the Supreme Court ‘with folded hands’. These included Phir Ek Baar Modi Sarkar whose post has been shared over 15000 times, Friends of BJP, (over 5600 shares), Politics Solitics (over 2100 shares) and We Support Amit Shah (almost 7000 shares). Apart from screenshots of news channels, the information has also been shared in the form of an infographic, and has been circulated on WhatsApp as well. The same was reiterated by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who tweeted a one minute video of himself with the words, “The credibility of Rahul Gandhi’s statements has been destroyed after his apology” (translation). आज राहुल गांधी के बयानों की विश्वसनीयता उनके माफ़ी माँगने के साथ समाप्त ही हो गयी l pic.twitter.com/xY5eOlP5jp — Chowkidar Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) April 22, 2019 While the broadcast news reports relating to the development were on point, the presentation of the same was misleading. For instance, Republic TV tweeted that “Rahul Gandhi has admitted that he lied on the ‘Chowkidar Chor Hain’ comment vis-a-vis the Prime Minister”. #CongAdmitsJhoot \| Big embarrassment for the Congress as their President Rahul Gandhi has admitted that he lied on the ‘Chowkidar Chor Hain’ comment vis-a-vis the Prime Minister. What impact do you think this will have politically? pic.twitter.com/bc5N8Ql27x — Republic (@republic) April 22, 2019 Senior news anchor Bhupendra Choubey was among those who tweeted that Rahul Gandhi had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court expressing ‘regret’ over his remark. Bang in the middle of election campaign, @RahulGandhi files affidavit in SC expressing ” regret ” for calling @narendramodi ” chowkidar chor hai “. Now watch how this be picked up today. Big moment in election campaign today — bhupendra chaubey (@bhupendrachaube) April 22, 2019 Hindi news anchor Amish Devgan too tweeted an infographic, and also conducted a prime time show on the channel News18 Hindi. #MegaPublicDebate Tonight #RahulSaysSorry राहुल की माफ़ी, पलटेगी 2019 की बाज़ी? चौकीदार नहीं है चोर – राहुल का झूठा शोर #AarPaar शाम 6.57 बजे pic.twitter.com/HhQZI0vFTQ — Amish Devgan (@AMISHDEVGAN) April 22, 2019 Rahul Gandhi had responded via an affidavit, to a petition filed in the Supreme Court by BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi. On April 10, 2019, the Congress president while addressing the media had said, “Supreme Court has said chowkidar ne chori ki hai”. The video of the same is posted below. The relevant portion is from 3:05 to 3:18 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36ZA9-9l90s Over this statement of Rahul Gandhi, Lekhi had filed a Criminal Court of Contempt against him for allegedly attributing his own views as the observation of the apex court. Filed a Criminal Court of Contempt against serial offender Rahul Gandhi. He attributed his own statements as Court’s verdict. Misrepresenting and lowering the dignity of the SC. Vilifying the Constitutional authorities! — Chowkidar Meenakashi Lekhi (@M_Lekhi) April 12, 2019 Alt News accessed the affidavit which was filed by Rahul Gandhi in the Supreme Court in response to a petition by BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi. Lekhi had filed a petition in the apex court over Gandhi’s remark in relation to the Rafale deal, wherein he had attributed the words ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’ to the Supreme Court. Gandhi’s expression of regret was with regard to his having falsely attributed these words to the court. It may be noted that the petition was with regard to ascribing his (Gandhi’s) own statement as the observation of the Supreme Court, and not about his statement per se. Rahul Gandhi’s expression of regret to the Supreme Court was in the context of the Congress President having falsely ascribed the term ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’ to the top court. The affidavit says, “It is unfortunate that this slogan got intermingled with my comments on and references to the Apex court’s order dated 15.04.2019. My statement was made in the heat of political campaigning. It has been used (and misused) by my political opponents to project that I had deliberately and intentionally suggested that this court had said Chowkidar Chor Hai! Nothing could be farther from my mind. It is also clear that no court would ever do that and hence the unfortunate references (for which I express regret) to the court order and to the political slogan in juxtaposition the same breath in the heat of political campaigning ought not to be construed as suggesting that the court had given any finding or conclusion on that issue.” In point 9 of the affidavit, it is mentioned that “The said statements were made by the answering Respondent in Hindi in a rhetorical flourish in the heat of the moment. It was during a political campaign without a readable copy of the Supreme Court order being available on its website and, therefore, without the answering Respondent having seen or read the order and relying upon electronic and social media reportage and the version of workers and activists surrounding the Respondent.” It may however be noted that Rahul Gandhi has NOT apologised to the Supreme Court for having made allegations against the government with regard to the Rafale agreement. The affidavit states, “The answering Respondent would take this opportunity to reaffirm his stand and belief and that of his party that the Rafale deal is a tainted transaction and a gross and brazen abuse of executive power and a leading example of the corruption of the BJP Government led by Prime Minister Modi, which deserves to be investigated thoroughly by a Joint Parliamentary Committee and proceeded against thereafter.” In the latest development, the Supreme Court has issued a contempt notice to Rahul Gandhi over his remarks. The matter will be heard on April 30. In conclusion, the claim that Rahul Gandhi has apologised to the Supreme Court is true, only to the extent that he has expressed regret for having falsely attributed his view as the observation of the Supreme Court i.e. ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’. Gandhi again reiterated his stand, tweeting with the hashtag #ChowkidarChorHai, after it was claimed that he had apologised. 23 मई को जनता की अदालत में फैसला होकर रहेगा कि कमलछाप चौकीदार ही चोर है। न्याय होकर रहेगा। गरीबों से लूटकर अमीर मित्रों को लाभ देने वाले चौकीदार को सज़ा मिलेगी। #ChowkidarChorHai — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 22, 2019 Mr. Gandhi has not expressed regret over his allegations of corruption in the deal. However, the misleading manner in which some sections of the media reported this development, was taken advantage of by pro-BJP supporters to falsely portray the Congress president as apologetic over the allegations against the government in general. 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	23rd April 2019 / 7:48 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-rahul-gandhi-apologise-to-supreme-court-over-chowkidar-chor-hai-comment/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
766	Did Rahul Gandhi claim Gandhiji's non-violence was inspired by Islam? Clipped video viral - Alt News Alt News Desk 14th January 2019 / 7:56 pm / Last updated: 15th March 2021 A video clip of Rahul Gandhi’s speech during his Dubai visit in 2019 is viral on social media. In the 10-second clip, Gandhi can be heard saying, “Mahatma Gandhi picked up the idea of non-violence from ancient Indian philosophy, from Islam”. The mention of Islam as a source of Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violence has led to outrage, especially among right-wing social media users. Ridiculous Gyaan from Rahul Gandhi : Mahatma Gandhi picked up IDEA of “NON VIOLENCE” from “IsIam” 🙄😂 that’s why people’s call him pappu 🤣#राष्ट्र_न्यूज pic.twitter.com/KVGaNQk0M6 — राष्ट्र न्यूज़ (@Rastranews1) March 10, 2021 Several people have shared the video on both Twitter and Facebook. महात्मा गांधी ने इस्लाम से अहिंसा सिखी -राहुल गांधी मित्रो.. क्या ये सच है? Ridiculous Gyaan from Rahul Gandhi : Mahatma Gandhi picked up IDEA of “NON VIOLENCE” from “IsIam” 🙄 Posted by Sandeep Naik on Tuesday, 9 March 2021 Founder of fake news website, Postcard News, who is followed by Prime Minister Modi was among those who shared this video two years ago. Mahatma Gandhi learned non-violence from Islam — Shri Rahul Gandhi. I requeste Dubai authorities please Give him best mental treatment in ur country….. We Will pay the bills with interest. pic.twitter.com/jNhmexBhvL — Mahesh Vikram Hegde ಮಹೇಶ್ ವಿಕ್ರಮ್ ಹೆಗ್ಡೆ (@mvmeet) January 13, 2019 The video was also shared by Pakistani Canadian author Tarek Fatah. India’s Rahul Gandhi claims Gandhi Ji picked up the idea of ‘non-violence’ not just from ancient Indian philosophy, but also Islam. He takes Vote-bank politics to a new low. pic.twitter.com/rn9Vcp4eKC — Tarek Fatah (@TarekFatah) January 13, 2019 The clip that is circulating on social media is a truncated version of a longer video. Alt News accessed the full video to get the complete context of what Rahul Gandhi said: “In an environment of violence, of anger, and you see it everywhere, you see it in the United States, you see it in Europe, you see it in the Middle East. In an environment of anger, India has the answer. India has the blueprint to provide an answer, not just to India but to the entire planet. Non-violence is embedded inside our DNA. And it has been embedded not for 50 years. Mahatma Gandhi was a great exponent of non-violence. But Mahatma Gandhiji picked up the idea of non-violence from our great religions, from our great teachers. Mahatma Gandhi picked up the idea of non-violence from ancient Indian philosophy, from Islam, from Christianity, from Judaism, from every great religion where it is clearly written that violence will not help anyone achieve anything.” The relevant part of Rahul Gandhi’s speech can be seen in the video below starting at 24:37. [youtube https://youtu.be/WolI-ScdVF4?t=1417\] It is clear that Rahul Gandhi was praising India when he said that the Indian philosophy of non-violence has a solution for the violence and anger plaguing the world. He said that non-violence was inspired by every great religion of the world. At no point did he single out any one religion as suggested using the clipped video and the accompanying commentary on social media. Alt News has reported multiple instances of misinformation where there is an attempt to portray political parties/individuals who are in opposition to BJP as favouring Islam as a religion, and thereby anti-Hindu. A misleading video claimed that Rahul Gandhi had converted to Islam. Another clipped video was circulated to claim that Kanhaiya Kumar had asked people to convert to Islam. Tarek Fatah had circulated a photoshopped image claiming to show a Madrasa teacher portraying Islam as superior to Hinduism. Fatah had also circulated a fake story claiming Muslims waved Pakistani flags to celebrate the victory of Congress. Several other tweets from right-wing handles conveyed that Rahul Gandhi had singled out Islam as the inspiration behind Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence. Several right-wing pages shared the video with the same claim. Follow @free_thinker 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	14th January 2019 / 7:56 pm / Last updated: 15th March 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-rahul-gandhi-claim-gandhijis-non-violence-was-inspired-by-islam-clipped-video-viral/", "author": "Alt News Desk" }
767	Did Rahul Gandhi claim that women in UP give 52 births per year? Clipped video viral - Alt News Pratik Sinha 24th April 2019 / 10:49 pm / Last updated: 25th April 2019 BJP MP RK Sinha tweeted a video of Rahul Gandhi’s speech on India TV with the text, “राहुल ने ढूँढ़ लिया साल में ५२ बच्चे देने वाली महिलाओं को! अब चुनाव हारकर ऐसी ही महिला से शादी कर हर साल ५२ बच्चे पैदा करेंगे श्रीमान जी! (Rahul has found the women who give birth to 52 children every year. After he loses the election, he’ll marry one of these women and make 52 children every year -translation)“. In the video, Rahul Gandhi can be heard saying, “UP mein aisi mahilae hai ho har saptah ek bachcha paida kar sakti hai, aisi mahilae hai jo saal mein 52 bachhe de rahi hai (UP has such women who are giving birth to a child every week, there are such women who are giving birth to 52 children per year)” This video is viral on all platforms including Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp. Renuka Jain, who is followed by PM Modi on Twitter, and has shared misinformation many times in the past also posted the video. 💥💥💥💥💥 Mega Breaking News : UP में ऐसी महिलाएं है जो हर सप्ताह एक बच्चा पैदा कर सकती है और साल में 52 बच्चे पैदा कर रही है – राहुल गांधी pic.twitter.com/ylJTyIEzDs — #RenukaJain Chowkidar 🇮🇳 (@RenukaJain6) April 24, 2019 OneIndia reported that BJP Candidate from Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh, Nandkumar Singh Chouhan, also made a similar claim. In one of the frames in the above video, Rahul Gandhi talks about the issue of corruption in Uttar Pradesh. Searching for the keywords ‘rahul gandhi up corruption’ on India TV’s YouTube channel, we came across a 7 year old video of Rahul Gandhi’s speech in Phoolpur, Uttar Pradesh on November 14, 2011. At 5:25 in the video below, Rahul Gandhi talks about Janani Surakha Yojna under National Rural Health Mission, where pregnant women get an incentive of Rs 1400 for institutional delivery. In that context, he claims that according to a RTI response, there is corruption in this scheme and that women with the same name were getting the incentive every week. [youtube https://youtu.be/0YDhFKdl_cc?t=325] His exact words were, “Humne RTI manga, RTI mein jo hamein report mili, UP mein aisi mahilae hai, jo har saptah ek bacha paida kar sakti hai, aisi mahilae hai jo saal mein 52 bachha de rahi hai, ek hi naam hai, 1400 rupay har saptah uske jeb mein, aur ek hi ek mahila nahin hai, hazaro mahilae hai (We filed an RTI, according to the RTI response, UP has such women who are giving birth to a child every week, there are such women who are giving birth to 52 children per year, all have one name, 1400 rupees in their pocket every week, and there are thousands of such women. -translation)” The relevant portion of the video can be seen below. From his speech, the part where he says, “UP mein aisi mahilae hai ho har saptah ek bachcha paida kar sakti hai, aisi mahilae hai jo saal mein 52 bachhe de rahi hai (UP has such women who are giving birth to a child every week, there are such women who are giving birth to 52 children per year)“, was clipped and circulated thus leading to a false impression. This claim was earlier debunked by Dainik Bhaskar. Even though the pattern of clipping videos and circulating them on social media sans context is very common, two senior BJP functionaries fell for the same video. Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Aloo-Sona Machine’ video and more recently, Narendra Modi’s ‘I am son of Pathan‘ video are examples of this category of misinformation. Co-Founder Alt News, I can be reached via E-mail at [email protected] and on Facebook at https://fb.com/freethinker. 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	24th April 2019 / 10:49 pm / Last updated: 25th April 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-rahul-gandhi-claim-that-women-in-up-give-52-births-per-year-clipped-video-viral/", "author": "Pratik Sinha" }
768	Did Rahul Gandhi cut Manmohan Singh's birthday cake? Old, unrelated video viral - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 26th September 2019 / 9:23 pm / Last updated: 23rd September 2021 A video of Rahul Gandhi cutting a cake with Manmohan Singh has been shared on social media with the claim that Gandhi did not let the former PM cut his own birthday cake. He was not even allowed to cut his own birthday cake. Only fools and stupid liberals will believe that he was allowed to run the Government for ten long years 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/bWkgLPa2Wk — C T Ravi 🇮🇳 ಸಿ ಟಿ ರವಿ (@CTRavi_BJP) September 22, 2021 He was not able to cut even his birthday cake on his own?!🙆🙆 pic.twitter.com/5VSOF3fdIg — Priti Gandhi – प्रीति गांधी (@MrsGandhi) September 22, 2021 The video was also shared earlier in May. 🛑🟡🛑 जिसको अपने जन्मदिन पर केक तक नही काटने देते थे सोचो उसने 10 सालो तक सरकार कैसे चलाई होगी 😃😃बस इनको एक ऐसा ही गुलाम चाहिए था और मिल भी गया😄😃😀 PM, की असली शक्ति क्या होती है ये तो आज पता चल रही है और इसलिए ही ये पप्पू खान और गुलाम परेशान हैं 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/t3y75GGFnL — हिन्दू राजेश परिहार🚩❤️🙏 (@RajeshParihar1P) May 28, 2021 It had been circulating on Facebook. Alt News received verification requests for the video on its WhatsApp helpline number (+91 76000 11160). Dr Manmohan Singh’s birthday is on September 26 and the video was shared two years ago on the occasion. Rishi Bagree tweeted the video and wrote, “#ManmohanSingh is not even free to cut his own cake.” The video had been viewed over one lakh times and drew nearly 7,000 likes. #ManmohanSingh is not even free to cut his own cake. pic.twitter.com/ziIjvFpdlS — Rishi Bagree ऋषि 🇮🇳 (@rishibagree) September 26, 2019 Shefali Vaidya also tweeted the video saying, “MMS doesn’t even have the authority to cut his own birthday cake before @RahulGandhi leads his hand! Imagine how he ‘ran’ the govt for 10 years!!” Hmmm, MMS doesn’t even have the authority to cut his own birthday cake before @RahulGandhi leads his hand! Imagine how he ‘ran’ the govt for 10 years!! pic.twitter.com/jl9u7r5eqv — Shefali Vaidya ஷெஃபாலி வைத்யா शेफाली वैद्य (@ShefVaidya) September 26, 2019 The clip was circulated on Facebook. From the page ‘Arnab Fan Club‘ it received 27,000 views. Manmohan Singh is not even free to cut his own cake. Posted by Arnab Fan Club on Thursday, 26 September 2019 It was, in fact, viral on Facebook. Incidentally, the same video was tweeted by Bagree in 2018 as well. गाँधी परिवार इनको अपना केक तक नही काटने देते है, सरकार क्या खाक चलाने दिए होंगे pic.twitter.com/ROaOf6TQFV — Rishi Bagree ऋषि 🇮🇳 (@rishibagree) December 28, 2018 This video was uploaded by the official page of Congress on December 27, 2018, on the occasion of the party’s foundation day. The video was also reported by the media. An old video of Rahul Gandhi and Manmohan Singh was shared on social media to claim that Gandhi did not allow the former PM to cut his birthday cake. 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 September 2019 / 9:23 pm / Last updated: 23rd September 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-rahul-gandhi-cut-manmohan-singhs-birthday-cake-old-unrelated-video-viral/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
769	Did Rahul Gandhi pay last respects to Sushma Swaraj's entire family? Photoshopped tweet viral - Alt News Kinjal 10th August 2019 / 12:23 pm “राहुल गांधी ने सुषमा स्वराज के निधन पर ट्वीट कर सुषमा जी के परिवार और उनके चाहने वाले सभी लोगों को दे डाली श्रृद्धांजलि. देश की सबसे पुरानी पार्टी के कुल दीपक के अद्भुत ज्ञान को नमन। (On Sushma Swaraj’s death, Rahul Gandhi paid last respects to her and her entire family. Bowing down to the wisdom of the heir to the largest party in the country),“ reads a message viral on social media. राहुल गांधी ने सुषमा स्वराज के निधन पर ट्वीट कर सुषमा जी के परिवार और उनके चाहने वाले सभी लोगों को दे डाली श्रधांजलि इस सड़कछाप को श्रद्धांजलि देने का भी ज्ञान नहीं है ।। Posted by Shyam Sunder Bhatt on Wednesday, 7 August 2019 The claim that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi paid last respects to not only Sushma Swaraj but her entire family after her demise was furthered using a screenshot of an alleged tweet by Gandhi which said – “लोग उनको काफी सम्मान करते थे। उसके परिवार और चाहने वालों को श्रद्धांजलि। (She was immensely revered by people. A tribute to her and her family.)” Alt News has also received fact-check requests on its app. The first clue which suggested that the screenshot is ingenuine is that the alleged tweet’s Hindi text did not match the contents of Rahul Gandhi’s original tweet, which clearly stated – “My condolences to her family in this hour of grief. May her soul rest in peace.” I’m shocked to hear about the demise of Sushma Swaraj Ji, an extraordinary political leader, a gifted orator & an exceptional Parliamentarian, with friendships across party lines. My condolences to her family in this hour of grief. May her soul rest in peace. Om Shanti 🙏 — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 6, 2019 Furthermore, the top right corner of the viral screenshot carried a blurred logo of Delhi Aaj Tak. Though unclear, the logo can be made out upon close analysis. We found that Delhi Aaj Tak’s August 7 broadcast flashed Rahul Gandhi’s tweet multiple times during the program. However, the channel ran his tweet as it is, without a Hindi translation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhyGaW_Clwo The screenshot below shows one of the portions of the broadcast where Rahul Gandhi’s tweet was flashed by Delhi Aaj Tak. As evident, the media outlet broadcast his English tweet. For further corroboration, Alt News contacted Delhi Aaj Tak executive editor Shams Tahir Khan who informed that the channel did not broadcast the tweet viral on social media. He told us, “This has been morphed by someone. This is apparent just at first glance because we use a different font. We cross-checked the time in the screenshot when the tweet appears with our broadcast and found that we did not flash anything of the sort at that time.” In conclusion, the Delhi Aaj Tak screenshot flashing an alleged tweet by Rahul Gandhi is a work of photoshop. 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 August 2019 / 12:23 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-rahul-gandhi-pay-last-respects-to-sushma-swarajs-entire-family-photoshopped-tweet-viral/", "author": "Kinjal" }
770	Did Rahul Gandhi say Congress is a party of Muslims? Meeting participants refute claim - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 15th July 2018 / 3:24 pm / Last updated: 15th July 2018 On July 12, an article appeared in the Urdu daily Inquilab, according to which Congress President Rahul Gandhi had said that the Congress party is a political party of the Muslim community. The daily quoted Gandhi as saying, “Yes, Congress is a Muslim party”. A screenshot of the article is posted below, an excerpt of which reads, “If BJP says that Congress is a party of Muslims, it is fine. Congress is a party of Muslims, because Muslims are weak and Congress always stands with the weak” (translated). According to the report, Gandhi had said these words at a closed-door meeting with members of the Muslim community. This report made its way to mainstream media in no time. Hindi news channel Zee Hindustan in its broadcast on the evening of July 12 reported that the Congress President had said these words. The basis for the report was the article by Inquilab which first made this claim. ‘कांग्रेस मुस्लिमों की पार्टी है- राहुल गांधी’ एक उर्दू अखबार इंकलाब में छपी खबर के मुताबिक Indian National Congress अध्यक्ष Rahul Gandhi ने कहा, ‘कांग्रेस मुस्लिमों की पार्टी है, क्योंकि देश का मुस्लिम तबका कमज़ोर है और कांग्रेस हमेशा कमज़ोरों के साथ रही है, 2019 में किसी भी कीमत पर बीजेपी को सत्ता में नहीं आने का प्रण लीजिए.’ Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Posted by Zee Hindustan on Thursday, July 12, 2018 The issue expectedly escalated and reached a crescendo. The BJP was quick to latch on to this news report and lashed out at the Congress President on July 13, with defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman leading the charge. The President of Congress Party, Mr. Rahul Gandhi has said that Congress is a Muslim party : Smt. @nsitharaman – Watch at https://t.co/Maypg7NXYV pic.twitter.com/DwYtKkUACl — BJP (@BJP4India) July 13, 2018 A day later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to the same in his address at a rally in Azamgarh, UP. ‘Is Congress party, a party for Muslim men only, or is it for Muslim women too?’, says PM Modi pic.twitter.com/CRv41UuJT7 — TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) July 14, 2018 Senior journalist Shahid Siddiqui took to Twitter to raise doubts over the report and its authenticity. Urdu daily Inqalab has quoted Rahul Gandhi saying “Yes Congress is a Muslim party”. Is the quote correct or party will contradict it? Muslims don’t want a Muslim party, they want a National Secular party, which doesn’t discriminate between citizens. @RahulGandhi @INCIndia pic.twitter.com/ZBwJ8qGcou — shahid siddiqui (@shahid_siddiqui) July 12, 2018 Meanwhile, Congress party leaders were quick to rubbish the report. Congress leader Priyanka Chaturvedi tweeted on July 13, calling it “absolute lies and shameful reporting by the newspaper”. This is absolute lies&shameful spin by the newspaper. The BJP using it to further its own agenda, yet again, exposes their desperate tactics to mislead the nation. However this will not deter us to fight for India’s founding principles& its democratic values. https://t.co/EN15vL7oNa — Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) July 12, 2018 Interestingly, historian S Irfan Habib tweeted on July 13 that he was present at this meeting which has been reported about, and that no such issue had come up during the course of the meeting. Taken a back to hear that Rahul Gandhi is being accused of calling the Congress a Muslim party in a meeting where I was present. It seems to have malicious intent, no such issue came up at all. — S lrfan Habib (@irfhabib) July 13, 2018 Alt News spoke to Fuzail Ahmed Ayyubi who is advocate-on-record at the Supreme Court and was present at this meeting. According to him, no such statement was made. “It is surprising that without any substantiation, this misleading news has been used to criticize the Congress Party by the highest functionaries of the present regime. The fact of the matter is that when an issue was raised before Congress President Shri Rahul Gandhi that how important Muslims are with regard to the policies/scheme of things of Congress Party. In reply to this Congress President Shri Rahul Gandhi said that Muslims are as important to the Congress Party as other religions/sections of the society are and the Congress Party belongs to the Muslims as it belongs to every other Indian, nothing more, nothing less”, he said. Another person who was present at the meeting, Ghazala Jamil who is a faculty at the Centre for the study of law and governance, JNU told Alt News, “At the meeting Mr Gandhi clearly said that he saw Muslims as equal citizens–no more and no less. On Congress party, while acknowledging that it has made many mistakes, he asserted that it has traditionally been the glue that bound Indian communities and sections together. He assured those present that his party is keen to continue to play this role via accommodating concerns of all sections of Indian society. The attendees in the meeting appreciated this position and encouraged him to strongly uphold the values of justice and equality above everything else.” Farah Naqvi, writer and activist who was also present at this meeting too refuted the claim about Rahul Gandhi’s reported statement, in a conversation with Alt News. While the Congress party has denied that Rahul Gandhi had made the reported statement and some participants who were present at the meeting have refuted the claim, the issue has already become a controversy with BJP leaders including PM Modi making claims based on what happened in a closed-door meeting. 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	15th July 2018 / 3:24 pm / Last updated: 15th July 2018	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-rahul-gandhi-say-congress-is-a-party-of-muslims-meeting-participants-refute-claim/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
771	Did Rahul Gandhi suggest a 5000 crore loan for Pakistan? Fake screenshot of ABP News viral - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 3rd December 2018 / 6:21 pm / Last updated: 15th March 2019 With assembly elections drawing to a close, political disinformation has peaked on social media. An image of what is purportedly a screenshot of the Hindi news channel ABP News has been shared widely. The screenshot carries an alleged quote of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, according to which he has said that it is necessary to support Pakistan and that he will do the same, promising Rs.5000 crore loan to Pakistan without interest for the next 50 years! The above was posted in a Facebook group Mission Modi 2019 में अपने 100 मित्रों को जोड़ें on November 28. The group has a membership of over 500,000 and this particular post has been shared over 7000 times so far. These screenshots have also been posted by a large number of individual users on Facebook. The screenshot circulating on social media is fake. No such news has been flashed on the channel, as claimed. Alt News spoke to Pankaj Jha, editor at ABP News who confirmed, “All of these screenshots are fake”. This tactic of using the background of ABP News has been used widely. In November, the channel tweeted, asking social media users to beware of fake news being spread in the name of the channel through manipulated images. #Urgent: This is to notify that the attached media which is being circulated online has been doctored with our channel’s template. The information about Sh. Rahul Gandhi’s statements, which these images carry have not been reported by ABP & have no relation with ABP News Network. pic.twitter.com/qYU2sJXqsl — ABP News (@abpnewstv) November 12, 2018 Earlier, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra was targeted in the same manner, when a fake quote during the farmers’ agitation was attributed to him through a fake screenshot of ABP News. No such Press Conference was ever held by @BJP4India This is a photoshopped,fake news propagated by a verified Twitter handle to further vested interests & cause disharmony in the country I sincerely request @TwitterIndia to take stringent action against the verified handle! https://t.co/tU0w2SCrpL — Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) October 4, 2018 Fake quotes aside, the name of the channel has also been utilised to spread misinformation with regard to opinion polls and exit polls ahead of elections. Recently, ABP News had tweeted a clarification after a ‘survey’ of the Chhattisgarh assembly election was attributed to ABP News and C-Voter, and shared on social media. Earlier in 2017, ahead of the Gujarat assembly election, a fake opinion poll ascribed to ABP News was circulated. Beware of fake news on social media in the name of ABP News. The attached ‘survey’ of Chhattisgarh assembly elections which is being circulated online and attributed to ABP News-CVoter is FAKE. pic.twitter.com/EwMSD4xWNf — ABP News (@abpnewstv) November 26, 2018 In conclusion, the screenshots circulating on social media ascribing the quotation on Pakistan to Rahul Gandhi are fake. 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	3rd December 2018 / 6:21 pm / Last updated: 15th March 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-rahul-gandhi-suggest-a-5000-crore-loan-for-pakistan-fake-screenshot-of-abp-news-viral/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
772	Did Rahul Kanwal say chanting 'Vande Mataram' is anti-national? Clipped video, misleading claim - Alt News Jignesh Patel 14th January 2020 / 5:33 pm Last week, India Today broadcast a series of sting operations investigating the violence in Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus that left 36 injured on January 5. The broadcast was anchored by journalist Rahul Kanwal. Since January 12, a 20-second clip of Kanwal began circulating on social media with a claim that he said chanting ‘Vande Mataram’ is anti-national. BJP’s Mumbai spokesperson Suresh Nakhua posted the video with the message, “So, @rahulkanwal of @IndiaToday says ” Chanting Vande Mataram is anti national”. Now let’s see how Rahul spins this one.” At the time of writing this article, Nakhua’s tweet garnered over 6,500 retweets. So, @rahulkanwal of @IndiaToday says ” Chanting Vande Mataram is anti national”. Now let’s see how Rahul spins this one. Video via @gujjutweeter pic.twitter.com/eN6cewHVC4 — Suresh Nakhua 🇮🇳 ( सुरेश नाखुआ ) (@SureshNakhua) January 12, 2020 Interestingly, Nakhua had tweeted the same clip in February 2016 with a similar narrative. At the time, the tweet had gathered close to 120 retweets. National media in-charge of J&K BJP youth wing BJYM Rohit Chahal posted the same video with the message, “According to @rahulkanwal singing Vande Mataram is Anti National activity ! #RahulKanwalExposed”. According to @rahulkanwal singing Vande Mataram is Anti National activity ! #RahulKanwalExposed pic.twitter.com/DsCte7mowB — ROHIT CHAHAL (@rohit_chahal) January 13, 2020 Saurabh Khamar, a member with BJP Andhra’s social media & IT cell, who flaunts a profile picture with PM Modi, tweeted a video of crowding chanting Vande Mataram and took a jibe at Kanwal. “Can we file anti nationals charge sheets on this 30k People @rahulkanwal ???”, reads his tweet. Rahul Kanwal responded to the viral claim via a tweet. “Here’s what happened. @indiatoday SIT exposed lawyers who accepted on camera they bashed up Kanhaiya in court while cops watched. Lawyers attacking Kanhaiya chanted Vande Mataram. To attack someone and chant Vande Mataram is anti-national. Said it then, will say it now. Jai Hind,” the journalist wrote. Here’s what happened. @indiatoday SIT exposed lawyers who accepted on camera they bashed up Kanhaiya in court while cops watched. Lawyers attacking Kanhaiya chanted Vande Mataram. To attack someone and chant Vande Mataram is anti-national. Said it then, will say it now. Jai Hind. pic.twitter.com/JybiiEXXZO — Rahul Kanwal (@rahulkanwal) January 13, 2020 With a relevant keyword search on India Today’s YouTube channel, Alt News found that the viral video is part of a February 17, 2016 broadcast. “Groups of unruly lawyers yet again displayed hooliganism outside the Patiala Court, attacking Kanhaiya Kumar as the JNUSU president was brought in,” reads its description. Kanwal was moderating a discussion where advocate Rajeev Yadav was one of the guests. In 2016, when the top court was hearing the JNU sedition row, Yadav shouted ‘Vande Mataram’ inside the courtroom and was chided by the bench. The lawyer was escorted out by security officials and had to submit an unconditional apology before the Supreme Court for his actions. During the India Today debate, Yadav defended his sloganeering. He believed that the lawyers defending former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar were representing a “traitor”, to which Kanwal responded, “But for this reason, there are judges. A judge will decide which issue is right, which lawyer is wrong. You are arguing that in the court. You argue with Prashant Bhushan in the court. Why are you raising slogans like this? Why are you are doing the anti-national activity? Why are you doing the anti-legal activity? I allege that what you did is anti-national. The slogans of Vande Mataram, you raised, is anti-national activity.” Kanwal’s reply to Yadav’s argument that chanting Vande Mataram is not anti-national was, “to raise [slogans] inside the court, is to spoil the dignity of the Supreme Court. It’s totally wrong. It hurts the dignity of this country. Your act is wrong.” [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1Auyt2OgPc?start=658&w=560&h=315] A 20-second bit from the complete discussion was clipped to take out the context and portray Rahul Kanwal as against the slogan of ‘Vande Mataram’ when in fact he was suggesting that sloganeering inside a courtroom is unacceptable. Swarajya columnist Shefali Vaidya and former Shiv Sena member Ramesh Solanki also tweeted the clip with the false narrative. Their tweets have garnered a combined retweet count of nearly 3,600. IAS officer Sanjay Dixit also quote-tweeted the same video and opined, “Rahul Uvach: @rahulkanwal loftily declares Vande Mataram to be anti-National. In Khilafat 1.0, even Muslim leadership regarded it as national, but 100 years down the line, the ‘sickular’ media finds it anti-National. Khilafat 2.0 is being led by such disgusting specimens!”. Many other people on Facebook and Twitter have shared the clipped video. It may be reiterated that journalist Rahul Kanwal did not say that chanting ‘Vande Mataram’ is anti-national but sloganeering in the court of law is anti-national and anti-legal. 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 January 2020 / 5:33 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-rahul-kanwal-say-chanting-vande-mataram-is-anti-national-clipped-video-misleading-claim/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
