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2,250	No, Saddam Hussein did not say US had threatened Iraq with coronavirus in 1990 - Alt News Jignesh Patel & Mohammed Zubair 19th March 2020 / 7:56 pm / Last updated: 19th March 2020 A video of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is doing the rounds on social media with the claim that the United States had threatened Iraq with coronavirus in 1990. It is being passed off an as evidence to claim, “Corvid-19 is a US biological weapon.” A tweet by a user who goes by the handle African Revolt, said: “Listen to Saddam Hussein was in a 1990 meeting with his cabinet, telling them how America was threatening Iraq with Corona Virus”. It may be noted that the name of the disease COVID-19 has been misspelt as CORVID-19. Corvid is a family of birds. Listen to Saddam Hussein was in a 1990 meeting with his cabinet, telling them how America was threatening Iraq with Corona Virus. This prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that Corvid-19 is a US biological weapon. pic.twitter.com/ZojPlcc5bw — African Revolt (@Africarevolt) March 17, 2020 Many other users on Twitter and Facebook posted the video with a similar narrative. Several users have also requested Alt News on its official mobile application to fact-check this video. The video is also circulating in the Pakistani social media ecosystem with an Urdu text. نوے کی دہائی میں صدام حسین ایک میٹنگ میں بتا رہے ہیں کہ امریکہ نے عراق پر کورونا وائرس چھوڑنے کی دھمکی دی ہے pic.twitter.com/QgZGxDzGyV — Ijazbhutta (@Ijazbhuttaa) March 15, 2020 Using the digital verification tool InVid, Alt News obtained multiple key-frames of the video. With a reverse of one of the key-frames on Russian search engine Yandex, we found a video of the same meeting posted by the YouTube channel of The Associated Press’s archive on July 21, 2015. We watched the video frame-by-frame and were able to establish that it is the same video. In the comparison posted below, we have matched two frames – one from the AP’s video and another from the viral video – to establish that it has been clipped from the latter. If one compares the audio and the video of the original footage with the viral video, it can be said that the 2:03-minute video has been manufactured by repeating visuals from the 1:18-minute original video. Moreover, it was also found that audio in the viral video has been superimposed and edited to give a false impression that Saddam Hussein had referred to the word “coronavirus” in the “1990s”. While there is not a single mention of the word “virus” in the original video, one can listen to the multiple mentions of the word “virus” in the manufactured clip. The relevant portion can be heard from 30 seconds in the video posted below. Right before Hussein begins to laugh, the previous visuals are repeated in the viral clip. Moreover, Hussein’s voice does not match the voice in the viral clip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCd1x9q0JtA The fact that Saddam Hussein doesn’t refer to ‘virus’ or ‘coronavirus’ also can be corroborated with the details given along with the AP video. According to AP’s transcription, Saddam Hussein said, “If God wills it and we have to run after the enemy, then we will do it.” It is noteworthy that time, date and location of the address couldn’t be ascertained. Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was toppled by a US-led invasion in 2003. In 2006, Hussein was hanged in Baghdad for ordering the killing of 148 Shiites in the city of Dujail in 1982. In conclusion, a clip featuring Hussein was manufactured to claim that the US had threatened Iraq with “biological weapon” COVID-19 in the year 1990. However, there is no mention of the word “virus” let alone “coronavirus” in the original footage available with the AP’s archive. Since the coronavirus outbreak, repetitive misinformation aims to convince people that the virus is a biological weapon even though scientific research says that it had a natural origin. A statement by public health scientists published in The Lancet says, “We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin. Scientists from multiple countries have published and analysed genomes of the causative agent, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and they overwhelmingly conclude that this coronavirus originated in wildlife, as have so many other emerging pathogens.” It is likely that infected bats and/or pangolins from the wet livestock market of Wuhan are the original source of the virus. 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 March 2020 / 7:56 pm / Last updated: 19th March 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-saddam-hussein-did-not-say-us-had-threatened-iraq-with-coronavirus-in-1990/", "author": "Jignesh Patel & Mohammed Zubair" }
2,251	No, Sadhvi Pragya did not say Manohar Parrikar died of cancer because he allowed beef in Goa - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 30th April 2019 / 1:11 pm “We will totally ban Beef in Goa, North-East & South India, if BJP comes to power. Manohar Parrikar died of cancer because he allowed the consumption of beef in Goa.” The above statement has been attributed to controversial BJP candidate, Sadhvi Pragya Thakur. Thakur has been in the eye of the storm after the BJP fielded the terror accused from Bhopal for the Lok Sabha election. Following her nomination, Pragya Thakur has been making news through a slew of controversial statements. Now, she has purportedly said that former Defence minister and Goa CM Manohar Parrikar died of cancer because he allowed beef consumption in the state. She has also supposedly said that her party will ban beef in Goa, Northeast and South India. The above tweet by a handle, @DigitalAtheist_ has been retweeted over 460 times since it was posted in the morning of April 29. It has now been deleted. It has been quote-tweeted by journalist Swati Chaturvedi, whose tweet has in turn been retweeted over 430 times. Chaturvedi later tweeted a clarification. Am deleting this after Vivek has pointed this out https://t.co/TUSuZSzKCJ — Swati Chaturvedi (@bainjal) April 29, 2019 On Facebook, the same was posted by a page News Today Channel on April 27. We will totally ban Beef in Goa, North-East & South India, if BJP comes to power. Manohar Parrikar died of cancer… Posted by News Today Channel on Saturday, April 27, 2019 Alt News did not come across a single credible news article which had reported this statement supposedly made by Sadhvi Pragya Thakur. The source of the statement in question, wherein Sadhvi Pragya speaks ill of Manohar Parrikar, is a website called IndiaScoops. A report published on the website on April 26, 2019 had mentioned, “Hitting out at former CM the late Manohar Parrikar for his soft stance on the consumption and sale of beef in Goa, Pragya Thakur said that Parrikar died of cancer because he allowed the consumption of beef in Goa.” IndiaScoops is a website which came under the scanner in June last year, when it published a fake report that Rs. 35 lakh had been spent by the PMO for PM Modi’s photo and video shoot on International Yoga Day on June 21. In another instance, IndiaScoops had published an article in the midst of the Rafale controversy, when it had ‘reported’ that “the entire technical staff team at Dassault Aviation were unhappy with the move to drop the Indian PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd(HAL) and go ahead with Reliance Defence Ltd.” This too was a figment of imagination. Alt News had found that IndiaScoops is run by a person named Flynn Remedios, who also operates IndiaScribes, IndiaWyre and other such websites which mostly deal with gossip and fake news. Alt News’ article can be read here. In conclusion, Sadhvi Pragya Thakur has not made any such statement saying that the BJP will ban beef in Goa, Northeast and South India; nor has she said that Manohar Parrikar died of cancer because he did not disallow beef consumption in his state. 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	30th April 2019 / 1:11 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-sadhvi-pragya-did-not-say-manohar-parrikar-died-of-cancer-because-he-allowed-beef-in-goa/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
2,252	No, Sambit Patra has not been removed from the post of BJP spokesperson - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 24th December 2018 / 9:51 pm / Last updated: 18th March 2019 Facebook page Viral in India shared a post on December 22, claiming – “संबित पत्र को बीजेपी प्रवक्ता पद से हटाया गया\| अब मंदिर कौन बनाएगा? बफसोस\| (Sambit Patra was removed from the post of BJP spokesperson. Now who will get the temple made? Disappointed (translated).” At the time of writing this article, the post attracted over 3,500 shares and 4,000 likes. A website India Time 24 published an article along similar lines. It was titled – “संबित पात्रा की छुट्टी, अब इस पूर्व मंत्री को बनाया भाजपा का राष्ट्रीय प्रवक्ता (Sambit Patra was let go, now this former minister is made the national spokesperson for BJP).” The article claimed that the decision was taken after BJP’s loss in the recent assembly elections and the person chosen for the position was BJP MP Rajeev Pratap Rudy. A correspondent of Go News 24X7 also made a similar claim, suggesting that Patra will not be addressing BJP press briefings. His tweet attracted over 400 likes and 1,000 retweets. The claims floating on social media about Samit Patra’s dismissal are false. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) website lists his name as one of the 10 official spokespersons for the party. Rajeev Pratap Rudy, a former union minister, has been appointed as a new spokesperson for the BJP and has no consequence to Patra’s position in the party. Alt News also spoke with Patra who confirmed to us that he continues to work with the BJP in the same capacity. Samit Patra has often found himself in the crosshairs of misinformation, both being a target and a purveyor. Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	24th December 2018 / 9:51 pm / Last updated: 18th March 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-sambit-patra-has-not-been-removed-from-the-post-of-bjp-spokesperson/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
2,253	No, school children in Kerala did not boycott Vande Mataram on Republic day - Alt News Alt News Desk 28th January 2019 / 5:52 pm A photograph of chidren holding green coloured flags in their hands started circulating on social media on Republic Day. It has been claimed that Muslim school children in Kerala boycotted Vande Mataram and hoisted Islamic flags. केरल में कांड ! 26 जनवरी को मुसलमानों ने स्कूलों में इस्लामी झंडे लहराए , इने क्या सजा मिलनी चाहिए ! pic.twitter.com/vFYgK84diB — Sanjaygupta (@SanjayGupta2910) January 26, 2019 The photograph has been shared widely on Twitter and Facebook. BJP Spokesperson Vaibhav Aggarwal queried Alt News regarding the veracity of the image. @AltNews @free_thinker Can You try & check this and come back on truth please ?I know this is a needle in the hay stack pic.twitter.com/2CupfuU7Uf — #VAIBHAVAggarwal #BJP (@thevaibhavag) January 28, 2019 Interestingly, Alt News found that the same pictures had been circulated in the past as well, around the time of Independence Day. The narrative was the same- Muslim school children in Kerala had hoisted Islamic flags while refusing to sing the national song. केरल के कुछ स्कूलो में मुसलमानों ने वंदे मातरम् का विरोध करते हुए स्वतंत्रता दिवस पर ईस्लामिक झंडे फहराए! 😡😡😡😡😡😡@INCKerala @CMOKerala pic.twitter.com/DlGcDnbZCp — केशव मिश्रा🇮🇳🚩 (@KeshavMishra216) August 16, 2017 ShankhNaad, which has spread misinformation in the past, had also earlier tweeted the same, claiming the incident had occurred at a school in Kerala during independence day celebrations in 2014. The green coloured flags seen in the photographs are the flag of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). IUML is a political party based in Kerala. Its banner is presented below. These images that have been circulating for a few years now are neither part of any Indpendence day celebration or Republic day celebration. The images are part of IUML’s next generation rally which took place in May, 2013 in Malappuram district in Kerala and whose pictures were posted on the IUML Facebook page. Upon juxtaposing the images side-by-side, it can be made out that the van with the yellow coloured back and the green bus are present in both the pictures, thus establishing that both the pictures represent the same event. The fact that messages like these circulate on national events like Republic Day and Independence Day points to an organised campaign to malign certain sections of the society and question their patriotism. 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	28th January 2019 / 5:52 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-school-children-in-kerala-did-not-boycott-vande-mataram-on-republic-day/", "author": "Alt News Desk" }
2,255	No, Shabana Azmi did not say, "I'll leave India if Modi again becomes PM"; fake quote viral - Alt News Priyanka Jha 17th May 2019 / 5:47 pm On May 3, a Facebook page Wise Indian Tongue – WIT shared a post claiming that Shabana Azmi said the following words, “इस बार भी अगर नरेंद्र मोदी जीत कर प्रधानमंत्री बन गए तो मैं देश छोड़ दूंगी !!! -शबाना आजमी !! (I will leave the country if Narendra Modi wins and again become the Prime Minister!!! – Shabana Azmi!!)” The post drew over 2,000 likes and 800 shares. इस बार भी अगर नरेंद्र मोदी जीत कर प्रधानमंत्री बन गए तो मैं देश छोड़ दूंगी !!! -शबाना आजमी !! Posted by Wise Indian Tongue – WIT on Friday, 3 May 2019 Apart from Facebook groups and pages, this post was also shared by multiple individual users. The alleged statement made by Azmi was posted by one Shashank Gupta on the group DR. SAMBIT PATRA FANS CLUB on May 4. Since May 10, the purported quote was being shared in the form of a meme with the images of Azmi and Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan. Bharat Vikas – भारत विकास , a page that made over 2 lakh followers, was among the page that shared the post. I Support PM shared the statement with this caption – “शबाना आझमी की तरह शाहरुख भी 23 मई के बाद शायद देश छोड़ चले जाएंगे! (Like Shabana Azmi, Shahrukh Khan will also leave the country on May 23.)” This page has more than 16 lakh followers and the post was shared over 5,000 times and had more than 7,000 likes. The comments on the post make it evident that the claim was believed to be true by social media users. As claimed by I Support PM, Khan had made a statement similar to Azmi five years ago. Alt News had earlier fact-checked the quote ascribed to Khan and found that it was false and manufactured by a parody account @jamsrk. The post now stands deleted. Khan’s Twitter handle is @imsrk. After the fake statement was viral, the actor took to Twitter and clarified that he never made any such statement. Khan had posted the clarification on May 19, 2014. 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 The same quote ascribed to Azmi could not be located on any news reports. Alt News contacted the actor who said, “This is pure fabrication. I have no intentions of leaving the country. This is where I was born and this is where I will die. I have nothing but contempt for the fake news brigade. Their desperation to try and discredit those who hold a view different from their’s is both vicious and laughable. I have never made this statement attributed to me.” This wasn’t an isolated incident when the actor was targetted using a fake quote. Earlier, we had found a false statement ascribed to her, according to which she’d said, “भारत अच्छा और महान देश नहीं है क्यूंकि यहाँ मुसलमान खुश नहीं है। (India is not a good or a great nation because Muslims are unhappy here.)” THIS IS PURE LIES being circulated in my name . Santosh Bhartiya agar aapki sahi identity hai tto prove kariye ye maine kahah kaha hai. Jhoot ki buniyaad par apni dukaan chalaane wale sharm karo !!! pic.twitter.com/g6KB3o4Tcb — Azmi Shabana (@AzmiShabana) July 13, 2018 She specializes in information verification, examining mis/disinformation, social media monitoring and platform accountability. Her aim is to make the internet a safer place and enable people to become informed social media users. She has been a part of Alt News since 2018. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	17th May 2019 / 5:47 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-shabana-azmi-did-not-say-ill-leave-india-if-modi-again-becomes-pm-fake-quote-viral/", "author": "Priyanka Jha" }