774	Fact-check: BJP leader Kalicharan Saraf misbehaved with woman on stage? - Alt News Kinjal 26th August 2020 / 3:17 pm A video of a man grabbing a woman’s waist as she greets him by placing a garland around his neck has been going viral on social media. Users are claiming that the man in the video is “BJP Rajasthan MP Kalicharan Saraf”. Twitter user @JenniOfficel had tweeted the video on August 23 with this claim, where it had received over 1.63 lakh views at the time of writing. (link to the archived tweet) Rajasthan BJP MP Kalicharan Saraf and Suman Sharma 😭😭😭😭 இவர்கள் தான் நாட்டை ஆளுகிறார்கள்👌🏻 pic.twitter.com/d0TclIf1Un — Dr Jennifer (@JeniOfficel) August 23, 2020 Another Twitter user, @Political__Dr, had tweeted this video with the same claim. At the time of writing, it had been viewed over 1,100 times. (link to the archived tweet) BJP. MP , Kalicharan Saraf giving ‘protection’ to women on stage!! . . Thank you Modi ji for giving ticket to such dedicated leaders 🙏🙏 #sorrybabu #sundayvibes pic.twitter.com/KzQ602F6F6 — Political__Dr⏺ (@Political__Dr) August 23, 2020 A Facebook page titled ‘Ravish Kumar – The Fearless Reporter’ had also posted this video on August 23 with the same claim. This video has received 19,000 views at the time of writing. (archived version of the post) Bjp neta on stage sarmnak अब इसे कोई बताए स्टेज पर है रूम में नहीं 😂😂 रजस्थान बिजेपी सांसद कालीचरन सराफ और सुमन शर्मा Posted by Ravish Kumar – The Fearless Reporter on Sunday, 23 August 2020 The video was also being shared with these claims on Facebook and Twitter. When we ran a reverse image search of a frame from the viral video, we discovered a Facebook post from July 28, 2015. The user who had uploaded the video described the person in it as a BJP leader. BJP de leader da dekho Hal Fir khnde log juttia marde aa Posted by ਕਾਗਰਸ਼ ਸਰਗਰਮੀਆ ਡੇਰਾ ਬਾਬਾ ਨਾਨਕ on Tuesday, 28 July 2015 We also found a fact-check report from ABP News dated April 27, 2018. According to this report, this video was originally taken in 2014 and had also been circulating with claims of inappropriate behaviour in 2018. The report also stated that the woman in the video is Suman Sharma, former chairperson of the Rajasthan State Commission for Women, and the man with her on the stage was Ashok Garg, a BJP councillor from Jaipur. The report clarified that Sharma was not the chairperson at the time (in 2014). The report carries the statements of Suman Sharma and Ashok Garg. At the 2:06-minute mark, Sharma says, “Nothing like that had happened, there was no such intention. I greeted him out of respect, he is the senior councillor from my area and he extended his hand towards me to express his gratitude in response. I was not insulted. The way people are making this footage viral now, they are definitely insulting as a woman. They want to use this video for political mileage. This is visible in their mindset. I want to request all those people through your channel to avoid resorting to such types of actions.” Similarly, at the 3-24-minute mark, Garg says that the two greeted each other like brother and sister. He said, “I extended my arms considering her a sister and nothing else. If something like this had happened, would the other members have allowed me to stay in the party till now?” Suman Sharma therefore categorically denied misbehaviour by BJP councillor Ashok Garg. The video is now being shared with false claim targeting BJP MLA Kalicharan Saraf. It is noteworthy that viral claims misidentify Saraf as an MP. 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	26th August 2020 / 3:17 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-rajasthan-bjp-mp-kalicharan-saraf-misbehave-with-suman-sharma/", "author": "Kinjal" }
775	Did Ratan Tata refuse to sell Tata Sumo to Pakistan? Six year old hoax resurfaces - Alt News Jignesh Patel 25th June 2018 / 9:05 pm / Last updated: 9th July 2018 A claim attributed to Ratan Tata that was debunked six years ago is circulating on social media once again. The present version of this hoax tries to pit Parsis against Muslims and glorifies the patriotic values of the Parsi community while seemingly denigrating the other. The message claims that Ratan Tata refused to sell Tata Sumo cars to Pakistan despite being requested by former commerce minister in UPA, Anand Sharma, to consider the proposal by Pakistani industrialists. The message also tries to target Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Message: “”YOU COULD BE SHAMELESS, I AM NOT” ~ Ratan Tata. Few months after 26/11, Taj group of Hotels owned by TATAs launched their biggest tender ever for remodeling all their Hotels in India and abroad. Some of the Pakistani companies also applied for that tender. To make their bid stronger, two big industrialists from Pakistan visited Bombay House (Head office of Tata) in Mumbai without an appointment to meet up with Ratan Tata since he was not giving them any prior appointment. They were made to wait at the reception of Bombay house and after a few hours, a message was conveyed to them that Ratan Tata is busy and can not meet anyone without a prior appointment. Frustrated, these two Pakistani industrialists went to Delhi and through their High Commission met up a Congress Minister. Then this minister, Anand Sharma immediately called up Ratan Tata requesting him to meet up with the two Pakistani Industrialists and consider their tender “ENTHUSIASTICALLY.” Ratan Tata replied…”You could be shameless, I am not” & put the phone down. Few months later when Pakistani government placed an order of TataSumos to be imported into Pakistan, Ratan Tata refused to ship a single vehicle to that country. This is his respect and love for his motherland. He placed the nation above money & business. Something Kejriwal & his likes can learn from him, who are mostly seen appeasing terrorists & separatists to keep their Pakistani Masters happy. Not to forget, Ratan Tata is a man of Parsi background that constitutes one of the two Zoroastrian communities of the Indian subcontinent. His community is minuscule in India but every single one of them has made India proud. While Tata Parivar is full of Patriotism, we have some so-called minorities who are either busy begging freebies or helping Pakistan plant bombs. And when they are caught, they fake victim-hood & make martyrs out of terrorists. Share so it reaches all the UNDESERVING LOSERS who stay in India but work for their handlers in Pakistan.” Currently, different versions of this message is being shared by many Facebook pages and accounts. Alt News also found an article published by India Times, an Internet subsidiary of The Times of India group on September 11, 2015, ‘8 Reasons Why Ratan Tata Is India’s Coolest Business Tycoon Ever #ProudToBeIndian’. The article has attributed a reason calling Ratan Tata, ‘The Patriot‘. An editorial published in Meghalaya Times was based on the hoax, titled ‘Ratan Tata claims Politicians could be shameless but not him’. We could backtrace the present version of the hoax to August 2012 when it was shared by a page called PROUD TO BE AN INDIAN. A YouTube video, titled ‘You clould be shameless…I’m not : TATA’s Answer to Pakistani’s’ published on July 15, 2016 has received more than 6 lakh views and 10000 ‘likes’. It narrates the same story propagated over the last six years. Googling the keywords, “Ratan Tata, Pakistan, Tata Sumo”, we came about a post published on August 8, 2012 by BharathAutos, an automobile website. The website had issued an apology: “We seriously apologize for the mistake and the error is regretted. Early-today we posted an article regarding ‘Tata motors had rejected Pakistan’s proposal for supplying 380 nos. Tata Sumo Grande for use of Pakistan police.‘ Actually the sources that we referred turned to be a fake news and only after Tata Motors contacted our team the truth was revealed.” Furthermore, they also claim to have a statement from a Tata spokesperson which states, “The news is incorrect – the company has not received any such order, and the trade between India & Pakistan, automobiles are in the restricted list. Hence, the question of Pakistan having placed any order with Tata Motors for automobiles does not arise.” We couldn’t find the above press release on the official Tata Motors Website. However, a tweet from the official handle of Tata Motors on July 16, 2013 also confirms that claim is untrue. @TheMayanks It’s not true. As per current rules, which determine trade between India & Pakistan, automobiles are in the restricted list. 1/2 — Tata Motors (@TataMotors) July 16, 2013 @TheMayanks Hence, the question of Pakistan having placed any order with Tata Motors for automobiles does not arise. 2/2 — Tata Motors (@TataMotors) July 16, 2013 Last week, a message about ‘1098′ child helpline service of leftover pickup and distribution was circulating widely on social media. This too was a hoax, first perpetuated more than eight years ago. Such messages have been floating in the social media ecosystem for a long time and despite being debunked, continue to circulate with periodic regularity. 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. 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	25th June 2018 / 9:05 pm / Last updated: 9th July 2018	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-ratan-tata-refuse-to-sell-tata-sumo-to-pakistan-six-year-old-hoax-resurfaces/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
776	Did a boy from Bihar 'hack' Google and receive job offer from the company? - Alt News Abhishek Kumar 9th February 2022 / 5:22 pm / Last updated: 9th February 2022 As per a viral claim making the rounds on social media, Rituraj Chaudhary, a student living in Bihar’s Begusarai purportedly hacked Google for 51 seconds, after which the tech giant sent him a Rs 3.66 crore job offer. It has also been claimed that Rituraj, a second-year student at IIT Manipur, did not have a passport. Google reached out to the Indian government and got a passport made for him in two hours and also arranged for a private jet for his travel to the United States. Reality show ‘Bigg Boss 12’ contestant and singer Deepak Thakur promoted the claim in a long Facebook post, which has since been deleted. Writers Communty Director Ankit Dev Arpan also amplified the claim on Facebook, writing, “One Bihari shook up Google overnight, and here people say that Biharis haven’t achieved anything beyond being famous for litti chokha.” Twitter handle हम लोग We The People also shared the viral claim. A Facebook page called Bhumihar wrote a similar post which garnered over 9,000 likes and was shared by more than 1,000 users at the time of writing. The claim is widespread on Facebook and Twitter. Alt News contacted Rituraj for more information. He revealed that he had reported a bug on Google’s Bug Hunters website, for which he got an acknowledgement mail. Neither did he hack Google nor has he been offered a joining letter from the company. The additional details about him getting a passport in two hours and going to the US by private jet are also completely fabricated. He also clarified that he is not a student of IIT Manipur, but attends IIIT in the same state. In fact, there is no IIT in Manipur. Alt News also found Riruraj’s name in the ‘Honorable mentions’ on Google’s Bug Hunters website as shown below. He had submitted his first report on January 25. In an interview with the News18 Bihar Jharkhand news channel, he revealed that while he was aspiring for IIT but could not get admission hence, enrolled in IIIT Manipur. IIIT Manipur is a technical institute funded by the Manipur government under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. To get admission in both IIT and IIIT, applicants must clear the IIT-JEE exam. Whether they can be admitted to IIT or IIIT is determined based on their rank in the qualifying exam. Those with the highest rank are eligible for admission in IITs and the students who score lesser get admitted to NITs and IIITs. Rituraj also told us the basic difference between IITs and IIITs was that the IITs (Indian Institute of Technology) offer B.Tech, M.Tech, Dual Degree, and PhD programs in several specialisations whereas IIIT (Indian Institute of Information Technology) focuses on providing technical education in information technology and communication studies. Outlets like ABP News, Zee Bihar Jharkhand, News24, News18 Bihar Jharkhand, ETV Bharat Bihar all reported that Rituraj was a student of IIT Manipur. TV9 Bharatvarsh, DNA, ABP News, NDTV, News9, BGR, Bihar Express, Kalinga TV among others also claimed that he was enrolled in IIT Manipur. In its fact-check report, DNA identified Rituraj as a student of IIT Manipur. To sum it up, Alt News can confirm that the viral claim about Rituraj Chaudhary hacking Google is fake. Neither did he receive any job offer from the company. The claim about him being sent a passport in two hours and a private jet to travel to the United States is also false. The media also misreported that he was a student of IIT Manipur. Rituraj is a second-year undergraduate pursuing a B.Tech in Computer Science Engineering at IIIT Manipur. 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). 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	9th February 2022 / 5:22 pm / Last updated: 9th February 2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-rituraj-chaudhary-from-bihar-hack-the-google-and-get-job-of-rs-3-66-cr/", "author": "Abhishek Kumar" }
777	RJD workers dump sweets after Bihar election loss? Old photos from raids at confectioneries viral - Alt News Kinjal 17th November 2020 / 3:59 pm / Last updated: 17th November 2020 Last week, a few pictures of people dumping large vessels containing sweets went viral on social media. They are being linked to the recently-concluded Bihar assembly elections, with netizens claiming the people seen here are Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) workers. The NDA beat the Grand Alliance by winning three seats more than the majority. These photos are being shared on Twitter and Facebook as proof of the frustration of RJD workers. Film director and writer Harinder Sikka tweeted the picture, drawing over 1,100 likes and more than 300 retweets. (archive link) After loosing battle of ballots in Bihar, RJD workers decided to dump 1000s of ‘Rasgulle’ Wish they had served them to the poor instead. It’s so important to be educated.#TejashwiYadav pic.twitter.com/hQxPLREAgn — Harinder S Sikka (@sikka_harinder) November 12, 2020 Another user tweeted these pictures with a Hindi message. (archive link) Sweets being dumped in RJD office, Patna 😂😂😂😂#BiharResults pic.twitter.com/GdCnKqmEFP — Sanjeeb – राहुल बाबा का एक नंबर चमचा (@CongressiC) November 11, 2020 The pictures and accompanying claim made their way to Facebook as well. Alt News found that these pictures have nothing to do with the 2020 Bihar assembly elections. First photo After performing a reverse image search, we found the photo in an Amar Ujala story dated November 10, 2020. The report states that the picture was taken at Sirsa, Haryana. It says that the Chief Minister’s flying squad and the Food and Safety Department raided a rasgulla factory on Kanganpur Road, Sirsa. According to the article, “The team recovered three quintals of rasgullas, two quintals of gulab jamun, and one quintal of mawa. Samples were taken and dead insects, flies and mosquitoes were found in one quintal of sweets. The team destroyed one quintal of rasgulla and gulab jamun by burying it in the ground.” Dainik Bhaskar also covered the raid in a November 11 report. Second photo With another reverse image search, we found this picture in a Dainik Bhaskar report dated August 16, 2019. It stated, “The Food Department is running a campaign against adulteration and consumption of contaminated goods in Gwalior. In view of the festive season, the Food and Drug Safety Department team raided a Jodhpur confectionery store in the city on Friday. Spoiled sweets and mawa were being mixed with new ingredients to make fresh sweets.” The article further says that the Food Safety team of the Food Department recovered more than 250 kg of contaminated laddus, pedas, rasgullas, and imartis from the Jodhpur Mishtan Bhandar. During the raid, the shop manager and the staff tried to misbehave with the team. Following this, two cases, under the Food Safety Act and for obstructing a public servant from discharging his duties, were filed against the owner. On August 17, 2019, Patrika also published a report covering the raid at Gwalior’s Jodhpur Mishtan Bhandar. Old and unrelated photos of raids at confectionary shops were shared on social media by linking them to the recent Bihar assembly elections. The first viral image is actually from Haryana while the second is from Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. 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	17th November 2020 / 3:59 pm / Last updated: 17th November 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-rjd-dump-sweets-after-loosing-bihar-election-old-images-of-haryana-and-mp-viral-with-false-claim/", "author": "Kinjal" }
778	RSS man dressed in burqa caught by the police for waving Pak flag? False claim - Alt News Priyanka Jha 19th August 2020 / 3:33 pm A video is being circulated on social media with the claim that an RSS worker was caught dressed in a burqa and waving the Pakistani flag. Raju Upman who claimed to a Congress worker tweeted this video along with the caption, “बुर्का पहनकर पाकिस्तान का झंडा लहरा रहा था यह आर . एस .एस . का भ***.” The video was viewed over 1 lakh times and received 4,000 retweets before the account was taken down. (archive) The video is also being shared on Facebook with the same claim. Some users are also claiming that the person is a BJP leader. Dr Fareekappa Kaginelli, who is currently serving as an SP in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district, replied to Upman’s tweet that the claim is incorrect. Dr Kaginelli clarified that the burqa-clad person was caught by the police for illegally carrying alcohol from Telangana to Kurnool. The incident took place on August 7. Facts# The burqa clad man in this video was found carrying liquor bottles illegally across state from Telangana to Kurnool, Andhrapradesh. Caught by Excise police, was reported on 7-8-2020 in Kurnool Taluka Police station.https://t.co/GDdPPW7wK5 Stop spreading misinformntion — Dr.Fakkeerappa Kaginelli IPS (@SP_Kurnool) August 16, 2020 He also shared a video clip of ETV Andhra Pradesh broadcast on August 7, which gives more information about this viral video. As per the video broadcast, AP police had arrested a few people including this burqa-clad man for smuggling alcohol. We reached out Dr Kagenelli who confirmed that the social media claim is false and that it was a matter of alcohol smuggling. To escape the police, the man dressed up as a woman while crossing the state border from Telangana to Andhra Pradesh. He was accompanied by another man who was driving the bike. They hoped that the police would not stop them at the check-post if one of them wore a burqa. However, both were arrested. A copy of the FIR has been shared with us. As per the complaint, Satish Goud (46) and Mohammad Arif (35) were arrested at Panchlingla check-post in Kurnool district. In this manner, the video is being circulated with a false claim that a burqa-clad man affiliated with BJP or RSS was waving the Pakistani flag and was arrested by the police. 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	19th August 2020 / 3:33 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-rss-worker-wearing-burqa-held-for-waving-pakistani-flag-video-shared-with-false-claim/", "author": "Priyanka Jha" }
779	Did Savarkar write mercy petitions on Gandhi's advice as claimed by Rajnath Singh? - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 13th October 2021 / 11:52 pm / Last updated: 14th October 2021 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday claimed that Hindu Mahasabha leader Vinayak Damodar Savarkar filed mercy petitions before the British government following Mahatma Gandhi’s advice. Singh was speaking at the launch of a book on Savarkar ‘Veer Savarkar: The Man Who Could Have Prevented Partition’, authored by Uday Mahurkar and Chirayu Pandit. “Lies were spread about Savarkar. Time and again, it was said he filed mercy petitions before the British government. But the truth is that he did not file mercy petitions for his release [from jail]. A prisoner has the right to file mercy petitions. It was Mahatma Gandhi who asked him to file mercy petitions. He filed a mercy petition after Gandhi’s advice. Mahatma Gandhi had appealed that Savarkar ji should be released. He said as we have been peacefully protesting to gain independence, Savarkar ji will also carry forward the protest,” claimed the Defence Minister, concluding that the claim – Savarkar had filed a mercy petition and begged for forgiveness – is false and baseless. “Lies were spread about Savarkar. Time and again, it was said he filed mercy petitions before British government seeking his release from jail. It was Mahatma Gandhi who asked him to file mercy petitions”: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the launch of a book on Savarkar. (ANI) pic.twitter.com/nhoKZvOHHQ — NDTV (@ndtv) October 13, 2021 Pro-BJP website Swarajya wrote an article claiming that Singh’s assertion was true. “Congress leaders and left-wing activists, including Marxist historians, who have for decades attempted to limit Savarkar’s legacy to his mercy petition and deny him the stature of a freedom fighter—a rightful place in history, have claimed that the Defence Minister’s statement is false,” reads the article. Swarajya cited Vikram Sampath’s book on Savarkar to support its claim. “…In 1920 Gandhiji advised Savarkar brothers to file a petition & even made a case for his release through an essay in Young India 26 May 1920,” reads Sampath’s tweet. Sampath is a biographer of VD Savarkar. Some needless brouhaha abt statement by @rajnathsingh In my Vol 1 & in countless interviews I had stated already that in 1920 Gandhiji advised Savarkar brothers to file a petition & even made a case for his release through an essay in Young India 26 May 1920. So what’s noise abt? pic.twitter.com/FWfAHoG0MX — Dr. Vikram Sampath, FRHistS (@vikramsampath) October 13, 2021 After his arrest by the British government on March 13, 1910, Savarkar was brought to the Cellular Jail (Kala Pani) in Andamans on July 4, 1911. He was arrested following the assassination of AMT Jackson, then district magistrate of Nasik. Savarkar was in London when the assassination was carried out. He was accused of providing the pistol, used to kill Jackson, from London. Savarkar and his elder brother Ganesh Damodar Savarkar had founded Mitra Mela (now called ‘Abhinav Bharat’) in Nasik, a secret revolutionary society, linked to the assassination. Ganesh Savarkar was arrested the year before in connection with another assassination of a British official. Savarkar filed the first mercy petition in 1911. “The official protocol demanded that all political prisoners submit clemency petitions to the government seeking their release and pardon as part of the Delhi Durbar goodwill gesture. Accordingly, everyone, including Vinayak, submitted their petitions to the jail authorities. Vinayak’s petition was received on 30 August 1911. Although no copy of this petition is extant, there remains only a reference to this in his ‘Jail History Ticket’.” This is an excerpt from the book ‘Echoes from a Forgotten Past, 1883–1924’ by Vikram Sampath. Mahatma Gandhi was in South Africa when the clemency plea was made. He only returned to India four years later. Savarkar filed a second mercy petition on November 14, 1913. This was also before Gandhi returned to India in 1915. It was not until 1920 that Gandhi advised Savarkar’s younger brother Narayan Damodar Savarkar to file a petition stating that VD Savarkar’s offence was purely political. This was after Narayan Savarkar wrote to Gandhi for help. Vikram Sampath, whose book was cited by Swarajya to incorrectly claim Rajnath Singh’s claim was true, wrote, “From his clinic in Girgaum, Bombay, Narayanrao decided to do the unthinkable. He picked up his pen and wrote a letter to a man who was ideologically opposed to his brother, but nonetheless was fast emerging as a major political voice in the country—Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. In the first of six letters, dated 18 January 1920, he wrote to Gandhi, Narayanrao sought the latter’s help and advice in securing the release of his elder brothers in the wake of the royal proclamation.” The letter that Narayan Savarkar wrote to Gandhi in 1920 says, “Yesterday [17 January] I was informed by the Government of India that the Savarkar brothers were not included in those that are to be released . . . It is now clear that the Indian Government have decided not to release them. Please let me hear from you as to how to proceed in such circumstances…” This letter also finds a mention on page 348 of the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi Volume 19. Gandhi, in his reply on January 25, 1920, advised Narayan Savarkar to “frame a petition setting forth the facts of the case bringing out in clear relief the fact that the offence committed by your brother was purely political.” He also wrote that he is “moving in the matter” in his own way. The reply can also be found in Volume 19 of the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. Two months later, Savarkar filed a fresh petition requesting royal clemency. He thanked the British government for releasing hundreds of prisoners and stated that clemency should also extend to the remaining prisoners, including him and his brother. This petition is dated March 30, 1920. He also spoke about the petition in a letter dated July 6, 1920 addressed to his brother. Savarkar does not mention Gandhi’s name. On May 26, 1920, Gandhi wrote in his weekly journal ‘Young India’, “[sic]…I therefore direct My Viceroy to exercise in My name and on My behalf My Royal clemency to political offenders in the fullest measure which in his judgment is compatible with the public safety. I desire him to extend it on this condition to persons who for offenses against the State or under any special or emergency legislation, are suffering imprisonment or restrictions upon their liberty.” He further wrote, “[sic ] Thanks to the action of the Government of India and the Provincial Governments, many of those who were undergoing imprisonment at the time have received the benefit of the Royal clemency. But there are some notable ”political offenders” who have not yet been discharged. Among these I count the Savarkar brothers…Both these brothers have declared their political opinions and both have stated that they do not entertain any revolutionary ideas and that if they were set free they would like to work under the Reforms Act4, for they consider that the Reforms enable one to work thereunder so as to achieve political responsibility for India. They both state unequivocally that they do not desire independence from the British connection. On the contrary, they feel that India’s destiny can be best worked out in association with the British…I hold therefore that unless there is absolute proof that the discharge of the two brothers who have already suffered long enough terms of imprisonment, who have lost considerably in body-weight and who have declared their political opinions, can be proved to be a danger to the State, the Viceroy is bound to give them their liberty.” The above excerpts can be accessed in Mahatma Gandhi’s Collected Works Volume 20 (page 368). Savarkar was released from Cellular Jail, Andamans and shifted to a prison in Ratnagiri district in May 1921. Gandhi held a high opinion of the Savarkar brothers during their imprisonment and this is clearly reflected in his writings. “The Savarkar Brothers’ talent should be utilized for public welfare. As it is, India is in danger of losing her two faithful sons, unless she wakes up in time. One of the brothers I know well. I had the pleasure of meeting him in London. He is brave. He is clever. He is a patriot. He was frankly a revolutionary. The evil, in its hideous form, of the present system of Government, he saw much earlier than I did, He is in the Andamans for his having loved India too well,” Gandhi wrote in ‘Young India’ May 18, 1921 edition. But he did not agree with their violent methods. After Savarkar gained prominence as a Hindutva ideologue, Gandhi became clearer in his criticism. “To demand the vivisection of a living organism is to ask for its very life. It is a call to war. The Congress cannot be party to such a fratricidal war. Those Hindus who, like Dr Moonje and Shri Savarkar, believe in the doctrine of the sword may seek to keep the Mussalmans under Hindus domination. I do not represent that section. I represent the Congress,” Gandhi said addressing the AICC at Bombay in 1942. Despite his disagreements with their ideology, Gandhi maintained that they should be released from prison. In 1937, when Shankarrao Deo asked Gandhi about Tatyasaheb Kelkar’s charge made during a speech in 1925 that Gandhi did not sign the memorial for Savarkar’s release from prison, Gandhi replied, “It was wholly unnecessary as Shri Savarkar was bound to be released after the coming into force of the new Act, no matter who the Ministers were. And that is what has happened. The Savarkar Brothers, at least, know that whatever the differences between us as to certain fundamentals, I could never contemplate with equanimity their incarceration.” Savarkar was released from Ratnagiri jail in 1924 on the conditions that “he was to reside in Ratnagiri district; he could not go beyond the district’s limits without the government’s approval; he was not to engage in political activities publicly or privately; these restrictions were for five years, subject to renewal at the expiry of this period”. There is no publicly available literature that suggests Vinayak Damodar Savarkar filed mercy petitions with the British government upon Mahatma Gandhi’s insistence. Gandhi was in South Africa when the first two pleas were filed. He later advised Savarkar’s younger brother to file a petition when he wrote to Gandhi for help. Savarkar had also written a petition after this correspondence took place but there is no evidence to suggest this was due to Gandhi’s advice or that Savarkar would not have filed the petition in 1920 if not for Gandhi. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s claim, therefore, stands false. [Update: An earlier version of this report stated that Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa in 1914. He returned on January 9, 1915, and set sail from Cape Town in July 1914. The article has been updated to reflect the change.] 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	13th October 2021 / 11:52 pm / Last updated: 14th October 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-savarkar-write-mercy-petitions-on-gandhis-advice-as-claimed-by-rajnath-singh/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
780	Old image from Pakistan shared as Shaheen Bagh protesters burning Indian flag - Alt News Jignesh Patel 4th February 2020 / 6:40 pm / Last updated: 4th February 2020 A photograph of two men donning skull caps burning the Indian national flag is circulating on social media. The text inscribed in the image reads, “शाइन बाग मैं मुसलमानों ने CAA NRC के विरोध में तिरंगा जलाया है मुसलमान आतंकवादी देशद्रोही है अब मुसलमानों को भगाना है पाकिस्तान में, हिन्दू भाई एक हो जाए, जाऊ श्री राम (In the protest against CAA-NRC, Muslims in Shaheen Bagh burnt the tricolour. Muslims are terrorist, anti-nationals, they have to driven out to Pakistan. All Hindu brothers come together, and unite. Jai shri ram -translated)”. Facebook user Pradeep Lodhi posted the image on the group मोदी 2.0( मोदी समर्थक जुड़े on February 3, 2020. It has garnered more than 1,100 shares so far. Another user Anuradha Hindu also shared the image with the caption, “#संविधान बचाओ की रैली में #तिरंगा जला रहे हे. #गद्दार #कॉम #मुसलमान #बहिस्कार”. Alt News had earlier debunked this image in May 2019. The image represents a group of protesters burning the Indian National flag in Pakistan, NOT India. In July 2015, this image was published along with a blog titled, “Pakistani protesters burn a poster of PM Narendra Modi”. Upon searching for images related to the protest, we found the original photograph clicked by an Associated Press (AP) photographer. The caption posted with the image reads, “Pakistani protesters burn an Indian flag during a protest in Multan, Pakistan, Thursday, June 11, 2015. Pakistan has reacted angrily to comments made by the Indian prime minister that reportedly acknowledged Indian forces had a role in the war that created Bangladesh, part of Pakistan until 1971 when separatists won independence after a war.” In conclusion, a four-year-old image from Pakistan was falsely shared as Shaheen Bagh protesters burning the Indian national flag at a demonstration against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). 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 February 2020 / 6:40 pm / Last updated: 4th February 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-shaheen-bagh-protester-burn-indian-flag-no-old-image-from-pakistan/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
781	Did Shahrukh Khan say he would leave India if Modi becomes PM? False claim viral again - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 29th October 2018 / 6:28 pm / Last updated: 25th May 2019 An image is doing the rounds on social media with a quote that is attributed to actor Shah Rukh Khan. In this quote, it is claimed that Khan stated, “I would leave India if Modi becomes the PM of this country.” The text reads, “Shah Rukh Khan, you once said that “I would leave India if Modi becomes the PM of this country.” So Mr Khan, I guess you would be a Man of your words. Show us that you got *****. Share this picture so much that this douche apologises for his words.” “किसी को ये शाहरुख हकला दिखे तो बोलना कि 5 साल होने को आ गए, अभी तक भारत क्यों नही छोड़ा इसने (If anyone comes across this stammerer Shah Rukh Khan, tell him that it’s been 5 year, why hasn’t he left India?)” read a post by Facebook page I Support Narendra Bhai Modi Bjp (@bjpalindia). The aforestated caption was affixed to a purported screenshot of a Sudarshan News broadcast which showed a ‘tweet’ by Shah Rukh Khan, saying – “If Modi becomes Prime Minister, I will not only leave Twitter but also leave India.” This post drew over 2,500 shares at the time of writing this article. Another Facebook page BJP Khargone Barwani shared the identical post as well, which drew over 1,100 shares. A few individual users on Facebook also circulated the alleged tweet by the Bollywood actor. A 2014 photoshopped tweet attributed to Shah Rukh Khan gave birth to the claims viral on social media. The tweet (now deleted) was made by a parody Twitter handle @jamsrk. If one zooms in on the tweet, the ‘j’ instead of an ‘i’ can be made out. At around 10 am on May 18, 2014, actor Kamal Rashid Khan (KRK) had tweeted if there was any truth behind the statement made by Shah Rukh Khan. After the fake tweet was widespread, Khan put out a clarification on May 19, 2014, at around 12:30 AM that it wasn’t him who made the statement. Good time to tell all fools who r talking of a tweet that I didn’t tweet, u suck as much as the grammar of that fake tweet & I’m being kind. — Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) May 18, 2014 Later, KRK claimed that it was his statement – “Ppl pls note I only said tat I will leave India if Modi Ji will become PM I have left India. SRK Salman or Aamir didn’t say anything at all.” Ppl pls note I only said tat I will leave India if Modi Ji will become PM I have left India. SRK Salman or Aamir didn’t say anything at all. — KRK (@kamaalrkhan) May 18, 2014 The incident was also reported by the media, including Hindustan Times and The Times of India and Deccan Chronicle. Alt News was unable to locate the Sudarshan News screengrab presently viral on social media. However, the media outlet indeed broadcast a show on the fake tweet, and it was anchored by its Editor-in-Chief Suresh Chavhanke. Sudarshan News had also tweeted about that same day – “Sudarshan News’ Chief Editor Suresh Chavhanke’s attack on Shah Rukh Khan (translated)” सुदर्शन न्यूज़ के प्रधान संपादक सुरेश चव्हाणके का शाहरुख खान पर वार.. देखिए आज रात 8 बजे बिंदास बोल में ‘मोदी… http://t.co/MlV5ynH693 — Sudarshan News (@SudarshanNewsTV) May 18, 2014 This wasn’t an isolated instance when the media outlet spread misinformation. Alt News has found several cases in the past when Sudarshan News and its CMD Suresh Chavhanke circulated fake news, often communal in nature. 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	29th October 2018 / 6:28 pm / Last updated: 25th May 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-shahrukh-khan-say-he-would-leave-india-if-modi-becomes-pm-fake-tweet-viral-again/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
782	No, Smriti Irani did not say, “If PM Modi loses I will commit suicide" - Alt News Jignesh Patel 24th April 2019 / 11:03 pm / Last updated: 25th April 2019 A screengrab of ABP News, attributing a quote to Union Minister Smriti Irani, was shared by a Facebook page India Resists. Irani is quoted saying, “अगर प्रधानमंत्री मोदी जी हारे तो में आत्महत्या कर लुंगी (If PM Modiji loses I will commit suicide -translated)”. The viral post attempts to inject credibility to the claim by providing a corresponding screenshot of a news report purportedly telecasted by the said channel. Journalist turned filmmaker Avinash Das also posted the image urging social media users to confirm the authenticity of the screenshot. ये सच्ची ख़बर है या फोटोशॉप है? कोई कंफर्म करे, प्लीज! pic.twitter.com/j2UdYUKeUy — Avinash Das (@avinashonly) April 22, 2019 A keyword search on Google with respect to the statement ascribed to Irani yields no results. The remotest reference to such a statement made by Irani states, “The day ‘pradhan sevak’ Narendra Modi ji decides to retire, I will also leave Indian politics”. Alt News contacted ABP News Senior Editor Pankaj Jha. He confirmed, “Yes it’s a morphed screenshot”. Moreover, we found a video of the press conference telecasted by ABP News from where the screengrab was possibly taken. Addressing a presser, Irani raised allegation against Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Robert Vadra, accusing them of being involved in a land scam. On several occasion in the past, (1, 2, 3) screenshots of leading news channels have been morphed to mislead social media users. These morphed screenshots attempt to give a sense of make-believe that a said statement was also reported by the 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. 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 April 2019 / 11:03 pm / Last updated: 25th April 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-smriti-irani-say-if-pm-modi-loses-i-will-commit-suicide-a-fact-check/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
783	Did SP leader Azam Khan ask Muslims to vote for BJP after SP-BSP coalition? - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 15th January 2019 / 9:11 pm / Last updated: 15th January 2019 A video of Azam Khan asking voters to vote for BJP is currently viral on social media at the backdrop of SP and BSP alliance in Uttar Pradesh. Co-convenor of BJP Delhi IT and social media cell, Praveen Kumar Dixit, was among those who circulated the video with the caption – “बुआ के गोद में बैठने से चचाजान नाराज हुए, आजम खान बोले मोदी को सीधे वोट दो\|” It drew combined views (Facebook+Twitter) of nearly 1.5 lakh. बुआ के गोद में बैठने से चचाजान नाराज हुए, आजम खान बोले मोदी को सीधे वोट दो pic.twitter.com/GpJeSydJwi — प्रवीण कुमार दीक्षित (@IPraveenDixit) January 13, 2019 In the video, the founding member of SP can be heard saying, “बसपा की हिमायत करोगे? क्या सन्देश दे रहे हो? क्या बताना चाहते हो? ज़लील करना चाहते हो हमारे जैसे लोगों को? (Now you will advocate for BSP? What message are you trying to give? What are you trying to say? Are you trying to insult people like us?)” Khan then reminds the Muslim audience how he stood by them during the Babri Masjid demolition and adds, “बसपा को वोट कर रहे हो, तो सीधे बीजेपी को ही वोट कर दो\| वो कुछ अच्छा सोचेंगे आपके बारे में\| एक मस्जिद ही तो गई, दो-चार और दे दो\|” (If you are going to vote for BSP, you might as well vote for BJP. They will think of something good for you. Only one mosque has been demolished, let 2-3 more be brought down too.) Several other usual suspects also tweeted the video, including Delhi MLA Kapil Mishra and Rishi Bagree. गौर से सुनिए – खान साहब कुछ समझा रहे हैं#SPBSPAlliance #AzamKhan pic.twitter.com/ldw1AB7Sjz — Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishra_IND) January 13, 2019 On Facebook, the clip attracted nearly 3 lakh views from the page Shivraj Singh Chouhan Fans Clube. It was also circulated by NAMO TV, I Support Yogi and I Support Narendra Bhai Modi Bjp. Alt News found that the video of Azam Khan asking Muslims to vote for BJP and not BSP is two years old. कोई हया नाम की चीज नही,BSPको वोट दोगे? मत दो BSP को वोट,थोड़ी शर्म बची है तो BJP को वोट दो कुछ अच्छा ही करेगी- #AzamKhan #UPElection2017 pic.twitter.com/1UJDBkYpK4 — Samachar Plus (@samachar_plus) February 24, 2017 This was also reported by Amar Ujala on February 23, 2017. According to the news organisation, the SP leader made the statement in Narendralaya, Faizabad ahead of UP assembly elections. Khan was reportedly enraged after seeing blue flags hoisted on Muslim homes. Lashing out at voters, he said, “you might as well vote for BJP than BSP”, and left the podium. The aforementioned statement sounds more like a gibe than Khan literally urging Muslims to cast their votes in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is to be noted that his statement was immediately followed by the words – “One mosque has been demolished, let 2-3 more be brought down too.” A two-year-old video is now being circulated as Azam Khan advocating for the BJP despite the recent alliance of known political rivals SP and BSP. The Times of India reported on January 14 that BJP spokesperson Shalabh Mani Tripathi had circulated the video, and many, including BJP MP Farrukhabad Mukesh Rajput, mistook it as a recent affair. 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 January 2019 / 9:11 pm / Last updated: 15th January 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-sp-leader-azam-khan-ask-muslims-to-vote-for-bjp-after-sp-bsp-coalition/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
784	Did Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore serve food to Indian athletes at Asian Games? - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 29th August 2018 / 10:15 pm A photograph of Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore is viral on social media with the claim that the Sports Minister was serving food to Indian athletes currently in Jakarta for the Asian Games. In the picture, Rathore can be seen holding a tray and interacting with players. The tray has three bowls on it, which acted as an affirmation for many that the minister was serving food to the players. The Frustrated Indian posted the image on both Facebook and Twitter, captioning it as – “the dude holding the tray is our sports minister”. It attracted a combined share count of nearly 6,000. They also wrote an article which said, “a minister serving food to the players would have been unthinkable 5 years ago.” The article has 1,500 shares. Fake news website Postcard News founder Mahesh Hegde shared the image as well. It was retweeted over 900 times. BJP Telangana State President and MLA Dr K Laxman, BJP Karnataka MLA Raghupati Bhatt and AAP Delhi MLA Kapil Mishra also circulated the photograph with the identical claim. Mishra’s tweet has been retweeted over 7,700 times. Among the hoard of individual users who shared the image were also the ones followed by BJP leaders, including the Prime Minister and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal’s Office (1,2,3). A Facebook page India First shared the picture as part of a collage depicting “new India”. The post had 12,000 shares at the time of writing this article. However, the claim was not limited to circulation by individual users, fake news purveyors and lawmakers. Several media outlets and journalists also praised Rathore for “serving food.” NDTV, DNA, Dainik Jagran, India TV and Republic World were among the media outlets that wrote articles on the minister’s alleged inspiring gesture. The image of him with the tray was the sole testament to the act and the basis of their reportage. Several journalists also praised the Sports Minister via tweets. Among them was Republic TV’s Major Gaurav Arya, senior political editor of News18 Pallavi Joshi, Karnataka journalist Hariprakash Konemane and India Today’s Rajdeep Sardesai. However, Sardesai later deleted his tweet. The viral image was first shared from the official Twitter handle of Sports Authority of India (SAI) on August 26, along with several other pictures of the Sports Minister with athletes and officials at the Asian Games Village in Jakarta. However, SAI did not post the image with the claim that Rathore was “serving” the players. Our #Sports Minister @Ra_THORe with #athletes & officials at the #AsianGames⁠ ⁠ Village in #Jakarta.#SAI #AsianGames2018⁠ ⁠ #TeamIndia #IndiaAtAsianGames #KheloIndia🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/f6iikPzAkY — SAIMedia (@Media_SAI) August 26, 2018 The Sports Minister has also not claimed on social media or in media reports that he served food or tea to Indian athletes at the Games. Nowhere has the Hon Minister claimed he was serving tea or coffee. You know how these things get viral based on one photo.Col Rathore is a veteran of many Games and has been cheering up our team here. I interacted with him closely when he was an active sportsman at such Games — Digvijay Singh Deo (@DiggySinghDeo) August 28, 2018 There are many other photographs of Rathore interacting with athletes that day. However, only the one where he is holding a tray is widely circulated. If one were to observe these photographs, the minister seems to be taking his own food. No https://t.co/bVDk8rhOGI is the sequence of photos pic.twitter.com/8UKNZpQTdP — Digvijay Singh Deo (@DiggySinghDeo) August 28, 2018 However, as this was an observational inference, Alt News contacted a person who was present at the scene but does not wish to be named. He told us that the picture is misleading as the minister was not serving food, snacks or tea but only greeting the players he met on his way to the table. Ironically, ABP News Hindi, in its ‘Viral Sach’ program, aired a fact-check of the claim on August 28 and concluded that “the image was taken on August 27 and is true.” Their analysis, which was sans any source, was incorrect as SAI shared the photograph on August 26. Moreover, we were able to independently confirm that Rathore was not serving food but only interacting with the athletes. A photograph of Rathore’s interaction with athletes at Asian Games was hyperbolised to suggest that the minister was serving food to the players. The misleading claim was not only shared across social media platforms by individual users but also circulated by journalists, media outlets and ministers. Inferences on unauthenticated information are often made based on biases and not facts espousing the claim. A pedantic approach is necessary in such situations. 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	29th August 2018 / 10:15 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-sports-minister-rajyavardhan-singh-rathore-serve-food-to-indian-athletes-at-asian-games/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
785	Did Sushma Swaraj, MEA mislead families of 39 Indians who went missing in Iraq? - Alt News Alt News Desk 22nd March 2018 / 2:54 pm “We had been saying that we neither have the evidence of them being alive nor the evidence of them being dead. We maintained this in 2014 and 2017. We did not keep anyone in dark. We gave no false hopes to anyone” said External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj when faced with criticism about raising false hopes over the past four years that the 39 missing Indians in Iraq were alive and safe. Did the government maintain a non-committal stand about the 39 missing Indians all these years? Did they raise no false hopes? We had been saying that we neither have the evidence of them being alive nor the evidence of them being dead. We maintained this in 2014 and 2017. We did not keep anyone in dark. We gave no false hopes to anyone: EAM Sushma Swaraj pic.twitter.com/ZgAK1ePi9h — ANI (@ANI) March 20, 2018 The statements made by the EAM have to be looked at in the context of the eye witness account of the lone survivor, Harjit Masih, who had claimed that the remaining 39 were shot dead within days of being abducted. It is understandable that the government does not want to confirm the deaths without concrete evidence but did the government reassure the families that their loved ones were safe, when in fact there was no concrete evidence to indicate that either. According to Harjit Masih, he and 39 others were kidnapped on June 11 2014. Four days later they were asked to kneel down and shot by the militants. Masih managed to survive and escape and has maintained since then that there were no other survivors. Let us look at the timeline of important events and the statements made by External Affairs Minister over the last four years. June 2014 On June 10, ISIS insurgents seized control of the northern city of Mosul. There was wide scale panic with reports of killing and abduction of foreigners. Evacuation of Indians in the conflict zone started soon thereafter. On June 18, Amid evacuation of Indians from crisis-hit Iraq, news broke about 40 Indian construction workers missing and possibly abducted in Mosul, Iraq by suspected ISIS rebels. External Affairs Ministry confirmed in a media briefing that 40 Indians who had gone missing in Iraq had been kidnapped. In a media briefing, MEA spokesperson said that “We have been informed by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry that they also have been able to determine the location where these abducted Indian nationals are being held captive with workers of a few other nationalities.” A week later on June 25th, in another media briefing, the MEA spokesperson confirmed that “they remain in captivity but have not been hurt or harmed.” Govt says that 40 #Indian nationals kidnapped in violence hit #Iraqi city of #Mosul are safe. — All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) June 20, 2014 External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met with the family members of the missing Indians on several occasions to reassure them. Reassurance! Minister @SushmaSwaraj meets families of Indians abducted in Iraq & assures them of all assistance. pic.twitter.com/V1HaUZ2v90 — Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) June 19, 2014 Aug 2014 Unharmed in conflict zone! Information from conflict zone in Iraq that Indians in custody remain unharmed as of Aug 12th despite turmoil. — Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) August 14, 2014 Nov 2014 Five months from the date of abduction, MEA confirmed that the kidnapped Indians “remained in captivity”. Recent contacts indicate that Indians in Iraq remain in captivity. Earnest efforts continue – Minister @SushmaSwaraj pic.twitter.com/MZPzlnLvsN — Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) November 4, 2014 Sushma Swaraj made a statement in Rajya Sabha about the 39 missing Indians. Based on her sources, she refuted the stories in the media about the claims of Harjit Masih and the some Bangladeshi nationals interviewed by the media. Not 1st time such a news story carried in media – Minister @SushmaSwaraj clarifies in Lok Sabha on Indians in Iraqhttp://t.co/SZGotZ37dm — Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) November 28, 2014 May 2015 Around mid-May 2015 when the claims of Harjit Masih about the others being dead surfaced in the media, Sushma Swaraj reacted to his statement saying she does not believe him as she has eight sources that have confirmed to her that the Indian’s were alive. I did not believe Harjit Masih’s claims that 39 Indians were killed:Sushma Swaraj on reports that Indian’s abducted in Iraq have been killed — ANI (@ANI) May 14, 2015 Sushma Swaraj reiterated her statement two weeks late saying that the abducted Indians are alive But I have 8 sources that confirm that those Indians are alive: EAM Sushma Swaraj on Indians stranded in Iraq — ANI (@ANI) May 31, 2015 Sept 2015 EAM Sushma Swaraj once again reassured the families that the missing Indians in Iraq were “alive and well”. Our sources suggest that the missing Indians in Iraq are alive and well.I assure the families-EAM Sushma Swaraj pic.twitter.com/igq1Ai6UI4 — ANI (@ANI) September 18, 2015 June, 2016 EAM once again stated that she had no proof of Indians being killed in Iraq and had information that they were alive. I have no confirmation or proof on Indians being killed in Iraq, infact we have been informed that they are alive: EAM — ANI (@ANI) June 19, 2016 July 2017 In July 2017 came the good news that Mosul was liberated from ISIS. This raised hopes of finding the missing men and Minister of State for External Affairs General VK Singh traveled to Erbil. Sushma Swaraj informed the distraught family members that the missing Indians are most probably in a jail in Badush. Sources there told VK Singh ji that the missing Indians are most probably in a jail in Badush where fighting is still going on: EAM Swaraj pic.twitter.com/UlhNwx1ATa — ANI (@ANI) July 16, 2017 This news was contradicted by Wion’s correspondent who stated that the Badush jail was already destroyed. It was also disputed by India Today team that visited Mosul. It is interesting to note that while the Indian authorities were raising hopes about the missing Indians being alive, the Iraqi counterparts were more guarded in their communication. The Iraq’s ambassador to India was clear that he hoped for the best but he has no information on this. Iraqi Foreign minister who visited India initially told the media that they don’t know for sure but made a contradictory statement in his address later that evening. We’re not sure 100% they’re alive or not, we don’t know, going to do our best: Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Foreign Min of Iraq on 39 missing Indians pic.twitter.com/hUmOs1oiyH — ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2017 We are trying to follow news gained through intelligence sources, and we consider that all the Indians are alive: Foreign Minister of Iraq pic.twitter.com/aFM706le8U — ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2017 On July 25 Sushma Swaraj made a statement in parliament where she reiterated that Iraq has never said that the 39 missing Indians are dead. Iraq has never said that the 39 Indians missing are dead: EAM Sushma Swaraj — ANI (@ANI) July 26, 2017 Oct 2017: Family members were asked to give DNA tests March 20th, 2018: The 39 missing Indians were declared dead. There is no doubt that the minister had the best interests of the families in mind. A glance through the Ministry’s twitter timeline shows innumerable occasions when she met the families to reassure them. There is however a fine line between ‘reassuring that the government was doing its best’ and ‘raising false hopes’. Just like the minister insisted that she had no concrete proof that the missing Indians were dead, other than statements of unnamed “sources”, there was no proof that they were alive either. There was no conclusive information about them being dead or alive and this could have been stated clearly while continuing with the efforts to trace the missing Indians. Today, statement after statement of grieving family members stands witness to how they were led to believe that their loved ones were alive and well. 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	22nd March 2018 / 2:54 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-sushma-swaraj-mea-mislead-families-of-39-indians-who-went-missing-in-iraq/", "author": "Alt News Desk" }
786	Did Teesta Setalvad's great-grandfather give 'clean chit' to Gen Dyer for Jallianwala massacre? - Alt News Kalim Ahmed & Abhishek Kumar 28th June 2022 / 7:39 pm / Last updated: 28th June 2022 A day after the Supreme Court upheld the findings of a special investigation team (SIT) that cleared Prime Minister Narendra Modi of alleged complicity in the 2002 Gujarat riots, the anti-terrorism unit of the Gujarat police detained activist Teesta Setalvad and a former IPS officer from their homes. This was based on the apex court’s direction to take action against those who made “false allegations” against the State of Gujarat regarding its handling of the 2002 communal riots. Hours before activist Teesta Setalvad and former IPS officer RB Sreekumar were arrested, Home Minister Amit Shah gave an interview to ANI where he accused Setalvad of using her NGO to give baseless information to the police against the Bharatiya Janata Party. Amidst all the chaos of the arrest and celebrations from one side of the political spectrum, various users on social media have claimed that Setalvad is the great-granddaughter of Chimanlal Harilal Setalvad, who was part of the Hunter Commission that gave a ‘clean chit’ to General Dyer on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. It is being insinuated that Setalvad’s family has a history of “betraying the nation”. Kanchan Gupta, Senior Adviser at the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, was one of the many who tweeted the claim. Fraud activist and ‘riot relief fund’ scamster Teesta Setalvad is great granddaughter of Chimanlal Harilal Setalvad who was member of the infamous ‘Hunter Commission’ on Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Commission gave clean chit to General Dyer who ordered the firing on civilians. n1 pic.twitter.com/6qGvAs3gDp — Kanchan Gupta 🇮🇳 (@KanchanGupta) June 26, 2022 The same claim was made by RSS mouthpiece Organiser Weekly, journalist Nishant Azad, Anupam K Singh, senior sub-editor of the pro-BJP portal OpIndia Hindi, and various others. This claim is also widely circulating on Facebook. The aftermath of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre left many people divided. General Dyer’s actions were widely criticised but at the same time, multiple people came in support of Dyer including Michael O’Dwyer, then Governor Punjab, who lauded Dyer’s efforts. This is thoroughly recorded in the book ‘British Reaction To The Amritsar Massacre 1919 – 1920‘ by Derek Sayer published in 1991. The pressure mounting up on Edwin Montagu, then secretary of state for India, led to the creation of the Hunter Commission. Edwin Montagu, established an inquiry committee to look into the disturbing events in Bombay, Delhi, and Punjab and “the measures taken to cope with them”. On October 14, 1919, the Government of India announced the formation of the Disorders Inquiry Committee which later came to be known as the Hunter Commission after its chairman, Lord William Hunter. The following people were the members of the Hunter Commission: Sir Chimanlala Harilal Setalvad, the great-grandfather of Teesta Setalvad was indeed part of the Hunter Commission. He is the sixth person on the list mentioned above. The book ‘British Reaction To The Amritsar Massacre 1919 – 1920‘ also mentions that the Hunter Commission report was split into two based on racial lines. A “Majority Report” was submitted by the five white members of the committee and a “Minority Report” was submitted by the three Indian members. Sir Chimanlala Harilal Setalvad was one of the Indian members of the committee. Alt News reached out to a professor who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The professor confirmed to us the same as noted in the book. They said, “The Hunter Committee had five white members and three Indian members. There were two reports submitted by the members – the Majority Report and the Minority Report. The Majority Report was lenient on General Dyer, while the Minority Report gave dissenting notes against acquitting General Dyer and Michael O’Dwyer, then Governor Punjab.” The two reports can be read here and here. Below we have added a gallery highlighting the names of the authors of the reports. We recommend our readers read Chapter IV of the Minority Report titled – “The Firing at the Jallianwala Bagh”. In this chapter, the minority members condemn the firing and call it as an act of “frightfulness” comparable to German atrocities in France and Belgium, something “inhuman and un-British”. The committee also asked General Dyer if the passage to Jallianwala Bagh was sufficient to allow armoured cars to go in would he have opened fire with the machine guns? To which Dyer replied, “I think, probably, yes.” In fact, Dyer constantly referred to the people present at the scene as “targets”. Below we have added some of the excerpts from this report. The Minority Report also criticises the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, Michael O’Dwyer, concluding that his “point of view was and still is the same as that of General Dyer”. Moreover, even in the book ‘Jallianwala Bagh: A Groundbreaking History of the 1919 Massacre’ by V.N. Datta, it is clearly mentioned that the Minority Report had criticized Dyer’s action more strongly than its counterpart. It is important to note that V.N. Datta has extensively worked on the Jallianwala Bagh, exploring the primary sources and oral testimonies of the survivors and victims of the massacre. In the book, ‘The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge and the Raj’, author Anita Anand explains that the Hunter Commission agreed that General Dyer had overstepped the bounds of his authority. But the Indians on the panel refused to pen their name in the final report and denounced it. The Indian panel issued a separate Minority Report. This part of the book was also pointed out by columnist Nilanjana Roy on Twitter. The book also explains what happened to Dyer after the Hunter Commission report. British society continued to remain divided on the issue, Dyer was forced to resign from the Army and his recommendation for the CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) was withdrawn. To sum it up, General Dyer may not have received a punishment that can bring justice to those who perished, however, to say that the Indian panel of the Hunter Commission was in agreement to give Dyer ‘clean chit’ is unjustified. From the questions asked to Dyer by the Indian panel to the historical accounts noted, all of them point out that the Indian panel was strict on Dyer as well as on Michael O’Dwyer, the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab. The UK’s longest-serving monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, passed away last week. In the backdrop of… In April 2021, user TrueIndology made a series of claims regarding Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar’s… Tata Sons made the winning bid of Rs 18,000 crore for Air India, the airline… Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday claimed that Hindu Mahasabha leader Vinayak Damodar Savarkar filed… On August 7, Neeraj Chopra’s javelin throw of 87.58m bagged him a gold medal at…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	28th June 2022 / 7:39 pm / Last updated: 28th June 2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-teesta-setalvads-great-grandfather-give-clean-chit-to-gen-dyer-for-jallianwala-massacre/", "author": "Kalim Ahmed & Abhishek Kumar" }
787	Did the Congress party use a mortuary van for political campaigning in Madhya Pradesh? - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 14th August 2018 / 7:24 pm A photograph has been shared widely on social media, which shows an advertisement of a Congress party on a van. Those who have shared this image have claimed that the van is a mortuary van, and ridiculed the Congress party for using it for its political campaign. कांग्रेस मनोरंजन पार्टी Posted by The India Eye on Monday, August 13, 2018 The above post is by a Facebook page The India Eye. It has over 1.8 million followers. This photograph was posted on August 13, 2018 and so far, it has been shared over 2600 times. The text on the image says कांग्रेस मनोरंजन पार्टी (Congress manoranjan party) and reads “देश को लूटने वाली कांग्रेस के पास इतने पैसे भी नहीं क्या जो शव ले जाने वाली गाडी से प्रचार करने में जुटी है” (Congress which looted the country does not even have money, they are using a mortuary van for political campaigning- translated). The photo and the accompanying message has also been shared widely on Twitter where it has been tweeted by many right-wing users. अच्छा ! इंतेज़ाम भी कर लिया पहले खुद ही गले मिले,आंख रहे फिर मार..! शव वाहिनी रथ से कर रहे खुद का प्रचार..! सोनिया तोहरे लाल की,माया अपरम्पार..! इसी तरह लगे रहो मोदी जी करेंगे तुमको तड़ीपार…!! कुछ बचा है लिखने के लिए ?? pic.twitter.com/GiEk2yscvf — Bablu Sharma 🇮🇳 ‏ (@Bsharma7) July 21, 2018 The person who posted this tweet is followed on Twitter by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Numerous other social media users who are followed by the Prime Minister and ministers of the Central Government have shared this photograph which clearly shows शव वाहिनी (mortuary van) written on it. A simple Google reverse image search reveals that the photograph that is circulating on social media is photoshopped. In the original image, there is no mention of शव वाहिनी or mortuary van written on the vehicle. The original image was found in a report by News18 of July 18, 2018, according to which the picture of Congress leader Digvijaya Singh was missing from the party’s campaign launched in the state. As can be seen in the juxtaposed images above, in the photoshopped image the words shav vahini can be seen on the vehicle which are not present in the original photo. Also, the side grill of the vehicle is missing in the photoshopped image. This photoshopped image has been doing the rounds on social media over the past few weeks, since the Jan Jagran Yatra, a mass outreach programme of the Congress party ahead of the Madhya Pradesh assembly election was announced in July, 2018. This photoshopped image has already been debunked by Navbharat Times and Boom. With election to the Madhya Pradesh assembly barely a few months away, hectic political campaigning is already underway on social media. Through this photoshopped image, an attempt was made to portray the Congress as a desperate party which will stoop to new lows for votes. 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	14th August 2018 / 7:24 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-the-congress-party-use-a-mortuary-van-for-political-campaigning-in-madhya-pradesh/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
788	No, Vivek Agnihotri has not donated ₹200 cr from 'The Kashmir Files' to PM Relief Fund - Alt News Kinjal 16th April 2022 / 4:01 pm A photo of ‘The Kashmir Files’ director Vivek Agnihotri with Prime Minister Modi is viral as part of an infographic that reads, “The KASHMIR FILES donated the entire fund of 200 crores to the Prime Minister’s Fund. Salute to Vivek Agnihotri for donating the entire collection of ‘The Kashmir Files’ to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.” It is important to note that the film has earned approximately ₹250 crores at the box office. The Kashmir Files के निर्माता विवेक अग्निहोत्री ने अपना वादा पूरा करते हुए 200 करोड़ का चेक प्रधानमंत्री राहत कोष के लिए मोदी जी को सौंपा। इस पैसे का इस्तेमाल कश्मीरी पंडितों के लिए किया जाएगा। pic.twitter.com/3lbOB13f7t — P.N.Rai (@PNRai1) April 6, 2022 This photo is viral on Twitter with the same claim. It is also circulating on Facebook. Photo We performed a Google reverse image search on the photo and found it in an article on Dainik Jagran’s English portal published on March 13, 2022. According to the article, Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri, his wife Pallavi Joshi and filmmaker Abhishek Agarwal met Prime Minister Modi on March 12 where the PM appreciated the team for the film. On March 12, filmmaker Abhishek Agarwal tweeted some more pictures of their meeting with PM Modi. I am so glad for you @AbhishekOfficl you have shown the courage to produce the most challenging truth of Bharat. #TheKashmirFiles screenings in USA proved the changing mood of the world in the leadership of @narendramodi https://t.co/uraoaYR9L9 — Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) March 12, 2022 Did Vivek Agnihotri donate ₹200 crores to PM Relief Fund? We did not find reports corroborating the claim that Vivek Agnihotri has donated ₹200 crores to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. We came across a report by Patrika published earlier this year discussing an interview of Vivek Agnihotri and Pallavi Joshi. According to the report, Agnihotri was asked a question about whether he will be donating the film’s earnings. Joshi called the question absurd and said that there are four producers of the film and they are the ones who earn money and further invest it in future projects. It is noteworthy that Niyaz Khan, an IAS officer from Madhya Pradesh, had asked Agnihotri in a tweet to donate the earnings of ‘The Kashmir Files’ to Kashmiri Pandits. Agnihotri took a jibe at Khan in response. Sir Niyaz Khaan Sahab, Bhopal aa raha hoon 25th ko. Please give an appointment so we can meet and exchange ideas how we can help and how you can help with the royalty of your books and your power as an IAS officer. https://t.co/9P3oif8nfL — Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) March 20, 2022 Aaj Tak contacted Agnihotri’s PR team regarding the viral claim. His PR team dismissed this claim as a rumour. To sum it up, a photo of Vivek Agnihotri’s meeting with PM Modi was shared with the false claim that he handed over a cheque of ₹200 crores to PM Modi for the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. 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 April 2022 / 4:01 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-the-kashmir-files-director-vivek-ranjan-agnihotri-donated-200-cr-to-pm-relief-fund/", "author": "Kinjal" }
789	Did this photographer cry after Dhoni's run out? No, old image of Iraqi photographer viral - Alt News Niddhi Rathi 11th July 2019 / 7:53 pm Images of a crying photographer juxtaposed with a picture of Dhoni from the July 10 cricket world cup semi-finals against New Zealand is circulating on social media. One Prabhat Sharma tweeted this collage with the message – “Picture speaks louder than words!”. The tweet has been retweeted more than 1,000 times. Picture speaks louder than words! 💔#ThankYouMSD #Dhoni pic.twitter.com/6pRPAFpmB5 — Prabhat Sharma 🇮🇳 (@Prabhat28432285) July 11, 2019 The collage is being shared with variants of the message like “Heartbreak photography..Photo lene vala bhi rone laga or photo dene vala bhi rone laga..(“Translation: the one taking the picture is also crying the one whose picture is being taken is also crying”) ..i love my all players..”) Heartbreak photography..😭😭😭😭 Photo lene vala bhi rone laga or photo dene vala bhi rone laga..#DhoniForever #Dhoni @msdhoni @saumikpatel1 @imVkohli @ImRo45 @hardikpandya7 @imjadeja #INDvsNZ #heartbeat #CWC19 i love my all players😭😭❤❤❤❤.. pic.twitter.com/bE726Iwn99 — UMaNG PaTel⚪ (@Umangpatel023) July 11, 2019 Another user Nagraj Kulkundi tweeted the same collage with the message – “This picture speaks for itself.. a thousand words.” The collage was also shared on a Facebook group Cricket Life, drawing over 500 shares. Most heart breaking picture 💔 Posted by Cricket Life on Wednesday, 10 July 2019 A reverse image search on Google threw up various articles and social media posts which said that the picture is from January this year when an Iraqi photographer was in tears after his country lost against Qatar in round 16 of the Asian Cup. Passionate. Emotional moment for an Iraqi photographer during the Round of 16 clash against 🇶🇦 ! #AsianCup2019 pic.twitter.com/KZoXsp1N4U — #AsianCup2023 (@afcasiancup) January 24, 2019 Sport360 Arabiya had also tweeted the photographer’s pictures on January 25. مصور عراقي يبكي أثناء تأدية عمله وهو يشاهد خروج منتخب بلاده من كأس آسيا. 💔 pic.twitter.com/rRoCDOifYF — Sport360 Arabiya (@Sport360Arabiya) January 24, 2019 A report by Fox Sports identified the photographer as Mohammed Al Assasawi. In conclusion, pictures of an Iraqi photographer crying when his country lost in the Asian Cup in January 2019 was widely circulated on social media as the photographer crying when Dhoni was run out in the ICC world cup semi-finals between India and New Zealand on July 10, 2019. 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 July 2019 / 7:53 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-this-photographer-cry-after-dhonis-run-out-no-old-image-of-iraqi-photographer-viral/", "author": "Niddhi Rathi" }