2,256	No, Shabana Azmi never said, "India is not a great country, because Muslims are not happy here" - Alt News Jignesh Patel 14th July 2018 / 11:41 am / Last updated: 14th July 2018 Message: “भारत अच्छा और महान देश नहीं है क्यूंकि यहाँ मुसलमान खुश नहीं है – शबाना आज़मी शबाना आज़मी तुम और तुम्हारे समर्थक सीरिया और पाकिस्तान चले जाओ ताकि तुम जेसे को असली ख़ुशी मिल जाये सहमत है तो शेयर करके इन लोगो को जवाब दे – संतोष भारतीय” Translation: India is not a good and great country, because the Muslims are not happy here – Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi, you and your supporters go to Syria and Pakistan so that you agree to get the real happiness as well, then by sharing, answer these people – Santosh Bhartiya An image with the above statement attributed to actress Shabana Azmi has been shared by a Facebook page, Youth India(@fansofyouthbjp). It has been shared more than 11300 times and ‘liked’ more than 16000 times. It may be noted that the page has more than 25 lakh followers. Posted by Youth India on Thursday, 12 July 2018 Many Facebook users have shared the same claim in the past as well. Alt News searched for this quote and found that this viral claim credited to Shabana Azmi has been circulating at least since 2017. Shabana Azmi rubbished the quote ascribed to her, tweeting “THIS IS PURE LIES being circulated in my name . Santosh Bhartiya agar aapki sahi identity hai tto prove kariye ye maine kahah kaha hai. Jhoot ki buniyaad par apni dukaan chalaane wale sharm karo !!!”. THIS IS PURE LIES being circulated in my name . Santosh Bhartiya agar aapki sahi identity hai tto prove kariye ye maine kahah kaha hai. Jhoot ki buniyaad par apni dukaan chalaane wale sharm karo !!! pic.twitter.com/g6KB3o4Tcb — Azmi Shabana (@AzmiShabana) July 13, 2018 Bollywood celebrities are often falsely and maliciously quoted to further a political agenda on social media. Further, it has been observed that the nature of the quotes often depends on the perceived ideological and political views of the targeted public figure. In this instance, an outrageous and completely false quotation attributed to Shabana Azmi has been circulating in the social media ecosystem for more than a year now. 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 July 2018 / 11:41 am / Last updated: 14th July 2018	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-shabana-azmi-never-said-india-is-not-a-great-country-because-muslims-are-not-happy-here/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
2,257	No, Shah Rukh Khan did not say he will leave India if Pakistani artists are banned - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 22nd February 2019 / 3:33 pm A viral message doing rounds on social media ascribes the following quote to Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan – “पाकिस्तान के कलाकारों का बहिष्कार हुआ तो मे देश छोडुंगा (I will leave the country if Pakistani artists are boycotted).” From a Facebook group नमो भक्त। हर नमो समर्थक जुड़ते ही अपने 50 मित्रो को अवश्य जोड़े। (Namo Bhakt), the message has 1,400 likes and 358 shares. The message has been shared on other right-wing Facebook groups as well – BJP SOCIAL MEDIA(बीजेपी सोशल मिडिया), Sudhir Chaudhary, भा.ज.पा : Mission 2019, Modi Mission 2019. It has also been circulated by a few Twitter users. पाकिस्तान के कलाकारों का बहिष्कार हुआ तो मे देश छोडुंगा -शाहरुख खान — Sumaira Khan (@Sumairakhan_) February 22, 2019 Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan did not make the aforementioned statement. No media reports substantiate the claims that Khan said that he will leave India if the country bans Pakistani artists. The actor had condemned the Pulwama attack on February 15, offering condolences to the families of the martyred soldiers. Heartfelt condolences to the families of our valiant jawans. May the souls of our countrymen who laid their lives down for us rest in peace. #Pulwama — Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) February 15, 2019 On February 18, All India Cine Workers Association announced a total ban on Pakistani actors and artists working in the Indian film industry. All India Cine Workers Association announce a total ban on Pakistani actors and artists working in the film industry. #PulwamaAttack pic.twitter.com/QpSMUg9r8b — ANI (@ANI) February 18, 2019 The above-mentioned piece of misinformation wasn’t the sole instance when Shah Rukh Khan was targetted after the Pulwama terror attack. Earlier, fake news that the actor had donated Rs 45 crores to Pakistan but did not offer aid to martyred soldiers in India was viral. The actor has, in fact, found himself in the crosshairs of misinformation several times in the past. Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	22nd February 2019 / 3:33 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-shah-rukh-khan-did-not-say-he-will-leave-india-if-pakistani-artists-are-banned/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
2,258	No, Shashi Tharoor isn't with wives of Pak cricketers in this photograph - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 19th June 2019 / 1:48 pm A photograph of Congress leader Shashi Tharoor with a group of women is being shared on social media as the Kerala MP in the company of “Pakistani cricketers’ wives.” A Facebook user Rajiv Tyagi was among those who circulated the image. “There’s more to winning a cricket match, than just players hitting a ball…Here’s a convincing reason why we won the match – Shashi Tharoor with Pakistan’s cricket wives,” he wrote. Several people who believed the claim to be true have made distasteful comments on Tyagi’s post. The photograph has been shared with the same claim on Twitter as well. Several people have also circulated the image along with a Hindi caption. Not all of them have claimed that Tharoor posed with wives of Pakistani cricket players but most of the posts are marred with sexist overtones – “he has formed his own team 11” and “he is on a world cup of his own.” The image was posted by Tharoor himself on February 19, 2018. He isn’t in the company of Pakistani cricketers’ wives but the women of Indore’s Entrepreneurs’ Organisation, per his tweet. With the women of Indore’s Entrepreneurs’ Organisation after a three-hour interaction tonight. (But the men asked most of the questions.) pic.twitter.com/4cJB5QoOtl — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) February 18, 2018 The Congress MP has often found himself in the crosshairs of misinformation on social media. His photographs have been mispresented and statements placed out of context. 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	19th June 2019 / 1:48 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-shashi-tharoor-isnt-with-wives-of-pak-cricketers-in-this-photograph/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
2,259	No, Shivraj Singh Chouhan did not plaster different arms in the morning and evening - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 3rd October 2019 / 3:45 pm / Last updated: 3rd October 2019 A set of two photographs of BJP MLA Shivraj Singh Chouhan is viral on social media to claim that the former MP CM had plastered different arms in the morning and in the evening. “ऐसा चमत्कार, सुबह इस हाथ में प्लास्टर, शाम को दूसरे हाथ में प्लास्टर । भगवान शिवराज सिंह चौहान जी के दोनों हाथ जल्द ठीक करे (What a miracle, this hand was plastered in the morning and in the evening, the second hand was plastered. God, please fix Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s both hands.)” – is the caption used to share the images. From the Facebook page ‘Priyanka Gandhi – Future Of India’, the post drew 13,000 shares. The photographs have also been shared on Twitter. One Pappu Singh INC has posted them with a similar caption – “भाजपा नेताओं को किसी फिल्म जगत में काम करना चाहिए। ऐसा चमत्कार, सुबह इस हाथ में प्लास्टर, शाम को दूसरे हाथ में प्लास्टर । भगवान शिवराज सिंह चौहान जी के दोनों हाथ जल्द ठीक करे.” AIPC South Mumbai Congress member Ria quote-tweeted the photographs. Individual users on both Facebook and Twitter have circulated the post. The Twitter account of Shivraj Singh Chouhan had uploaded a video of the former CM during Gandhi Jayanti. Alt News took a screenshot from a video where Chouhan is not facing the camera to make it easier for readers to understand which arm is injured. As evident, it’s the right arm which is plastered. This is also visible in other photographs uploaded by Chouhan’s office. श्री @ChouhanShivraj ने भारत के पूर्व प्रधानमंत्री स्व. लाल बहादुर शास्त्री की जयंती पर माल्यार्पण कर नमन किया। pic.twitter.com/ohBSZmpIlz — Office of Shivraj (@OfficeofSSC) October 2, 2019 Moreover, the breast pocket – which is always on the left – on Chouhan’s jacket further proves that his right arm was injured. If one notices carefully, one of the viral images is a selfie. More often than not, the front cameras of mobile phones act as mirrors. This means that photographs shot using a front camera appear laterally inverted, or reversed. For instance, when you raise your right arm in front of a mirror, the reflection appears to show that the same arm is raised. However, this is not really the case because you are facing yourself in the mirror and not standing in the same direction. Essentially, your front and back are reversed so right is left and left is right. While on some phones, photographs taken on the front camera are flipped by default, on others, one can turn off ‘mirror image’ in the camera settings. The man who clicked the selfie with Chauhan must have kept ‘mirror image’ switched-on in his camera settings, which is why it appears that Chouhan’s left arm is injured. However, if you flip the image, it is evident that the right, and not the left, arm is plastered. The photo-montage below also makes it evident that the right arm is plastered. In conclusion, two images – one shot with a back camera and the other shot with a front camera – were shared to claim that BJP MLA Shivraj Singh Chouhan plastered different arms at different times during the day. However, selfies are mirror images and it was his right arm which was injured. 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 October 2019 / 3:45 pm / Last updated: 3rd October 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-shivraj-singh-chouhan-did-not-plaster-different-arms-in-the-morning-and-evening/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
2,260	No, Sikh man injured during farmers' protest is not Captain PPS Dhillon (Retd.) - Alt News Archit 1st December 2020 / 1:51 pm / Last updated: 2nd December 2020 Amidst the recent farmers’ protest, Alt News has verified multiple claims where unrelated individuals were linked to the movement — Bilkis Bano and Dr Rajkumari Bansal — in an attempt to delegitimise the protest. Several Facebook and Twitter users have now posted a juxtaposed image of a Sikh man in military uniform and an elderly man whose eye is injured. If social media claims are to be believed, both men are the same person. “Captain PPS Dhillon from Sikh Regiment, Indian Army was thrashed after he raised his voice for farmers’ rights,” reads the viral message in an attempt to draw sympathies for the farmers’ protest, unlike most other misinformation. Indian Youth Congress member Aakash Mahant (archived link) and Facebook page ‘Vinay Dubey fan club’ (archived link) promoted the claim. Their posts were shared close to 2,000 times. भारतीय सेना की सिख रेजिमेंट से रिटायर कैप्टन #PPSDhillon ने कभी सोचा नहीं होगा कि जब वो किसान की भूमिका में अपने हक़ के… Posted by Aakash Mahant on Monday, 30 November 2020 भारतीय सेना की सिख रेजिमेंट से रिटायर कैप्टन #PPSDhillon ने कभी सोचा नहीं होगा कि जब वो किसान की भूमिका में अपने हक़ के… Posted by Vinay Dubey fan club on Monday, 30 November 2020 It was also posted MP Congress IT cell member Shilpi Singh. Her tweet gained over 200 retweets. (archived link) भारतीय सेना की सिख रेजिमेंट से रिटायर कैप्टन पीपीएस ढिल्लन ने कभी सोचा नहीं होगा कि जब वो किसान की भूमिका में अपने हक़ के लिए आवाज उठाएँगे तो bjp की ITCell के लोग उन्हें खालिस्तानी और आतंकी कहेंगे शर्म करो 2रु प्रति पोस्ट और ट्वीट के लिए ये भक्त हमारे वीर सपूत को बदनाम कर रहे हैं pic.twitter.com/141hz613d2 — SHILPI SINGH (@ShilpiSinghINC) November 30, 2020 Alt News rummaged Twitter and Facebook for context behind the two images and found that the two Sikh men are not the same person. Veteran’s image A veteran tipped us off on WhatsApp that this image was posted on Facebook by Captain PPS Dhillon (Retd.)’s son. Sukhwinder Singh, Sarpanch of Uboke village, had shared the photograph on Sikh Military History Forum on November 29. As per his post, the officer in the image is his father Hon. Captain Pirthipal Singh Dhillon, who retired from 17 Sikh Regiment in 1993. Singh also posted another image of the cake cutting on his personal profile. Today is my father’s birthday Hon. Captain pirthipal Singh Dhillon Retired in 1993 , 17 sikh regiment He is the part… Posted by Sukhwinder Singh Sarpanch Uboke on Sunday, 29 November 2020 The images were posted on the same day the veteran was claimed to have sustained injuries during farmers’ protests. This itself suggests that the viral assertion is false. Farmer’s image Farmers’ rights activist Ramandeep Singh Mann tweeted this image on November 29. Mann told Alt News, “I haven’t been able to identify the farmer yet. Will update the moment I learn more details.” एक तरफ किसान अपने हक के लिए आर पार की कर रहा है, ठिठुरती हुई ठंड में रातों को बाहर सो रहा है और दूसरी तरफ कोई आज फिर मौज से अपनी मन की बात सुना रहा है ! #FarmProtests pic.twitter.com/XqB45X44Ch — Ramandeep Singh Mann (@ramanmann1974) November 29, 2020 Twitter user @AMITKUM930 posted a short video of the farmer. 'Shame' is a small word for you !! Take back your farmers' against Bill.. More power to our #Farmers " RESPECT FARMERS "#SupportFarmers #IStandWithFarmers #FarmersProtest pic.twitter.com/LYmjscvW5N — AMIT KUMAR (@AMITKUM930) November 29, 2020 While the identity of the farmer is yet to be ascertained, he is certainly not Captain PPS Dhillon (Retd.). Their facial structure and beard do not match. It is noteworthy that the pictures began circulating with the false claim after journalist Tejinder Singh Sodhi had tweeted them. Sodhi, however, did not allege that the two individuals are the same. He clarified that his post only meant to show elderly Sikhs as both army men and farmers. Brig Sandy sir, it’s unfortunate that you removed the retweet. Nowhere I am saying in the tweet that these two people are same, it’s the RW propagandists who are calling every protesting farmer as a Khalistani, my postbwas to show an elderly Sikh as a soldier and as a farmer — Tejinder Singh Sodhi 🇮🇳 🇮🇳 (@TejinderSsodhi) November 30, 2020 🙏 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	1st December 2020 / 1:51 pm / Last updated: 2nd December 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-sikh-man-injured-during-farmers-protest-is-not-captain-pps-dhillon-retd/", "author": "Archit" }