790	Did TMC members unfurl party flag while singing national anthem on R-Day? No, cropped video viral - Alt News Archit 28th January 2022 / 6:17 pm / Last updated: 28th January 2022 On January 26, the leader of the opposition in West Bengal, BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari posted a video and alleged that All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) leader and former MLA Purna Chandra Bauri and other leaders sang the national anthem while hoisting the AITC flag. In the video, we can see people singing the national anthem in front of an AITC flag. Shameful that TMC members are desecrating the National Anthem in the presence of @AITCofficial Ex MLA; Purna Chandra Bauri of Raghunathpur Assembly of Purulia & other leaders. Also, unfurling TMC flag in place of National Flag to celebrate Republic Day is extremely unfortunate. pic.twitter.com/8PlwsEWHYT — Suvendu Adhikari • শুভেন্দু অধিকারী (@SuvenduWB) January 26, 2022 Twitter accounts @BefittingFacts and @MeghBulletin shared Adhikari’s tweet. Their tweets gained over 1,000 retweets each. Both these users are influencers in the counterfactual community in India. Alt News has documented multiple instances of them spreading misinformation – @BefittingFacts and @MeghBulletin. TMC leaders singing National Anthem after hoisting National Flag of West Bengal 🤲🏻😂 pic.twitter.com/3zEKoIaKmX — Facts (@BefittingFacts) January 27, 2022 Purulia: Reportedly some TMC leaders unfurled TMC Party flag instead of Indian National Flag and desecrated National Anthem.#RepublicDaypic.twitter.com/B4BjoMxrqS — MeghUpdates🚨™ (@MeghBulletin) January 27, 2022 Twitter-based news portal News Arena India, RSS-mouth piece Organiser Weekly and Hindi media outlet Punjab Kesari tweeted the same claim or “reported” the incident based on Adhikari’s tweet. Using the social media tool, CrowdTangle, we found that about 20 prominent Facebook users posted this video on January 21. A majority of them were by/on pro-government Facebook pages/groups such as —Nation with NaMo [over 14 lakh followers], JP Nadda BJP Group [over 35K followers]; The Saffron Sword [over 40K followers]; and Achievements of Modi Govt [over 1K followers]. Alt News spoke with AITC member Purnachandra Bauri from the Raghunathpur assembly in Purulia. He confirmed that the viral video shows him and his associates during January 26 Republic Day celebrations. He told Alt News over a telephonic call that this event took place at Raghunathpur and the viral video is misleading. He shared multiple images and videos from the same event that prove the viral video is either cropped or shot in a way that it doesn’t show the national flag next to the AITC flag. It’s worth noting that the national flag is hoisted on a higher flagstaff. The video below is shot from an angle where only the national flag can be spotted. The following image compares two screenshots from the viral video with a screenshot from the above-mentioned video shared by Bauri. Both videos were taken at the same event. This is established as the same people can be spotted in both videos. Regional news media outlet Khabar Ananda fact-checked this video on January 27. BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari thus posted a misleading video alleging that TMC members sang the national anthem on Republic Day while unfurling the party’s flag. The video had cropped out the Indian national flag. 🙏 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	28th January 2022 / 6:17 pm / Last updated: 28th January 2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-tmc-members-unfurl-party-flag-while-singing-national-anthem-on-r-day-no-cropped-video-viral/", "author": "Archit" }
791	Traffic signal in Hyderabad or Mumbai 'crosses road' in heavy rains? No, video from China viral - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 5th September 2019 / 2:31 pm / Last updated: 15th October 2020 A video which shows a traffic signal being washed up in a heavy downpour is circulating on social media as Hyderabad reels under torrential rains. First time in History the signal crossing the road…😁 #HyderabadFloods #HyderabadRain #HyderabadHeavyRains pic.twitter.com/qcDFoThVyu — Jagat Darak (@jagat_darak) October 14, 2020 The video is widespread on both Facebook and Twitter. 👆First time in History. Signal crossing the road.😁 👆First time in History. Signal crossing the road.😁 Posted by Tamilnews Express on Wednesday, 14 October 2020 Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri shared the video during Mumbai rains last year and wrote – “Hello Traffic Police of Mumbai, How much fine if the signal crosses the road?” The video drew combined views of over 30,000 from his Facebook and Twitter accounts. Hello Traffic Police of Mumbai, How much fine if the signal crosses the road? pic.twitter.com/zDQ51YLEng — Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) September 5, 2019 The same video was circulated by individual users on both Facebook and Twitter. An individual user Dr Shaharyar shared it on Facebook in August. His post had over 1.2 lakh views and nearly 4,000 shares. It was also shared in 2018 with an identical claim. Have you seen, Traffic Signal itself, crossing the road… Mumbai Rains.. 😳😢😭 Posted by Subramaniam Swaminathan on Sunday, 10 June 2018 A keyword search on YouTube – “traffic signal water” – threw up multiple videos from 2018 which said that the incident occurred in China. Chinese news network CGTN had posted a longer version of the same video on May 11, 2018. The visuals depicted in the 8-second clip currently viral can be seen in the video below from 0:13 seconds onwards. According to CGTN, heavy rains in South China’s Yulin City swept down a temporary traffic signal on a flooded street. Chinese alphabets visible in the video further corroborate that it was not shot in India. The lights on the signal are working since it runs on solar energy. Solar panels are visible on top of the signal. In the midst of Hyderabad witnessing heavy rainfall, several users shared a video from China and attempted to bring it to the notice of the city’s traffic police. Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News. 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	5th September 2019 / 2:31 pm / Last updated: 15th October 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-traffic-signal-in-mumbai-cross-the-road-in-heavy-rains-no-video-from-china-viral/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
792	Did UP govt issue order restricting samaritans from helping migrants workers? - Alt News Jignesh Patel 19th May 2020 / 1:35 pm / Last updated: 19th May 2020 On May 15, President of Swaraj Abhiyan Yogendra Yadav posted an image of a notice issued by Bulandshahr police. Tweeting the notice, Yadav criticised the Uttar Pradesh government and said, “UP govt issues warning to those samaritans living on roadside who have offered rest and food to migrant labour walking in front of their house! Threatens with prosecution! Won’t help workers. Won’t let others help.” The tweet has garnered close to 900 retweets so far. The notice says, “It is often seen that you stop walking migrants labourers in front of your residence. We have received confidential information that you lure the workers on their path to your house by distributing food and drinks at your residence. This violates the Covid-19 rules.” It further warns the concerned person that if he/she is found violating the COVID-19 rules then legal action will be taken against him/her under the Epidemic Act. One Nadeem Khan also took potshots at the UP government and tweeted, “Those who have houses on the highway and they are helping migrant workers, walking on the highway with water and food, They are being harassed by sending notice”. Alt News found that the notice was issued to a person named Shreebhagwan Sharma aka Guddu Pandit. He is a former MLA from Uttar Pradesh’s Debai assembly constituency. In a tweet, Bulandshahr police informed that the notice was issued against Sharma who, according to the police, has violated the lockdown rules a few times. उक्त नोटिस की सत्यता…. pic.twitter.com/GhjRlswpld — Bulandshahr Police (@bulandshahrpol) May 15, 2020 SSP Santosh Kumar also reiterated that the notice was issued against Guddu Pandit and that a few cases have been registered against him for violating rules and disturbing social distancing amidst the lockdown. He informed that the notice was given to Pandit by the station in-charge of Bulandshahr police for gathering people at his residence with the lure of food due to which social distancing was disturbed and lockdown rules were flouted. He then claimed that the part where his name was mentioned was removed and shared on social media. He said that sharing the notice on social without the context is an attempt to defame the police. सोशल मीडिया पर वायरल #नोटिस की #स्पष्ट_जानकारी के संबंध में वरिष्ठ पुलिस अधीक्षक @bulandshahrpol द्वारा दी गयी बाइट.. @dgpup @Uppolice @adgzonemeerut @igrangemeerut @News18UP @bstvlive pic.twitter.com/abNa9PL8RQ — Bulandshahr Police (@bulandshahrpol) May 15, 2020 However, Sachin Gupta, a crime reporter based in Uttar Pradesh, pointed out that while the police claimed that Guddu Pandit’s name was removed from the notice, it was never mentioned in the first place. कप्तान साहब बाइट में बोल गए कि नोटिस से गुड्डू पंडित का नाम हटाया गया है। जबकि पुलिस ने गुड्डू का नाम नोटिस में लिखा ही नहीं था। आखिरकार “सबसे छोटे” चौकी प्रभारी को लाइन हाजिर किया गया। पूर्व विधायक गुड्डू पंडित के घर पर चस्पा नोटिस, जिसमें कोई नाम नहीं लिखा हुआ है। pic.twitter.com/b6X5h2fvCF — Sachin Gupta \| सचिन गुप्ता (@sachingupta787) May 15, 2020 Later the police also informed, “Action has been taken against the outpost in-charge because, in the notice issued [by him] to Bhagwan Sharma alias Guddu Pandit for violating lockdown rules, he didn’t mention his name. Because of this, certain people on social media misused it. Had the language of the notice been clear and the name of the person was mentioned then the attempts to tarnish the image of district police could have been avoided.” कोई U-टर्न नही लिया गया है, प्रकरण की सत्यता निम्नवत है… @Uppolice @igrangemeerut pic.twitter.com/R0StqdqUuT — Bulandshahr Police (@bulandshahrpol) May 15, 2020 In the video posted below, Guddu Pandit can be heard arguing with the police for mentioning in the notice that he lures people to his house by distributing food and drinks. It can be heard that Guddu Pandit refuses to accept the notice from the police. Posted by Shribhagwan Guddu Pandit on Monday, 11 May 2020 Therefore, a notice was issued by Bulandshahr police to a former MLA for allegedly luring people to his house in the garb of helping them with food and other essentials. The police found him to be flouting lockdown rules and not maintaining the social distancing norms. Because the notice did not mention his name, it was shared by several users with the false claim that the police directed good samaritans to not help migrant workers. 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	19th May 2020 / 1:35 pm / Last updated: 19th May 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-up-govt-issue-order-restricting-samaritans-from-helping-migrants-workers/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
793	Did UP police lathicharge youth sitting on dharna outside CM Yogi Adityanath's residence? - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 7th August 2018 / 6:38 pm A video has been shared by multiple accounts on Facebook, which shows policemen lathicharging young men who have gathered inside what appears to be a Government office complex. The claim accompanying the video is that these are unemployed youth who have been assaulted by the Uttar Pradesh police simply because they sat on a peaceful dharna outside Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s residence in Lucknow. Shocked to see video of UP Police, on social media, brutally assaulting unemployed youths for daring to sit on peaceful dharna outside CM #YogiAdityanath residence in Lucknow demanding jobs. Posted by Navaid Hamid on Saturday, August 4, 2018 The above post was uploaded by a Facebook user on August 4, 2018 and has been viewed more than 50,000 times since then. It has also been shared more than 1500 times. Scrolling through the comments below the post reveals how social media users have fallen for the narrative. The incident of lathicharge by UP police which is shown in this video had taken place on June 12, 2018. The young men seen in the video are not unemployed youth protesting against CM Yogi Adityanath as claimed, but members of the Hindu Jagran Manch (HJM), a Hindutva outfit. They were protesting outside the office of the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) demanding the arrest of a person who had allegedly assaulted one of the members of HJM. The incident had been reported by multiple media organisations including Times of India, Indian Express and ANI. #WATCH: Police baton charge on members of Hindu Jagran Manch who were protesting outside the office of Aligarh Senior Superintent of Police (SSP), demanding the arrest of accused who had attacked one of their members. pic.twitter.com/vJkqoWxUkT — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) June 12, 2018 Alt News had earlier reported how the same video had been used with a different narrative, targeting Vasundhara Raje and the Rajasthan Government with the claim that Rajasthan police had baton-charged youth who were demanding their legitimate rights. Sharing sensational videos with a false context is staple within the misinformation ecosystem, and this tendency is observed regularly on social media. 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 August 2018 / 6:38 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-up-police-lathicharge-youth-sitting-on-dharna-outside-cm-yogi-adityanaths-residence/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
794	Did UPA govt build only one AIIMS institute during their tenure? False claim viral - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 25th April 2021 / 4:20 pm / Last updated: 12th May 2021 Several members and supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have promoted the claim that PM Modi’s tenure saw the maximum number of AIIMS come up in the country compared to previous prime ministers. An infographic shared in this regard claims that only one AIIMS was developed when Manmohan Singh was in power while PM Modi has established 15 AIIMS in the last seven years. Nand Kishore Yadav, cabinet minister for road construction in the Government of Bihar, was among those who shared the claim. ये आंकड़े देखने के बाद भी क्या कांग्रेसी और विपक्षी दल मोदी सरकार को ही बदनाम करेंगे….#ModiSarkar #India pic.twitter.com/VfypYCARwy — Nand Kishore Yadav (@nkishoreyadav) April 24, 2021 Actor Kangana Ranaut shared an infographic that claimed that 14 AIIMS were developed under the Modi government. “Dogs keep barking. Those who work, keep doing the work,” she wrote. Political commentator Abhinav Prakash posted a list that says 14 AIIMS were announced by PM Modi, out of which 11 are functional. His post drew over 8,000 likes and more than 3,400 retweets. History will not judge Manmohan Singh kindly… pic.twitter.com/9ArUemPXEU — Abhinav Prakash (@Abhina_Prakash) April 19, 2021 A post by Facebook page ‘PMO India : Report Card’ drew 2,100 shares and over 5,000 likes. The post is widespread on Facebook. Alt News has also received verification requests on its WhatsApp helping number (+91 76000 11160). BJP supporters Arun Pudur and @Sootradhar also shared the list. “During his 10 years of subservient post of PM. Manmohan singh just managed to open 1 AIIMS that too in Italian Mata’s Constituency,” wrote Pudur. Antonia Maino allowed Manmohan Singh to complete only one AIIMs in 10 years of UPA. pic.twitter.com/m0M4VStJEi — J (@Sootradhar) April 19, 2021 During his 10 years of subservient post of PM. Manmohan singh just managed to open 1 AIIMS that too in Italian Mata’s Constituency. If MMS is so great let him fix CONgress states starting with horrible #COVIDEmergency in Maharashtra & Chattisgarh. pic.twitter.com/3arXiwxlVJ — Arun 🇮🇳 (ಅರುಣ್) (@arunpudur) April 19, 2021 Other handles that raised hundreds of likes and retweets for the claim were Abhishek Dwivedi (@Rezang_La), @SaffronTommy and @beingGavy. @SaffronTommy wrote that the Modi government has set up 14 AIIMS in the country while the Manmohan Singh government had established one. It is also widespread on Facebook. A new pro-Modi Facebook page Marketing Motivation’s post drew over 800 likes. 3 more AIIMS (AIIMS Madurai, AIIMS Darbhanga and AIIMS Manethi) are under development… Posted by Marketing Motivation on Thursday, 22 April 2021 The first AIIMS was set up in the country in 1956 under the leadership of the country’s first health minister Amrit Kaur. Since then, six new AIIMS have been made functional. The Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government had announced the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) in 2003 with the objectives of “correcting regional imbalances in the availability of affordable/ reliable tertiary healthcare services and also to augment facilities for quality medical education in the country.” In his independence day speech in 2003, the former PM announced that under PMSSY “six new hospitals with modern facilities, like those available at AIIMS in Delhi, will be established in backward states in the next three years.” But Vajpayee’s government went out of power nine months after making the announcement. The six hospitals were established under the UPA rule. A report The New Indian Express published in 2011 states, “The NDA government merely treated this initiative as election-oriented, and went ahead with a usual spree of laying foundation stones between October 2003 and March 2004 without even transferring land properly.” “After the UPA came to power, approval of the Union Cabinet came in March 2006,” continues the report, adding, “It took six years for real work to start—in 2009—when the Government got the clearances and DPRs. Contractors were selected and awarded work only in June 2010”. These six new AIIMS, under Phase-I of PMSSY, were set up in Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Jodhpur, Patna, Raipur, and Rishikesh. The website of PMSSY states that regular MBBS batches started in these AIIMS in 2012 while Regular Nursing Courses started in 2013. It is noteworthy that the institutes were developed in a phased manner, with work done under both UPA and NDA governments. For instance, Medical College and Out Patient Department (OPD) services were started in AIIMS Bhopal in 2013 while In-Patient Departement (IPD) and private wards were inaugurated in 2014 and 2017 respectively. A CAG report in 2019 said that infrastructural development is still pending in these new AIIMS which are yet to become fully functional “as an institute of national importance as AIIMS, Delhi”. All the six AIIMS that the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government is being credited for in the viral list were therefore established under the Congress government. Answering questions on the status of AIIMS institutes in the country, minister of state in the ministry of health of family welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey had said last year, “22 AIIMS have been announced/ sanctioned to be set up under PMSSY” out of which, six (06) AIIMS i.e. Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Jodhpur, Patna, Raipur and Rishikesh are functional. Other 16 AIIMS are in various stages of their construction.” Out of the 16 AIIMS, the one in Rae Bareli was approved in 2009 by the Manmohan Singh government under Phase-II of PMSSY. According to The Indian Express, “A decade after getting clearance from the central government, the out-patient department (OPD) of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Rae Bareli began” in August 2018. The 15 other AIIMS were announced by PM Modi, some of which have partially begun a few services including out-patient department and medical colleges. The viral list therefore paints a misleading picture. To date, seven AIIMS are fully functioning. This includes AIIMS Delhi. The six new AIIMS were announced by the BJP government but established under the Congress government. AIIMS Rae Bareli was also established under the Congress governemnt but its OPD services were started during BJP’s tenure. The 15 other AIIMS were announced by the BJP government but they are either partially functional or under construction. 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	25th April 2021 / 4:20 pm / Last updated: 12th May 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-upa-govt-build-only-one-aiims-institute-during-their-tenure-false-claim-viral/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
795	Did Uttar Pradesh Muslim Congress leader assault woman who tied him rakhi? - Alt News Jignesh Patel 30th August 2018 / 12:27 am / Last updated: 3rd September 2018 Two pictures are being circulated on social media. One shows a woman tying a rakhi to a man and the other is purportedly of the same woman who seems injured. कोमल (@komal44337466), a Twitter user had tweeted these images stating, “यूपी के गोंडा में हिंदु महिला नीरू गौतम ने कांग्रेस नेता गफूर खान को अपना भाई माना था और राखी तक पहनाई 27aug Monday को गफूर खान ने निरू को कुछ काम के सिलसिले में घर बुलाया और निरू से बलात्कार करके मार पिटाई करके घर से भाग गया” (In Gonda (UP), a Hindu woman Niru Gautam considered Congress leader Ghafoor Khan as her brother and had also tied a rakhi. On 27th August Monday, Ghafoor called Niru home for some work and then he ran away after beating and raping Niru -translated) The tweet has now been deleted. Twitter user Komal (@komal44337466) who posted this message now faces an FIR by UP police on the charge of “sharing fake and inflammatory post aimed at inciting communal hatred”. Many users on Facebook and Twitter have shared the same images claiming a Hindu woman in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh was raped by a Muslim Congress leader. Another Facebook user had posted the same image with exact text in a public group BJP SOCIAL MEDIA. The group has more than 7 lakh members. Navbharat Times had earlier fact-checked the claim. A Google reverse image search of the image where a woman is tying a rakhi shows that it is an old image. An image posted by a Twitter user on August 7, 2018 was one of the earliest instances we could find. The tweet promotes communal harmony stating, “some relations are beyond religion and Love and Hate have no religion (translated).” Hence, it cannot be representative of an incident claimed to have happened recently. कुछ रिस्ते मजहब से बढ़ कर होते है , मौहबत और नफरत का कोई धर्म नहीं होता ” Indian’s strength Unity in diversity.. 😊😊 pic.twitter.com/Jph3DGcivG — Aditya (@AdityaReborn2) August 7, 2017 Alt News also did a Google reverse image of the injured woman’s picture and found an Associated Press image taken by photographer Rajesh Kumar. The caption reads, “An injured passenger recovers at a hospital at Kanpur, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, India, Monday, Nov. 21, 2016. Scores of passengers died and scores more were injured after 14 coaches of an overnight passenger train rolled off the track.” Gonda Police tweeted a clarification busting the rumours circulating about a woman raped in the district. The tweet refuted the claims made on social media stating, “The photo included in the mentioned viral post dates back to November 21, 2016 and represents an incident where a woman was injured in a train accident in Kanpur,Uttar Pradesh. Hence this incident is completely unfounded and false (translated).” उपरोक्त वायरल पोस्ट में शामिल की गई फोटो दिनांक 21 नवंबर 2016 कानपुर उत्तर प्रदेश में हुई ट्रेन दुर्घटना में घायल महिला की है घटना पूरी तरह से निराधार व असत्य है l @priankajha pic.twitter.com/FPifhd1Gfc — Gonda Police (@gondapolice) August 29, 2018 Making false claims on the basis of unrelated images has been a tried and tested tactic of pages and accounts that seek to increase the chasm of communal divide. A photo shared in 2017 to promote harmony between two communities was maliciously used to foment communal strife. 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	30th August 2018 / 12:27 am / Last updated: 3rd September 2018	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-uttar-pradesh-muslim-congress-leader-assault-woman-who-tied-him-rakhi/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
796	Did WikiLeaks expose Rahul Gandhi's secret marriage? Fake claim viral - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 23rd April 2019 / 8:23 pm A viral message on social media claims WikiLeaks revealed that Rahul Gandhi is married to a Colombian woman and has two children who stay in London. “विकीलीक्स ने खुलासा किया है कि राउल विंची शादीशुदा है\| इसके 2 बच्चे हैं जो लन्दन में रहते हैं\| इसकी बीबी कोलंबियन है\| पहली संतान 14 वर्ष का लड़का नियाक है और दूसरी सन्तान माइनक 10 साल की लड़की है\| अविवाहित कहकर राहुल गांधी देश को गुमराह कर रहा है\| (WikiLeaks has revealed that Rahul Gandhi is married. He has two kids who reside in London. His wife is Colombian. His first child is a 14-year-old son Niyak and the second child is 10-year-old daughter Mainak. Rahul Gandhi is misleading the country is claiming he is unmarried.)” reads the message. Several individual users on Facebook have circulated the message and Gandhi’s image with a woman. The message is also viral on Twitter as well. Searching for the alleged ‘exposé’ leads to no relevant results on WikiLeaks. There are also no media reports that mention Rahul Gandhi’s ‘secret’ marriage to a Colombian woman. Moreover, reverse-searching Gandhi’s photograph being shared along with the message reveals that the image was uploaded in 2017. The woman in the photograph is Spanish-American actress Nathalia Ramos. Last night with the eloquent and insightful Rahul Gandhi….. pic.twitter.com/3w27FBb0Pa — Nathalia Ramos (@nathalia73) September 14, 2017 Ramos had also uploaded the photograph on her Instagram account and captioned it as, “Last night with the eloquent and insightful @rahulgandhi. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to meet and listen to so many brilliant thinkers from all parts and perspectives of the world. It is only with an open mind and open heart that we can really make the world a better place. Thank you @berggrueninst for opening mine. #IdeasMatter“ Last night with the eloquent and insightful @rahulgandhi. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to meet and listen to so many brilliant thinkers from all parts and perspectives of the world. It is only with an open mind and open heart that we can really make the world a better place. Thank you @berggrueninst for opening mine. #IdeasMatter A post shared by Nathalia Ramos (@nathaliaramos) on This image was viral earlier this year with a changed narrative claiming that the woman in the photograph was a porn actor. Since the start of the general elections, misinformation related to Rahul Gandhi has been floating on social media. It was earlier claimed that Gandhi was ‘uncourteous’ while handing his nomination papers. Another piece of misinformation claimed that Gandhi’s name was misprinted on a Congress poster. A fake newspaper clipping was also shared in the Congress president’s 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	23rd April 2019 / 8:23 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/did-wikileaks-expose-rahul-gandhis-secret-marriage-fake-claim-viral/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
797	Morphed video of man lying on airplane wing believed to be from Afghanistan - Alt News Kinjal 19th August 2021 / 9:59 pm A video of a man lying on the wing of a plane in mid-air is circulating on social media. It is being claimed that the video shows an Afghani trying to flee Afghanistan after the Taliban took over the country. It must be pointed out that reports showing locals latching onto a military plane and men falling off aircraft mid-air have been reported in the media. Facebook page ‘Gulistan News Channel’ has posted this video, gathering over 5 lakh views at the time of writing. (Archive link) #VIRALVIDEO \| Citizens of Afghanistan scared of TB occupation hugging deaths and riding on the wings of the Airplane…….. Gulistan News don’t endorse the authenticity of this video.. #VIRALVIDEO \| Citizens of Afghanistan scared of TB occupation hugging deaths and riding on the wings of the Airplane…….. Gulistan News don’t endorse the authenticity of this video.. Posted by Gulistan News Channel on Tuesday, August 17, 2021 Twitter user @kashmirAdolph also shared the visuals and accompanying claim. It had been viewed by more than 25,000 handles as of this writing. (Archive link) VIDEO : Citizens of Afghanistan scared of TB occupation hugging deaths and riding on the wings of the Airplane#Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/J1B1BVjile — 𝕬𝖉𝖔𝖑𝖕𝖍 (@kashmirAdolph) August 17, 2021 The clip is widespread on Facebook and Twitter. Alt News also received a few requests to verify it on its official mobile app. We performed a reverse image search of a still from the video and found that it had been posted earlier by several other social media handles and YouTube channels in 2020. We were able to locate a version posted online on August 18, 2020 on Twitter. This original iteration was actually a TikTok video posted by the user ‘theghostofinternet’ as seen in the clip. Apart from this, we also found a similar set of visuals in which a person was sitting on the wing of the aircraft. After a closer look at both the clips, we noticed that they featured the same background. We discovered that a lot of memes websites and platforms posting humourous content had shared the video (Link 1, Link 2). Yet another video with the same background can also be found online except here, a man seated on a chair is drinking a cup of tea. We also found a YouTube video posted on December 17, 2020, where a few other videos with a similar background are shown. The ‘About’ section of the YouTube channel says that it photoshops videos from day-to-day lives. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGu2rYDZ0V0] The description of this video contains a link to the profile of a Facebook user named ‘Huy Xuân Mai. Alt News found that the viral video was posted by the user on August 17, 2020. Several other such videos can be found on his Facebook timeline. (Link 1, Link 2) Mai identifies as the administrator of a photoshop page called ‘Photoshop Có Tâm & Troller‘. You can find many such edited and photoshopped videos on this Facebook page. To sum it up, the video in circulation has been edited and has nothing to do with Afghanistan. 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	19th August 2021 / 9:59 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/digital-creation-video-viral-as-afganis-flee-lying-on-the-wings-of-an-aircraft/", "author": "Kinjal" }
798	Digitally created artwork shared as Hurricane Dorian from the coasts of Florida - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 7th September 2019 / 7:06 pm “A view of Hurricane Dorian from the coasts of Florida,” reads a tweet by Twitter handle Physics-astronomy.org (@OrgPhysics). A view of Hurricane Dorian 🌪 from the coasts of Florida. pic.twitter.com/1CgHofJ2LG — Physics-astronomy.org (@OrgPhysics) September 6, 2019 The video does not show Hurricane Dorian but is a digitally-created artwork. US-based photographer Brent Shavnore had uploaded the clip on his Instagram account. In an email conversation with AFP, he said that the video is an animated version of a composite image he created. The video was created by Instagram user TheGlitch. “Yes Instagram user TheGlitch was the person who animated the storm. I combined the two Shutterstock pictures together to create the artwork. That video on YouTube is my tutorial explaining how it’s done,” Shavnore wrote to AFP. The two photographs he combined – 1 and 2 – to create the artwork were also revealed to AFP. TheGlitch had uploaded the animation on its Instagram page, describing it as – “There is peace even in the storm.” – Vincent van Gogh. Photos taken by @shavnore Animation by TheGlitch @theglitch.og.” A digitally created artwork and animation was shared on social media as Hurricane Dorian from the coasts of Florida. 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	7th September 2019 / 7:06 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/digitally-created-artwork-shared-as-hurricane-dorian-from-the-coasts-of-florida/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
799	Digitally-created artwork showing a hurricane shared as powers of 'Buddhist God' - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 6th December 2019 / 5:05 pm / Last updated: 7th December 2019 A Twitter handle @NioZenji shared a video and wrote, “man-made buildings are no match for nature/heaven’s power.” He further wrote, “The Mighty Buddhist God Vajrapani & Indradeva wield the power of Lightning & Thunder. Many Devas in Dharmic pantheon are personifications of the forces of the Universe. In Japan we honor these deities as “Shoten Zenjin.” The Mighty Buddhist God Vajrapani & Indradeva wield the power of Lightning & Thunder. Many Devas in Dharmic pantheon are personifications of the forces of the Universe. In Japan we honor these deities as “Shoten Zenjin”. Man-made buildings are no match for Nature/Heaven’s Power. pic.twitter.com/Cl68Ikha1z — Rev. Zenji Nio (Indo-Japan Ctr) (@NioZenji) December 5, 2019 Shefali Vaidya quote-tweeted the video with a “wow”. Wow! https://t.co/XWxui4jFux — Shefali Vaidya (@ShefVaidya) December 5, 2019 American-Hindu ‘acharya’ David Frawley also quote-tweeted the video. A Twitter handle @OrgPhysics had shared the same video on September 6 as “A view of Hurricane Dorian from the coasts of Florida.“ A view of Hurricane Dorian 🌪 from the coasts of Florida. pic.twitter.com/1CgHofJ2LG — Physics-astronomy.org (@OrgPhysics) September 6, 2019 The tweet was quote-tweeted and retweeted by many, among them was the Pakistani Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Fawad Hussein. The video is a digitally-created, based on an artwork by US-based photographer Brent Shavnore. He had uploaded it on his Instagram account in May. In an email conversation with AFP, he said that the video is an animated version of a composite image he created. The video was created by Instagram user TheGlitch. “Yes Instagram user TheGlitch was the person who animated the storm. I combined the two Shutterstock pictures together to create the artwork. That video on YouTube is my tutorial explaining how it’s done,” Shavnore wrote to AFP. The two photographs he combined – 1 and 2 – to create the artwork were also revealed to AFP. Alt News’s earlier fact-check can be read here. A digitally created artwork and animation was thus believed to portray real landscape. The sound of thunder was also added to the clip. [Update: The title of this report was altered on December 7, 2019.] 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 December 2019 / 5:05 pm / Last updated: 7th December 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/digitally-created-artwork-shared-as-real/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
800	Digitally created horror video shared as attack on Italian church by Islamic forces - Alt News Archit 23rd March 2020 / 6:44 pm / Last updated: 23rd March 2020 A 45-second video which shows a gargoyle climbing a church has gone viral. Hindi speaking social media users have claimed that the video is from Italy and asked, “Is this an attack on Christianity by Islamic forces? [Translated from क्या यह किरिसचानिटी पर इस्लाम के गलबे का गैबी इशारा नहीं है।?]” The video has a watermark of ‘JJPD Producciones’ on the top right corner. A Facebook user shared the viral video and made the above-mentioned claim. इटली के एक चर्च पर चढ़ कर इस अजीब व गरीब परिंदे ने स्लेब( क्रास ) पर बैठकर अपने परों से हिलाल की शकल बनाई और उड गया. क्या यह किरिसचानिटी पर इस्लाम के गलबे का गैबी इशारा नहीं है।? जिसको या वीडियो फोटोशॉप लगे गा तो fact चेक करवा लेना फिर कमेंट करना ठीक है Posted by Samir Ahmad on Sunday, 22 March 2020 Several other users posted the viral video on Facebook. Alt News has received several requests to fact-check the images on WhatsApp (+91 76000 11160) and on our official Android application. Alt News searched the keywords ‘JJPD Producciones’ on YouTube and found a channel by the same name. The channel uploaded the viral video on June 3, 2019. The title of the video reads “Demon Terrifies in Granada City – Nicaragua 2019 – Gargoyle? [Translated from Demonio Aterroriza en Ciudad de Granada – Nicaragua 2019 – Gargola?]” It turns out, JJPD Producciones has posted several videos similar to the viral video. According to the channel’s ‘About’ section, JJPD Productions is run by two brothers from Nicaragua. They make horror videos specialising in paranormal encounters using special effects. On September 2019, the outlet uploaded a video on YouTube which shows how the gargoyle was digitally created. Therefore, social media claim about the video is false. 🙏 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… 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	23rd March 2020 / 6:44 pm / Last updated: 23rd March 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/digitally-created-horror-video-shared-as-attack-on-italian-church-by-islamic-forces/", "author": "Archit" }
801	Digitally-created image viral as Shahrukh Khan's lookalike discovered in Kashmir - Alt News Archit 14th December 2020 / 8:19 pm An image of a young boy who looks strikingly like Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan is circulating on social media with the claim that the boy is from Kashmir. Jammu & Kashmir Youth Congress member Aabid Mir Magami posted this image and wrote, “Kashmiri boy is taking rounds on Social media who looks Like as Bollywood Badashah @iamsrk”. This tweet has been retweeted over 500 times since December 13. (archived link) Several people have shared this image on Facebook and Twitter. Alt News looked up for media reports on a child from Kashmir who looks like Shahrukh Khan. However, there were none. But we did find reports by India Today and Hindustan Times about Khan’s lookalike. None of them had the level of facial similarity as the boy in the viral picture. We performed a reverse image search using InVID browser plugin and found that a similar image of Khan was published by Getty Images. As per the caption, the image is from the 55th Cannes film festival held on May 23, 2002. Both the images are identical except for the fact that in the viral image Khan looks several decades younger. The viral image has been made using a photo editing app called FaceApp that allows you to add various filters on a portrait image such as smile, beards, gender, face swap, age, hairstyles and others. We downloaded FaceApp and applied the ‘young age’ filter on the Getty Images photo. Below is a comparison of the original image with the viral photograph and the one created by Alt News on FaceApp. The viral image has been adjusted for brightness, saturation and contrast. Thus, an image of Shahrukh Khan from 2002 was edited and shared with the false claim that a Kashmiri boy looks just like him. The viral image was edited using software that changes a person’s features to make them look younger, old, etc. The application also allows the user to change the gender of a person, as shown below. 🙏 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	14th December 2020 / 8:19 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/digitally-created-image-viral-as-shahrukh-khans-lookalike-discovered-in-kashmir/", "author": "Archit" }
802	Digitally created images shared as 'first photographs of Earth' sent by Chandrayaan-2 - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 12th September 2019 / 8:44 pm Several images are floating on social media as ‘first photographs of Earth take by Chandrayaan-2’. “चंद्रयान-2 ने खींची पृथ्वी माँ की पहली फ़ोटो। आप भी देखिए और निहाल हो जाइए कि हम ब्रम्हाण्ड के कितने अद्भुत स्थल पर रहते हैं। (First photographs of Earth clicked by Chandrayaan-2. You can also see that we live in such an incredible place in the universe.)” – wrote a user while posting the images on the Facebook group ‘Chirkut baba ke crazy vachan Group.’ Her post was liked 5,500 times and shared 3,300 times at the time of writing. Alt News found that all the images shared were either old and digitally created thus do not represent images transmitted by the Indian spacecraft. This image was uploaded by NASA in 2008 and is captioned as ‘animation’. In another related article, NASA described it as, “artist’s concept of a substorm.” The image below was found on a website that described it as – “Space wallpapers HD for Android.” The third image was found uploaded by a website in 2012 as ‘iPhone wallpapers’. This is a poster from the 2009 Nicolas Cage movie ‘KNOWING’. We found this image on a 2004 blog- 3D wallpapers for Windows phone. Similar misinformation was circulated when after Chandrayaan-2 was launched in July. Alt News’s earlier fact-check can be read here. 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	12th September 2019 / 8:44 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/digitally-created-images-shared-as-first-photographs-of-earth-sent-by-chandrayaan-2/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
803	CGI clip viral as 'robot' used to take down IS chief Baghdadi, now shared Israeli weapon - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 31st October 2019 / 4:44 pm / Last updated: 28th November 2020 A video that supposedly shows a combat robot has been shared on social media with the claim that Mossad, the national intelligence agency of Israel, has manufactured this “deadly weapon” to take on “terrorists and predators”. Amazing #Military #robot from #Israel. Hats off to the officers experimenting with this deadly weaponised robot by risking their lives. This shows their confidence in the machine designed to take care of predators and terrorists with clinical precision 🇮🇱#Idf #Mossad pic.twitter.com/g9v4Fg2sOV — Arun Deshpande (@ArunDeshpande20) November 27, 2020 The clip was also shared with an anti-Muslim narrative. See how the future wars will be like! Mosad is preparing for manless wars against jihadists pic.twitter.com/UMjocZju8u — Gopal Goswami (@gopugoswami) November 28, 2020 “This is not a CG Robo made for film fictiom. It’s real US Delta force “Robot” Training practice used in yesterday operation to kill Terrorist Al bagdi in Syria. Hats off to these soldiers taking part in the demo with live amunition. Total faith in the robot …using AI, Machine Learning…Technology is scary. Received from whatsapp,” was the message shared with the video last year. This is not a CG Robo made for film fictiom. It’s real US Delta force “Robot” Training practice used in yesterday operation to kill Terrorist Al bagdi in Syria. Hats off to these soldiers taking part in the demo with live amunition. Total faith in the robot …using AI, Machine Learning…Technology is scary. Received from whatsapp Posted by Sreenivasulu Nichenametla on Wednesday, 30 October 2019 The claim that this robot was used in the operation to take down ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is massively circulated on Facebook. The message had also been shared in Telugu, “ఇది ఫిల్మ్ ఫిక్టియం కోసం చేసిన రోబో కాదు. ఇది నిజమైన యు.ఎస్ .డెల్టా ఫోర్స్ “రోబోట్” శిక్షణా పద్ధతి సిరియాలో ఉగ్రవాది అల్ బాగ్దాడిని చంపడానికి ఆపరేషన్లో ఉపయోగించబడింది. ప్రత్యక్ష మందుగుండు సామగ్రితో డెమోలో పాల్గొనే ఈ సైనికులకు హ్యాట్స్ ఆఫ్. రోబోపై పూర్తి నమ్మకం … AI, మెషిన్ లెర్నింగ్ ఉపయోగించి … టెక్నాలజీ భయానకంగా ఉంది.” Chairman of RPG Group Harsha Goenka tweeted the video saying, “The real question in humans vs machines is not if the machines can think well?” A YouTube search with the keyword ‘combat robot’ throws up the same video shared by Corridor on October 26. The video was titled, “New Robot Makes Soldiers Obsolete (Bosstown Dynamics)” Several people commented on the video that the robot was a work of CGI effects. A second YouTub search with the keyword ‘Bosstown Dynamics cgi robot’ led us to a video of Corridor explaining how the robot was digitally created. “We Used CGi to Fake Military Robots,” is the title of the video which was uploaded the next day, October 27. A video of digitally-created ‘combat robot’ was shared on social media as a weapon manufactured by the Israeli intelligence agency. It was earlier shared as US Delta force robot used in the operation to take down ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. 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	31st October 2019 / 4:44 pm / Last updated: 28th November 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/digitally-created-video-viral-as-robot-used-by-us-to-take-down-is-chief-baghdadi/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
804	Digvijay Singh tweets old image of damaged metro pillar from Pakistan as Bhopal - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 10th June 2018 / 6:56 pm / Last updated: 9th July 2018 “यह है सुभाष नगर रेल्वे फाटक भोपाल पर बन रहे रेल्वे ओवर ब्रिज का एक पोल,जिसमें आ गई दरारे/क्रैक इसकी गुणवत्ता पर सवाल उठाती हैं,अभी तो पुल भी नही बना ।एक भाजपा नेता के मार्ग दर्शन निर्माण में हो रहा है ,फिर यह सब क्यों और कैसे ? वाराणसी की दुर्घटना यहॉं भी ना हो जाये (This is a pole of the under-construction overbridge of Subhash Nagar railway gate, Bhopal. The cracks on it raise questions on its quality even before the bridge is fully constructed. The construction is taking place under the guidance of a BJP leader, then why and how is this happening? Let us hope the Varanasi episode doesn’t repeat here.) Congress MP Digvijay Singh tweeted an image of a cracked flyover pillar with this caption, questioning BJP’s efforts toward citizens’ safety. यह है सुभाष नगर रेल्वे फाटक भोपाल पर बन रहे रेल्वे ओवर ब्रिज का एक पोल,जिसमें आ गई दरारे/क्रैक इसकी गुणवत्ता पर सवाल उठाती हैं,अभी तो पुल भी नही बना ।एक भाजपा नेता के मार्ग दर्शन निर्माण में हो रहा है ,फिर यह सब क्यों और कैसे ? वाराणसी की दुर्घटना यहॉं भी ना हो जाये। pic.twitter.com/oycXREebp0 — digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) June 10, 2018 This is the same photograph posted by a few users on Twitter in May, claiming it to be a part of an under-construction flyover in Zirakpur, Chandigarh. @nitin_gadkari @MORTHIndia pic of one pillar of #flyover in #zirakpur on Chandigarh #zirakpur #Ambala #Delhi #Highways. Please look into it and take necessary measures to prevent big #accident. pic.twitter.com/mAP15deG1i — HITESH GARG (@srhitesh106) May 23, 2018 The image was also circulated in 2016, claiming it to be a part of a metro pillar toward Hyderabad’s ISB route. #metro This is one of d pillar towards Isb route.It can break down any time. Pl share so govt take notice@KTRTRS pic.twitter.com/nWLLxlegJY — Shiva (@Iamshivachari) July 30, 2016 Where is the image actually from? In December last year, Newsminute reported that the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) clarified the image of the damaged pillar is fake. Telangana urban development minister K.T Rama Rao tweeted that the pole on the verge of collapse is from Rawalpindi, Islamabad. This is not in Hyderabad neither in Metro nor in PVNR. Actually it’s in Rawalpindi, Pakistanhttps://t.co/q8wilsOq0T https://t.co/WKGrXmn8rf — KTR (@KTRTRS) August 3, 2016 The same image was also tweeted in 2016 by a journalist from Rawalpindi. Rawalpindi Metro Bus Pillar – Some construction that has not sustained for even a single year pic.twitter.com/hRIkcZlf6y — Adeel Raja (@adeelraja) February 25, 2016 Media outlet My Pakistan had also reported on the faulty design. http://mypakistan.pk/rawalpindi-islamabad-metro%e2%80%ac/ Posted by My Pakistan on Wednesday, 24 February 2016 Old images and/or videos often resurface as recent events. While we should not blindly believe any news floating across social media platforms, it becomes even more important for senior political leaders with a significant following to not circulate any information without confirming its authenticity. 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	10th June 2018 / 6:56 pm / Last updated: 9th July 2018	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/digvijay-singh-tweets-old-image-of-damaged-metro-pillar-from-pakistan-as-bhopal/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
805	Digvijaya Singh shares photo of ambulances from Andhra as neglect of healthcare by Yogi govt - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 4th October 2018 / 12:16 am / Last updated: 15th March 2019 This is the message which has been posted by Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on his Twitter account, along with a fleet of ambulances lying unused. Singh posted this picture and message on his Twitter account which has been retweeted over 170 times. ये उत्तर प्रदेश की हालत क्या कर दी योगी जी ने, अखिलेश यादव जी द्वारा चलवाई गई 108,102 एम्बूलेंस खड़ी जंग खा रही है और जनता अपने बीमार परिजनों को ठेलो पर अस्पताल ले जा रही है॥ #वाह_योगी_जी_वाह# #बेशरमी_की_भी_हद_होती_है# रजत यादव pic.twitter.com/zWJr8CugHY — digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) October 3, 2018 On Facebook, the page I am with Ravish Kumar too has posted this image with the aforementioned claim. It has been shared a whopping 31,000 times already. ये मेरे प्रदेश की हालत क्या कर दी योगी जी अखिलेश यादव जी द्वारा चलवाई गई 108,102 एम्बूलेंस खड़ी जंग खा रही है जनता ठेलों पर मरीज ले जा रही है। Posted by I am with Ravish Kumar on Tuesday, October 2, 2018 The image is not from UP as claimed by Digvijaya Singh but from Andhra Pradesh. Sakshi TV, which is a Telugu news channel, had reported on September 22 how ambulances at Avutupalli near Vijaywada were lying unused. According to the news report, the ambulances are idle because of lack of maintenance on the part of the agency which has been awarded the contract by the Andhra Pradesh government. Alt News spoke to Raja Ramesh, reporter of Sakshi TV who filed the report from Vijaywada. “(The ambulances) seen in the photo are old 108 ambulances which were not used as BVG, the agency tasked with maintenance and service has not allotted the requisite funds. If one looks closely at the image posted by Digvijaya Singh, it can be seen that the ambulances are from Andhra Pradesh. At the bottom right of the screen, the words ‘Government of Andhra Pradesh’ can be read on the green band on the vehicle. However, this image is relatively blurred. The image posted on the website of Sakshi TV is clearer and the words can be read easily. Political propaganda on social media is rampant, relentless and often economical with the truth. A closer look at the image reveals that the claim circulating on social media is false. While Digvijaya Singh relishes taking potshots at the BJP, he has been caught on the wrong foot in this instance. 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	4th October 2018 / 12:16 am / Last updated: 15th March 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/digvijaya-singh-shares-photo-of-ambulances-from-andhra-as-neglect-of-healthcare-by-yogi-govt/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
806	Directors - Alt News	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/directors/", "author": null }
807	Disabled Muslim man hounded for accidentally dropping currency, accused of spreading coronavirus - Alt News Mohammed Zubair & Kinjal 27th April 2020 / 1:03 am A CCTV footage showing a Muslim man in a petrol pump reaching for his pocket to make a payment and dropping something on the ground is massively viral on social media. Certain users have speculated that the man intentionally dropped currency notes to spread coronavirus infection. ABP News anchor Vikas Bhadauria tweeted the video saying, “Did he purposely drop the note or it fell by mistake? What could be his intentions?” As of this writing, his tweet drew close to 2.5 lakh views and 6,000 retweets. [Translated from: नोट जानबूझ कर फेंका या गलती से गिर गया है ? इनका इरादा क्या हो सकता है ?#CoronaUpdate #CoronavirusOutbreak #lockdownindia] नोट जानबूझ कर फेंका या गलती से गिर गया है ? इनका इरादा क्या हो सकता है ?#CoronaUpdate#CoronavirusOutbreak #lockdownindia pic.twitter.com/eAVlgQny6N — Vikas Bhadauria (ABP News) (@vikasbhaABP) April 25, 2020 TV9 Gujarati aired the video claiming that a man in Gujarat’s Navsari threw a Rs 20 note creating a coronavirus scare. BJYM Telangana spokesperson Roop Darak tagged Alt News asking if the man “willingly threw a note”. Can you Plz fact check willingly currency on road .@AltNews @zoo_bear pic.twitter.com/dlb4Ch7TEo — Roop Darak (@iRupND) April 25, 2020 Facebook page S24 News Channel uploaded the video with a caption in Gujarati – “Navsari: An incident where notes were thrown has come to light (નવસારી : ખડસુપા ગામે ચલણી નોટ ફેકવાનો કિસ્સો સામે આવ્યો.)” Alt News contacted Navsari police and was informed by inspector P P Brahmabatt of the area’s rural police station: “After watching the CCTV footage, the owner of the petrol pump contacted the police. We brought in the man seen in the clip for questioning. His name is Mohammed Yusuf Ilyas Shaikh, a resident of Valsad. During the questioning, we found that his right hand is paralysed after he had met with an accident. His right hand does not function properly which is why the notes fell out of his hand. A complaint has been filed against him for travelling from Valsad to Navsari during the lockdown.” Brahmabatt was further asked if Ilyas is coronavirus positive or has symptoms for the disease. “We took him for a medical examination and found that he does not have symptoms. He has been advised home-quarantine,” the inspector replied. We also contacted Ilyas who described the events of April 22. “I had left in the morning to travel to Dabhel and stopped at a gas station en route to fill petrol. Since I was riding on the highway I was wearing spectacles and a mask. I met with an accident in 2009 and since then, I am unable to hold things in my right hand. There is movement in the hand but I cannot use it effectively. I didn’t even realise when the notes fell out of my hand.” Ilyas further said, “If you notice the video carefully, I used my left hand to reach my pocket and make the payment. During this time, I didn’t realise that notes got stuck between my fingers in the right hand and fell on the ground.” The CCTV footage shared by Vikas Bhadauria and TV9 Gujarati is merely 20 seconds long. However, the 46th second of the complete 2:13-minute video shows that Ilyas puts his left hand inside his pocket, takes out currency notes and holds them using both his hands. He then makes the payment using his left hand. Upon being asked about the FIR filed against him, Ilyas informed that he was called to Valsad police station for questioning. “I informed the police that I hadn’t gone to Navsari but Dabhel which comes in the highway route. I have implants in my spine which sometimes pain. So I have to visit the hospital in Dabhel for a check-up every 2-3 months. A few people came from Navsari police station and took me to the rural police station. I was then taken to Navsari government hospital for a check-up. The doctors found that I was perfectly fine and had no symptoms for coronavirus. I didn’t even know what exactly was going on,” he said. “When I told the police about the paralysis in my right hand, they accepted that I dropped the note unintentionally. The people from the petrol pump also came to the police station. When they saw my hand, they understood that it was a mistake. I was subsequently given bail and have been staying at home as advised by the doctor,” he continued. Ilyas also gave a video statement to Alt News that can be watched below. The video shows severe injuries on his right hand. Ilyas’s statement was corroborated by Sunilbhai Patel, the owner of Krishak petrol pump. “He has an injury on his hand due to an accident that he met years ago which is why notes fell from his hand,” he told Alt News. Photographs of Ilyas’s X-ray report are attached below. A conspiracy theory was manufactured around a benign incident caught on CCTV camera. One can only spread infection when they are infected in the first place. A person can find out if they are infected only after getting tested. In India, the COVID-19 tests are being carried out by both public and private laboratories. The labs are mandated to inform the respective governments about test results for further course of action or contact tracing. People are either quarantined or admitted to the hospital depending on their medical condition. Only a test can determine if Shaikh is coronavirus positive. However, he denied ever having tested for the infection. Moreover, an infected person violating quarantine is a crime under the Epidemic Diseases Act but Shaikh hasn’t been booked under any of the relevant sections. It is ridiculous to suggest that a coronavirus positive patient escaped a quarantine ward, took his scooter to a petrol pump and concocted a plan to quietly drop a currency note to spread the infection. Several users on Twitter and Facebook have shared the video claiming, “पैसे लेने के बाद दूसरे हाथ से नोट फैक रहा है. (After taking money, he threw a note from his other hand.)” Alt News has also received multiple fact-check requests on its official mobile application. 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 2020 / 1:03 am	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/disabled-muslim-man-hounded-for-accidentally-dropping-currency-accused-of-spreading-coronavirus/", "author": "Mohammed Zubair & Kinjal" }
808	Disaster Management Act does not prohibit coronavirus posts on social media - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 7th April 2020 / 7:21 pm / Last updated: 15th April 2021 A message viral circulating across social media platforms claims that ‘Disaster Management Act (DMA)’ has been implemented from midnight which bars people from posting coronavirus related updates. This would be a punishable offence, asserts the message. DMA was passed in the Parliament in 2005. आज रात्रि 12 बजे से सम्पूर्ण भारत में आपदा प्रबधन ऐक्ट लागू किया जाता हे। इसके अंतर्गत सरकारी विभाग को छोड़ कर अन्य… Posted by Anupgarh Jyoti on Tuesday, 13 April 2021 The claim is widespread with a Hindi message on both Facebook and Twitter. The complete message says, “आज रात्रि १२ बजे से सम्पूर्ण भारत में आपदा प्रबधन ऐक्ट लागू किया जाता है। इसके अंतर्गत सरकारी विभाग को छोड़ कर अन्य किसी भी व्यक्ति को कोरोना से जुड़े संदेश पोस्ट करने पर दंडात्मक कार्यवाही की जाएगी….सभी ग्रुप ऐड्मिन अपने ग्रुप में बताये.” The same message was viral last year with a message in English. Tonight 12(midnight) onwards Disaster Management Act has been implemented across the country. According to this… Posted by Masoom Ahmed on Wednesday, 1 April 2020 The complete forward reads, “Tonight 12(midnight) onwards Disaster Management Act has been implemented across the country. According to this update, apart from the Govt department no other citizen is allowed to post any update or share any forward related to Coronavirus, it being punishable offence.*Group Admins are requested to post the above update and inform all in the group. Stay home ..Stay safe.” On WhatsApp, it is being forwarded with a link of a Live Law report and requests all ‘group admins’ to close groups for two days or else police can book people under Sections 68, 144 and 188. A read through the Live Law article itself suggests that the message promotes false information. Here’s what the title of the article says – ‘Centre Seeks SC Direction That No Media Should Publish COVID-19 News Without First Ascertaining Facts With Govt.’ The article talks about the central government seeking a direction from the top court that no media outlets publish any COVID-19 related news “without first ascertaining facts from the mechanism provided by the government.” “Considering the very nature of the infectious disease which the world is struggling to deal with, any panic reaction by any section of the society based upon such reporting would not only be harmful for such situation but would harm the entire nation. It is, therefore, in the largest interest of justice that when this court has taken cognizance, this court is pleased to issue a direction that no electronic/print media/ web portal or social media shall print/ publish or telecast anything without first ascertaining the true factual position from the separate mechanism provided by the Central government,” read the affidavit, as reported by Live Law. The complete affidavit in question uploaded by Live Law can be read here. The following excerpt from the affidavit makes a reference to the Disaster Management Act: “It is submitted that such an act of creating panic is also a criminal offence under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. However, an appropriate direction from this Hon’ble Court would protect the country from any potential and inevitable consequence resulting from a false alarm having the potential of creating panic in a section of the society.” On April 2, the Supreme Court ordered the media to “refer to and publish the official version” about COVID-19 developments is in the spirit of the provisions of the Disaster Management Act of 2005, reported The Hindu. However, the article further states, “However, the Act, on the other hand, does not contemplate an arrangement whereby the media – print, electronic and social media – first ascertain the “factual position” from the government side before publishing or airing “anything” on COVID-19.” The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had pressed for such a directive from the Supreme Court on March 31 in the “larger interest of justice.” Live Law tweeted about the misinformation circulating in its name. A Fake message with the link of a @LiveLawIndia report is still going viral in WhatsApp Groups Pls do not share it. Read this report to know more about it [Fake News Alert] https://t.co/NE3F4jZxO7 pic.twitter.com/dtsXebJN4f — Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) April 6, 2020 Furthermore, the legal news portal called out the false news in a separate article: “The report has no connection with the fake message. It is clear from a bare perusal of the report that it does not convey the news as sought to be spread through the fake message.” The fact-check wing of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) also tweeted about the misinformation and additionally provided Section 54 of the Disaster Management Act. It is noteworthy that the Act specifically talks about offences and penalties for promoting false claims and false warnings that lead to panic. #PIBFactcheck: Sec 54 of the Disaster Management Act implemented provides punishment for “FALSE WARNING”/persons circulating false alarm leading to panic. (2/3) pic.twitter.com/Lgl1W0QoUN — PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) April 2, 2020 Therefore, the viral message concerning the Disaster Management Act is misleading. The Act does not bar people from posting “anything” about coronavirus. Furthermore, the Live Law article was shared along with the viral message to give credibility to the false claim. It is noteworthy that the centre had invoked the Epidemic Act 1897 and the DMA earlier in March. The step was taken to prevent the spread of the viral infection. Provisions of the legislation allow for the detention of people or any vessel that come from international shores and are seen as a potent threat. 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	7th April 2020 / 7:21 pm / Last updated: 15th April 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/disaster-management-act-does-not-prohibit-coronavirus-posts-on-social-media/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
809	Passengers to be charged for rescue ops? ANI misreports Uttarakhand Govt notification - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 17th July 2018 / 6:15 pm On July 14, ANI published a report titled, “Uttarakhand: Passengers to be charged during rescue operations.” Affixed with the article was a notification issued by the state Civil Aviation Development Authority addressed to the District Magistrate of Pithoragarh. Based on this, ANI reported that “passengers would be charged availing helicopters during rescue operations at the time of disasters.” The story was also picked up by NDTV, Deccan Chronicle and India Times. NDTV later published another article with the Chief Minister’s response. Social media users did not take the news well and many tweeted in outrage, including former JNUSU Vice President Shehla Rashid and national social media in-charge of Indian Youth Congress Vaibhav Walia. Congratulations to Uttarakhand CM for becoming the first CM ever to charge stranded citizens for rescue operations! Helicopter rides will now be chargeable during rescue operations in Uttarakhand. And if you can’t pay, you may safely die. #AchheDin #BJP — Shehla Rashid (@Shehla_Rashid) July 15, 2018 Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat took to Twitter to refute ANI’s reportage. He said that in a government order dated July 4, clear directives were given to use the choppers for rescue at “no cost to evacuees.” This is yet another baseless twisting of facts by @ani to to manufacture news- the attached govt order dated 4th July provided for stationing of choppers & had clear directive to use the choppers for rescue at NO COST to evacuees. https://t.co/8gL5YUpadI CC @smitaprakash pic.twitter.com/a1pzN8gRAn — Trivendra S Rawat (@tsrawatbjp) July 15, 2018 The order tweeted by the CM mentions – “People stuck in a disaster will not be charged any rent, however, from Dharchula to Gunji in Pithoragarh, Rs 3,500 would be charged per normal passenger…” On July 15, ANI tweeted the same notification as in its earlier article, clarifying that “Uttarakhand government has revoked this July 6 notification which charged passengers at the time of disasters.” Uttarakhand government has revoked this July 6 notification which charged passengers at the time of disasters. Now, two extra helicopters have been added and all charges waived at the time of disaster. #Uttarakhand pic.twitter.com/TM97kfuScs — ANI (@ANI) July 15, 2018 However, CM Rawat responded by saying that no such rent was ever charged in the first place. Nothing has been revoked, two choppers were stationed for emergency vide letter dated 4th July and same letter provided for NO CHARGE evacuation in case of emergency arising out of disasters. I urge you to read my tweets properly. pic.twitter.com/E9trwrDfgU — Trivendra S Rawat (@tsrawatbjp) July 15, 2018 Alt News contacted CMO and was told the same by the personal assistant to the Chief Minister – passengers rescued during disasters were never charged any money. ANI editor Ishaan Prakash responded to CM Rawat on Twitter that the subject line of the notification clearly states “dues for helicopter help during disaster”. Your subject line in the July 6th notification clearly states “dues for helicopter help during disaster” and goes on to say 3100 adding all taxes from each passenger. Now we have been told it’s been revoked so updating. Nothing incorrect was reported in initial story pic.twitter.com/pvFo5G6mbT — ishaan prakash (@ishaan_ANI) July 15, 2018 However, Alt News closely read the July 6 notification, issued in Hindi, by the Civil Aviation Development Authority and found that the subject line of the letter does not read what was claimed by Prakash. It specifically talks about how much rent would normal passengers be charged for availing the services of disaster-relief helicopters stationed at Janpad-Pithoragarh and doesn’t pertain to those being rescused. “Regarding the rent charged to normal passengers for disaster relief helicopters stationed at Janpad-Pithoragarh,” reads the subject line. The body of the letter further mentions that the rent charged to normal passengers is being decreased, effective immediately. “The rate of rent charged to normal passengers is being decreased to Rs 2,500 and adding GST to the amount brings the total rent to Rs 3,100 per passenger,” it says. Neither the subject line nor the body of the letter mentions the “charge for those stuck in a disaster” or the “charge for evacuees being revoked.” The Uttarakhand government also released a press note on July 15, stating that claims on social media suggesting that the government is charging for helicopter services from disaster-affected people in Pithoragarh are misleading. The press note further adds that the helicopter service is being provided “in view of the possibility of heavy rains.” This was also mentioned in a July 15 tweet by CM Rawat where he said, “Keeping in mind monsoons in hilly regions, my government has rented two helicopters for Garhwal and Kumaon to be used immediately during disasters.” पहाड़ी क्षेत्रों में मानसून को देखते हुए मेरी सरकार ने गढ़वाल और कुमाऊँ के लिए दो हेलिकॉप्टर आपदा की हालत में तुरंत इस्तेमाल के लिए अनुबंधित किये हैं। इस फ़ैसले से आपदा के दौरान आपात स्थिति में तुरंत सहायता पहुँचने में मदद मिलेगी और इसके लिए सरकार कोई शुल्क नहीं वसूल करेगी — Trivendra S Rawat (@tsrawatbjp) July 15, 2018 Mainstream media outlets with substantial readership should be more vigil about the content they publish. An instance of even modest misreporting not only affects their credibility but also misinforms the public. 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	17th July 2018 / 6:15 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/disaster-relief-helicopters-uttarakhand-ani/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
810	Disha Ravi toolkit case: Separatist flags were not raised at Red Fort, ASG’s claim false - Alt News Jignesh Patel 23rd February 2021 / 7:03 pm / Last updated: 23rd February 2021 On February 22, a Delhi Sessions Court granted bail to 22-year-old climate activist Disha Ravi subject to two sureties of Rs 1 lakh each. She had been in judicial custody since February 14 for ‘editing’ a toolkit supporting farmers’ protest. Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg was among those who had shared the toolkit and ASG SV Raju, appearing for the Delhi police, argued that the toolkit suggests a ‘foreign conspiracy’ against India and is linked to the violence that took place in Delhi on Republic Day. ASG, as reported by Bar & Bench, had said in court just days before Ravi’s release, “A separatist flag was put on Red Fort. Hundreds of policemen were injured.” On January 26, some groups among protestors who gathered for the farmers’ tractor rally veered off the course and were met with police lathi-charge and tear gas. Several demonstrators entered the Red Fort and hoisted flags on the iconic monument. The claim that the Khalistani flag was hoisted at the Red Fort has been circulating on social media since the violence. At the time, Alt News had debunked two videos used to claim that the protesters removed the Indian national flag and replaced it with the Khalistani flag on Red Fort. You can read our detailed reports here – 1 and 2. Soon after, another video of two flags raised below the Indian national flag was shared to further the same claim. The video showed a few protesters on top of the fort hoisting yellow and saffron-coloured flags below the tricolour. Quote-tweeting the video posted by Twitter handle @rosy_K01, actress Kangana Ranaut had said, “Chatukaar media who is reporting Khalistan flag wasn’t hoisted is lying. Beware of them”. At the time of writing this article, her tweet garnered close to 5,000 retweets. The original tweet has been marked as manipulated media by Twitter. Chatukaar media who is reporting Khalistan flag wasn’t hoisted is lying. Beware of them … https://t.co/KMaHgeY06I — Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) January 27, 2021 Film director Vivek Agnihotri, often found amplifying misinformation on Twitter, posted the same clip and said, “This is the truth which today all kinds of Rajdeeps and Secular gang will try to whitewash. Pl don’t let that happen. Defeat India’s biggest enemies – #UrbanNaxals”. The tweet gathered close to 3,000 retweets. This is the truth which today all kinds of Rajdeeps and Secular gang will try to whitewash. Pl don’t let that happen. Defeat India’s biggest enemies – #UrbanNaxals pic.twitter.com/Hz74AtnnpC — Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) January 27, 2021 Alt News looked for high-resolution images of the incident on Getty Images and found a photograph where the text written over the flag is legible. YELLOW FLAG We have compared the yellow flag hoisted atop the Red Fort with pictures of the same flag carried during the protests. The text inscribed on the flag is ‘ਰਾਜ ਕਰੇਗਾ ਖਾਲਸਾ’ (the Khalsa shall rule). According to The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies, ‘ਰਾਜ ਖਾਲਸੇ ਕਰੇਗਾ (the Khalsa shall rule)’ is a verse introduced by the tenth Sikh guru Guru Gobind Singh. This is a popular verse commonly inscribed on religious flags of the Sikh community. It is also a part of the Ardas (prayer) recited at Gurudwaras. The complete verse says, “Raj karega khalsa aki rahe nu koi; khwar hoi sub milenge, bache saran jo hoi.” (The Khalsa shall rule, no enemy shall exist, frustrated ones will submit and those seeking shelter shall be protected.) The verse is used in popular culture. For instance, the text ‘ਰਾਜ ਕਰੇਗਾ ਖਾਲਸਾ’ inscribed on a yellow coloured flag was the profile picture of a Twitter user last active in July 2018. The same flag was posted on Facebook page ‘ਰਾਜ ਕਰੇਗਾ ਖਾਲਸਾ (The Khalsa shall rule)’. The verse has also been featured in popular Punjabi songs by Daler Mehndi and Diljit Dosanjh. Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa had shared his views on the verse three years ago – “#RajKaregaKhalsa I will say this thousand times, million times, neither the Supreme Court has banned it nor will it ever be banned.” #RajKaregaKhalsa “राज करेगा खालसा” मैं हज़ार बार; लाख बार कहूँगा न तो सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने ये बैन किया है और न ये कभी बैन होगा हम अरदास में बोलते है – राज करेगा खालसा; आकी रहे न कोई जिसका मतलब है सच्चे सुच्चे (खालस) लोग धरती पर राज करें और पापी (आकी) लोगों का ख़ात्मा हो। pic.twitter.com/VsPOqkIxDG — Manjinder Singh Sirsa (@mssirsa) June 25, 2018 On January 31, Kangana Ranaut tweeted an article by right-wing propaganda website OpIndia which alluded that the rectangle shape of the flags deemed them Khalistan flags. Chacha ⁦@jack⁩ get hold on your communist minions… Every day exposing you … ha ha https://t.co/lfWHYOLpKw — Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) January 31, 2021 OpIndia’s article claimed, “As can be seen, there is no consistency in the Khalistan flag, but the Nishan Sahib has always been saffron triangular flag. Whether the yellow rectangle flag without the words “Khalistan” falls under Khalistan flag or the Nishan Sahib, is anybody’s guess.” However, Khalistani flags seen around the world can be only identified if they have “Khalistan” inscribed on them. We contacted Amandeep Sandhu, author of ‘Panjab: Journeys Through Fault Lines’, who informed us, “There is no legitimate, universally agreed upon Khalistan flag. Some make it rectangular, some triangular. All they do is write the word Khalistan on the Sikh flag.” “Flags are one of the chief icons of any organised set of human beings – teams, unions, or states. Normally, flags are decided by the people who belong to these organisations or their elected or nominated members. Sometimes, they are accepted through conventions such as for a community, and even nations such as Austria, Latvia, Denmark, others,” he explained. OpIndia’s claim that Nishan Sahibs are always triangular and saffron doesn’t hold water. For instance, the shape and colour of the flag in the digital animation video ‘Nishan Sahib‘ posted below are rectangular and saffron. The part ‘Raj Karega Khalsa’ of Sikh prayers is playing in the background. To further ascertain if the flag can be linked with Khalistan, Alt News contacted independent journalist Sandeep Singh. He shared a video from the farmers’ protest where a man holding a yellow coloured flag inscribed with the slogan ‘Raj Karega Khalsa’. Hoshiarpur-resident Sukhwinder Singh refuted the claim that the flag represents the Khalistan flag. “We link this with the Nishan Sahib. If others want to link it with Khalistan they may. We don’t care but this is the symbol of our Khalsa,” he said. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxRmCT5_IZg HISTORICAL CONTEXT An old watercolour painting from the 1860s shows a rectangular-shaped Nishan Sahib with a solid light inner section and a darker border along its edges at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. “The shapes of these Nishan Sahibs are more rectangular with an irregular edge. All other Nishan Sahibs including the modern banner have always had a triangular shape with straight edges,” says the website Sikh Museum curated by Sikh historian Sandeep Singh Brar. Therefore historically the Nishan Sahib were rectangle in shape. We found that these rectangular shaped yellow coloured Nishan Sahib are prominently seen in the United States and Canada. In the month of May this year, Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh also posted an image of a rectangular Nishan Sahib that was hoisted “beside the US flag for one month to honour the Sikh community towards the pandemic, in the city of Holyoke, USA”. Nishan Sahib flags in yellow colour and rectangle shape were raised at Parliament Hill by the Sikh community in Canada to celebrate Sikh Heritage Month. (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Celebrated #SikhHeritageMonth on Parliament Hill yesterday. Proud to join in Sikh flag raising ceremony. #Brampton #CdnPoli #Khalsa pic.twitter.com/FPSnHeWQ2d — Sonia Sidhu (@SoniaLiberal) April 4, 2017 Moreover, a search on Amazon shows that rectangular-shaped Nishan Sahibs are sold in the United Kingdom (1, 2). We again compared the flag unfurled on the Red Fort with another saffron flag held by a supporter of the tractor parade. A simple Google search reveals that the flag is the Nishan Sahib, readily available in the market. The text inscribed on the flag ‘ਡੇਗ ਤੇਗ ਫਤਿਹ, ਪੰਥ ਦੀ ਜਿੱਤ (Degh tegh fateh, Panth ki jeet)’ is also part of the Ardas, Sikh religious prayer. “Degh is the kettle and symbolises the means of feeding the poor. Tegh means the sword and symbolizes the power to protect the weak and the helpless. Fateh means victory. The whole couplet means that grace, power and victory have been obtained (by the Khalsa) from Guru Nanak Dev and Guru Gobind Singh. It is a very apt motto chosen by Banda Singh Bahadur as it summarises some of the cherished ideals of Sikhism,” wrote Dr H.S. Singha in his book ‘Sikh Studies‘. Furthermore, ‘Panth ki jeet’ literally means the victory of the community or the sect. The complete verse reads, “Jahaa Jahaa Khaalsaa Ji Saahib, Tahaa Tahaa Ruchhiya Riyaait, Deg Teg Fateh, Bira Ki Paij, Panth Ki Jeet, Sree Saahib Ji Sahaai Khaalse Ji Ko Bol Baaley, Bolo Ji Waheguru.” Its translation by Australia’s Gold Coast Sikh Council reads, “Wherever respected Khalsa is present, give your protection and grace; may the free kitchen and sword never fail; maintain the honour of your devotees; confer victory upon the Sikh people; may the respected sword always come to our assistance; may the Khalsa always get honours; Utter Waheguru (Wondrous God).” A video of Sikh religious flags hoisted at the Red Fort was widely shared on social media to falsely claim that Khalistan flags were raised by protestors of farm bills. Over the past month, Alt News has investigated multiple claims of Khalistani flags being hoisted on the Red Fort. However, none of these claims are true and therefore, there is no basis for ASG SV Raju to suggest the same in a court of law. All claims of Khalistani flags being raised at the Red Fort are 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… 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 February 2021 / 7:03 pm / Last updated: 23rd February 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/disha-ravi-toolkit-case-separatist-flags-were-not-raised-at-red-fort-asgs-claim-false/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