2,261	No, State Bank of India logo was not inspired by Kankaria Lake in Ahmedabad - Alt News Shinjinee Majumder 16th August 2022 / 2:09 pm / Last updated: 16th August 2022 A claim that suggests that the official logo of the State Bank of India was inspired by the aerial view of the Kankaria Lake in Ahmedabad is being circulated on social media. A satellite imagery of the lake and the SBI logo is being shared side by side to show the similarities between the two. (Archived link) #IndiaAt75 Kankaria Lake in Ahmedabad is a circular lake with a thin piece of land connecting to the centre. It has an interesting connection This lake was the inspiration for the logo of State Bank of India, designed by National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad in 1971!! pic.twitter.com/xIrqPLxWkJ — A History a Day (@myhistorytales) August 8, 2022 The earliest tweets claiming this information were found to be from 2014. (Archived link) The logo of India’s largest public sector bank, SBI was made in Ahmedabad and inspired by city’s Kankaria lake? pic.twitter.com/8P09MjhDnl — Bharat Vijay (@ViratBharat) February 19, 2014 News media outlets like News 18, Dainik Bhaskar and Inshorts have also claimed the same information. These reports were published in 2014 and 2016 respectively. Furthermore, according to a DeshGujarat report dated February 19, 2014, the SBI CGM (Chief General Manager) at that time also claimed the same information in front of the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi. Through a keyword search on Google, Alt News found a The Hindu Business Line article dated January 20, 2018. The article is an account on the evolution of the SBI logo from a banyan tree into a keyhole. According to the article, the British had established the Imperial Bank of India (IBI) under the Imperial Bank of India Act, 1920. The Banks of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras were merged under IBI. In 1955, SBI succeeded IBI and a “banyan tree in a round coin form” was issued as the new logo. After the nationalization of banks in 1969, when ‘financial inclusion’ became a priority, SBI decided to go in for an image makeover. SBI subsequently commissioned the National Institute of Design with the job. According to former faculty Mahendra Patel’s statement to The Business Line, a two-member design team consisting of Shekhar Kamath and Vikas Satvalekar was set up for this purpose. Patel said the solid circle-with-a-keyhole symbol, resembling a lock-and-key, was the contribution of Kamath, depicting the purpose of the Bank: that SBI, the custodian, would safe-keep the customer’s money. SBI adopted the new logo on October 1, 1971. Furthermore, Alt News found a Facebook video dated November 28, 2018. The video is an interview of Shekhar Kamath with Scroll. In the video, Mr Kamath recounts, “State Bank of India logo was designed for the basic simplicity. It was a keyhole that has got particular connotation in Indian society that it (signifies) security.” Kamath took inspiration from the bank tokens that were kept near the counter, to be issued to waiting customers. At 1:30 minute mark of the video, when asked about the internet theory that the SBI logo was inspired by Kankaria Lake, Kamath laughingly says, “This whole thing about Kankaria Lake has got nothing to do with it. I haven’t been to Kankaria Lake either. There is no way I could go up and look at it down. I had no idea. And I haven’t been that side at all.” The Origin of the State Bank of India’s Logo How did the State Bank of India get its iconic logo? Here’s the designer himself recounting the story. Posted by Scroll on Thursday, 22 November 2018 Hence, it is quite evident that the SBI logo was not inspired by Kankaria Lake, contrary to claims that have been circulating on social media for almost a decade. Student of Economics at Presidency University. Interested in misinformation. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… 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 2022 / 2:09 pm / Last updated: 16th August 2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-state-bank-of-india-logo-was-not-inspired-by-kankaria-lake-in-ahmedabad/", "author": "Shinjinee Majumder" }
2,262	No, states do not levy 55% tax on domestic LPG cylinders - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 17th July 2021 / 9:50 pm / Last updated: 9th November 2021 A chart breaking down the price of LPG used by domestic customers for cooking has been shared on social media. It claims that the central government taxes Rs 24.75 per LPG cylinder while state governments add a tax of Rs 291.36. The price break-up also includes a dealer’s commission of Rs 5.50 and reads at the end, “Central Govt. Tax 5%, State Govt. Tax 55% so Please find which Government is guilty for hiking the cooking gas price. (sic)” The claim was also shared in July. GAS (LPG) ^^^^^^^^ Basic price ……….Rs. 495.00 Central Govt Tax..Rs. 24.75 Transportation. Rs. 10.00 … Posted by சுசீந்திரம் பாஜக on Thursday, 15 July 2021 The claim has been shared against the backdrop of the Modi government heavily criticised for rising domestic LPG prices. “A 14.2 kg LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) cylinder that cost Rs 594 in Delhi on July 1 last year now comes for Rs 834.5,” reported The Times of India. The rise in prices can be linked to the increase in international crude oil prices and the devaluation of the Rupee. The end consumer is further burdened as the government has eliminated subsidies on LPG. The claim was massively viral on Facebook. Alt News has also received multiple fact-check requests on its WhatsApp helpline number (+91 76000 11160). Several Twitter users have also amplified the claim. Goods and Services Tax (GST) is levied on LPG for domestic consumption to the tune of 5%. This is shared equally between the centre and state – 2.5% each. The claim that the central government levies 5% tax whereas the state levies 55% tax is false. The GST slab can be checked on the website of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. A report published by the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the Ministry of Natural Gas and Petroleum in May 2021 gives the break-up of the taxes levied on domestic LPG. As seen below, only GST is applicable. The report also states that the dealers’ commission per 14.2 kg cylinder is Rs 61.84. This is the commission given to LPG distributors and “goes towards delivery charges, that includes picking up the cylinder from the bottling plant and delivering it to the consumer, establishment costs such as salaries, rent, power and telephone bills.” The dealers’ commission is fixed by the petroleum ministry. The viral message falsely claims that the dealers’ commission is Rs 5.50. Furthermore, the government has not provided a subsidy for LPG since last year. Alt News had published a detailed report on how LPG prices are determined that can be accessed here. Readers can also access the price build-up of domestic LPG here. The viral claim that states levy a higher tax (55%) on domestic LPG than the centre (5%) is false. It is taxed at 5% GST which is equally shared between the centre and state. The claim has been promoted in support of the Modi government under criticism for rising domestic LPG prices. 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	17th July 2021 / 9:50 pm / Last updated: 9th November 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-states-do-not-levy-55-tax-on-domestic-lpg-cylinders/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
2,263	No, Statue of Unity has not developed cracks as suggested on social media - Alt News Pratik Sinha 2nd December 2018 / 1:06 pm / Last updated: 18th March 2019 “After successfully damaged 2000 notes within 2 years Sardar Statue cracking in 2 weeks” Three close-up pictures of the recently inaugurated Statue of Unity are being circulated on social media. On these pictures, certain sections of the statue have been highlighted with a blue outline. Within the areas marked by the blue outline, one can see white markings. These markings are claimed to be cracks that have been developed on a statue that was inaugurated with much fanfare on October 31, 2018. The above claim has also been made repeatedly using the Hindi translation of the aforementioned text in English, “2 साल में 2000 नोट सफलतापूर्वक क्षतिग्रस्त होने के बाद सरदार मूर्ति 2 सप्ताह में क्रेक“. Since the inauguration of Statue of Unity, the statue has been visited by over a lakh visitors. Alt News looked up publicly available photos and videos of the Statue Of Unity on Instagram and found multiple close-up shots of the statue. In the Instagram video below, which has been shot from near the base of the statue, as the camera pans upwards, one can see many white markings, similar to the ones in the viral images. It can also be seen that these white markings are at places where different individual blocks have been joined. #statueofunity #statueofliberty A post shared by 😂😂😂😂Punjabidity😂😂😂😂 (@punjabidity) on A similar observation about the blocks and the white markings can be made in this video shot by AajTak from near the feet of the Statue. At 0:21 into the video, the camera pans upwards to show the markings along the joints of the blocks as seen in the above Instagram video. The AajTak video was shot on the day of the inauguration of the statue. Therefore, the suggestion that these white markings were formed 2 weeks post the unveiling of the statue is also false and misplaced. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zz7loWl4AQ IK Patel, the CEO of Statue of Unity, in a statement to Gujarati daily Divya Bhaskar stated that the statue consists of thousands of metal plates made out of a bronze alloy which have been welded together. He stated that a special type of welding has been used for this purpose, which gives the illusion that these are cracks. He further stated that the claim that there are cracks in the statue is mere rumour-mongering. During the construction of the statue, the official website of Statue of Unity posted updates about the status of construction. In the image below, retrieved from the project status page, one can see the individual blocks that form the statue. In yet another image posted on the project status page, the statue can be seen being pre-assembled from individual blocks. Thus, the assertion on social media that the white-markings seen on the Statue of Unity are structural defects or cracks is false. Due to the sheer size of the statue, it has been assembled from individual blocks which have been welded together using bronze alloy metal sheets and the welding gives a false impression that these are cracks in the statue. Recently, a photoshopped picture of a poor family sitting near the Statue of Unity was circulated. Further, a 2008 statue of Sardar Patel by late Gujarat sculptor Jasuben Shilpi was also passed off as Statue of Unity. 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	2nd December 2018 / 1:06 pm / Last updated: 18th March 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-statue-of-unity-has-not-developed-cracks-as-suggested-on-social-media/", "author": "Pratik Sinha" }
2,264	No, Subramanian Swamy wasn't seeing off his daughter and grand daughter to Haj - Alt News Jignesh Patel 3rd July 2018 / 6:27 pm / Last updated: 12th July 2018 “हिंदुओं को मुसलमानों के खिलाफ भड़काने वाले कट्टर हिन्दू नेता सुब्रमण्यम स्वामी हैदराबाद एअरपोर्ट पर अपनी सगी बेटी और नवासी को हज पर रवाना करते हुए । लेकिन इससे आपको क्या आप तो अपना हिन्दू मूस्लिम जारी रखो। Staunch Hindu leader Subramanian Swamy, who instigates Hindus against Muslims is seeing off his own daughter and granddaughter to Haj on Hyderabad airport. But how does it matter, you carry on with your Hindu-Muslim -translated)” was posted by a Facebook user Chandan Pratihast on June 25, 2018. The post has been shared more than 19000 times and ‘liked’ more than 2500 times so far. The image shared by the account describes the women in the photo flanking Subramanian Swamy as her daughter and granddaughter. The post calls out the supposed hypocrisy of Swamy who has often taken a hardline position on sensitive issues. हिंदुओं को मुसलमानों के खिलाफ भड़काने वाले कट्टर हिन्दू नेता सुब्रमण्यम स्वामी हैदराबाद एअरपोर्ट पर अपनी सगी बेटी और नवासी को हज पर रवाना करते हुए । लेकिन इससे आपको क्या आप तो अपना हिन्दू मूस्लिम जारी रखो । 👇 Posted by Chandan Pratihast on Sunday, 24 June 2018 It has also been shared on Facebook and Twitter. Moreover, the post from a page named Aam Admi Zindabad(आम आदमी जिंदाबाद) has been shared more than 3900 times. हिंदुओं को मुसलमानों के खिलाफ भड़काने वाले कट्टर हिन्दू नेता सुब्रमण्यम स्वामी हैदराबाद एअरपोर्ट पर अपनी सगी बेटी और नवासी को हज पर रवाना करते हुए । लेकिन इससे आपको क्या आप तो अपना हिन्दू मूस्लिम जारी रखो । 👇 Posted by Aam Admi Zindabad(आम आदमी जिंदाबाद) on Sunday, 24 June 2018 Doing a reverse image search on Google throws up a list of tweets, out of which Jagdish Shetty’s tweet on May 4, 2018, was the one of the earliest on social media platforms. See this in Bengaluru Airport ! Muslim women appreciative of Dr Subramanian @Swamy39 & even want to get photographed with him ! Speaks volumes of his role & how they want Triple Talaq to be banned ! Nation on the March ! pic.twitter.com/gUTegoUTx1 — Jagdish Shetty (@jagdishshetty) May 4, 2018 To find out more about the photograph, Alt News contacted Shetty who said, “I had clicked the picture myself. These are the women who wanted a picture with Subramanian Swamy when he was rushing at the airport.” The women in the photograph are NOT his daughter and granddaughter as claimed. Subramanian Swamy was indeed present in Bengaluru on May 4, 2018, for a Times Now debate during the Karnataka Assembly election. WATCH: Subramanian Swamy Vs Prakash Raj as they debate on ‘Why Do Liberals Fear Hindutva?’ #KarnatakaNow Tune into TIMES NOW or watch live: https://t.co/KKU3IOiZJz — TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) May 5, 2018 Political leaders are popular targets for mischief mongers on social media who often resort to distortion and misrepresentation of the surrounding narrative. Swamy is simply the latest victim of this tendency. 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	3rd July 2018 / 6:27 pm / Last updated: 12th July 2018	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-subramanian-swamy-wasnt-seeing-off-his-daughter-and-grand-daughter-to-haj/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
2,265	No, Sushant Singh Rajput's ex-manager Disha Salian is not in this photo with Sooraj Pancholi - Alt News Archit 6th August 2020 / 9:47 pm The foul media coverage and social media obsession with actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death give birth to new conspiracy theories every passing day. The latest addition to this hubbub is the claim that Rajput’s manager Disha Salian was photographed with actor Sooraj Pancholi. Disha Salian had passed away days before Rajput’s death on June 14. Social media grapevine linked Salian’s death with Pancholi who has been surrounded by controversies ever since his girlfriend and actor Jiah Khan died by suicide in 2013. On August 5, Twitter account @KanganaOffical, a parody account with 25,000 followers, had posted an image claiming that Pancholi lied about never meeting Salian. Its tweet said, “Pancholi said he doesn’t knew [know] Disha. He Never Met Her In His Entire Life. #SCForSushant”. This has been retweeted over 1000 times (archived link). Other Twitter users also posted the image with an identical claim. Screenshot of this tweet and similar posts were spotted on Facebook. In the wee hours of August 5, Pancholi made a post on Instagram refuting social media claims. He wrote, “That girl in the picture which was clicked in 2016 is not “Disha Salian” that is my friend @agaur21 (Anushri Gaur) who doesn’t even live in India… I have said this before and I’m saying it again I have never met or spoken to Disha Salian in my life”. Pancholi is the man wearing a cap and the woman next to him is Gaur. Complete bullshit!! #FuckYouFakeMEDIA Is this the media we are supposed to trust?? That girl in the picture which was clicked in 2016 is not “Disha Salian” that is my friend @agaur21 (Anushri Gaur) who doesn’t even live in India .. Please stop brainwashing people and PLEASE stop harassing me and dragging me into this ! Start being responsible of your actions as it can ruin someone’s life ! I have said this before and I’m saying it again “I have never met or spoken to Disha Salian in my life” Seriously FUCK YOU AND FUCK YOUR FAKE NEWS! 🖕🏽 I’ve had enough. A post shared by Sooraj Pancholi (@soorajpancholi) on Aug 5, 2020 at 10:09am PDT Gaur also replied to this post, thanking Pancholi for “posting the truth.” Alt News reached out to Gaur via Instagram and she confirmed that the one next to Pancholi is her. She added that the other woman in the photo is Athiya Shetty, daughter of actor Sunil Shetty. “The photograph was taken at Athiya’s birthday party in 2016,” she said. A fan account dedicated to Sooraj Pancholi had tweeted a picture of him with Gaur. Evidently, the woman in the viral image and the one in this photo are the same. Handsome😻 Sooraj baba with Beautiful Anushri Gaur 😍😊 Keep Smiling hero ☺☺ We Love u ❤❤💚😍😘😘@soorajpancholi9 pic.twitter.com/Rcxo8gLFHh — Sooraj Pancholi Fanclub (@beingfanforever) November 8, 2016 It is noteworthy that Gaur had blamed the media for misreporting that the woman in the picture is Disha Salian. He shared a screenshot of a Mirror Now broadcast where the picture was aired. However, Mirror Now did not claim that Pancholi was photographed with Salian. On August 5, during its daily show ‘The Urban Debate’, the channel said that the picture is being shared with the claim that the woman is Salian, which was denied by Sooraj Pancholi’s father Aditya Pancholi. Mirror Now then played Aditya Pancholi’s clarification. Thus a picture of Sooraj Pancholi with a friend was shared with the false claim that he was photographed with Sushant Singh Rajput’s former manager Disha Salian. 🙏 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	6th August 2020 / 9:47 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-sushant-singh-rajputs-ex-manager-disha-salian-is-not-in-this-photo-with-sooraj-pancholi/", "author": "Archit" }