811	Distasteful road safety awareness video leads to anti-Muslim misinformation on social media - Alt News Archit 25th March 2021 / 7:23 pm A video widespread on social media shows a man stopping two Muslim men riding a motorcycle without helmets. This leads to a heated altercation and a mob brandishing swords and guns come to the bike riders’ aid. The people carrying weapons also seem to hail from the Muslim community. Twitter @Shrish_1987 posted a tweet thread where he wrote, “Watch this two-part video… Make sure the secularists watch this. When stopped for not wearing a helmet, they gathered over 25 people with guns and swords with just one phone call. Does the police pardon fines for a Hindu if they are on their way to the temple? The truth is, neither India’s law nor the constitution mean much to these messengers of peace. They only care about Sharia.” मंदिर जा रहा होता? सच्चाई तो ये है कि इन शांतिदूतों के लिये न भारत का संविधान और न ही कानून कोई मायने रखता है? इन्हें तो शरिया से मतलब है? pic.twitter.com/We8N2LplwL — श्रीष त्रिपाठी 🇮🇳 (@Shrish_1987) March 22, 2021 Similarly, @vinodsharma1834 promoted a similar claim, terming the men ‘jihadis’. His video gained more than 400 retweets and over 2,000 views. जेहादियों की दादागिरी का एक और नमूना। इन्हें लाइन पर लाना ही होगा । बात-बात पर ये तलवार भांजने को तैयार हो जाते हैं फिर इनके समर्थक, विक्टिम कार्ड यूज करने लगते हैं। इनको जंगल राज चाहिए तो जंगलों में ही जाना चाहिये।🙄 pic.twitter.com/dNXSiG1WGp — Vinod Sharma #HTL 🕉️ (@vinodsharma1834) March 24, 2021 UP Express News reported that a mob gathered with swords and guns after Raghavendra Kumar asked two men to wear helmets. The video has been clipped from a road safety awareness video produced by Bihar resident Raghavendra Kumar, also known as Helmet Man India. While the video is an attempt to educate people on road safety and the need to wear helmets, Kumar unnecessarily portrays the Muslim community in a negative light. In the past, he has made responsible videos and these can be watched on his YouTube channel. However, the one currently viral is in poor taste and the cause of widespread misinformation. “The awareness video was recorded on March 21 in Bihar’s Kaimur district. The fight shown in the video is staged and no one was carrying a gun. The gun seen in the video is an air gun,” Kumar told Alt News adding, “People from Hindu and Muslim communities were involved in making this video. I also took the permission from the local religious head.” Helmet man of India raghvendra kumar हेलमेट मैन ने नमाजियों को मस्जिद जाने से रोककर कहा सड़क दुर्घटना मुक्त बनेगा भारत. तलवार और बंदूकों पर भारी पड़ा हेलमेट. #Helmetman #Trafficrules Posted by Helmet Man India on Saturday, 20 March 2021 We also noticed that Kumar has tweeted the UP Express News article that omits the crucial detail that the video is staged. Kumar admitted that he shared a misleading report. “The participants brought the props [swords and air gun] upon my request,” he said. Kumar also shared a two-minute clip clarifying that the video is staged. 🙏 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 / 7:23 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/distasteful-road-safety-awareness-video-leads-to-anti-muslim-misinformation-on-social-media/", "author": "Archit" }
812	Blast caused by firecrackers, CCTV video falsely viral as battery-powered scooty explods - Alt News Priyanka Jha 13th November 2021 / 5:02 pm A CCTV video of a scooty suddenly exploding was shared with the claim that the blast happened because the two-wheeler was battery-powered. (Archive link) बैटरी वाली स्कूटी फटी बीच बाजार में pic.twitter.com/IaJVJBWBzQ — Vikram Dev Gurjar विक्रम देव गुर्जर (@VikramDevinc) November 11, 2021 Several users shared the visuals on Facebook with the same claim. Alt News received numerous requests to fact-check the video on our WhatsApp helpline number (+91 76000 11160) and mobile application. We performed a keyword search which led us to media reports from November 5 that said the explosion was triggered by firecrackers. India TV reported that the incident took place on Diwali when a man and his son were riding a two-wheeler carrying a bundle of firecrackers. Both died in the blast along with three others who were riding close by. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPG2qaLbWsM] Hindustan Times reported that the incident took place at 1:35 pm between Puducherry and Tamil Nadu. NDTV also carried a report where the investigating officer was quoted as saying that the explosion may have been sparked due to the friction and pressure caused by the bundle of firecrackers being tied tightly. He added that the firecrackers had been manufactured legally and identified the victims as 35-year-old Kalainesan and his seven-year-old son Pradesh. Furthermore, we did not find any other reports corroborating the viral claim about the explosion being triggered by a battery-powered scooter. 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	13th November 2021 / 5:02 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/diwali-crackers-laden-scooter-bursts-video-viral-with-false-claim/", "author": "Priyanka Jha" }
813	DNA, Zee News circulate fake image of AIIMS doctors paying last respects to Atal Bihari Vajpayee - Alt News Alt News Desk 17th August 2018 / 1:16 pm “A photograph of the doctors paying their last respect to the veteran political stalwart has been accessed by Zee News”, declared an article by Zee News following the death of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. “All the doctors stood in queue and observed silence as they bowed their heads as a mark of respect to the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee“, said a DNA article, describing a picture which showed doctors standing in a row with bowed heads around a dead body on a hospital bed. Both Zee News and DNA also tweeted this “Photo of AIIMS doctors paying their last respects to Atal Bihari Vajpayee”. A closer look at the photograph would suggest that it is not from India. It is a picture from 2012 of a group of Chinese doctors paying tribute to a woman whose organs were donated after her death. Medical workers bowed to 17-year-old Wu Huajing who donated her organs after her death in Guangdong on Nov 22, 2012. Both, Zee News and DNA later realized their gaffe. The tweets have now been deleted and the articles have been revised. “Photo of AIIMS doctors paying their last respects to Atal Bihari Vajpayee circulating on social media; but the truth is something else” reads the revised headline of Zee News‘ story. The article reads like a fact-check and explains the truth behind the image. At the end of the article, Zee News clarifies that they too had inadvertently used the photo claiming it was of AIIMS doctors and they regret the error. The revised article by DNA does not attempt to fact check the image nor does it acknowledge its error. Even though the headline still states “How AIIMS doctors paid tribute to Atal Bihari Vajpayee” the accompanying text makes no mention of the doctors or the photograph it had shared earlier. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s death once again kick-started the now familiar media frenzy of circulating rumors and fake news without basic verification. We saw yesterday that in their eagerness to be the first to break news, many media outlets declared Vajpayee dead even before the official announcement by AIIMS. In emotionally charged situations, it is not unusual to witness an almost irresistible urge to circulate fake and/or misleading images on social media. However, mainstream media must verify before it carries these images and gives them a larger audience. Although Zee News later regretted the error, DNA has neither acknowledged nor corrected it. When media is caught in a situation where such an image had been inadvertently circulated, is it too much to expect something more than a quiet cover-up? 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	17th August 2018 / 1:16 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/dna-zee-news-circulate-fake-image-of-aiims-doctors-paying-last-respects-to-atal-bihari-vajpayee/", "author": "Alt News Desk" }
814	Do JNU, Jamia provide 'free' hostel accommodation to J&K Muslim students? False claim viral - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 11th November 2020 / 8:37 pm / Last updated: 26th August 2021 A widespread message carries a picture of a hostel building claiming that the Congress government had constructed a 400-room hostel for Jammu and Kashmir students at Jamia Millia Islamia in 2012. “In this hostel, no Hindus or other religions can stay.” The message claimed that Muslim students from J&K are accommodated in the college hostel for “free”. The post below drew 5,700 shares at the time of writing. Posted by Meena Agarwal on Monday, 23 August 2021 Alt News has also received fact-check requests for the claim on the official mobile application. The same image was earlier widespread in the name of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). The message was viral on Facebook. The picture does not show ‘J&K hostel’ at JNU. The board in front, faintly visible in the picture, reads ‘Jamia Millia Islamia.’ Union Minister Rajnath Singh and then Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti were invited to inaugurate a girls’ hostel at Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) in 2017. “The hostel will cater to female students from J&K pursuing any course at the Central University. The hostel has 135 rooms,” reported The Hindu on November 17, 2017. The inauguration was postponed amid protests, however, the 400-bed facility was made accessible to students in the following months. “The plan for the hostel was first conceived in 2012 when a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Jamia and the Ministry of Home Affairs. A senior Ministry official said the project was expedited after Mr. Singh’s visits to the State over the past two years,” The Hindu’s report further said. The claim that Congress constructed the hostel in 2012 is false. Even though an MoU between JMI and then Congress government was signed in 2012, the hostel was constructed under BJP’s rule. Former provost of Jamia’s J&K Hostel Dr Sabiha Zaidi confirmed to Alt News that the facility does not accommodate students on the basis of state or religion. “It is open to female, full-time students, same as the other girls’ hostels in the campus. The college does offer some edge to students from the northeast and Jammu and Kashmir who might find it difficult to look for alternate accommodation but the claim that students from other states cannot apply for admission is false. The J&K Hostel has been expanded since its inception to accommodate more candidates,” she said adding that students also have pay hostel fees. According to the JMI hostel manual 2019-2020, J&K Girls’ Hostel has 700 beds and students whose parents/spouse reside and work in Delhi/NCR are “not necessarily eligible for the hostel accommodation”. Hostel admission to the rest of the students is based on merit and other factors including the distance of origin and economic status. The list of provincially selected candidates for J&K Hostel, academic session 2018-2019, includes several Hindu names. The number of Muslim candidates is significantly higher because JMI is a minority institution. Hostel students are required to pay fees in two instalments. The accommodation, unlike claimed in the viral message, is not free. Physically-challenged students whose parents’ annual income does not exceed Rs 1.5 lakh are exempt from paying the room rent. No. A picture of J&K Hostel at JMI has been shared with the claim that JNU accommodates Muslim students from J&K “free of cost”. However, the independent statement is also untrue. According to the college reservation policy for hostel admission, 22.5% seats are reserved for SC/ ST candidates and 3% for physically handicapped (PH) students. Admission to hostels is based on several factors, including priority to outstation students. J&K has not been singled out. Furthermore, SC/ ST/ PH students whose parents’ annual income is less than Rs 75,000 are exempt from the payment of room rent. The viral message is therefore false on all accounts. 1. The picture shared is the J&K Hostel in Jamia Millia Islamia, not JNU. 2. Both colleges do not provide free hostel accommodation to Muslim students from J&K. Admission is granted irrespective of state or religion. 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 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… A minute-long video clip of a woman being physically assaulted is viral on social media….	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	11th November 2020 / 8:37 pm / Last updated: 26th August 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/do-jnu-jamia-provide-free-hostel-accommodation-to-jk-muslim-students-false-claim-viral/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
815	Do the AYUSH based treatments for autism stand up to scientific scrutiny? - Alt News Dr. Sumaiya Shaikh 15th May 2018 / 9:02 pm / Last updated: 11th July 2018 Alternative treatments Ayurveda, Siddha, Naturopathy, Yoga & Homeopathy are being increasingly promoted as the legitimate and only treatments for Autism by the ministry of AYUSH, a government body, and private practitioners such as Dr. Batra’s clinic. Autism is a neurological disorder that manifests during early childhood, irrespective of gender, race or socio-economic status. It is mainly characterized by its unique social interactions, non-standard ways of learning, keen interests in specific subjects, inclination to routines, challenges in typical communications and particular ways of processing sensory information. Broadly, people who have autism or, are on the autistic spectrum (including autism spectrum disorder or ASD), suffer from learning differences and developmental disabilities. Alternative treatments for disorders such as Autism have increasingly come under scrutiny by practitioners of modern medicine and is a subject of much debate. Ministry of AYUSH and its associated bodies have argued that the clinical studies that have been undertaken for treatment of autism using alternative therapies have shown positive results. While inaugurating a homeopathy research lab at Dr Anjali Chatterjee Regional Research Institute for Homoeopathy, Union minister of state for AYUSH, Mr. Shripad Yesso Naik had claimed, “This institute has undertaken several clinical research studies on autism, psoriasis, vitiligo, breast cancer, hypertension, migraine etc. along with proving of new drugs in homoeopathy with their clinical validations.” Yet another line of treatment for autism using a combined therapy of Siddha, Ayurveda, Naturopathy, Yoga as well as Homeopathy has been claimed to be devised at the Mahatma Gandhi memorial government hospital (MGMGH) in Trichy. In support of this line of treatment, the district siddha medical officer Dr S Kamaraj had claimed, “Our (traditional Indian) medicine system has treatment for autism. But we are trying it for the first time in the government sector in the state. Initially, the autistic patients will receive treatment from any one of the methods. The progress of the patient will be monitored. If the patient requires the treatment in another method, it will be given. Ultimately, there would be great improvement in the patient’s activity”. In this case, it is being claimed that the knowledge prescribed in the textbooks of Indian medicine can treat autism. Following these claims, we evaluated the research (scientific data published in journal articles and details of the clinical trials) to assess whether the above claims on autism treatments are backed by scientific evidence. Alt News discussed the issue with Professor Edzard Ernst, MD, PhD, Germany and has authored several books on alternative treatments including the most comprehensive lexicon till date of Homeopathy. Prof. Ernst said and we quote, “These treatments (that) are being promoted for autism, they are also frequently used for it, but there is – as far as I can see – not a shred of evidence that they affect the natural history of the disease. In my view, the promotion of unproven therapies is irresponsible and unethical.” Hence, in the course of this article, we will discuss: Alt News examined the claims made regarding published clinical studies showing efficacy of alternative treatments for autism using resources from Google Scholar and PUBMED. Medical research on new mechanisms of a disease condition or information on new treatments are indexed by Google Scholar and PUBMED, health practitioners use the clinical and laboratory research to verify and seek this new information. As a corollary, the absence of scientific research information about a particular treatment in Google Scholar and PUBMED indicates lack of clinical or laboratory research for those treatments. While researching published articles in PUBMED, an open source for health research funded by the US National Institute of Health (NIH), revealed no results on autism and AYUSH based treatments published by Indian researchers. On the other hand, Google Scholar gave a few results related to autism and AYUSH treatments that were directed to any Indian publication listed as below: 1. Praful Barvalia, Homeopathic links (2011) Autism Spectrum Disorder: Holistic Homeopathy 2. A review paper published in 2018 by Prashant L Patil and Pravin W Bonde Department of Kaumarbhritya, Government Ayurved College, Nanded, India – “An Overview and Approach towards Autism and its Management in Ayurveda” 3. Several articles by a single author Mandayam Anandampillai Rajalakshmi uploaded in PDF format in research gate, which is a social media website for scientists, but not in a peer-reviewed scientific journal even though it claimed be so (Link 1, Link 2 and Link 3). 4. Mukherjee et al (2017) published in the International Journal of Ayurveda and Pharma Research titled “Studies of brahmi based unani compound formulation on autism to assess its efficacy”. A single case study presented to illustrate the treatment of autism by a team at the Spandan Holistic Multidisciplinary Institute. The institute also claimed to treat 123 autistic children until 2010 but none of the other case studies were discussed. This study lacked any form of controls or comparison with control treatments. Also, the sample size here is only n=1. The outcomes of the other 123 children were not discussed. This seriously questions the attribution to homeopathy treatment with respect to the little improvement the patient experienced. Moreover, Mr Praful Barvalia, is the Chairman and director of Spandan Holistic institute, Mumbai, which claims to be awarded as the most prestigious Centre for excellence in homeopathic childcare & rehabilitation by Ministry of Ayush, Government of India. It should be also noted that this study was not published in a mainstream scientific peer reviewed mental health or autism related journal but in a homeopathy journal. Hence, with lack of controls or comparison with placebo treatments in just a single sample size, ‘improvements’ of patient condition, if any, cannot be attributed to homeopathy. Even for statistical analysis such as t-tests to show significant improvement, a minimum of n=3 patients need to be considered. Therefore, homeopathic research in India, is proven to be illegitimate for autism (as it has been for other conditions across the world). This was a review paper with no other primary data but only methodology. Interestingly, this paper talked about the internal and external remedies as described by the “Acharyas” but gave no reference to where this knowledge is published and how it is tested for effectiveness. Hence, a single review paper in the absence of research data doesn’t prove the validity of Ayurveda for autism. No other data exists to prove that this methodology described in the ancient texts have been proven to cure autism Link 1: A review paper that discusses, the effect of music on autistic children Link 2: A single case study, no controls and no experimental conditions. A report on symptoms and suggestions for diagnosis without actual experiments being conducted. Link 3: This was a conference proceeding presented at XII National Homoeopathic Congress in Khajuraho, India. Also, the experiments were found to be incorrectly tested, i.e. lack of controls and the reports were based purely on subjective behavioural measurements that were not peer reviewed. All the papers linked above were not peer-reviewed (not validated by other scientists of the same research area). This peer review method is a gold-standard for scientists that publish their data. Other scientists in the same field must review and accept or reject research work based on several scientific parameters. Hence, a non peer-reviewed article such as a blog entry, news article or a paper uploaded on research gate doesn’t classify as scientific data. Also, link 3 was the only research study here that again did not feature any controls in the so called ‘improvement’. Mukherjee et al (2017) published in the International Journal of Ayurveda and Pharma Research that discussed a small amount of change in experimental group assessed (using questionnaires) after a treatment of Brahmi medications. Only showing a p value significance, the study fails to discuss the number of recruited subjects or any other behavioural measurement conducted to compare with the control subjects. When carefully observing the data presented in a table rather than a visual graph (presented as median + standard deviation or error), we found that the error bars were significantly high that it could cancel out the drug effect. This could, probably be the reason for not reporting this data in a graph. Hence, when carefully studying the published data, it is likely that the researcher Arun Mukherjee and his colleagues tried to bury a ‘no-effect’ with statistical numbers, i.e. the drug may not have had any significant effect on the patient condition but wasn’t evidently stated as such. Additionally, in India, a clinical trials registry (open access to public) shows the current research being conducted as a form of registered clinical trials. This means that in order to conduct any clinical research in humans, researchers need to apply and register all the relevant details of the study such as what is the preliminary or secondary data, name of the chief scientist, formulation of the drug and the funding source. This registry revealed several studies being conducted on autism and alternative treatments, but none of these studies showed any preliminary data that supported the claims of the respective trials on the basis of which the clinical trial was registered. The prevelance of alternative treatments for autistic patients possibly reflects on the fact that a large amount of alternative treatments make highly exaggerated claims that may seem hard to compete with, as opposed to realistic evidence-based treatments. However, the scientific literature research on these claims do not give any evidence to support the claim that AYUSH based treatments work. As shown above, single case studies with lack of controls, erroneously run statistics, reviews disguised as data publications and sub-standard data was found when carefully studying the research on autism with respect to AYUSH therapies. Indian researchers and AYUSH ministers made claims suggesting autism can be treated with traditional Indian therapies backed by newly emerging studies conducted by the institutes associated with the ministry of AYUSH. These claims include publicly funded alternative treatments and have gained huge traction with its gigantic budget increase of 13% in the recent Union budget. As it is, legal battles, societal stigma and the perception of mental health illnesses makes an arduous task of public education on these issues. In addition to that, the government endorsing and funding institutions that give false hopes and claims to eradicate a complex disorder such as autism is morally unethical. The government as well as the health care providers should focus on giving education and direction to patients that are realistic, achievable and increase their quality of life. 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 May 2018 / 9:02 pm / Last updated: 11th July 2018	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/do-the-ayush-promoted-alternative-treatments-for-autism-stand-up-to-scientific-scrutiny/", "author": "Dr. Sumaiya Shaikh" }
816	Doctored video: Arvind Kejriwal did not claim that Modi-Amit Shah will ruin Pakistan if voted back to power - Alt News Jignesh Patel 20th January 2019 / 5:46 pm / Last updated: 6th February 2019 On January 19, Opposition leaders of 20 political parties came together for Mamata Banerjee’s ‘United India’ rally with a common purpose of taking on the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. At the rally, Arvind Kejriwal came down heavily on BJP and called upon people to defeat them at any cost. Now, a 19-second clip of Arvind Kejriwal is circulating on social media. In the clip, Kejriwal can be heard saying, “मैं जितना सोचता हु उतना मेरा शरीर कांप उठता है। अगर ये दोनो दोबारा 2019 में आ गये, अगर मोदी और अमित शाह 2019 में आ गये तो दोस्तो ये पाकिस्तान नही बचेगा, ये पाकिस्तान को बर्बाद कर देंगे। ( It sends shivers down my spine to think that if these two come back to power in 2019, if Modi and Amit Shah are re-elected in 2019, then friends, Pakistan won’t survive. They will ruin Pakistan. -translated) Finally Arvind Mawali spoke the truth 🤬😡😂#WA pic.twitter.com/4BCJMFctVz — Hardik (@Humor_Silly) January 19, 2019 At the time of writing, the above clip has been viewed close to 30000 times. This video has also been shared multiple times on Facebook (1, 2, 3). Alt News found that the 19-second clip circulating on social media is doctored. We found the original and extended version of the video tweeted by several media outlets. #VoteOn2019 #UnitedIndiaRally Modi and Amit Shah have destroyed the country: @ArvindKejriwal More videos: https://t.co/NounxnP7mg #ITVideo pic.twitter.com/YK4pHUVw9W — India Today (@IndiaToday) January 19, 2019 At 4:26 mins in the above video tweeted by India Today, Kejriwal said, ” For the last 70 years, since the country got its independence, many forces have tried their best to weaken this country. In the last 70 years, Pakistan’s dream has been to split this country somehow and divide this country. Within five years, Modi and Amit Shah have done to the country what Pakistan hasn’t been able to do in 70 years. Within five years, Modi and Amit Shah have injected poison inside the people of this country. Pitting Hindus against the Muslims, Muslims against Christians, creating enmity amongst each other. What Pakistan could not do in 70 years, that has been done by Modi and Amit Shah within five years. Friends, this pair will ruin this country. It sends shivers down my spine to think that if these two come back to power in 2019, if Modi and Amit Shah are re-elected in 2019, then friends this country won’t survive. They will ruin this country.-translated” The part where Kejriwal says, “It sends shivers down my spine to think that if these two come back to power in 2019, if Modi and Amit Shah are re-elected in 2019, then friends this country won’t survive. They will ruin this country” was doctored and “this country” was changed to “Pakistan“. In conclusion, Kejriwal’s video was doctored to suggest that he claimed that Modi and Amit Shah will destroy Pakistan, if voted back to power. 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	20th January 2019 / 5:46 pm / Last updated: 6th February 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/doctored-video-no-arvind-kejriwal-did-not-claim-that-modi-amit-shah-will-ruin-pakistan-if-voted-back-to-power/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
817	Doctored video viral: Donald Trump startled by 'Allah Hu Akbar' chant at a public rally - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 17th July 2019 / 7:08 pm अल्लाह हू अकबर नारे का खौफ देखो.. ट्रंप भाषण दे रहे थे किसी ने पीछे धीरे से बोला “अल्लाह हू अकबर” उसके बाद क्या हुआ.. आप देखिए (Look at the fear induced by slogans of Allah Hu Akbar…Trump was giving a speech and someone from behind said “Allah Hu Akbar” see what happened after that- translation). The above message has been shared on Twitter and Facebook along with 40 second video clip of Donald Trump, President of the USA. अल्लाह हू अकबर नारे का खौफ देखो ..ट्रंप भाषण दे रहे थे किसी ने पीछे धीरे से बोला अल्लाह हू अकबर उसके बाद क्या हुआ आप देखिए Posted by जितेंद्र सिंह on Thursday, August 9, 2018 The above post is of August 2018, and has been shared over 1400 times. The video begins with Trump delivering a speech, followed by a voice which says ‘Allah Hu Akbar’. After this, commotion ensues as Trump is swiftly given cover by security personnel who rush to the stage. The claim has been prevalent on social media over the last few months, shared widely by individual Facebook users on their timelines. It has also been posted on a page Main Bhi Ravish. July 2019 has seen a surge in share count. Alt News found that the video has also been shared on Twitter by some users. #ICCRulesअल्लाह हू अकबर नारे का खौफ देखो.. .. ट्रंप भाषण दे रहे थे किसी ने पीछे धीरे से बोला “अल्लाह हू अकबर” उसके बाद क्या हुआ……😉🙁🙁 pic.twitter.com/aaB7hNcK0T — TheHurera (@TheHurera) July 15, 2019 The video clip is doctored, with the ‘Allah Hu Akbar’ chant added to it. Alt News reverse-searched one of the key frames of the video clip, and found several articles related to the incident. According to reports, the incident had occurred in May 2016 at Dayton, Ohio in the USA, when a protester had attempted to breach the security cordon, prompting secret service agents to rush to Trump’s defense. NBC News stated, “A campaign spokeswoman said that a man at the Dayton, Ohio, event “attempted to breach the secure buffer and was removed rapidly and professionally.” The suspect was identified as Thomas Dimassimo, 32, and was charged with disorderly conduct and inducing panic — both misdemeanors, Chief Mike Etter of the Dayton Airport Police Department told NBC News. Dimassimo jumped the bike racks and tried to climb onto the stage, but was stopped by Secret Service stationed there, Etter said.” It may be noted that in March 2016, Donald Trump was a presidential candidate of the Republican party. A video report related to the incident was published by CNN in March 2016. Posted below is a video of the same incident, shot from a different angle. Alt News found that none of the videos of the incident featured the ‘Allah Hu Akbar’ chant which is heard in the viral video. Moreover, none of the news reports of the incident make any reference to any ‘Allah Hu Akbar’ chant. The video clip, shared on social media, is clearly edited. The same video had been used earlier to falsely claim that Donald Trump was taken aback by Mexican music which suddenly started to play when he was delivering his speech. 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	17th July 2019 / 7:08 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/doctored-video-viral-donald-trump-startled-by-allah-hu-akbar-chant-at-a-public-rally/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