2,266	No, Swara Bhasker did not abuse Major Gogoi or the Indian army - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 11th August 2018 / 6:38 pm / Last updated: 11th August 2018 Bollywood actress Swara Bhasker, responding to Sadhguru’s “liberals are fanatics remark”, tweeted that “some ass*** with big caste pride tied men to a jeep, flogged them publicly and recorded it (but Sadhguru says liberals are fanatics).” Some assholes with big caste pride, tied men to a jeep, flogged them publicly and recorded it ; #ButLiberalsAreFanatics #SadhguruSays — Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) August 10, 2018 Soon after, she was attacked on Twitter by many who claimed that the actress abused Major Leetut Gogoi and the Indian army. They assumed that Bhasker was referring to the Kashmir “human shield” incident. Among the many who attacked her were the ones followed by senior BJP leaders like Smriti Irani, Piyush Goyal’s office and BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya (1, 2, 3, 4). There were also several others followed by PM Modi (1,2,3,4). A Twitter user @dishasatra, who is followed by Piyush Goyal’s Office, responded to Bhasker by posting a picture of herself in a t-shirt with the image of the man who was tied to a jeep in Kashmir and the caption – “Indian army saving your ass whether you like it or not.” Her post was retweeted nearly 7,000 times. Hi @ReallySwara 🔥😎 pic.twitter.com/bUvi791WlI — Sabudana khichadi (@Dishasatra) August 10, 2018 The t-shirt is sold by an e-commerce website tshirtbhaiya.com, owned by BJP Delhi spokesperson Tajinder Singh Bagga. After Bhasker’s tweet went viral due to the enormous right-wing backlash, Bagga began giving discounts on his “human shield” t-shirt using the hashtag #SwaraKoMirchiLagi. Use the DISCOUNT COUPEN #SwaraKoMirchiLagi at Checkout & Get Rs 100 DISCOUNT on Major Gogoi T-Shirt pic.twitter.com/bImz4Kd9qr — TShirtBhaiya.Com (@TShirtBhaiya) August 10, 2018 Twitter user Gaurav Pradhan also lashed out on Bhasker and abused her father, a former naval officer. Pradhan is followed by PM Modi and Piyush Goyal Office’s on Twitter. An asshole babu who clubbed with ISI and was a pet dog of muridke sent her daughter to clifton road. so that she can have a 2 minute appearance in the screen. Each time her movie flops the sane asshole dad have to sent her daughter to clifton to get a role in a flop movie pic.twitter.com/vicLbWXy1i — #GauravPradhan 🇮🇳 (@DrGPradhan) August 10, 2018 Another user followed by Piyush Goyal’s office tweeted an email of a criminal complaint filed by his organisation “India Against Biased Media” against Bhasker. The complaint has been filed under IPC Section 124A (sedition). #IABM files Criminal Case of Sedition against @ReallySwara for Inciting hatred towards Indian Army. People like her must be taught a lesson.. At least 100 similar cases must be filed against her across the country.. @ippatel pic.twitter.com/oH11yMhZP9 — Vibhor Anand (@vibhor_anand) August 11, 2018 The actress’ tweet was also picked up by Postcard News, HMP News and Satya Vijayi, who wrote articles saying that the actress abused the Indian army. After self-styled Godman Sadhguru’s comment that “liberals are fanatics”, Swara Bhasker sent out a series of tweets using the hashtags #ButLiberalsAreFanatics #SadhguruSays. She made out multiple tweets related to atrocities that took place across the country in recent times. Her tweet on “ass*** tied men to jeep” was not related to Major Gogoi or the Indian army but the 2016 Una flogging where seven members of a Dalit family were tied to a jeep and beaten with iron rods for skinning a dead cow. The actress clarified the same on Twitter after her post was completely misinterpreted. Obviously ‘big caste pride’ is referring to the #Una case in Gujarat.. sigh! Read the newspapers, use your brains.. or don’t – whatever! https://t.co/PKPTQphCc3 — Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) August 10, 2018 Swara Bhasker has often found herself in the crosshairs of the right-wing who target her for her vocal views on certain issues. She has also been a repeated victim of misinformation with morphed tweets and fake quotes circulated in her name. 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	11th August 2018 / 6:38 pm / Last updated: 11th August 2018	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-swara-bhasker-did-not-abuse-major-gogoi-or-the-indian-army/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
2,267	No, temples are not charged more for electricity than mosques and churches in Tamil Nadu - Alt News Archit 21st May 2020 / 12:26 pm / Last updated: 21st May 2020 In the past few days, several Twitter users have posted an illustration that claims that electricity charges for temples are higher than what mosques and churches have to pay in Tamil Nadu. As per the image, temples have to pay Rs 8 per unit while mosques and churches pay Rs 2.85 per unit. Twitter user @Dix5a posted the viral image and tagged Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy in her tweet. Her tweet was retweeted over 1,400 times (archive link). Dushyant Singh Jadaun, who claims to be a devotee of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his Twitter bio, posted the viral image and wrote, “This is called sickularism Charge temples for everything high be it electricity ,water etc ,give rebates to other communities . And eye on the temples treasury.” This post has been retweeted over 150 times (archive link). Several Twitter users have shared this image along with the identical text as seen in Jadaun’s tweet. These tweets have been shared with Hindi hashtag #मंदिर_धन_भक्तों_का — which translates to #TempleWealthBelongsToDevotees Alt News has received several requests to fact-check this on WhatsApp (+917600011160) and on our official Android application. In order to verify the tariff imposed by the Tamil Nadu government, Alt News visited the website of Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO). The latest tariff schedule is found under Billing Services > Schedule of Tariff > Abstract of tariff schedule. These rates were last revised in 2017. As per the tariff schedule, there are two categories of the voltage of electricity supply: high tension (voltage of 11 kilo-volts or above and connected load over 112 kW) and low tension (voltage up to 415 volts and connected load up to 112 kW). Unlike in high tension supply, the tariff is calculated on a bi-monthly basis for low tension supply. The cost for all places of worship are listed under three categories in the above-mentioned tariff schedule — Alt News spoke with a senior officer at TANGEDCO who said, “The last tariff order in Tamil Nadu fixed by the State Regulatory Commission was in 2017. There has been no change in the tariff structure since then. Our engineer visits the site to verify if the public is allowed to worship. If so then he can sanction concessional tariff. No certificate from HR&CE or Wakf etc is required. So there is no discrimination on grounds of religion.” A similar claim was made last year. It was debunked by the Tamil fact-checking website You Turn. Thus the social media claim is false and misleading. All religious places are charged equally for electricity by the Tamil Nadu government. Just like the hashtag #मंदिर_धन_भक्तों_का, in the first week of May, Twitter hashtag #LootTemplesGiftMinorities was racked up to spread false and communal misinformation that Tamil Nadu government directed temples to pay Rs 10 crores to fund 5,450 tonnes of free rice for mosques during Ramzan — read Alt News fact-check report for more details. The false claim has led several users to question if temple across India are charged higher for electricity consumption than mosques and churches. Twitter user @mayamadhava posted an identical claim without mentioning the Tamil Nadu and asked, “Can somebody check whether this is true?” His tweet was retweeted over 750 times (archive link). 🙏 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 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	21st May 2020 / 12:26 pm / Last updated: 21st May 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-temples-are-not-charged-more-for-electricity-than-mosques-and-churches-in-tamil-nadu/", "author": "Archit" }
2,268	No, terrorist Syed Salahuddin did not contest Kashmir elections on Congress ticket in 1987 - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 23rd January 2019 / 2:26 pm / Last updated: 23rd January 2019 A Facebook page Narendra Modi – True Indian shared a post on January 22, claiming that Syed Mohammed Yusuf Shah, popularly known as Syed Salahuddin, had contested Kashmir assembly elections in 1987 on a Congress ticket. Salahuddin is a Kashmiri separatist militant and the head of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen. At the time of writing this article, the post was shared over 5,600 times. The post carried a stamp ‘The Fearless Indian’, which led us to the Facebook page that created the infographic in 2017. It has nearly 9,000 shares. ‘The Fearless Indian’ is a pro-BJP page that is run by BJYM’s national co-convenor of IT and social media Devang Dave. The claim that Salahuddin contested for the seat of Kashmir MLA on Congress’s ticket in 1987 is false. He had, in fact, contested the elections on the ticket of the Muslim United Front (MUF). Several media reports – The Caravan, Rising Kashmir, India Today – have penned his fact, especially as the 1987 elections were a watershed moment in Kashmir’s political history. Syed Salahuddin had fought the 1987 elections from the assembly constituency Amira Kadal. That Syed Salahuddin contested on a Congress ticket is a false claim viral since 2017. Fake News website Post Card News (article now deleted) and website Kashmir News Observer had published articles citing Dainik Bhaskar as the source of the information. However, Dainik Bhaskar was falsely quoted as the media outlet itself wrote that Salahuddin was representing the MUF. The Quint had debunked the misinformation in 2017. The usual suspects – Anshul Saxena, Gaurav Pradhan, Mahesh Vikram Hegde, Rishi Bagree – had helped spread the false claim. In conclusion, Syed Salahuddin did not contest the 1987 Kashmir elections on a Congress ticket but fought on a Muslim United Front ticket. 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 January 2019 / 2:26 pm / Last updated: 23rd January 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-terrorist-syed-salahuddin-did-not-contest-kashmir-elections-on-congress-ticket-in-1987/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
2,269	No, Hyderabad rape accused are not minors given fictional Hindu identities by police - Alt News Jignesh Patel 5th December 2019 / 9:37 pm / Last updated: 6th December 2019 An article, published by a website named The Youth is being widely shared on social media. The title of the article while citing a statement by self-proclaimed saint Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati reads, “All accused of Hyderabad Rape were Muslims, police admit to change their names”. “Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati said that the name of three rapists has been changed to Hindu by police under the pretext of the minor. But the truth is that they all were Muslim”, stated the article published on December 4, 2019. Multiple users on social media have shared the article with similar claims. Twitter user Jagadish Hiremut posted the article saying, “Can anyone confirm this story. If it is true then Hyderabad police & their political masters are bigger criminals”. “All accused of Hyderabad Rape were Muslims, police admit to change their names”- Says Swami Narhari Can anyone confirm this story. If it is true then Hyderabad police & their political masters are bigger criminals https://t.co/8fuRjO5sQq — Dr Jagadish J Hiremut (@Kaalateetham) December 5, 2019 Meena Das Narayan, a verified Twitter handle who claims to be the “Editor-in Chief of Gulf Connoisseur” and is followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the platform, also posted the article. She tweeted, “Names changed by Police to hide religion of rapist”. The tweet has now been taken down. You can access the archived version here. On December 2, Narsinghanand Saraswati claimed via a video that all the rape-accused in the Hyderabad rape case were minors, hence the names given by the police are “fictional”. He also added that all the accused are from the same religion. A post on Twitter from his handle, which includes the video, has amassed over 2,100 retweets so far. https://youtu.be/BUjqj4BUtzo In the video, an article by website Hinduexistence.org published on November 29, 2019, was cited as the source. Alt News found that the claim about the police hiding the religious identity of the rape-accused because they were minors is false. In a press note issued by the Cyberabad police, the age of the all the four accused is mentioned. None of the accused is below 18. The same was reiterated in a press briefing after the incident. The police identified the accused as – Pasha, 26-year-old lorry driver, Shiva and Naveen, 20-year-old lorry cleaners and Keshavulu, 20-year-old lorry driver. Moreover, The Quint spoke with the families of all the four accused. The article identified Jollu Shiva’s father as Jollu Rajappa, Jollu Naveen’s mother as Laxmi (sister of Jollu Rajappa), Chintakunta Chennakeshavulu’s mother is Jayamma, and Mohammed alias Areef’s mother Molanbi. Cyberabad police responded to a query on Twitter regarding Saraswati’s claim and dubbed it, “fake news”. Sir, it’s fake news. Please don’t trust this kind of rumours. — Cyberabad Police (@cyberabadpolice) December 4, 2019 In conclusion, the claim that three of four accused in the Hyderabad rape case were Muslims and minors hence given fictional Hindu identities is false. Cyberabad has also called out the claim on Twitter. 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 December 2019 / 9:37 pm / Last updated: 6th December 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-the-accused-in-hyderabad-gang-rape-case-are-not-minors/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
2,270	No, the elderly man pelting stone in Kanpur is not Muslim cleric from Muzaffarnagar - Alt News Jignesh Patel 31st December 2019 / 2:15 pm / Last updated: 31st December 2019 Author Bhaavna Arora tweeted two images – a screenshot of an injured elderly man and a photo of an old man who can be seen pelting a stone – along with the message, “Chacha patharbaaji karega to kya khane ko milega? Biryani? (Uncle, if you pelt stones, what will you eat? Biryani?)”. Her tweet has garnered over 1,000 retweets. Chacha patharbaaji karega to kya khane ko milega? Biryani? pic.twitter.com/PQhRNOlKe4 — bhaavna arora (@BhaavnaArora) December 30, 2019 Another Twitter user Vivek posted the images and quipped, “Newton’s third law: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Newton’s third law: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. https://t.co/p53dWz10z0 pic.twitter.com/sCX3UUhMGL — Vivekk \| विवेक \| বিবেক \| விவேக் \| (@oyevivekk) December 29, 2019 One more tweet, comparing the same two images, has garnered more than 1,000 retweets so far. Sochta hu wo kitne maasoom the,kya se kya ho gaye dekhte dekhte….. 😭😭😭 #UPPoliceZindabad pic.twitter.com/3FEpRsC2v2 — ᴬᴹᴮᴱᴿ (@dafa_ho__jao) December 30, 2019 Alt News found that the two men are not the same person as suggested on social media. With a keyword search on Google, Alt News found a PDF version of Hindustan Times’s Lucknow edition which was published on December 22, 2019. However, according to the caption of the image, it was shot on December 21 (Saturday). “An elderly man throws a stone during the protest in Kanpur on Saturday,” reads the caption. The man is unidentified in the photo. The other image is of Maulana Asad Raza Hussaini, 65, who along with students staying in the Saadat hostel, Muzaffarnagar, was beaten up and taken into custody by the police. Hussaini was bedridden with multiple injuries, according to a December 24 report by Firstpost. Journalist Narendra tweeted Hussaini’s image on December 29, 2019. #मुज़फ्फरनगर के विश्वविख्यात मुस्लिम शिक्षाविद मौलाना असद रज़ा हुसैनी को @muzafarnagarpol ने दी थर्ड डिग्री,इसी साल भारत सरकार ने दिया था राष्ट्रपति पुरस्कार,मौलाना असद के अनाथालय के छात्रों को भी थर्ड डिग्री@naqvimukhtar @narendramodi @Uppolice My story-https://t.co/fm0FCl62PK pic.twitter.com/xapZOBo9mT — Narendra (@hindipatrakar) December 29, 2019 According to a hostel staffer quoted in a December 31 report in The Times of India, Hussaini was dragged out of the madrassa-cum-orphanage and taken to a discreet location. He was allegedly assaulted for hours before he was let off in the wee hours of December 21 following intervention by influential people from the region. The Times of India quotes his age as 72. Another report by Bharat Samachar reports similar details. It says that Maulana Asad Raza Hussaini, a renowned Muslim cleric, was dragged out of the hostel and beaten up by Muzaffarnagar police during a search operation to comb out rioters. In conclusion, a photograph of an injured Muslim cleric who was brutally thrashed by the police in Muzaffarnagar was falsely shared along with an image of an unidentified stone pelter to suggest that the police excess was in retaliation to stone-pelting. 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 December 2019 / 2:15 pm / Last updated: 31st December 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-the-elderly-man-pelting-stone-in-kanpur-is-not-muslim-cleric-from-muzaffarnagar/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
2,271	No, the govt has NOT exempted tax up to Rs 5 lakh income; no change in tax slabs - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 1st February 2019 / 9:59 pm / Last updated: 2nd February 2019 Union finance minister Piyush Goyal presented interim budget 2019 in the Lok Sabha on February 1, with major proposals aimed at the unorganised sector and the middle-class. One of the most talked about sops announced by the government was the relief proposed for middle-class taxpayers. This was widely perceived as a change in tax slab, with taxable income up to Rs 5 lakh to fall under “tax exemption” category. However, there have been no proposals to alter the existing tax slabs. The finance minister said in the Lok Sabha – “For the present, the existing rates of income tax will continue for FY 2019-20 also. I propose the following changes – Individual taxpayers having annual taxable incomes up to Rs 5 lakh will get full tax rebate.” #BudgetWithNDTV \| “Individual taxpayers having annual income upto Rs 5 lakh will get full tax rebate”: @PiyushGoyal in #Budget2019 speech Track updates here: https://t.co/3kzbcp8SBO Follow special coverage on https://t.co/ckvRk4CUuH and NDTV 24×7 pic.twitter.com/K3OHXKLk36 — NDTV (@ndtv) February 1, 2019 This means that the government has NOT proposed to change tax slabs by including taxpayers earning up to Rs 5 lakh under the “exempt” category. It has, in fact, proposed to give them a full rebate in case they pay more than their tax liability. According to the current tax slabs (which are to continue for FY 2019-20), individuals with an income of up to Rs 2.5 lakh do not need to pay taxes. When the total income exceeds Rs 2.5 lakh but not more than Rs 5 lakh, taxpayers are liable to pay 5% tax on the amount exceeding Rs 2.5 lakh. For instance, if your taxable income is Rs 3.5 lakh, you are required to pay a 5% tax on Rs 1 lakh. If the total income is more than Rs 5 lakh per annum, not exceeding Rs 10 lakh, the tax liability is Rs 12,500 plus 20% on the amount over and above Rs 5 lakh. This means that if you earn Rs 7 lakh annually, you are required to pay Rs 52,000 (12,500+20% of 2,00,000) in taxes. Where the total income exceeds Rs 10 lakh, the tax liability is Rs 1,12,500 plus 30% on the amount over and above Rs 10 lakh. The aforementioned slabs will remain in their present form, while the government has proposed to give a full rebate to individuals earning up to Rs 5 lakh taxable income. This does not mean that only the income exceeding Rs 5 lakh will be taxed by the government. An individual earning Rs 7 lakh would still need to pay taxes on Rs 4.5 lakh as the Indian tax system allows tax exemption only up to Rs 2.5 lakh. Tax exemption is the income, expenditure and investment on which no tax is levied (up to Rs 2.5 lakh). Tax rebate, on the other hand, is a relief provided in the form of a refund on taxes in case an individual pays more than his tax liability. Section 87A of the Income Tax Act provides a rebate of Rs 2,500 or the tax payable (whichever is lower) for individuals with total income not exceeding Rs 3.5 lakh. The government has proposed a change in Section 87A. Finance minister Piyush Goyal recommended a full rebate to taxpayers earning up to Rs 5 lakh taxable income. This means that the taxpayer can get a tax rebate of Rs 12,500 (5% of Rs 2.5 lakh). In his speech, the finance minister also said that any person having a gross income up to Rs 6.5 lakh will not be required to pay any taxes. Section 80C of the Income Tax Act permits a maximum amount of deduction of up to Rs 1.5 lakh on tax-free investments like life insurance, provident fund, LIC mutual fund, Sukanya Samridhi Account, etc. Tax deductions are reductions from a taxpayer’s gross income so as to lower the amount subject to tax. If an individual earns Rs 6.5 lakh per annum, they can claim a tax rebate on Rs 5 lakh and invest the remaining Rs 1.5 lakh in tax-free investment options. In essence, they will not be paying any tax on their gross income of Rs 6.5 lakh. The Income Tax Act, however, allows deductions over and above Section 80C. Moreover, the government has also proposed to increase the standard deduction limit to Rs 50,000. Standard tax deduction for salaried persons raised from 40,000 rupees to 50,000 rupees: FM Shri Piyush Goyal #Budget2019 https://t.co/bwq6afFrrs — PIB India (@PIB_India) February 1, 2019 Standard deduction allows for a flat deduction from income of salaried persons toward expenses that would be incurred in relation to their employment. It falls under Section 16 of the Income Tax Act. In 2018, it was set at Rs 40,000 and has now been proposed to be increased by Rs 10,000. Apart from deductions allowed under Section 80C (Rs 1.5 lakh) and proposed standard deduction (Rs 50,000), a taxpayer also enjoys other deductions under various sections of the Income Tax Act. Section 80CCD(1B) states, “As per section 80CCD(1B), an assessee referred to in 80CCD(1) shall be allowed a deduction in computation of his income, of the whole of the amount paid or deposited in the previous year in his account under the pension scheme notified or as may be notified by the Central Government, which shall not exceed Rs. 50,000.” Section 80D allows deduction in respect of health insurance premium for self and/or family members. The maximum deductible amount is Rs 25,000 and in case of a senior citizen in the family, the limit is Rs 50,000. Lastly, Section 80TTA provides a maximum deduction of Rs 10,000 (to non-senior citizens) on income earned by way of interest on deposits (not being time deposits) in a savings account. According to an Economic Times analysis, a salaried person with an income of up to Rs 7.75 lakh would pay zero taxes if s/he avails the aforementioned deductions and rebate. The interim finance budget does not propose any changes in tax slabs but expands the scope of tax rebate (Rs 12,500 from Rs 2,500) and standard deduction (Rs 50,000 from Rs 40,000). However, the changes were branded as “tax exemption” by many, including BJP MLA CT Ravi and media outlets like Reuters, The Telegraph and The Hindu Business Line. Zee News and Times Now ran misleading broadcasts claiming that the government has proposed to alter the existing tax slabs. After the initial misreport, some news organisations and journalists clarified the faux pas (1, 2). 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	1st February 2019 / 9:59 pm / Last updated: 2nd February 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-the-govt-has-not-exempted-tax-up-to-rs-5-lakh-income-no-change-in-tax-slabs/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
2,272	No, the person who slapped Hardik Patel is not a Congressman - Alt News Jignesh Patel & Smit Bhatt 19th April 2019 / 8:53 pm / Last updated: 19th April 2019 Hardik Patel, who is a Patidar leader from Gujarat and joined Congress earlier this year, was reportedly slapped by one Tarun Gajjar at a rally in Surendranagar, Gujarat. Soon after the incident, a Facebook page, I Support Modi ji and BJP, shared a collage of two pictures featuring Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Hardik Patel. In the image placed at the top, Gandhi is flanked by an unidentified person, while in the bottom image, a picture of the incident where Patel was slapped at a rally has been placed. It is being claimed that the man who attacked Patel was also seen with Rahul Gandhi at some other event in the past. It implicitly suggests that the accused in this incident is a Congressman and ergo, it’s a “Congress gimmick”. Social media users have shared this image on Twitter and Facebook with an identical narrative that the accused is a member of the Congress party, who was set up by the party itself to gain traction during the election campaign. Twitter user, @Nationalist_RSS, also posted the image with a similar claim. अपनी पार्टी के लोगों से सभा में थप्पड़ मरवाना भी आजकल कांग्रेस के चुनाव प्रचार का हिस्सा है।😏😏 pic.twitter.com/sxBRJ9SLY5 — Chowkidaar Mayank (@Mayankforbjp) April 19, 2019 The image and the accompanying claim are circulating on WhatsApp as well. A Google reverse image search of the picture, where Gandhi is seen with the said accused, yields no results. Upon closer examination, Alt News found that the lady standing behind Gandhi and this unidentified person is former Congress leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who had joined BJP in October 2016. We did a YouTube search with the keywords, “Rita Bahuguna Joshi Rahul Gandhi rally”, and found a video of a Kisan Yatra rally in Congress president Rahul Gandhi and this unidentified person had participated. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRlxHp3eGC4 The man sitting next to Rahul Gandhi in the above video is a Congress leader named Anugrah Narayan Singh. Posted by Anugrah Narayan Singh INC on Monday, 25 June 2018 We also found the same image posted in an article, published by The Financial Express on September 16, 2018. This photograph pertains to the Kisan Yatra rally organized by the Congress party. A portion of the image was mischievously cropped to suggest that the leader was seen with the accused who slapped Hardik Patel in Surendranagar. It may be reiterated that the person who attacked Patel in a rally at Surendranagar is Tarun Gajjar, as reported by the media. Tarun Gajjar: Then again during his rally in Ahmedabad when I had gone to get medicine for my child, everything was shut down. He shuts down the roads, he shuts down Gujarat whenever he wants to, What is he? Gujarat’s hitler? (2/2) https://t.co/QXo30wJmAB — ANI (@ANI) April 19, 2019 In conclusion, the person involved in the attack on Hardik Patel is not a Congressman as suggested on social media. It is established that the person seen with Rahul Gandhi is Anugrah Narayan Singh, Congress in-charge for Uttarakhand and NOT Tarun Gajjar who slapped Hardik Patel. Apart from the fact that both these men have a similar forehead and beard, there is no other resemblance. 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 April 2019 / 8:53 pm / Last updated: 19th April 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-the-person-who-slapped-hardik-patel-is-not-a-congressman/", "author": "Jignesh Patel & Smit Bhatt" }
2,273	No, the portrait of Maharaja Ranjit Singh has not been removed from the Punjab CMO - Alt News Kalim Ahmed 22nd March 2022 / 7:51 pm / Last updated: 24th March 2022 After the Aam Aadmi Party’s Bhagwant Mann took over as Chief Minister of Punjab, a set of photos were tweeted by Priti Gandhi, the former social media in-charge of BJP Mahila Morcha. She attacked the Aam Aadmi Party for allegedly replacing the portrait of Maharaja Ranjit Singh with the portraits of Bhagat Singh and Dr. BR Ambedkar. Gandhi also added that this was an attack on the Sikh identity and whether it was Akali dal in power or Congress, no previous governments had dared to replace the portrait of Maharaja Ranjit Singh from the CM office. Kejriwal govt’s disrespectful attack on Sikh identity. Punjab govt removes photo of Maharaja Ranjit Singh from Punjab Chief Minister’s Office. Do note, whether it was Akali dal or Congress, no one in the past dared to remove the portrait of Maharaja Ranjit Singh from the CMO. pic.twitter.com/f3NWJzGdTs — Priti Gandhi – प्रीति गांधी (@MrsGandhi) March 17, 2022 The Punjab Lok Congress also tweeted the claim without the viral image. Removing Sher-e-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s picture from Chief Minister’s office is unacceptable. Maharaja Ranjit Singh is a great symbol of Punjabis’ pride, valour and courage. Nobody can take his place. Appeal @BhagwantMann to restore it. — Punjab Lok Congress (@plcpunjab) March 17, 2022 The claim is also viral on Facebook with infographics in Hindi. The claim that the portrait of Maharaja Ranjit Singh has been removed from the Punjab CMO is patently false. A simple keyword search led us to a tweet by ANI, where a portrait of Maharaja Ranjit Singh is clearly visible behind Mann, in his maiden cabinet meeting. Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann addressed his maiden meeting after assuming charge as the Chief Minister of the state. He urged the top brass of state civil & police administration to discharge their duties as public servants in the letter and spirit: CMO pic.twitter.com/2MrNQeNWJY — ANI (@ANI) March 17, 2022 The conference room in the above picture is the same as the one where Parkash Singh Badal and Charanjit Singh Channi’s photos have been taken. We performed a keyword search on Twitter and came across the photo of Captain Amarinder Singh with the portrait of Maharaja Ranjit Singh behind him. This photo was tweeted by Amarinder himself. However, it appears that the portrait behind him and the wall does not match the portrait and the wall in the conference room. After performing a keyword search on Google, we found a photo of Captain Amarinder Singh in the same conference room with the same portrait behind him. To conclude, the portrait of Maharaja Ranjit Singh is still in the conference room where it used to be. We performed a keyword search and checked for photos of the CMO when Charanjit Singh Channi took over. After rummaging through the results we found a photo of an office similar to the one where Bhagwant Mann is sitting. There were no portraits of Maharaja Ranjit Singh visible behind Channi. We also found a video of Mann’s office on YouTube. Comparing the stills from the video, it can be concluded that it is the same office and there was no portrait of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the office when Channi had taken over as the CM. We also came across photos of Captain Amarinder Singh in the same room from 2018. The photos were taken during the swearing-in ceremony of IAS Mandeep Sandhu, who took charge as the chief commissioner of Punjab’s transparency and accountability commission. The same woodwork and portrait are visible in these photos. Hence, a painting behind Mann was replaced with the portraits of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Dr. BR Ambedkar. Update: We have updated the article to include additional details about a photo of Bhagwant Mann that was also circulated with the viral claim. Kalim is a journalist with a keen interest in tech, misinformation, culture, etc Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	22nd March 2022 / 7:51 pm / Last updated: 24th March 2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-the-portrait-of-maharaja-ranjit-singh-has-not-been-removed-from-the-punjab-cmo/", "author": "Kalim Ahmed" }