818	Doctors advice COVID-19 vaccine jabs in penis for men? Hoax CNN article viral - Alt News Archit 4th January 2021 / 9:36 pm An alleged screenshot of CNN website where the headline reads, “Doctors encourage covid-19 vaccine injections in penis” has gone viral. Additionally, the following can also be read on the screenshot, “Doctors are discovering that, for male patients, the penis offers the fastest release of the vaccine throughout the body. Based on findings from a University of California study involving 1,500 men who received the vaccine.” Several Facebook users have posted this screenshot. TV9 Bharatvarsh journalist Vivek Bajpai shared the image and wrote, “Please tell us it isn’t true! ” (archive link) Did a doctor really say that the #COVID19 vaccine is best administered via the penis? Please tell us it isn’t true! #vaccination #vaccine #VaccinePolitics #vaccines #VaccineStrategy #CovidVaccine pic.twitter.com/NL9Nd2h7tL — Vivek Bajpai विवेक बाजपेयी (@vivekbajpai84) January 3, 2021 Alt News visited the website of the University of California and found that no such study has been published. Similarly, we could not find any evidence that CNN has published an article with the headline, “Doctors encourage covid-19 vaccine injections in penis”. Further, we analysed the screenshot with CNN’s homepage and noticed the following differences: 1) The article in the viral screenshot has a full stop in the headline. None of CNN articles has a full stop in its headline. 2) The difference in alignment of the headline and report’s cutline (single sentence informing about the news). Next, we performed a reverse image search of the doctor’s picture in the viral screenshot and found that it is the image of New York-based Dr Mohitkumar Ardeshana, as per BioTE Medical. As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine are administered via intramuscular injection in the deltoid muscle. The specified muscle is located on the uppermost part of the arm and the top of the shoulder. Thus, a manufactured screenshot of CNN news website was shared on social media with the false claim that “doctors encourage covid-19 vaccine injections in penis”. Another screenshot was shared on Twitter and Facebook that claims COVID-19 increases the length of the male sexual organ by three inches for some individuals. As per the screenshot, the paper was published in “The New Ingland Journal of Merdecine”. Con cariño para los #negacionistas de la #VacunaCOVID19 😜 💉 SARS-COV-2 Recombinant #COVID19 Vaccine has shown to increase penis length by 3 inches in some individuals. #YoMeVacuno pic.twitter.com/sdKwMY0jV2 — Alfonso López 😷 (@AlfonsoJLT) January 3, 2021 We found that no such platform exists. However, The New England Journal of Medicine does exist. But it hasn’t published a research paper on penis enlargement post-COVID-19 jab. 🙏 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	4th January 2021 / 9:36 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/doctors-advice-covid-19-vaccine-jabs-in-penis-for-men-hoax-cnn-article-viral/", "author": "Archit" }
819	Does ‘Chhapaak’ portray acid attack convict as a Hindu named 'Rajesh'? No, false claim - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 8th January 2020 / 7:59 pm / Last updated: 9th January 2020 Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone expressed solidarity with students injured on the intervening night of January 5-6 during violence at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Padukone’s visit to the campus irked a section of individuals who, since last night, made #BoycottChhapaak one of the top trends on Twitter. ‘Chhapaak’ is Padukone’s upcoming film inspired by the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Aggarwal who was attacked by 32-year-old Naeem Khan in 2005. In the latest round of backlash, a section of the media has claimed that the movie portrays Khan as ‘Rajesh’. Based on an IMDB link which identifies the screen name of one cast members as ‘Rajesh’, Swarajya published an article claiming, “the accused is said to have been named ‘Rajesh’ in Deepika’s movie.” Update: News18 published an article on January 8 titled, “Deepika Padukone’s Chhapaak Trends on Twitter Over ‘Change’ in Acid Attacker’s Name.” India TV and The Quint republished an IANS feed and Jansatta published an independent report alleging the same. India TV anchor Sushant Sinha repeated the claim during a broadcast on Deepika Padukone’s visit to JNU. On January 9, News18 added a new ‘twist’ to the story based on a tweet by advocate Ishkaran Singh Bhandari. The media outlet claimed that the makers of the film ‘rectified their error’ and changed the name of the villain after social media criticism. Opindia’s Nupur Sharma tweeted, “If secularism means changing “Nadeem” to “Rajesh”, set secularism on fire.” Latestly and News Nation published similar reports. BJP Haryana IT cell head Arun Yadav tweeted a photograph of Aggarwal and wrote, “This is Laxmi Aggarwal. Chhapaak is based on her. In 2005, a man named Nadeem Khan threw acid on her in Delhi’s Khan Market. To keep the fabric of secularism intact, our Bollywood has named Nadeem ‘Rajesh’ in the film. #NameItLikeBollywood“ [Translated from: ये लक्ष्मी अग्रवाल हैं,इन्हीं के ऊपर बनी है फ़िल्म छपाक। लक्ष्मी के ऊपर सन 2005 में दिल्ली के खान मार्केट में नदीम खान नाम के एक लड़के ने ऐसिड फेंका था।हमारे बॉलीवुड ने सेक्युलर फ़ैब्रिक इंटैक्ट रखने के उद्देश्य से फ़िल्म में नदीम का नाम राजेश रख दिया है.. #NameItLikeBollywood] National media in-charge of J&K BJP youth wing BJYM Rohit Chahal alleged the same. “जिस लक्ष्मी अग्रवाल पर दीपिका की फिल्म बनी है, असल जींदगी में उसपर एसिड फेंकने वाले का नाम नदीम खान था। लेकिन दीपिका की फ़िल्म में एसिड फेंकने वाले का नाम राजेश रख दिया गया है। रशीद, रईस या रहमान जैसा कुछ क्यों नहीं?? #ShameOnBollywood,” he tweeted. Advocate Ishkaran Singh Bhandari tweeted, “If a different name is used & especially a name typically used by different religions will send a Legal Notice.” Referring to Bhadari’s tweet, BJP MP Subramanian Swamy wrote, “…if they have changed name of accused from Muslim in real life to a Hindu name. That is defamation.” Alt News contacted Newslaundry co-founder Abhinandan Sekhri who had attended the screening of ‘Chhapaak’ in Delhi. “I watched the special screening of the movie which was organised for acid attack survivors, and the claim on social media that the accused is portrayed as belonging to the Hindu community is false. The person who is convicted is presented as belonging to the Muslim community, and so are his relatives, with one of them shown in a Burkha,” he said. Sekhri also called-out Swarajya’s erroneous report on Twitter. Shocking (or maybe not) that such demonstrable misinformation is carried. I watched the screening last night & can tell you with certainty the religion of attacker has not changed. Film has remained accurate to the case. Opinidia ko bachane ke chakkar mein khud Opindia ban gaye.. https://t.co/Jxc0ZCEDzJ — Abhinandan Sekhri (@AbhinandanSekhr) January 8, 2020 According to PTI journalist Radhika Sharma’s report, “In the Meghna Gulzar directed film, there is no mention of any Nadeem or Naeem Khan. Moreover, Rajesh is the name of Malti’s boyfriend.” #Chhapaak trends on Twitter – and no its screen villain is neither ‘Nadeem’ nor ‘Rajesh’. Unlike the #FakeNews peddlers, I was fortunate to watch a special screening of the film last evening. Here goes, my report for @PTI_News. https://t.co/HhNIEjRDya — Radhika Sharma (@KhayalaBibi) January 8, 2020 “The screening was organised by NCW. The person convicted for the acid attack is known as Bashir Khan urf Babboo in the film, whereas Rajesh is the name of the boyfriend of the acid attack survivor, Malti,” Sharma informed Alt News. The journalist covered the movie’s screening for PTI. A Times Now broadcast also debunked the false claim. The usual suspects Prashant Patel Umrao, Shefali Vaidya, author Ravi Rai, Anuj Bajpai and @Nationalist_Om suggested that the Muslim identity of Laxmi Aggarwal’s perpetrator has been whitewashed in ‘Chhapaak’. Sonam Mahajan whose tweet drew over 7,000 retweets at the time of writing this article wrote, “If crime has no religion, then why does Bollywood feel the need to change the religion of perpetrators even in biopics?” Mahajan was one of the earliest to float the false claim. Rohit Jaiswal who identifies himself as a ‘film critic’ questioned, “If Acid attacker name was Naeem Khan then the same name should have been used in film as well… Ye Rajesh kya hai??” One Monica (@TrulyMonica), who terms herself an ‘ex-journalist’ on Twitter, also circulated the false claim. Vikas Pandey (@MODIfiedvikas) tweeted “I knew this” and claimed that the attacker’s name was changed to ‘Rajesh’. He later took down the tweet. It is noteworthy Swarjaya later updated its report with the correct information, although clarification on its tweet – “The main accused in Lakshmi’s acid case was Naeem Khan but he is said to have been named “Rajesh” in Deepika’s movie” – is yet to be provided. Furthermore, Free Press Journal carried a misleading report titled, “#NameItLikeBollywood trends after Deepika’s ‘Chhapaak’ ‘changes’ acid attacker’s name from Nadeem Khan to Rajesh”. The article clarifies the misinformation only in the concluding paragraph. ‘Chhapaak’ is set to release on January 10, 2020, and the claim that movie whitewashes the Muslim identity of the attacker who threw acid on Laxmi Aggarwal, by portraying him as a Hindu, was found to be false. [Update: Swarajya deleted its tweet after this report was published. Vikas Pandey’s tweet and erroneous reposts published by News18, Inda TV and Jansatta have been added to the fact-check.] 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	8th January 2020 / 7:59 pm / Last updated: 9th January 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/does-chhapaak-portray-acid-attack-convict-as-a-hindu-named-rajesh-no-false-claim/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
820	Does Magnet Therapy treat diseases? - A fact check of AYUSH's claims - Alt News Nikhil Bardeskar 29th December 2018 / 9:16 pm The ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy), Govt. of India recently promoted Magnet therapy on their twitter handle ‘@moayush’ as part of the promotions of Naturopathy Day (Prakritik Chikitsa Divas) in India on November 18. As per principles of Naturopathy, magnetic treatment is to be applied directly to the affected body parts by the therapeutic magnets, or as general treatment to the body. Specially designed magnetic belts are available for different parts of the body. pic.twitter.com/fli5oAjwGO — Ministry of AYUSH (@moayush) November 14, 2018 Practised by naturopaths, magnet therapy is the use of magnets for disease treatment. The magnets are attached to the body with the help of adhesives or worn in the form of jewellery like bracelets or necklaces. Depending on prescription, the magnets can be worn for a varied length i.e. for a few minutes to days or even weeks depending upon the site of the application and the therapists’ prerogative. On the website of AYUSH, it is stated that, “Magnet therapy is a clinical system in which human ailments are treated and cured through the application of magnets to the body of the patients.” In this article, we will discuss: Those who practise magnet therapy argue that some tissues and cells emit electromagnetic impulses, and that illness and/or injury disrupt these electromagnetic impulses. It is claimed by proponents of magnet therapy that these disruptions can be restored by the use of magnets, thus treating the ailment. Magnet therapy is claimed to treat diseases such as headaches including migraines, arthritis, and stress-related pain can be relieved. Iron is a major component of red blood cells (RBCs). Iron in these cells are contained in a metal-protein complex called haemoglobin, which temporarily bind with oxygen molecules in the lungs, circulate in the body, and ‘detach’ in the rest of the body sites such as muscles. The RBCs lacking oxygen then return to the lungs via the heart. These RBCs flow in the circulatory systems with veins and arteries, for blood lacking oxygen (de-oxygenated) and containing oxygen (oxygenated) respectively. Since, iron is known to attract itself to magnets, it is hypothesised that iron in the blood will also act in a similar way. A study published in 1936 in the Proceedings from the National Academy of Sciences, on the magnetic properties of oxygenated and deoxygenated haemoglobin concluded that the iron in blood is not ferromagnetic. Also, the study stated that while oxygenated blood and plasma are diamagnetic, and may actually slightly repel a magnet so there would be no physiological effect of an external magnet; non-oxygenated blood is weakly paramagnetic which attracts slightly to a magnet. However, blood flows in a high pressure and turbulence to have no effect of a permanent magnet on its flow. Hence, magnet therapy cannot have a measurable effect on blood flow. A study by Mayrovitz and colleagues showed that there was no difference in blood flow on skin when compared in a group of healthy people in which magnet was placed in one hand and a sham (no magnet) was placed in another hand. The measurement of skin blood perfusion by a method called laser Doppler flowmetry and imaging showed no significant differences in the blood flow of either hands. Hence, there is no evidence to support the claim of increased blood flow to the areas where permanent magnets are applied. The principle of oxygen loss and gain in the blood is used for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) devices. MRI uses the blood oxygenated status to reveal detailed bodily structures, in particular the brain and the spinal cord. But an MRI machine does not produce a magnetic effect of repellence or attraction on human bodies, only to metal objects attached onto them. Additionally, while the magnetic field produced in MRI machines is relatively high, permanent magnets used in magnet therapies are very weak to even penetrate the skin and influence the flow of blood. For example, a standard small sized magnet can be of 0.001 Tesla/ 10 Gauss (unit of measurement for magnetic field), while a standard MRI machine starts from 1.5 Tesla/ 15000 Gauss. Stick C and his group studied the impact of strong magnetic fields emanating from Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) systems, used for medical imaging as well as to depict molecular structures of organic compounds. They used 0.4T to 1T (Tesla) to apply on a small area on the body and concluded that at such high strengths, no effect was found in the local blood flow to the thumb or forearm. Another technique, called trans-cranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) also uses two magnetic coils to produce excitatory or inhibitory changes, specifically at a single point, in the neural tissue such as the brain. In this method, repeated bursts of high intensity magnetic stimulation are often delivered at the rate of 1 Hz (one burst per sec), to modulate a local region in the tissue. However, the intensity of TMS therapy is as high as 1.5T to 2T (similar to MRI machines) delivered repeatedly over a short period of time. Hence, high dose magnetic strength is unable to influence blood flow or oxygen flow to tissues where it has been applied. Also, TMS is limited to stimulation of neural tissues or cells that are excitable. This claim that magnet therapy for 45 mins can abolish pain perception emerged from a 1997 study, led by Vallbona and colleagues. The study showed beneficial effects in a small group of patients, however, the results remained controversial due to the use of a small subject number (n=50). The study was never replicated in a larger group and hence, the effect was proved scientifically unsubstantial. In another study published by Brown and colleagues in 2002, it was concluded that chronic pelvic pain reduced after wearing active magnets for 4 weeks, however, due to the subjects’ awareness of the therapy, the lack of ‘blinding’ may have impacted on the change in pain perception. The patients receiving active magnets were more likely to guess that they had received the active therapy instead of a sham magnet. This knowledge of therapy clearly creates a bias in the patients mind and contributes to a ‘placebo effect’. Since pain perception is subjective and largely reliant on pain expectations, it can be easily manipulated by placebo treatments. Also, such methodologies where, subjects are not appropriately blinded for therapies, goes against the principles of scientific testing. Meta-analyses are those in which a group of similar studies are taken together and the data is pooled to have a larger sample size to better evaluate the efficacy of a treatment. 1. A 2007 meta-analysis study by Pittler and colleagues, showed that magnets did not improve pain as compared to a placebo in patients of diabetic peripheral neuropathy, low-back pain, plantar heel pain and foot pain. In the osteoarthritis groups, the positive effects were visible, however, the evidence was not insufficient. This insufficient evidence related to magnetic therapy use in osteoarthritis was also shown in 2012 by Macfarlane in another systematic review. 2. Another study published in 2007 by Cepeda and colleagues showed that magnetic therapy lacked efficacy in decreasing pain or opioid requirements following surgery. A carpel tunnel syndrome pain study showed no benefits of magnet therapy. In this study, the researchers made sure the magnets and shams (fake magnets) were boxed separately to avoid compromising the study. Surprisingly, both magnet and the sham receiving group showed improvement but both had no statistical difference between them showing that psychological placebo effect plays a huge role in such treatments. Nikhil Bardeskar is studying immune system of HIV/AIDS patients as a PhD scholar at ICMR-National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, Mumbai. 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	29th December 2018 / 9:16 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/does-magnet-therapy-treat-diseases-a-fact-check-of-ayushs-claims/", "author": "Nikhil Bardeskar" }
821	Does Neeraj Chopra have Maratha lineage? - Alt News Investigation - Alt News Archit 28th August 2021 / 4:50 pm / Last updated: 30th August 2021 On August 7, Neeraj Chopra’s javelin throw of 87.58m bagged him a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. At the age of 23, Chopra is the youngest-ever Indian gold medalist in an individual event and the only one to have won gold in his Olympic debut. Shortly after Neeraj won the gold, Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M. Scindia congratulated him and wrote, “He exhibited the true Maratha spirit & skill!” Neeraj Chopra has scripted history! 🥇 He exhibited the true Maratha spirit & skill! Not only has he done the country proud, but this is also a breakthrough in a new territory for India. Jai Ho! Har har Mahadev #Tokyo2020 — Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) August 7, 2021 Since then news outlets have reported about Neeraj’s alleged Maratha lineage including Loksatta, Maharasthra Times, TV9 Hindi, ABP Marathi, and Dainik Jagran. On August 8, Sudarshan News editor-in-chief Suresh Chavhanke claimed that Neeraj’s ancestors were a part of the javelin battalion under the Maratha army during the 1761 Battle of Panipat. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFMvti7hghM?start=2955] Neeraj Chopra hails from the Ror (pronounced Raud) community. According to The Print, Ror-Marathas are descendants of Maratha soldiers who fought in the 1761 Battle of Panipat. The Rod-Marathas, numbering around 7 lakh, are spread from Karnal to Rohtak and Bhiwani. Media outlets such as India Today (2012), Hindustan Times (2016) and BBC (2018) and The Indian Express have reported on a section of the Ror community’s belief of their Maratha lineage. Based on our interaction with members of the Ror community, it appears that there are two schools of thought. One section of the community believes that their lineage is closely linked with the Marathas. However, the other including Neeraj’s family doesn’t believe in the Maratha lineage theory. In this article, Alt News has analysed the controversy at hand based on the information in the public domain and inputs from concerned stakeholders. Rors who believe in Maratha lineage Alt News spoke with Rajender Pawar, a member of the Ror community and the Maratha Jagriti Manch Panipat-Karnal. Pawar opined that the majority of Rors believe that they share lineage with Marathas. He said, “Our linguistic patterns and surnames were similar to Marathas. We always knew we were Marathas. But it gained legitimacy after historian Vasantrao More’s book ‘Role of Rod Marathas in the battle of Panipat’. After 2010, several members of our community started writing Marathas in their children’s birth certificate.” Prior to More’s book, Maratha Virendra Verman conducted research on the subject of Ror Marathas. It led to the formation of Maratha Milan Samaroh. Verma had contested for Lok Sabha Elections in 2009 and 2014. Milind Patil, the national coordinator at Akhil Bhartiya Maratha Jagruti Mach, said that the book has been published in Marathi and Hindi language. He also added that the book was inaugurated to former President Pratibha Patil in 2010. He shared a photo of the same. In the same year, Kolhapur’s Shivaji University conducted a symposium on More’s book. Furthermore, we found a book titled ‘Marathas and Panipat’ by Hari Ram Gupta. It was published by Punjab University in 1961. A paragraph in this chapter talks about the linguistic trait mentioned by Pawar. The women from Rohtak (Haryana), Meerut (Uttar Pradesh) etc say “Hau Aya, Hau Aya” to frighten the children who don’t listen to them. As per the book, “Hau” in this case, perhaps means “Bha’u”. Pawar believes this is evidence of Maratha roots and establishes a link to Sadashivrao Bhau who served as the Sardar Senapati of the Maratha Army in the third battle of Panipat. The information in this section is based on interviews with leading Maratha families (page 351 of the document). Those interview names have been listed on page 363 and none of the surnames matches with the surname borne by Neeraj or his father. We also spoke with Ror Mahasabha Karnal ex-Administrator Brigadier Randhir Singh, VSM (Retd.). “My maternal grandfather Ch Shiv Ram Verma was a pioneer of Ror Maha Sabha and spearheaded the team for the making of Ror Bhawans. Brig Singh added, “If I’m pressed long enough on the topic, I lean towards Maratha linkage. However, I am fully aware that there is no way of addressing this issue conclusively in absence of overwhelming scientific indication one way. As of today, we don’t have that data. This issue, like most things, has become greatly political. However, one must note there is no love lost between Rors who believe in Maratha lineage and those who don’t. The way I see it, it’s a matter of belief and to each his own.” Rors unconvinced by the Maratha lineage theory Alt News spoke with another member of the Ror community, Anurag Kadian, who is convinced there is absolutely no recent historical linkage of the Rors with Marathas. Kadian is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology and the University of Cambridge. He said, “I have studied this topic through the lens of history and genetics. Our population genetics study on this issue is the most conclusive. As per our findings, there is no recent historical link of Rors with the Maratha community in the last 1800 years.” Those interested in Kadian’s findings based on history can view this tweet thread. One of the arguments is also that some of the Ror villages date back much prior to the Battle of Panipat. In 2018, Kadian along with authors affiliated with Estonian Biocentre; Max-Delbrueck Centre for Molecular Medicine in Germany; School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University; and Cytogenetics Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Banaras Hindu University published a peer-reviewed study titled ‘The Genetic Ancestry of Modern Indus Valley Populations from Northwest India’. The study looked at genome-wide genotype data for 45 individuals randomly selected from a much larger pool of samples from different populations from four Northwest Indian populations, including the Rors. The study’s findings suggest that Rors stand out by being genetically more akin to populations living in regions which are to the west of present-day India; such populations include prehistorical and early historical ancient individuals from the Swat Valley near the Indus Valley. In 2018, this study was published in the National Center for Biotechnology Information and The American Journal of Human Genetics. A detailed report was published by The Hindu Business Line in 2018. Gyaneshwer Chaubey, a Banaras Hindu University professor at Cytogenetics Lab, Department of Zoology and one of the authors of the study, said, “Our study didn’t find any recent common ancestry, at least for the past 1,500 years, of Ror community with Maratha community.” Neeraj Chopra’s family doesn’t consider itself as Maratha descendants Alt News reached out to Neeraj Chopra’s manager Aman Shah who connected us with his grandfather Dharamsingh Chopra and his uncle (father’s youngest sibling) Surendra Kumar. Neeraj stays with them at Khandra village in Haryana’s Panipat district in a joint family setup. Typically, Surendra handles Neeraj’s media representation when it comes to sensitive issues. Surendra said, “Neeraj’s achievement should not be looked at from a caste and political angle. He won the medal as an Indian. We belong to Haryana’s Ror community. A section of this community believes that they have Maratha lineage. However, a majority of Rors, including us, do not believe that.” Dharamvir, 75, told Alt News, “I had the blessing to spend my childhood with my father and grandfather. Both of them were farmers. No one mentioned our lineage is close to Marathas.” Surendra added, “Until two decades ago, the phenomena of Maratha Rors wasn’t popular. However, over the years it has been popularised due to vote bank politics. Thus, those Rors who didn’t believe this theory had to make their stand clear. While greeting our Ror Maratha friends we address them as Maratha to show that we respect their beliefs. And they do the same by respecting our feelings. However, some notorious elements from the Ror Maratha community insist Rors embrace Maratha lineage. Over the years, I have noticed many homes belonging to Rors vandalised with Maratha text.” “After Neeraj’s Tokyo performance such claims are at an all-time high,” Kumar continued while forwarding some screenshots that he received on social media. “Yesterday (August 12), members of Maratha Jagriti Manch Panipat-Karnal visited our home to offer their well-wishes and handed over a photo frame with images of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Neeraj. We appreciate all the support and love shown by the nation. But request everyone not to bring a caste narrative to Neeraj’s win. We identify as Rors and not Marathas,” he said. In fact, a similar banner was also installed at the Khandra bus stop, said Surendra. Shortly after Neeraj Chopra’s win at Tokyo Olympics Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M. Scindia and several media outlets tried to establish Chopra’s lineage with the Maratha community. While there are conflicting beliefs within the community, Chopra’s grandfather and uncle clarified that the family does not identify as part of the Maratha community. 🙏 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	28th August 2021 / 4:50 pm / Last updated: 30th August 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/does-neeraj-chopra-have-maratha-lineage-alt-news-investigation/", "author": "Archit" }
822	Does the video show Taliban 'hanging' a body from a helicopter? - Alt News Mohammed Zubair 1st September 2021 / 12:13 am / Last updated: 1st September 2021 The United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan on August 30, marking an end to two decades of conflict. The US has reportedly abandoned military equipment and those not dismantled have been taken over by the Taliban. A video of the Taliban parading a helicopter in the skies of Kandahar is massively viral on social media. Media outlets and journalists alike have claimed that the video shows the Taliban hanging a person, presumably an American interpreter, from a US Black Hawk helicopter. Below is a tweet by Zee News editor-in-chief Sudhir Chaudhary. Another landmark picture taking the world in a new era of terror. Taliban hang a person, presumed to be an American interpreter, from a U.S. Blackhawk helicopter. The left over US helicopters will now be used in #Afganistan like this. pic.twitter.com/8q6C5bo4IB — Sudhir Chaudhary (@sudhirchaudhary) August 31, 2021 The claim was also promoted by India Today executive editor Shiv Aroor who shared an article by his outlet. The news was carried by numerous mainstream media outlets – News24, News18, WION, ZEE5, Aaj Tak, Navbharat Times, Dainik Bhaskar, Amar Ujala, Zee Hindustan, India TV, ANI, MSN India, Zee News, NDTV, Republic and ABP News. Pro-BJP propaganda outlet OpIndia also ran a story. With a keyword search on Twitter in Pashto, we came across the following tweets that confirmed the helicopters were flying in Kandahar. زموږ هوايي ځواک! همدا شيبه د اسلامي امارت د هوايي ځواک هليکوپترې د کندهار ښار په فضا باندې الوتنې کوي. @A_Jahid_Jalal pic.twitter.com/GW4QWu1z8M — Jahid Jalal -جاهد جلال (@A_Jahid_Jalal) August 30, 2021 زموږ هوايي ځواک! همدا شيبه د اسلامي امارت د هوايي ځواک هليکوپترې د کندهار ښار په فضا باندې الوتنې کوي. دا صحنه لږ مخکې يو ملګري ثبت کړه.@A_Jahid_Jalal pic.twitter.com/plHel1lNox — Jahid Jalal -جاهد جلال (@A_Jahid_Jalal) August 30, 2021</blockquote Taking ‘Kandahar’ as a keyword in Pashto, we found another video of a man suspended from a helicopter. This is a clearer video. کندهار تازه صورت حال pic.twitter.com/HM2CP2aZHg — احمد صاحب (@haji52292547) August 30, 2021 If you look closely, the rope can be seen attached to the man’s back. He is suspended from a harness and not a noose around the neck. Furthermore, in the same video, the man can also be seen making gestures, especially 15 seconds onward. He is not dead unlike suggested on the internet. Alt News came across a tweet by Afghan news agency Aśvaka that posted a similar video of a helicopter over the Kandahar governor office. We got in touch with the channel via DM and it confirmed that the man was suspended from the helicopter to fix the flag on the governor’s building. “We have a team there, they have confirmed that the person was controlled and hanging from the helicopter to fix the flag at the governor’s building in Kandahar,” the channel told us. Black Hawk over the #Kandahar governor office. #Kandahar #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/9dLT46L2Ut — Aśvaka – آسواکا News Agency (@AsvakaNews) August 30, 2021 Local journalist Sadiqullah Afghan had also posted one of the videos that showed a man suspended from a helicopter. He informed that the man was a Talib and was trying to put a flag on a 100-metre pole. یوه چورلکه د کندهار ولایت پر مقام لیدل کیږي، چي یو کس په ځوړند دی، تر اوسه مسولینو په دې اړه وضاحت نه دی ورکړی. pic.twitter.com/8xlWLgR5dh — Sadiqullah Afghan (@SadiqullahAfgha) August 30, 2021 Another Afghan journalist tweeted that he is acquainted with the Afghan pilot was who flying the helicopter. He identified the man suspended from the chopper as a Taliban member attempting to install the extremist Islamist group’s flag but failing. Afghan pilot flying this is someone I have known over the years. He was trained in the US and UAE, he confirmed to me that he flew the Blackhawk helicopter. Taliban fighter seen here was trying to install Taliban flag from air but it didn’t work in the end. https://t.co/wnF8ep1zEl — BILAL SARWARY (@bsarwary) August 31, 2021 A keyword search on Facebook using کندهار ولایت مقام (Kandahar province) led us to a video of a man hovering over a flag pole. The post said that the Taliban was attempting to hoist its flag at the governor’s office. In this video as well, the man is clearly alive. He is also trying to take something out of his pockets. کندهار: ا.ا.ا غوښتل چي د څرخي الوتکي په مرسته ولایت مقام کي د ۱۰۰ میتره بېرغ پرځای خپل بېرغ و ځړوي، خو بریالي نه سول. Posted by Khan Mohammad Ayan on Monday, 30 August 2021 A similar video was shared by a local reporter from Kandahar Arghand Abdulmanan. It must be pointed out that the piece of misinformation is viral across the world, including New York Post. From what it seems, the video gained widespread attention after it was posted by @natsecjeff1. However, he did not make any claims while sharing the clip. Another user @Holbornlolz who identifies himself as a comedian added the “man hanging from a helicopter” spin. The Washington Post’s fact-checker Glenn Kessler tweeted about how the narrative was twisted on the internet. Here’s how things get twisted on the Internet. You know that image of the Taliban supposedly hanging someone from a BlackHawk helicopter, tweeted all over the place? Just made-up. Not that the video is sourced to “FJ” — @natsecjeff1 But that’s not what his original video said… pic.twitter.com/Swb0FIGmXR — Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) August 31, 2021 Media outlets and journalists carried erroneous reports claiming that an American interpreter was hanged to death on a Black Hawk helicopter by the Taliban. The man was a member of the Taliban and he was trying to install the outfit’s flag on poles. He wasn’t hanged but suspended from a harness. It is also noteworthy that the US Department of Defence is yet to comment on the video therefore it could not be ascertained that the helicopter was indeed a Black Hawk. Co-founder, Alt News Co-Founder Alt News, I can be reached via Twitter at https://twitter.com/zoo_bear 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	1st September 2021 / 12:13 am / Last updated: 1st September 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/does-the-video-show-taliban-hanging-a-body-from-a-helicopter/", "author": "Mohammed Zubair" }
823	Donate - Alt News Independent journalism that speaks truth to power and is free of corporate and political control is possible only when people start contributing towards the same. Alt news has been in operation since February 2017 and it has been a completely voluntary effort for the past 9 months. To continue and expand this endeavour, we decided to formalise our efforts and have now registered a not for profit (Section 8) company called Pravda Media Foundation (CIN: U93030GJ2017NPL099435). Going forward, we wish to expand our team and have more people monitoring, researching and writing about misinformation that goes on at various levels from social media to mainstream media. As part of this expansion process, one of the highest priorities will be to create content in other languages and especially Hindi. For all of this, we need funds and we are wholly dependent on our readers for the same. Please do donate generously and contribute to this fight against fake news. To make an instant donation, click on the “Donate Now” button below. For making donations via Cheque/DD, please read further. Donations to Alt News are exempt under 80g of the Income Tax Act. Please make sure you share your correct email id while contributing in order to receive your receipt with the required details to avail an exemption. You could also mail us Cheques/DD issued in the name of ‘PRAVDA MEDIA FOUNDATION’ Mailing Address: Pravda Media Foundation 1008-1009, Satyamev Elite, Near Vakil Bridge, Opposite BRTS Bus Stop, Ambli, Ahmedabad – 380058 For any further questions, email [email protected].	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/donate/", "author": null }
824	Doordarshan deletes tweets, tries to cover-up Amit Shah's flag hoisting blooper - Alt News Alt News Desk 16th August 2018 / 2:57 pm “Tch, tch, tch…disaster”, a voice can be heard reacting spontaneously. The flag hoisting ceremony at the BJP Headquarters to mark India’s 72nd Independence Day did not quite go as per plan. As soon as the BJP President Amit Shah pulled the string, the national flag came crashing to the ground. Though Shah ultimately managed to hoist the flag, the embarrassing moment was not only broadcasted live but also tweeted by Doordarshan. The clip is viral on social media and has been shared by opposition parties to mock Shah and BJP. For critics of BJP, it was poetic justice that this embarrassing incident should happen to the President of a party that flaunts its nationalist credentials and whose supporters spend their time on social media outraging about real and imaginary insults to the national flag and national anthem. This awkward mishap could happen to anyone. But interestingly, Doordarshan’s tweets with video clips of the incident have gone missing. Yes, India’s Public Broadcaster, Doordarshan has decided to cover-up Amit Shah’s flag blooper and deleted two tweets. The deleted tweets carried a video of the incident along with the text, “BJP President @AmitShah unfurls the national flag at party headquarters in Delhi.” A. Surya Prakash, Chairman, Prasar Bharati and Shashi Shekhar, CEO Prasar Bharti were tagged on the tweets. One of the deleted tweets were also quote-tweeted by multiple people. The quotes still exist but the tweets are deleted as evident from the screenshot below. The URLs of the deleted tweets are: https://twitter.com/DDNewsLive/status/1029591249815318528 https://twitter.com/DDNewsLive/status/1029594032375296000 The flag hoisting was also tweeted live by BJP. It is interesting to note that even though BJP didn’t consider it necessary to delete the tweet, Doordarshan felt a need for self-censorship. The tweet and the video were still available on BJP site at the time of writing the article. LIVE : Shri @AmitShah unfurls the National Flag at BJP Head Office, New Delhi. #IndependenceDayIndia https://t.co/1PVqboiEOA — BJP (@BJP4India) August 15, 2018 This is not the first time that an Indian media house has tried to cover-up the faux pas of a BJP leader. Recently, when PM Modi made a slip-up and claimed that 600 crore voters voted for BJP, multiple media houses including ANI, Economic Times and Aaj Tak deleted their tweets. Doordarshan should know that deleting a tweet will not erase it from social media. This self-censorship by Doordarshan raises questions about why the public broadcaster felt the need to erase BJP President’s embarrassing moment from public memory. It is also a futile exercise as the video clip is viral and already seen by whoever Doordarshan wants to hide it from. 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	16th August 2018 / 2:57 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/doordarshan-deletes-tweets-tries-to-cover-up-amit-shahs-flag-hoisting-blooper/", "author": "Alt News Desk" }