2,274	No, The Wire didn’t ‘apologise’ in the Jay Shah defamation case - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 20th March 2021 / 4:52 pm / Last updated: 20th March 2021 A widespread message, shared by several prominent handles on Twitter, claims that The Wire offered an apology in the Supreme Court after losing the defamation suit filed by Home Minister Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah against the digital news outlet for falsely accusing him. The Wire had published an article on October 8, 2017 which alleged that the turnover of a company owned by Jay Shah increased 16,000 times over in the year following the election of PM Narendra Modi. BJP leader and former MP Hariom Pandey tweeted the claim on March 19. मा. गृहमंत्री श्री अमित शाह जी के बेटे पर झूठा आरोप लगाने पर “The Wire” ने केस हारने के बाद SC में माफीनामे की पेशकश की है… — Hariom Pandey (@hariompandeyMP) March 19, 2021 An imposter account in the name of journalist Pushpendra Kulshrestha shared the claim, drawing 15,000 likes. The official account of Kulshrestha is @Pushpendraamu according to his Facebook profile. अमित शाह जी के बेटे पर झूठा आरोप लगाने पर “The Wire” ने केस हारने के बाद SC में माफीनामे की पेशकश की है — Pushpendra Kulshreshtha (@ThePushpendra_) March 19, 2021 Sandeep Thakur, who identifies as BJP Delhi social media and IT intellectual cell head in his bio, also tweeted the same. अमित शाह जी के बेटे पर झूठा आरोप लगाने पर @thewire_in ने केस हारने के बाद सुप्रीम कोर्ट में माफीनामे की पेशकश की है। — Sandeep Thakur (@thakurbjpdelhi) March 19, 2021 Other handles that amplified the claim are @TheShivani5, @SaritaKaushik05 and @idineshdesai. A user @TheAshwiniRaj who claims to be an author at right-wing propaganda website Kreately and BJP member Tarun Rathi shared it as well. Jay Shah had filed a criminal defamation case as well as a civil defamation case against The Wire in which he seeks Rs 100 crore in damages. “The trial has not even started, and I don’t know on what basis people are making these outlandish claims,” said Siddharth Vardarajan, founding editor of The Wire, to Alt News. The Wire moved the Supreme Court in January 2018, after the Gujarat high court refused to accept its plea that the criminal defamation case be quashed, reported the outlet itself in August 2019. “A second petition was also filed in 2018, when an injunction against the further publication of material on the business affairs of Jay Amit Shah – that the trial court had imposed ex parte, and then vacated – was restored by the Gujarat high court,” The Wire further stated. Both petitions were withdrawn and the case is proceeding straight to trial. Journalist Rohini Singh who reported on the Jay Shah story also called out the misinformation on Twitter. “You have pronounced the judgement even before the hearing of the case has begun in the trial court,” she wrote. पत्रकारिता के साथ साथ आपने ‘तथ्य और सत्य’ को भी कोसों दूर छोड़ दिया। ट्रायल कोर्ट में अभी सुनवाई शुरू भी नहीं हुई है और आपने फ़ैसला भी सुना दिया। अब Whatsapp University के माध्यम से भक्त मंडली इस झूठ को फैलाएगी। कल Whatsapp के डाउन होने का सबसे बुरा असर भक्त इकोसिस्टम पर पड़ा। https://t.co/CT7N2KrXN7 — Rohini Singh (@rohini_sgh) March 20, 2021 A false claim that The Wire lost the defamation case filed by Jay Shah and offered him an apology in the Supreme Court was shared by members and supporters of the BJP. 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	20th March 2021 / 4:52 pm / Last updated: 20th March 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-the-wire-didnt-apologise-in-the-jay-shah-defamation-case/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
2,275	Woman in uniform in photo with Nirmala Sitharaman not her daughter; false claim viral again - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 2nd January 2019 / 8:46 pm / Last updated: 18th November 2022 The photograph of a woman in Army uniform standing next to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is being shared on social media with the claim that she is the minister’s daughter and has now joined the Indian Army. The same photograph was viral in the past as well. In December 2018, Facebook group We Support Narendra Modi had shared the picture claiming that the officer was the daughter of the Union minister – “Picture Of The Day. रक्षा मंत्री श्रीमती निर्मला सीतारमण अपनी बेटी के साथ, जय हिंद ।। जय भारत । (Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with her daughter, Jai Hindi. Jai Bharat.)” The post attracted 15,000 likes and over 800 shares. Another Facebook page भा.ज.पा : Mission 2019 shared the same photograph with the identical claim. Its post attracted over 7,000 likes and 700 shares. Several individual users and other Facebook groups and pages also shared the photograph with the same narrative. From a page Justice for punjabi hindus, it attracted over 500 shares and more than 1,500 likes. The photograph carries a stamp – ‘Indian Army Protect Us’, which led us to the Facebook page that created the image. The post, captioned “mother and soldier”, has 25,000 likes and over 5,000 shares. The photograph and the accompanying text is also widespread on Twitter. From a handle @Ashok6510, it was retweeted 400 times and liked over 900 times. @Ashok6510is the same individual who had earlier tweeted a video from Jharkhand, falsely claiming that it depicted Muslims thrashing Rajputs. The photograph seems to be viral on WhatsApp as well. Among those who circulated the post were the ones followed by senior BJP leaders including, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal’s Office (1, 2, 3), BJP President Amit Shah and the party’s spokesperson Sambit Patra. The tweet by one Roop Darak, who identifies himself as a Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) member, was retweeted nearly 150 times. Due to the claim’s widespread circulation on social media, the official handle of the principal spokesperson of the defense ministry had tweeted a clarification that the officer in the picture was not the daughter of Nirmala Sitharaman. The photograph was shot during an official visit of the defense minister at the request of the army officer, appointed as the LO to the RM. “CLARIFICATION”. This is the photograph clicked at the request of the Army officer appointed as the LO to the RM during an official visit. She is NOT the daughter of the RM as suggested in some social media platforms pic.twitter.com/mkBQt2dLCK — Defence Spokesperson (@SpokespersonMoD) January 2, 2019 The viral claims were earlier debunked by Boomlive,which found that the officer in the photograph was Nikita Veeraiah. Sitharaman’s daughter’s name is Vangmayi Parakala. Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	2nd January 2019 / 8:46 pm / Last updated: 18th November 2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-the-woman-in-uniform-standing-next-to-nirmala-sitharaman-is-not-her-daughter/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
2,276	Women in this photo are not Bangladesh Liberation War 'freedom fighters' - Alt News Anuradha Prasad 30th March 2021 / 3:33 pm Vishwa Hindu Parishad spokesperson and joint secretary (Konkan) Shriraj Nair recently shared a collage of two photographs. The first is black and white, featuring four women seated in a jeep and holding rifles. The other is a coloured image that resembles the first, this time with four older women posing with rifles in a similar fashion. The caption in Nair’s post read, “The picture at the top is of four Bangladeshi freedom fighters taken in 1971, during the Liberation War against West Pakistan. The photo below has been taken recently, 50 years on. The same women now in HIJAB in the same jeep, with the same rifles.” Following this, many social media users began sharing the two pictures claiming that the women were originally Hindu and made to undergo religious conversion after Bangladesh attained independence. One such post read, “Photo of atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh. The photo above was taken during the Bangladesh liberation movement of 1971 when they were Hindus. But by the time these women recreated the photo today, they had converted to Islam.” (Archive link) In addition to Twitter, the photo and accompanying claim also made their way to Facebook. Music composer Srinjoy Mukherjee also shared it as a photo from the 1971 war. He wrote, “All this just to end up in burqas. Tragic.” Alt News performed a reverse image search and found the original photo on a Facebook page called Bangladesh Old Photo Archive. Uploaded on July 19, 2013, it was attributed to Renan Ahmed. The page also tagged a few people in the post, including Ahmed. Women are posing with gun in a village trip. Bangladesh (1965) Photo courtesy- Renan Ahmed. Posted by Bangladesh Old Photo Archive on Friday, July 19, 2013 We found the black and white photo on Renan Ahmed’s profile. He shared this picture in August 2020 with the caption, “1961”. We found several other photos of the woman sitting in the passenger seat on his Facebook timeline. 1961 Posted by Renan Ahmed on Wednesday, August 26, 2020 1958 Posted by Renan Ahmed on Wednesday, August 26, 2020 We reached out to Renan Ahmed for more context on the two viral photos. “The woman sitting next to the driver’s seat in the picture is my grandmother Rokaiya Ahmed. The other three women are Ayesha, Rashida Ahmed and Shahana Ahmed. This photo was taken by my grandfather in 1961. He died last year. They were posing with rifles just for the picture,” he said. Renan also shared some pictures of his grandmother (first, second, third, and fourth). He clarified that the photo in question had nothing to do with the 1971 war. “I still have this jeep in my house. We like to collect such classic cars. And this rifle was used for hunting during our grandparents’ time,” he said, adding that the older photo was recreated in 2017 with his grandmother and the others. Ahmed refuted the claim that the women were Hindus who converted to Islam. All the women were Muslims by birth, he informed. The other women are also Ahmed’s relatives, out of which only one is still alive. His grandfather lived in Delhi and had his own business but the family settled in Bangladesh following the partition of India in 1947. He also sent us a picture of the old photo and the camera used to take the photograph. A picture of four Bangladeshi women sitting in a jeep is viral in India with the false claim that they were Hindus made to convert to Islam after the country’s liberation. The image has no association with the 1971 war. A journalist and a dilettante person who always strives to learn new skills and meeting new people. Either sketching or working. 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	30th March 2021 / 3:33 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-the-women-in-the-viral-photo-did-not-change-their-religion-picture-from-1961-of-bangladeshi-women-viral-with-false-claim/", "author": "Anuradha Prasad" }
2,277	No, these are not photos of first Indian health minister Amrit Kaur - Alt News Kalim Ahmed 21st June 2021 / 8:33 pm / Last updated: 24th June 2021 Two infographics (one in English and the other in Hindi) are viral on social media with photographs of women claimed to be Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, the first health minister of India. The posts have been viral on Facebook for quite some time now. You can find them here and here. [Complete message in Hindi: देश की आजादी के बाद यह भारत की पहली स्वास्थ्य मंत्री बनी थी, इतना ही नहीं उन्होंने अपनी 100 एकड़ पैतृक जमीन भी बेच दी और इस तरह एम्स का निर्माण हुआ, बाद में उन्होंने अपना मनाली और शिमला का आलीशान बंगला भी एम्स को दान कर दिया, ताकि एम्स में काम करने वाले डॉक्टर और नर्स छुट्टियां मनाने के लिए वहां रुक सकें, सरदारों का कर्ज कभी नही चुका सकता ये भारत] Image 1 Avantika Mehta, writer and creator of The Ladies Compartment, had tweeted on June 28 that it is her in the photograph. She wrote that the picture was taken five years ago for a photo shoot. FOR THE LAST TIME I DONT LOOK LIKE AMRIT KAUR, she didn’t look like me. This picture is from a photoshoot I did for a friends website five years ago, and whoever put it out there did not fact check. pic.twitter.com/qQ3SLAXR7a — Avantika Mehta (@bitingfriends) June 18, 2021 Alt News contacted Mehta and she informed that the photo shoot was for the website Pyjama People in 2016 where she dressed as Amrit Kaur. The shoot was part of a Republic Day homage to women who were a part of the independence movement. Mehta added that the Pyjama People website is not active anymore but the photos from the shoot are still publicly available on the website’s Instagram page. A post shared by Facebook: @pyjamapeoples (@pyjamapeople) According to Mehta, the photograph may have been picked up and shared on social media after Brut India used it in one of its posts. The image was taken down from Brut as it was copy-righted. We spoke with photographer Karishma Bedi who confirmed that it was indeed taken for a photoshoot she did for Pyjama People. Several women had posed as iconic Indian revolutionaries, including Bedi herself. Image 2 For the second viral image, we performed a reverse image search on Yandex, which led us to the websites Art.com and Memoryprints that identified the woman as Rani Amrit Kaur Sahib or Rani of Mandi. Alt News got in touch with Siddhant Das, great grand nephew of Amrit Kaur, who informed that while the information shared with both photographs is correct, the woman is not Amrit Kaur. He told us that the second image shows Rani of Mandi. He shared with us photos of Amrit Kaur which have been attached below. “Rajkumari Amrit Kaur is the daughter of Raja Sir Harnam Singh, younger Son of Raja Sir Randhir Singh, the erstwhile ruler of Kapurthala. Rani Amrit Kaur of Mandi is the daughter of Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala,” said Das. A photograph of Amrit Kaur has been juxtaposed with a publicly available image of Rani of Mandi to show the dissimilarities between them. Das also said that the claim in the viral Hindi post that says Amrit Kaur had donated her estate ‘Manorville’ in Shimla on Summer Hill to AIIMS as a rest house for doctors, nurses etc is true to the best of his knowledge. More details about her life can be read here. In sum, a photograph of writer Avantika Mehta and another picture of Rani Amrit Kaur Sahib of Mandi have been misidentified as Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, the first Indian health minister. Kalim is a journalist with a keen interest in tech, misinformation, culture, etc 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	21st June 2021 / 8:33 pm / Last updated: 24th June 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-these-are-not-photos-of-first-indian-health-minister-amrit-kaur/", "author": "Kalim Ahmed" }
2,278	No, these are not pictures of pilots who carried out air strikes on Pakistan - Alt News Jignesh Patel 28th February 2019 / 1:42 pm “यही वो चार सिपाही है जिन्हों ने आज शौर्य गाथा लिखी भारत माता की जय (These are the four soldiers who wrote the gallantry story today Bharat Mata Ki Jay -translated)”, reads the caption attached to an image of four men in uniform shared by an individual user, Jasmin Makwana. In context of the air strike on February 26, the post suggests that these were the Indian pilots who conducted the strike in Balakot, Pakistan. The photograph has now gone viral on Facebook with similar captions. A set of pictures, where a group of air force pilots can be seen walking with their helmets on their side, is also being shared with a narrative that they had carried out the air strike in Pakistan. One Sunil Pandit posted two photographs on a Facebook group, एक कदम हिन्दु राष्ट्र की ओर, with the claim –“ये 12 भारत की मां के नायक हैं (These are the 12 heroes of our mother India -translated)”. Many other Facebook and Twitter users have shared the picture with an identical narrative. Upon reverse searching the above image on Google, the photograph appears to be a generic picture which has used by several websites in their articles and blogs. This image is found in a 2011 blog titled, “Pilot License Course Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi”. This was one of the earliest instances when the image appeared on the internet that we were able to trace. The image posted above was found in a blog dated August 7, 2015. “India’s Su-30MKI Flankers Sparred With Royal Air Force Typhoons”, reads the title of the blog. Suffice to say, the image is at least three years old and had existed on the internet before the air strike in Balakot, Pakistan. A third photograph circulating on social media was found in an October, 2015 blog post. Image 2, earlier debunked in this article, was also included in this post titled, “Joint exercise between the Indian Air Force and Royal Air Force “Exercise Indradhanush” 2015″. According to a report published in August 2015, Indian Air Force personnel on July 31 had conducted Indradhanush-IV, an Indo-UK bilateral air exercise in United Kingdom. However, we couldn’t conclusively establish that the images are related to the same exercise. Moreover, in a statement given to Boom, the Indian Air Force had categorically denied of having made public the details about the personnel involved in the mission. In conclusion, old images of Indian Air Force personnel were shared as of the pilots who carried the air strike in Pakistan. 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 February 2019 / 1:42 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-these-are-not-pictures-of-pilots-who-carried-out-air-strikes-on-pakistan/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