825	Four-year-old image on Thai blogs shared as Indian soldier injured in India-China clashes - Alt News Archit 20th June 2020 / 2:40 pm / Last updated: 20th June 2020 The recent clashes between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Galwan Valley, Ladakh left 20 Indian army men martyred. On June 18, China released 10 Indian army personnel, including a lieutenant colonel and three majors, from their custody. In the backdrop of this, Dr Anand Rai, best known for exposing the Vyapam scam, tweeted an image of a soldier whose back is severely injured. “This is one of the soldiers who survived the barbaric attack by Chinese forces on galwan valley. He has nail injuries all over his body. They were completely unarmed and yet they fought back the Chinese army. फ़ौज को हथियार उठाने से किसने रोका था (why were soldiers stopped from using weapons) @PMOIndia,” wrote Rai. (archive link) The image was shared in the backdrop of claims that the Chinese side attacked Indian soldiers with nail-studded clubs. Alt News has also received requests to fact-check this on WhatsApp (+917600011160) and on our official Android application. Alt News performed a Google reverse image search of the image and found that it was published by several Thai-blogs in 2016. One of the earliest blogs to publish this image was kaupyime.blogpost.com. Alt News couldn’t independently verify the context behind the photograph. However, it was posted on several Thailand-based blogs in 2016, thus the claim by Dr Anand Rai that the image shows an Indian soldier wounded in the recent India-China dispute is false. Dr Rai has often been found sharing misinformation on social media. 🙏 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 June 2020 / 2:40 pm / Last updated: 20th June 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/dr-anand-rai-shares-old-image-as-indian-soldier-injured-in-recent-india-china-clashes/", "author": "Archit" }
826	Dr. Harsh Vardhan cites fake claim attributed to Stephen Hawking at the Indian Science Congress - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 16th March 2018 / 9:50 pm / Last updated: 16th March 2018 “Each and every custom and ritual of Hindus is steeped in science and every modern Indian achievement is infact a continuation of our ancient India’s scientific achievements. We recently lost a renowned scientist, renowned cosmologist Stephen Hawking. He also emphatically said on record that our Vedas might have a theory which is superior to Einstein’s theory of E=mc^2”. These are the words of Union Minister for Science & Technology Dr. Harsh Vardhan. He has made this rather curious claim at the inaugural session of the 105th Indian Science Congress at Imphal on March 16. #ISC2018 –Each and every custom and ritual of Hinduism is steeped in science; every modern Indian achievement is a continuation of our ancient scientific achievement. Even Stephen Hawking said, our Vedas might have a theory superior to Einstein’s law E=MC2. @[email protected]/QP9PbLElCd — Dr. Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) March 16, 2018 Indian Express has reported that when Dr. Harsh Vardhan was asked the source of this information, no clear answer was forthcoming. Alt News decided to look into the basis of this claim. We found that this theory that the Vedas could be the repository of knowledge superior to Einstein’s theory of relativity is not exactly new and has been floating in the public domain for some time now; for example, as posted below on a website www.serveveda.org which calls itself Institute of Scientific Research on Vedas. The article was posted in November 2013. In order to fact-check the claim, Alt News searched for all the claims prior to 2011 about Hawking, Einstein and E=mc^2 and the Facebook page of hari.scientist shows up as the original source. This was originally pointed out by @sandygrains who is the science editor with the online news portal ThePrint. The above article from serveveda.org too was sourced from this Facebook page. We also looked up Stephen Hawking’s website to see if there is any reference to the Vedas. We did not find a single mention. The Facebook page cited above has only about 1500 followers and masquerades as belonging to Professor Hawking. However, the handle of the page is @hari.scientist which clearly indicates that it is not Professor Hawking’s official page. The official Facebook page of Stephen Hawking can be accessed here. This Facebook post that can be seen below was posted on November 10, 2011. The post refers to the work by Dr. Sakamuri Sivaram Babu while claiming that ‘Vedas might have a superior theory to Einstein’s E=mc^2″. The above Facebook post is also referred to in the serveveda.org article. Mr Veda Kavi from serveveda had sent an email to Professor Hawking regarding the same. Mr Hawking in his response had expressed regret over his inability to respond to the specific claims attributed to him in the Facebook post of 2011. That the page does not belong to Stephen Hawking but only has his name was confirmed by the admin of the page himself in a comment on the same post, which can be viewed below. Einstein’s theory of relativity was transformative, completely altering the way humans look at astronomy and theoretical physics. Dr. Harsh Vardhan’s ludicrous claim made at the inaugural session of the Indian Science Congress is not only ironical but highly embarrassing. 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	16th March 2018 / 9:50 pm / Last updated: 16th March 2018	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/dr-harsh-vardhan-cites-fake-claim-attributed-to-stephen-hawking-at-the-indian-science-congress/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
827	Fake Twitter accounts created in Dr Kafeel Khan and his wife Shabista Khan's name - Alt News Kinjal 3rd September 2020 / 11:05 pm Dr Kafeel Khan was released from prison on September 1 after spending 200 days in Mathura jail. The Allahabad high court quashed his detention under the National Security Act (NSA) for a speech made at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The court said that his speech “did not promote hatred or violence, but was an appeal to national integrity,” reported Scroll. Following his arrest, the follower count of two Twitter handles ‘@dr_kafeel_‘ and ‘@DrKafeel_Khan‘ rapidly increased. As of this writing, they had 10,500 and 13,100 followers respectively. Several people began tagging these accounts and congratulating Dr Khan on his release. Another Twitter handle ‘@Shabbo_Khan_’ was believed to be the account of Dr Khan’s wife. On the day of the doctor’s release, the account uploaded a picture of him with his wife Shabista and welcomed him ‘home’. As of this writing, the tweet drew over 3,000 retweets and more than 30,000 likes. आप सब की मेहनत और दुआओं से आज मेरे शौहर घर आ गए आप सब का बहुत शुक्रिया pic.twitter.com/kFI2i949jL — Shabista Khan (@Shabbo_Khan_) September 1, 2020 This report will reveal the truth behind each of these handles separately. 1. ‘@dr_kafeel_’ The handle ‘@dr_kafeel_’ tweeted “asslam alaikum” on September 1 at 11:09 AM. This tweet drew more than 57,000 likes and over 6,000 retweets before it was deleted. It is to be noted that Dr Khan was released from prison at midnight that same day. Therefore, it’s impossible for him to have made the tweet. Apart from this, the account was created in January 2020 when Dr Khan was still incarcerated. On checking archived links of tweets by ‘@dr_kafeel_’, we found one from August 4, 2020, where the handle has identified itself as a “parody” account. The screenshots below show the account’s interaction with some users where one of them as pointed out that they should add ‘parody’ in their bio if they wish to run a handle in Dr Khan’s name. 2. ‘@DrKafeel_Khan’ This handle tweeted the following on September 1, 2020, at 7:45 AM, “Today I got bail, thank you wholeheartedly for praying for me.” As mentioned earlier, Dr Khan was released at midnight so he couldn’t have possibly tweeted this. After scrutinizing old tweets by this account, we found that its earlier username was ‘@ P_Bhushan1’. Upon checking archived tweets of ‘@ P_Bhushan1’ we could confirm the same. You can self-verify by accessing the link—https://twitter.com/P_Bhushan1/status/1296512700663513089—which redirects to ‘DrKafeel_Khan’. 3. ‘@Shabbo_Khan_’ This handle, posing as Dr Khan’s wife Shabista Khan, thanked people for praying for his return home at 9:30 PM on September 1, before he was released from prison. The username of this handle appears as ‘@Kani_Kaaki’ in replies to several old tweets by this handle. An archived link of an old tweet by ‘@Kani_Kaaki’ can be accessed here. If you open the link, you will be redirected to the account of ‘@Shabbo_Khan_’. Dr Kafeel Khan has a verified page on Facebook where the Twitter handle @drkafeelkhan is linked. This is the official handle of Dr Khan however it remains suspended from the platform. Neither are the accounts now created in his name belong to him nor is the account created in his wife Shabista Khan’s name is her account. 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	3rd September 2020 / 11:05 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/dr-kafeel-khan-wife-fake-twitter-accounts/", "author": "Kinjal" }
828	Drunk man dressed as woman falsely believed to child-lifter and beaten in Jodhpur - Alt News Jignesh Patel 31st August 2019 / 12:28 am / Last updated: 31st August 2019 A video of a man dressed as a woman, who is being escorted by the police, is doing rounds on social media. The message posted along with the video claims that a child-kidnapping gang is active in Jodhpur and an alleged chid-lifter was nabbed by the police. Facebook page ‘Blue City Jodhpur’ shared the same video with the claim mentioned above. In the video, a woman can be heard alleging that the man had attempted to kidnap her child. सभी छोटे बच्चों के #अभिभावकों से निवेदन है जोधपुर में अभी #बच्चाचोरगैंग सक्रिय है कृपया कर बच्चों का ध्यान रखें अभी पुलिस ने एक संदिग्ध आदमी को रेलवे स्टेशन पर पकड़ा है जो शायद बच्चा चोर गैंग का सदस्य हो सकता है #ज्यादा से ज्यादा #शेयर करे ! Posted by Blue City Jodhpur on Friday, 30 August 2019 One Pawan Sankhla shared the video with a similar narrative. अलर्ट जोधपुर जोधपुर से बच्चा चुराते पकड़ा नागरिक बच्चा चोर गेंग से आदमी अलर्ट रहे Posted by Pawan Sankhla on Friday, 30 August 2019 The same video has also been published on YouTube. Upon closely looking at the video, Alt News found that it was shot at Jodhpur railway station. With a keyword search on Google, we found a report published by ETV Bharat, according to which, the said incident took place on August 30, 2019. As per passers-by, a child’s mother had raised an alarm after seeing her child being air-lifted by the man, and subsequently, the crowd nearby beat him up, believing him to be a child-lifter, and later handed him to the police. In their investigation, however, GRP police didn’t find any such incident taking place. Speaking to the media outlet, GRP police officer Ravindra Bothra said that the person used to beg for alms for a living at the railway station. No incident of child-kidnapping on Jodhpur railway station has come to light, he added. A News18 report gives the same details as ETV Bharat while adding that the police investigation found that the man was inebriated and had fallen victim to child-kidnapping rumours. Alt News contacted Government Railway Police (GRP) Jodhpur. Duty Officer Ramdin also confirmed that the man wasn’t a child-kidnapper. “[In the video] home guards appointed by the Railway Protection Force were escorting the man. He was dressed as a woman and was drunk. So they had brought him to the police. He is not a child kidnapper, we spoke to his family. He is a resident of Nagaur district. We were told by the family that this man has a habit of dressing up as a woman since childhood.” We were also told that man was produced before the court for disturbing the peace in a drunken state. He has been sent to jail, stated the ETV Bharat report. In conclusion, a video of a man dressed as a woman, detained by the police, is being shared on social media with false child-kidnapping rumours. 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	31st August 2019 / 12:28 am / Last updated: 31st August 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/drunk-man-dressed-as-woman-falsely-believed-to-child-lifter-and-beaten-in-jodhpur/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
829	Drunk man falsely accused of child-lifting by a woman in Punjab - Alt News Jignesh Patel 28th August 2019 / 7:58 pm / Last updated: 28th August 2019 A video of a man who is being pulled by his hair and questioned by a mob is being shared on social media with a claim that a child-kidnapper was caught in Punjab. “पंजाब में महिला ने पकड़ा बच्चा चोर गैंग का एक आदमी (In Punjab, a woman caught a member of the child-lifting gang -translated)”, reads the title of the video posted on YouTube on August 12, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1D_TlUD-_s&app=desktop The same video was posted by several other YouTube channels like ARN Music Bhojpuri. Alt News has received fact-check requests on its official app. It is being claimed that a team of 2,000 Rohingyas is prowling across India to lift children who will be sacrificed. “सावधान पूरे हिन्दुस्तान में रोहिंग्या की 2000 लोगो की टीम आयी है जो बच्चों को उठा के ले जा रही है कोई बेचता है कोई बलि के लिये ले जाता है खुद देखो सुनो ओर ज्यादा से ज्यादा इसे फैलाओ”, asserts the text. On listening to the conversation in the video, Alt News found that the mob is conversing in Punjabi. We then did a Google search with keywords like “Baccha chor Punjab” in Punjabi and found a two-week-old post. The Punjabi text attested with the video reads, “ਟੀਨਾ ਨਾਮ ਦੀ ਔਰਤ ਗਲੀ ਨੰਬਰ 8 ਟੈਗੋਰ ਨਗਰ(ਜਲੰਧਰ) ਦੇ ਹਥੱ ਚੋ ਖੋਹ ਕੇ ਦੌੜ ਰਿਹਾ ਬੱਚਾ ਚੋਰ ਪਕੜ ਕੇ ਪੁਲਸ ਦੇ ਹਵਾਲੇ ਕੀਤਾ। ਇਹ ਮੈਸਜ ਅਗੌ ਸ਼ੇਅਰ ਕਰਨ ਦੀ ਕ੍ਰਿਪਾਲਤਾ ਕੀਤੀ ਜਾਵੇ। (A woman named Tina had caught a thief in the lane number 8 of Tagore Nagar, Jalandhar and handed over to the police – loosely translated via Google)”. We then ran a keyword search on Google with Hindi keywords, “टीना बच्चा चोर”, and found a Dainik Bhaskar report published on August 8, 2019. The incident took place on the morning on August 7 in New Sant Nagar locality of Punjab’s Jalandhar city. Tina Sharma was on her way to drop her child to school when a drunk man forcefully tried to take her child while allegedly saying, “give me” your kid. Listening to Tina’s cries for help, a crowd had gathered at the spot and he was beaten up. According to the report, a waiter was falsely accused of child-lifting and was let off only after the family was informed about every aspect of the investigation. Alt News reached out the Division 5 police station, SHO Ravinder Singh, who said, “He was a waiter who used to stay at his uncle’s place. He was drinking alcohol from the night before the incident and the next morning, he again had some more drinks. He was lying on a bench that day when this woman was passing by him on the road. Then, this man tried to touch the woman’s child and the woman thought he had come to lift her child. That was the case. People mistook him of being a child-lifter. He got sober, nearly fours hours after the incident.” Raju, the man who was beaten by a mob over a false suspicion of him being a child-kidnapper, was handed over to his younger brother Michael and uncle Durga Bahadur after taking assurance from the child’s family. A video of a drunk man who was harassed by a group of people over the accusation that he was trying to lift a child in Punjab was shared on social media with the false claim that a child-kidnapper was caught in Punjab. Similarly, in Rajasthan’s Bandikui city, a drunk man held captive on false suspicion of him being a child lifter. 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	28th August 2019 / 7:58 pm / Last updated: 28th August 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/drunk-man-falsely-accused-of-child-lifting-by-a-woman-in-punjab/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
830	Drunk man taken hostage by mob over false suspicion of child-kidnapping - Alt News Jignesh Patel 27th August 2019 / 3:52 pm On August 9, Facebook user Prakash Kundra posted two photographs and a video of a man who is taken hostage by a mob. Sharing the video, Kundra claimed that the man in the video is a child-kidnapper who was caught by locals near Gandhi marg located in Rajasthan’s Bandikui city. In the video, a woman has held the man by his arms while a mob is interrogating him. Several people can be seen filming the incident. बांदीकुई मे गांधी पार्क से बच्चे को उठाकर ले जाते हुए बच्चा चोर की धुनाई Posted by Prakash Kundra on Friday, 9 August 2019 One more Facebook user posted another video of the same incident with the same claim. With a keyword search on Google, Alt News found a report published by Dainik Bhaskar on August 10, which said that a man was held hostage by locals in Bandikui on suspicions of being involved with a ‘child-lifting gang’. According to the report, some people were following this person and when they finally caught him near a cinema hall at Sikandra road, he was beaten up. Alt News contacted Bandikui police station regarding the matter. SHO Rajendra Kumar said, “That day, this young man was drunk and roaming in the park. He closely passed a child who was playing in one of the corners of the park and it was dark at that time. The mother of the child made some comment on the man as she was suspicious of him. In response, the man misbehaved with the woman by making an ill-comment. Some more people got involved in the matter after which he tried to flee from the scene but was later caught and a few more men joined. Following this, he was beaten up by them. When asked about his identity by the mob, he gave incorrect information. Police had reached the spot and detained him for verification. No physical injuries were observed on his body. Yes, he might have created a nuisance but this is not a child-kidnapping case.” In conclusion, a video of a drunk man who was falsely accused of being a child-lifter and taken hostage by a mob in Dausa district, Rajasthan was circulated on social media to spread false ‘child-kidnapping’ rumours. 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	27th August 2019 / 3:52 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/drunk-man-taken-hostage-by-mob-over-false-suspicion-of-child-kidnapping/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
831	Drunk woman's video viral as "Rohingya Muslim gang on the prowl kidnapping children" - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 26th July 2019 / 6:46 pm A video of a woman caught by a mob that interrogates her on suspicions of child-kidnapping has emerged on social media. It has been shared with the claim that gangs of Rohingya Muslims are on a prowl to lift children at night. Posted by Kirar Manoj Dhakad on Friday, 19 July 2019 In the video, one among the mob says that the woman was caught red-handed attempting to kidnap a child in Bareli [Madhya Pradesh]. He points at the father of the child who alleges that the woman had entered his house and ran outside when she was caught. The message accompanying the video says, “सावधान भोपाल में 15 से 20 लोगों कीअलग अलग रोहिग्या मुस्लिमो की टोली आई है उनके साथ बच्चे और महिलाएं हैं और उनके पास हथियार भी है और 2 बजे आधी रात को और किसी भी वक्त आते हैं और बच्चे की रोने की आवाज आती है कृपया दरवाजा ना खोले प्लीज इसको आप सारे ग्रुप में शेयर करें। भोपाल पुलिस C.S.P. Send to all group plz. (Beware gang of 15-20 Rohingya Muslims are on a prowl. Women and children also accompany these gangs. They come at night around 2 am and a child’s wailing can be heard. Do not open the doors. Please share it with your group. City Superintendent of Police, Bhopal police.) Alt News took hints from the video and performed a keyword search on Google. We came across a compilation article by Patrika listing recent mob attacks in Madhya Pradesh sparked by child-kidnapping rumours. One among them was described similar to the incident depicted in the video. According to the report, an inebriated woman had mistakenly entered a person’s house in Bareli [Raisen district] on the night of July 19. Falsely suspecting her to be a child-kidnapper, a mob beat her up. The woman was later admitted to a hospital after the police intervened. The incident was also reported by Dainik Bhaskar. Alt News contacted Bareli police to corroborate the set of event. We sent the video to the area police inspector who confirmed that it depicts the same incident. “The woman was heavily intoxicated and was already getting treated in a hospital. After a minor scuffle with the hospital staff, she fled the place and the police was later informed that she was found by a mob that suspected her of being a child-kidnapper. The police rescued her and put her back in the hospital. She was later united with her family,” the PI informed. A video of a drunk woman falsely accused of being a child-kidnapper is floating on social media to fuel false rumours. The same narrative – Rohingya Muslims are on a prowl to abduct children – has also been used to promote similar rumours. Alt News recently debunked a video where a mentally-challenged man was thrashed and interrogated by a mob in Raisen, MP. A photograph of a sex racket gang arrested by MP police was also floating as Rohingya Muslim child-kidnappers. Similar rumours were viral last year as well. 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 July 2019 / 6:46 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/drunk-womans-video-viral-as-rohingya-muslim-gang-on-the-prowl-kidnapping-children/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
832	Dubious letter claimed to be issued by Lashkar-e-Islam to threaten Kashmiri Pandits viral - Alt News Mohammed Zubair, Pratik Sinha & Pooja Chaudhuri 14th April 2022 / 11:01 pm / Last updated: 18th April 2022 ‘The Kashmir Files’ director Vivek Agnihotri tweeted an unsigned letter purportedly issued by Pakistan’s banned terror group Lashkar-e-Islam. The letter threatens to kill “kafirs” (non-believers) in Kashmir. “You are being watched by followers of Allah. You people have betrayed the people of Kashmir,” reads the letter. It also says, “Every Kashmiri Pandit is a threat to Kashmir and Quran.” Agnihotri’s tweet received over 9,000 retweets as of this writing. Latest DEATH THREAT letter to all non Muslims who don’t follow ALLAH. Is this TRUTH or PROPAGANDA? क़ौमी नफ़रत का सत्य या झूठी कहानी? Dear Comrades, now who is provoking them? Should we tell this TRUTH or cover it up like Kashmir Genocide of Hindus? pic.twitter.com/drNpTgPwiN — Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) April 13, 2022 Newsroom Post published an article based on Agnihotri’s tweet. “Vivek Agnihotri has brought to light a venomous letter,” wrote the outlet. (Archive link) ‘Pandits, leave Kashmir or get killed’: Vivek Agnihotri shares terror group’s ‘letter to kafirs’ \| #KashmiriPandits \|https://t.co/yaihli8arR — Newsroom Post (@NewsroomPostCom) April 13, 2022 Similar reports were published by Amar Ujala and Lokmat News. News18’s Amish Devgn anchored a show on Agnihotri’s tweet as “breaking news” and yelled to his audience – “Lashkar-e-Islam gives big threat”. #BreakingNews लश्कर-ए-इस्लाम ने कश्मीरी पंडितों को दी धमकी, कहा- “कश्मीर छोड़ें या धर्म बदलें”#AarPaar #Hindu #Secularism #SecularPolitics @AMISHDEVGAN pic.twitter.com/vNJCw8Ga8t — News18 India (@News18India) April 13, 2022 Pro-BJP propaganda outlet OpIndia, while reporting on the killing of civilian Satish Kumar Singh in Kulgam, also claimed that the letter was issued by Lashkar-e-Islam. Alt News found that one Vijay Raina tweeted the same letter a few hours before Vivek Agnihotri. Raina claimed that the letter was found in Veervan Pandit Colony in Baramulla and that it was “sent by post”. Veervan Pandit Colony #Baramulla received threatening letter through post saying “Raliv, Galiv or Tchaliv” pic.twitter.com/6umZrxSoux — Vijay Raina (@RealVijayRaina) April 13, 2022 This is the earliest tweet carrying the letter that Alt News could find. We spoke with Vijay Raina, who is a sarpanch of Kulgam. “I am in touch with Kashmiri Pandit settlements living in Kashmir under PM package jobs. I received the letter from a resident of Veervan colony in Baramulla district,” he said, adding that as per his knowledge, the letter was delivered by a postman. Times Now reported on the letter that surfaced in Veervan colony. The outlet wrote, “Around 150-200 families of Kashmiri Hindus live in Baramulla, Veervan, who have secured government jobs in the Pradhan Mantri Rozgar Yojana under the rehabilitation scheme in the region.” The report further said, “The threatening letter was delivered via post to the security detail of the colony on Tuesday evening” and added, “however, it doesn’t seem to be real, according to the police, given the fact that the said terrorist organisation’s existence is uncertain. The police assured that robust precautions and security measures have been put in place nonetheless.” There are also certain red flags in the letter that raise doubts about its authenticity. 1. The letter is unsigned The letter merely says “commander” at the end, without the name and signature of Lashkar-e-Islam’s commander. 2. Lashkar-e-Islam is misspelt The word “Lashkar” is misspelt as “Lashker” in the letter. It is unimaginable that the outfit would misspell its own name on official letterhead. Pakistan banned Lashkar-e-Islam on June 30, 2008, and a government document that lists proscribed organisations gives the correct spelling – “Lashkar”. It is noteworthy that the outfit’s name transliterated in English is also written as “Lashkar-e-Islami”. This is the spelling given in the document below prepared by the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) of Pakistan. However, both “Islam” and “Islami” are used even on Pakistani government websites. This is not the case with “Lashker”. Readers are requested to check for themselves by searching “lashker” site:gov.pk on Google. 3. The logo on the top left corner of the letter is of Jamaat-e-Dawa Pakistan On the left of the letterhead is a logo that belongs to a different terror group – Jamaat-e-Dawa (JuD). This outfit was banned by the United Nations in 2008 which recognised it as an alias of the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba terror group. A simple reverse-image search (by cropping the logo from the viral letter) throws results revealing that the logo belongs to JuD. Furthermore, the Urdu text below the two swords in the circle (marked in black) itself reads “Jamaat-ud-Dawa Pakistan”. We spoke with Pakistani journalist Zarrar Khuhro to corroborate Lashkar-e-Islam’s symbol. “I reached out to Iftikhar Firdous and Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud, journalists from Khyper Pakhtunkhwa, to dig into their archives and find the letterhead,” he told us. Khuhro shared with us a genuine letter issued by the outfit where its flag is spotted in the top right corner. It doesn’t match the symbol in the viral letter. Furthermore, this letter is in Urdu, it is signed and has a completely different letterhead that says “Lashkar-e-Islam”, not JuD. The photo below, credited to AFP, shows a picture of the flag of Lashkar-e-Islam which is the same as the one on the letter shared by Khuhro. In both the flags (the one in the letter shared by Khuhro and the one in the AFP image), the Urdu text in the middle says “Lashkar-e-Islam”. 4. A letter with identical letterhead was circulating in 2016 A similar letter claimed to have been issued by Lashkar-e-Islam in 2016 was published by DNA. This letter too showed the terror outfit threatening Kashmiri Pandits to leave Kashmir or face death. It also carries the logo of JuD on the left and misspells “Lashkar” as “Lashker”. However, the main red flag in the 2016 letter is the incomplete greeting. It says, “Aa Salam Aalai Kum – wa Barkat e Ho” and omits the phrase “Wa Rahmat Ullahi” in between. The line should either have only been “As Salamu Alaikum” (peace be upon you) or the complete phrase “As Salamu Alaikum Wa Rahmat Ullahi Wa Barkatuh” (peace be upon you and mercy of Allah and blessings). On August 7, 2016, Hindustan Times reported that the letter surfaced near the transit accommodation for government employees in South Kashmir. While the police confirmed the presence of the poster, Pulwama SP Rayees Mohammed Bhat said, “We believe it is a work of miscreants who want to create fear among the minority community.” 5. The letter has factual inaccuracies There is a portion in the letter that says, “We have started what was left unattended in 1990. We started this again with the killing of Kafir Nischal Jewellers and Kafir Bindaroo.” Satpal Nischal, 70, was killed in January last year by militants in Srinagar “apparently for having obtained a certificate under the new domicile law, that allows people who have lived in Jammu and Kashmir for more than 15 years rights to purchase immovable property”. The Resistance Front (TRF) had taken responsibility for the attack. Nischal hailed from Gurdaspur, Punjab. Pharmacy owner Makhan Lal Bindroo, 68, was killed in a series of attacks on minorities in J&K in October 2021. While the police did not identify any specific terror group, TRF had claimed responsibility for shooting Bindroo point-blank, reported India Today. Bindroo was a Kashmiri Pandit. There are no reports that say Lashkar-e-Islam had claimed responsibility for either of the attacks mentioned in the letter. The viral letter, therefore, appears to be dubious and not a genuine handiwork of Lashkar-e-Islam as claimed on social media. 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 April 2022 / 11:01 pm / Last updated: 18th April 2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/dubious-letter-claimed-to-be-issued-by-lashkar-e-islam-to-threaten-kashmiri-pandits-viral/", "author": "Mohammed Zubair, Pratik Sinha & Pooja Chaudhuri" }
833	Times Now, Republic share photo shot during food festival as Robert Vadra's "meeting" with Chinese envoy - Alt News Pratik Sinha 20th July 2017 / 2:27 am / Last updated: 18th June 2020 Republic TV and Times Now shared a photograph of the Gandhi family with the claim that this “undated” picture shows Robert Vadra and Rahul Gandhi with the Chinese envoy. As it turns out, a reverse-image search led to the photograph shared on the website of the Chinese Embassy on April 21, 2017. Here, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Robert Vadra were attending a Chinese food festival hosted by the Gandhi family. The food festival was 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. Therefore, an image of a Chinese food festival which was attended by leaders from several parties was shared by Times Now and Republic to hint at a conspiracy. Co-Founder Alt News, I can be reached via E-mail at [email protected] and on Facebook at https://fb.com/freethinker. 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	20th July 2017 / 2:27 am / Last updated: 18th June 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/dummies-guide-whatsapp-journalism-free-video-tutorial-republic-tv-times-now/", "author": "Pratik Sinha" }
834	Conceptual Nat Geo magazine cover with protestor from farmers' agitation believed to be true - Alt News Archit 5th January 2021 / 5:24 pm Thousands of farmers continue their agitation for the repeal of the three farm laws and legal backing for a minimum support price. Hindustan Times reported that the seventh round of talks, on January 4, between the protestors and the government remained inconclusive. In the backdrop of this, an image of a Sikh man on the National Geographic magazine’s cover page has gone viral on social media. Several people on Facebook and Twitter have shared this image. The purported cover picture was posted on Twitter by Col Tekpal Singh (Retd), AAP supporter Raj Lali Gill, Congress leader Ajoy Kumar, Justice for Farmers (Jas Kaur) and Amarbir Singh who criticised the BJP government. (Archived links 1,2,3,4 and 5) The world is watching and seeing how we are letting down our अन्नदाता ! Jai ho bjp 😡😡😡 pic.twitter.com/GDTqgRf1xC — Dr Ajoy Kumar (@drajoykumar) January 4, 2021 The top right corner of the cover reads ‘Winter 2020’. Alt News viewed the cover pages of National Geographic magazine on the official website for November and December 2020 and neither found an image of a Sikh man nor the magazine dedicating the cover picture to the ongoing farmers’ protests in India. Furthermore, none of the cover pictures since June 2020 (when the farm bills were passed) and this month’s (January 2021) cover picture feature the image. Additionally, we observed that the viral image carries the watermark ‘@anoopreet’ and the volume number mentioned is ‘1984 NO.2’ Thus, conceptual artwork by Instagram user @anoopreet was shared on the internet with the false claim that National Geographic magazine featured a Sikh man on its cover page during farmers’ protest. 🙏 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 January 2021 / 5:24 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/dummy-natgeo-magazine-cover-with-sikh-man-goes-viral/", "author": "Archit" }
835	Durga Puja pandal displaying namaz timings is from Bangladesh, not West Bengal - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 19th October 2021 / 7:14 pm A photograph of a Durga Puja pandal is widespread on social media. The image shows that a board has been placed outside the pandal that displays the timings of Islamic prayers. Several people have claimed that this pandal is in West Bengal where Hindus were asked to not offer prayers when namaz will be offered. भद्रलोक बंगाल के दुर्गा पंडाल में आपका स्वागत है, जिसमे खुद भद्रलोक हिंदुओ ने लिख रखा है की इस इस समय के बीच आपको 👉… Posted by Nitin Shukla नितिन शुक्ला on Friday, 15 October 2021 The image has been shared on both Facebook and Twitter. इसी को कहते हैं सच्ची सेकुलरिज्म #भद्रलोक #बंगाल के दुर्गा पंडाल में आपका स्वागत है,जिसमे खुद भद्रलोक #हिंदुओ ने लिख रखा था की इस इस समय के बीच में आपको #मंत्र नही पढ़ना है #भजन नही गाना है और न ही #पूजा करना है क्योकि उस समय नमाज का समय होताअब इनसे आप कौन सी उम्मीद लगा सकते हैं? pic.twitter.com/2QJCCQkeud — Rajeev Sinha (@RajeevS07040410) October 16, 2021 Alt News has also received multiple fact-check requests for the image on its WhatsApp helpline number (+91 76000 11160) and mobile application. At the bottom of the board are the words “উত্তরা সার্বজনীন পূজা কমিটি” that translate to “Uttara Sarbojonik Puja Committee” which is in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The committee also has a website. A keyword search of the full name of the committee led us to a Facebook live posted by a Bangladeshi page of the same pandal. উত্তরা সার্বজনীন পুজা কমিটি, ঢাকা। Posted by ঠাকুরগাঁওয়ের পূজা on Thursday, 14 October 2021 The similarities in the pandal seen in the video and the one in the viral image have been pointed below. The stairs, chandelier above the Durga idol and the pillars on both sides of the idol match. The board with the namaz schedule is also visible in the video. A Bangladeshi Facebook user wrote that the Uttara Sarbojonik Puja Committee put up the board to prevent music from being played during namaz. The photo thus shows a Duga Puja pandal in Bangladesh, not West Bengal. Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News. 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	19th October 2021 / 7:14 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/durga-puja-pandal-displaying-namaz-timings-is-from-bangladesh-not-west-bengal/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }

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