2,279	No, these aren't Pak and Turkish students who used Indian flag to escape Ukraine - Alt News Nilofar Absar 14th March 2022 / 8:33 pm Amidst the turmoil with regard to the evacuation of Indian students stuck in war-torn Ukraine and the barrage of misinformation that followed, a fresh claim is widespread on social media. Two images have gone viral with the claim that students from Pakistan and Turkey carried the Indian national flag to escape Ukraine. The students in the image below have been identified as Pakistanis. Posted by Puja Rajput on Sunday, March 13, 2022 Similarly, another image has been used to claim Turkish students used the Indian flag to escape. I love my India 🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳. Posted by Archana Gupta BJP on Thursday, March 3, 2022 A simple reverse image search reveals that both the photos show students from India. Image 1 This image is dated February 26 and was found in PTI archives and is captioned, “More batches of Indian students enter Hungary from Ukrainian side at Zahony crossing, travelling onward to Budapest for return to India by AI flight.” The picture was also used in a report by India Today on the evacuation of Indian students in Sumy. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had also uploaded a video of the students. Image 2 This image was found on a video report by India Today titled, ‘First batch of Indian students leave for Ukraine border‘. The report is from Februray 25. Images of Indian students were shared to falsely claim they are students from Pakistan and Turkey who carried the Indian flag to safely escape from Ukraine. It is noteworthy that some Indian students reportedly said that Pakistani and Turkish students indeed used the Indian flag to escape. Alt News has not verified the claim. Nilofar Absar is a lawyer by training and a storyteller by nature who takes a keen interest in the lives of people belonging to South Asian diasporic communities. 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 March 2022 / 8:33 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-these-arent-pak-and-turkish-students-who-used-indian-flag-to-escape-ukraine/", "author": "Nilofar Absar" }
2,280	No, these images don't depict child-kidnapping gangs lifting children to sell kidneys - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 24th August 2019 / 1:02 pm A photograph of lifeless bodies of five children is being circulated on social media with two separate claims. The first one was brought to our attention by a user who submitted a verification request on the Alt News app. The claim suggests that the image was released by Rajasthan police and warns people of an active gang prowling in Rajasthan. The message alerts people to take care of their children. The complete message in Hindi says, “राजस्थान में सक्रिय गैंग के सदस्यों के राजस्थान पुलिस द्वारा जारी किए फोटो जयपुर। ये है कच्छा धारी जो वर्तमान में यह गैंग राजस्थान में सक्रिय हैं। राजस्थान पुलिस द्वारा उनके फोटो डाले गए हैं। प्रशासन ने बताया कि सतर्क रहें सावधान रहें और अपने बच्चों को सुरक्षित रखें।” A second claim, also shared in Hindi, was posted by Facebook user योगेंद्र यादव भैया जी. He has shared the image of the dead children in a set of four other photographs (in the screenshot below, the image has been covered by Facebook owing to the disturbing visuals). He claimed that child-kidnappers are lifting kids and selling their kidneys. The full message circulated along with the above images says, “सभी जेलों में बंद सभी बंदी भाइयो से और उनके रिश्तेदारों से अनुरोध है जो ये बच्चो को अगवा कर उनकी किडनी निकाल कर बेंचने बाले को प्रशाशन जेल भेजता है उन मादरचोदों को जेल में ही दफना दें ताकि ये सबक रहे और ऐसा कुकर्म करने बालो में खौफ का माहौल पैदा हो अगर प्रशाशन इन्हें गिरफ्तार करने की बजाय एकांत में ले जाकर ठोंक दे तो सोने पे सुहागा हो जाये.” A simple Google reverse image search revealed that all five images have been shared with a false narrative. The photograph showing lifeless bodies of children pertains to a 2018 incident that took place in Madhya Pradesh. The incident was widely reported in the media. According to NDTV, the father of the children was married twice. He had four sons from the first marriage and another son from the second. All the five children were found dead in a well in Barwana district. The parents of the children were absconding and the police suspected that they might have a role to play in the death of the children who died due to drowning. We found that the second and third images of injured people depict an incident that recently took place in Madhya Pradesh. The trio, mistaken to be child-kidnappers, was attacked by a mob in Gwalior. The case was reported by Dainik Bhaskar on August 8. The incident was also reported by Nai Dunia. According to the reports, a sadhu and two of his disciples were approached by two bike-borne men who accused them of being child-kidnappers. Soon after, a huge mob gathered and attacked the trio. They punched and kicked them when two cops from Bahodapur police station intervened. But the enraged mob also beat up the policemen who had to call for back-up. Only after more police personnel arrived at the spot that the mob was dispersed and the trio did not lose their lives to false accusations of being child-lifters. The last image has already been debunked by Alt News in July. The image in question does not represent child-kidnappers but a sex racket gang that was nabbed in Madhya Pradesh. The incident was reported by Patrika. In conclusion, two unrelated images and a photograph of an incident where individuals were beaten on false suspicions of being child-lifters were shared to falsely claim that child-kidnappers are on a prowl and are lifting children to sell their kidneys. Alt News has debunked earlier cases of similar rumours in the video posted below. Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	24th August 2019 / 1:02 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-these-images-dont-depict-child-kidnapping-gangs-lifting-children-to-sell-kidneys/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
2,281	No, they're not young Eknath Shinde, Narendra Modi or Droupadi Murmu - Alt News Shinjinee Majumder 30th July 2022 / 2:33 pm A collage of four photos has gone viral with the claim that they are photos of President Droupadi Murmu, PM Narendra Modi, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath in their youth. The viral claims imply that all four personalities come from humble backgrounds and yet have achieved high levels of success. Eknath Shinde’s alleged picture shows him in front of an embellished auto rickshaw. It is common knowledge that Shinde used to drive an autorickshaw to support his family before he joined politics. In Narendra Modi’s alleged image from his youth, he can be seen sweeping the floor. Droupadi Murmu’s alleged picture shows a young saree-clad woman wearing a headgear. And Yogi Adityanath’s image shows him meditating on a platform, clad in saffron clothing. The names of the dignitaries have been superimposed in Telugu at the bottom of each repspective image. Telugu News outlet Hashtag U published an article on July 27, claiming the same. The collage was shared on Twitter several times. (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) No matter what you are today. U can be on the top of your mission tomorrow with your positive skills passion n focus 👍🕺🏽be sure pic.twitter.com/pTSMKhc9P3 — Subhash Ghai (@SubhashGhai1) July 29, 2022 The image that claims to be that of Eknath Shinde has also been separately shared.(1, 2, 3, 4) Photo 1: Eknath Shinde standing in front of an autorickshaw We came across several comments on Twitter that claimed that the man in the image is actually Baba Kamble, president of the Maharashtra Rickshaw Panchayat. This is Maharashtra Rikshaw Panchayat founder president Baba Kamble, not Eknath Shinde. Eknath Shinde joined Shiv Sena in the early 80’s. Elected to Thane Municipal Corporation as a corporator for the first time in 1997. — Satyam Mishra (@metalhead_sam) July 27, 2022 Taking this as a clue, we did a keyword search on Google and found that several major media outlets have clarified that the man in the viral image is not Eknath Shinde, but Baba Kamble. Below is a video report by Aaj Tak talking to Baba Kamble. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ks3Gl7D04w] Alt News reached out to Mr Kamble who clarified that the man in the image is indeed him. Mr Kamble said, “The image was clicked in 1997. At the time, we had made the Raat-Rani rickshaw stand in Pimpri-Chinchwad for passengers who travelled at night. This image was clicked during the Shravan month. We usually do a puja (prayer) and decorate our rickshaws. I had also done the same when this picture was taken”. Alt News also found an image posted by महाराष्ट्र रिक्षा पंचायत पुणे on July 22. महाराष्ट्र रिक्षा पंचायत संस्थापक अध्यक्ष कष्टकऱ्यांचे नेते बाबा कांबळे यांचा रिक्षा सोबत फोटो रिक्षा चालवताना 19 97… Posted by महाराष्ट्र रिक्षा पंचायत पुणे on Friday, 22 July 2022 Translation of the caption- “This photo is of Maharashtra Rickshaw Panchayat Founder-President and labour leader Baba Kamble driving a rickshaw in 1997 and worshipping the rickshaw in the month of Shravan at the Ratrani Rickshaw Stand in Pimpri”. Hence it is evident that the man in the picture is not Eknath Shinde, but the President of Maharashtra Rickshaw Panchayat, Baba Kamble. Photo 2: Young PM Modi clicked while sweeping On a Google reverse image search, we found that the image where PM Modi can be seen sweeping the floor was viral on the internet since the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Alt News has debunked the same image in 2019 when a major news media channel, India TV broadcasted this image on their show – ‘Unheard stories of PM Narendra Modi’ – a twenty-minute special on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s life. An RTI petition filed in 2016 revealed that the photograph was fake. According to Janta ka Reporter, the RTI reply said, “…It is stated while the information sought does not form part of records, it may be noted that the said photograph is morphed and the person in the photo is not Mr Narendra Modi”. Below we have added a screengrab of ABP Live‘s report on the same. The original photo of the man holding a broom can be found here. Thus, the alleged photograph of Narendra Modi is actually morphed. Photo 3: President Droupadi Murmu in her youth Judging by the image quality, it appears that the picture was most likely clicked recently. To probe further, we performed a Google reverse image search which lead us to a News18 article on Droupadi Murmu, dated July 23, containing the same image. According to the article, the woman in the image is Sukumar Tudu, a sanitation worker at the primary health centre at Uparbeda, the village where President Murmu was born. Hence it is evident that the woman in the picture is not President Droupadi Murmu. Photo 4: Young Yogi Adityanath On a Google reverse image search, Alt News found that the man in the image is indeed Yogi Adityanath. This image has been used by several major media outlets in articles that profile him. One of them is Mumbai Mirror’s article called Mascot of Hindutva and a man of integrity. The article was published on March 19, 2017, days before Yogi Adityanath was appointed as the CM of Uttar Pradesh. We also found a second image of this event clicked from a different angle. Sharing this photo on Twitter, a user wrote that they found the image in the Gorakhnath Mutt records. What a picture: Got these amazing pics from the Gorakhnath Mutt records. Yogi ji is getting his Sanyas Diksha & Late Ashok Singhal ji, addressing the gathering. pic.twitter.com/jtwgDs5fTD — Shantanu Gupta (@shantanug_) June 5, 2020 Thus, three of the four images used in the collage have been falsely claimed as images of President Droupadi Murmu, PM Narendra Modi and Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde in their youth. Only Yogi Adityanath’s image was found to be true Student of Economics at Presidency University. Interested in misinformation. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… 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 July 2022 / 2:33 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-theyre-not-young-eknath-shinde-narendra-modi-or-droupadi-murmu/", "author": "Shinjinee Majumder" }
2,282	No, this photo doesn't show last rites of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru - Alt News Anuradha Prasad 27th March 2021 / 1:01 pm A picture of a public funeral where a huge crowd has gathered resurfaces on social media every few years. It circulates with the claim that the image depicts the last rites of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru. The three freedom fighters were hanged by the British government on March 23, 1931 in Lahore which is now part of Pakistan. The caption in the post below reads, “This picture shows the last rites ceremony of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru. Try to share it with all of India… ” The screenshot below shows the virality of the image on Facebook. Below is another such post with the same claim. It is six years old. हो सके तो इस तस्वीर को हर देश वासी तक पहुँचाने की कोशिश कीजियेगा……. ये तस्वीर शहीद भगत सिंह , राजगुरु और सुखदेव जी… Posted by देश के गद्दारों की पोल खोल on Thursday, December 10, 2015 Along with Facebook, the image has also been circulated widely on Twitter. On Martyr’s Day last year, Boldsky, a website affiliated with One India, shared the image claiming the same. We performed a reverse image search and found the original photograph on panthic.org. According to the site, the photo shows the cremation of 13 Sikhs who were killed on the day of Baisakhi in 1978. A few other websites carry further information about the image, including discoversikhism.com and babushahi.com. An article in The Print delves deeper into the incident and gives context behind the enmity between the Nirankaris and the Sikhs. The Sikh community considers Guru Granth Sahib as a living Guru, who cannot be replaced by any person. But Nirankari Satguru Avtar Singh declared himself a living Guru in the presence of Guru Granth Sahib. This led to discord between the Sikhs and the Nirankaris, with several bouts of skirmishes. One such conflict occurred on April 13, 1978, in which 13 Sikhs were killed. On April 15, 1978, these 13 Sikhs were cremated in front of Shri Ramsar Sahib Gurdwara in Amritsar. The viral image was taken at their cremation ceremony. We found a higher quality image taken from another angle on news.drgurbani.com. Satwinder Singh Jas’s book, ‘The Execution of Bhagat Singh: Legal Heresies of the Raj’, says that the three martyrs’ bodies were chopped into pieces after they were hanged. Following this, the bodies were cremated overnight on the banks of the Sutlej river near Firozpur. Out of fear of public outrage, their remains were thrown into the river before being completely burnt. However, locals reached the spot, retrieved the burnt remains and gave them a proper funeral with dignity. We reached out to Chaman Lal, who has authored several books on Bhagat Singh and is the Honorary Advisor at the Delhi Archive Center’s Bhagat Singh Archive and Resource Center. He also informed that the mortal remains of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were cremated twice. Social media users have been sharing a picture of the funeral ceremony of Sikhs who died in 1978 after a clash between the Sikhs and Nirankars in Punjab. The image does not show the last rites of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru. It is noteworthy that while a website affiliated with One India published the picture with the erroneous claim, on March 25, a fact-check report by One India stated that it was not taken at Bhagat Singh’s funeral. A journalist and a dilettante person who always strives to learn new skills and meeting new people. Either sketching or working. 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	27th March 2021 / 1:01 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-image-does-not-show-cremation-of-martyrs-bhagat-singh-rajguru-sukhdev/", "author": "Anuradha Prasad" }
2,283	Fact-check: Death certificates issued with PM Modi's photo? - Alt News Anuradha Prasad 25th April 2021 / 2:29 pm A picture of a man holding a document that has an image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the bottom is making rounds on social media. While the content on the document is not legible, people have claimed that death certificates are issued with the PM’s photo. PM Modi is being criticised for gaining publicity even through deaths. Wtf!!! Online death certificate now comes with Modi’s picture! #MautKaSaudagar pic.twitter.com/zi7vCnOP1K — India Resists (@India_Resists) April 20, 2021 Several people have shared the image claiming that the man is holding a death certificate. (1, 2, 3) People on Facebook have also promoted the claim. हरामखोरी देखये मृत्यु प्रमाण पत्र पर भी अपनी फ़ोटो चिपकाकर क्या साबित करना चाहता है ये भस्मासुर बेशर्म कहि का डूब मरो समर्थन करने वाले Posted by Lalit Tyagi on Monday, April 19, 2021 In fact, the image is quite viral on Facebook. A simple reverse image search led us to an article by India Times published on April 17, 2021. According to the article, NCP leader from Maharashtra, Nawab Malik took a jibe at PM Modi and said, “If vaccination document has Modi’s photo, Covid death certificates should have it too.” He said this while speaking with ANI on April 17 about deaths rising in India due to COVID-19. The text printed on the image published by India Times is clearer and readable. “Provisional Certificate for COVID 19 Vaccination,” says the document on top. Hindi news outlet Amar Ujala too posted a similar image of a vaccination certificate given after getting a jab. Opposition parties have criticised the Modi government for printing the Prime Minister’s photo on vaccination certificates amidst ongoing assembly elections. They claimed that it violated the moral code of conduct of ECI. The viral image shows one such vaccination certificate. It is not a death certificate. A journalist and a dilettante person who always strives to learn new skills and meeting new people. Either sketching or working. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	25th April 2021 / 2:29 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-image-of-a-document-with-photo-of-pm-modi-in-not-a-death-certificate/", "author": "Anuradha Prasad" }
2,284	No, this Indian army personnel is not stealing shoes from Kashmiri youth - Alt News Jignesh Patel 24th October 2018 / 6:59 pm “army man stealing shoes of kashmir youth* boot choor” A photo of an Indian army jawan carrying two pairs of shoes was shared by a Facebook page, Kashmir with the aforementioned text. The claims suggest that the jawan in the picture is stealing shoes of Kashmiri youth. This particular post was shared close to 1500 times. army man stealing shoes of kashmir youth* boot choor Posted by Kashmir on Monday, 22 October 2018 Several users have shared this same image on Facebook with similar claims. At the time of writing this article, another post by an individual user had accumulated more than 3000 shares. Based on the information inscribed in the image (PEERZADA WASEE 2018), Alt News contacted Peerzada Waseem, a photographer associated with Indian News Service. Waseem said, “As far as I remember, I took this picture on September 13, 2018. That time, gunfire broke out in Arampora town in Sopore in which two militants were killed by the soldiers. So after the encounter, the soldier was carrying the shoes of the suspected slain militant.” He further said that the context with which the image is being shared on social media is not true. Waseem had posted the same photo on his Twitter account as well. A soldier carrying the shoes of Slain Militants killed in the gun fight with the government forces in Arampora Sopore on thursday. In an encounter two non local rebels killed on 13/2018 pic.twitter.com/F4iMWWKE6h — peerzada waseem (@waseemjourno) September 13, 2018 Waseem also sent the original picture over email to Alt News. By looking at the EXIF data, we verified that the image was indeed taken on September 13th at 2:44 pm. The same shoes can also been seen in a photo of yet another Kashmiri journalist which shows the arms and ammunition captured from the slain militants. Arms and ammunition recovered from two JeM militants killed in #Sopore encounter. #Kashmir pic.twitter.com/Q7x2hzQYT9 — Noor Ul Haq (@Noor_2018k) September 13, 2018 We have juxtaposed the two images below and the two pairs of shoes in the two pictures are indeed the same. An article published by The Telegraph on September 13, 2018 also corroborates that in an encounter with the security forces, two militants died near Arampora, Sopore of Baramulla district. 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	24th October 2018 / 6:59 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-indian-army-personnel-is-not-stealing-shoes-from-kashmiri-youth/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
2,285	No, this is not a photo of Kangana Ranaut with Abu Salem's brother - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 15th September 2020 / 5:35 pm / Last updated: 15th September 2020 Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut has been at the centre of media attention since actor Sushant Singh Rajput died by suicide in June. Ranaut, who has blamed the film industry and Rajput’s former girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty for his death, has taken it upon herself to bring ‘justice’ to the dead actor. This has led her to criticise Mumbai police and Shiv Sena’s government in Maharashtra. Following her remark terming Mumbai ‘Pakistan-occupied Kashmir’, parts of her office deemed illegal by Maharashtra administration were torn down and the actor was provided Y security by the central government. She is now embroiled in a row with chief minister Uddhav Thackery. In the backdrop of this never-ending spectacle is the latest social media claim about Ranaut that she partied with criminal mastermind Abu Salem’s brother. This claim is viral along with an image where Ranaut is seated next to a man. Abu Salem has been convicted of multiple crimes, including the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case. He was feared in Bollywood for extorting money from film producers and actors and seizing overseas distribution rights. He reportedly worked for Dawood Ibrahim. Former Shiv Sena MLA Shishir Shinde posted (archived link) the viral image with the claim that Ranaut was photographed with Abu Salem’s brother. “अरेरे?राज्यपाल महोदय,तुम्ही राजभवनावर पाहुणचार केलेली तुमची खास पाहुणी अबू सालेमच्या भावासोबत अशी नशा करायची?राजभवनची शान घालवली तुम्ही!म्हातारचळ म्हणतात याला,” he wrote in Marathi. अरेरे?राज्यपाल महोदय,तुम्ही राजभवनावर पाहुणचार केलेली तुमची खास पाहुणी अबू सालेमच्या भावासोबत अशी नशा करायची?राजभवनची शान घालवली तुम्ही!म्हातारचळ म्हणतात याला! @maha_governor @CMOMaharashtra @AUThackeray @ShivsenaComms @rajivkhandekar @zee24taasnews @ibn_lokmat pic.twitter.com/Op11qkFubJ — Shishir Shinde (@ShishirShinde1) September 14, 2020 Congress leaders Nagma and former Shiv Sena MLA Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil also shared the viral image. The image has also been shared with a message in Bengali—”আবু সালেম’এর সাথে এটা বোধহয় আমির খান।” Alt News received several fact-check requests on our WhatsApp helpline (+917600011160) and on our official Android application. Alt News performed a reverse image search on Google and found a 2017 Huffington Post editorial piece that carried the image. The article is titled, “Kangana Ranaut should realise she’s too talented to milk her personal life for attention.” It has been penned by journalist Mark Manuel who is also the person with Kangana Ranaut in the photograph. “Like the time the featured picture was taken at the Korner House in Khar some months ago,’ read the report. Manuel had shared the picture on both his Instagram and Facebook accounts. He wrote that it was shot at the Korner House in Khar at a champagne brunch to celebrate Ranaut’s film ‘Simran’. Kangana Ranaut… love, sex and betrayal Pictures can be misleading. I am not Kangana Ranaut’s friend. Nor am I her… Posted by Mark Manuel on Thursday, 14 September 2017 A 2017 photo of Kangana Ranaut with journalist Mark Manuel was shared with the false claim that she was photographed with criminal mastermind Abu Salem’s brother. 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 September 2020 / 5:35 pm / Last updated: 15th September 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-is-not-a-photo-of-kangana-ranaut-with-abu-salem/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
2,286	No, this is not a photo of Muskan, the student who took on saffron-clad mob in Mandya - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 9th February 2022 / 11:22 pm / Last updated: 10th February 2022 The ban on hijab that started with a college in Udupi has spread to multiple other districts in Karnataka. While female Muslim students have been protesting against the discriminatory regulation, several Hindu right-wing students organised counter protests. A video recently went viral from PES college in Mandya where a group of young men in saffron shawls heckled a Muslim student in a burqa and advanced toward her while chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’. She stood in defiance of the mob and yelled back ‘Allah-hu-Akbar’. In an interview with NDTV, the student, Muskan, said that a majority of the young men in the mob were not from her college but ‘outsiders’. A more expanded and clean feed of the above episode. #KarnatakaHijabRow pic.twitter.com/TIieUQJUWN — Imran Khan (@KeypadGuerilla) February 8, 2022 A graphic has now been shared by pro-BJP propaganda outlet Kreately that has juxtaposed an image of Muskan in a burqa with another image of a young woman in western wear. Muskan’s photo is from the day she was heckled in college. The graphic that attempts to portray that both images are of Muskan carries the text ‘Aam Zindagi, Propaganda Zindagi’. लिबरल गैंग के प्रोपेगैंडा की बत्ती जलाओ.. pic.twitter.com/NXHni8zx4z — Kreately.in (@KreatelyMedia) February 9, 2022 It was made by @Alphatoonist, creative director at Kreately. Ye hai mentos jindagi🤓 pic.twitter.com/soyoaFnIaO — Alphatoonist (kantaaptoons) (@Alphatoonist) February 9, 2022 The graphic has been widely shared on Facebook, including by Banglore-based users Prashanth Sambargi and Sonia Chawla. The graphic is also widespread on Twitter. Among those who shared it were BJP supporter Akash RSS, @VickyMeghwansh0, @SantaniPrashemi, @ChRanita and @Homidevang31. The woman wearing jeans in the photo is not Muskan. She is Najma Nazeer Chikkanarale, a member of Janata Dal (Secular) Karnataka. Alt News contacted Nazeer and she identified herself in the photograph. She also shared with us a screenshot of the Facebook post from 2018 where she had uploaded the picture. In the collage below, we have juxtaposed the viral image with another photo of Nazeer from her Facebook page to show it is her in both the pictures. There are several photos of Nazeer on her Facebook page (hyperlinked above) in varied clothing. She has posted several pictures in jeans and multiple others in hijab. One of her photographs in jeans was misused by pro-BJP accounts to claim that she is Muskan, the student who stood up against a saffron-clad mob in Mandya. This is not only blatant disinformation but also an attempt to shame Muskan for exercising her right to wear clothes of her choice. After the incident, Muskan stated that she has always worn a hijab to college and she removes her burqa while in class. She also stated that the hijab is a “part of her” which clearly means that she wears it by choice. 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	9th February 2022 / 11:22 pm / Last updated: 10th February 2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-is-not-a-photo-of-muskan-the-student-who-took-on-saffron-clad-mob-in-mandya/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
2,287	No, this is not a picture of Indian army soldier stationed in Rajasthan - Alt News Jignesh Patel 3rd June 2019 / 5:53 pm / Last updated: 6th June 2019 An image of a woman in army fatigues was shared on social media with a message, “राजस्थान के तपते रेगिस्तान में पहरा देती भारतीय जवान जय हिंद (She is the Indian army jawan guarding Rajasthan in this scorching heat. Jai Hind -translated)”. राजस्थान के तपते रेगिस्तान में पहरा देती भारतीय जवान रुक क्यों गए अब बोलो जय हिंद pic.twitter.com/CJ2a2TRV9k — Indu Kumari (@InduKumari1) May 29, 2019 Individual users on Facebook and Twitter had shared the image with the same narrative. Alt News found that the woman in the picture is Asia Ramazan Antar, a former Kurdish fighter, who died fighting ISIS in Syria in 2016. She was dubbed as “Angelina Jolie of Kurdistan” by some in the western media after the Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie. Antar was associated with the Kurdish Women’s Protection Units (YPJ). The photograph circulating on social media was earlier published by BBC and The Times. This picture was originally clicked by a photographer named Alberto Hugo Rojas, who was duly credited by the outlets referred above. He had posted this image on Facebook, with a watermark of his name, on November 20, 2016. Asia Ramazan Antar was reportedly killed by Islamic State militants in northern Syria in 2016. A photograph of a Kurdish woman fighter was circulated on social media as of an Indian army jawan guarding the border in the sweltering heat of Rajasthan. 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	3rd June 2019 / 5:53 pm / Last updated: 6th June 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-is-not-a-picture-of-indian-army-soldier-stationed-in-rajasthan/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
2,288	No, this is not a video of a stone-pelter getting shot down by soldiers in J&K - Alt News Shinjinee Majumder 23rd August 2022 / 11:33 am [Warning: Visuals may be distressing for some. Reader discretion is advised.] A viral video of a person, seemingly a protester, throwing an object into the distance and then within a few seconds of that suffering a casualty which appears to be from an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) he was most likely carrying, is widely circulating on social media. It is being claimed that the injured individual seen in the video was a “stone-pelter” who was shot down by soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir. Twitter user @pawankharb1881 shared this video with the claim in Hindi. (Archived link) जम्मू कश्मीर का बताया जा रहा है वीडियो (इमरान गांधी )नाम के पत्थरबाज ने फौजी साहब को पत्थर मारा, फौजी साहब ने तुरंत पत्थर का जवाब गोली से दिया. ऐसा लगा जैसे फैसला ऑन दा स्पोर्ट वैसे हम समर्थन मे नही है बिलकुल भी पत्थर नही मारना चाहिए किसी को भी अरे भाई जान जा सकती है 🤔 pic.twitter.com/2gdYcLAOMk — पवन चौधरी (@pawankharb1881) August 19, 2022 Users @dsrajpurohit291, @katarhinduAK47, @rclcpa4, and @RPDULAR were among the many users who tweeted this video. This video has been shared widely circulating on Facebook as well. Upon reverse image searching one of the stills from the video, we were led to a USA Crime report titled “Coca grower accidentally blows himself up with dynamite stick in Bolivia” which contains the viral video. The report was published on August 8, the readers can find an archived version of the report here. According to the report, Plácido Cota, a coca farmer and brother to the leader of the Council of Women’s Peasant Federations of Los Yungas, was seriously injured while handling a stick of dynamite during a confrontation with the police in Villa El Carmen. In the video, Cota is seen backing away after throwing an object and within seconds, a stick of dynamite explodes, leaving him with grave injuries. He was admitted to the operating room with a diagnosis of traumatic amputation of the left forearm and abdominal trauma. We then performed a search on YouTube using relevant keywords and found several reports by Bolivian media outlets on Plácido Cota’s recovery. According to a video report from August 21, available on the YouTube channel, Noticias Bolivisión, Placido Cota has been showing improvement in his health. At the beginning of the TV news report, the viral video is played and Cota has been circled out. According to a report by TRT World, clashes between police and the Departmental Association of Coca Producers (ADEPCOCA) have continued in the Bolivian capital, where coca growers demand the closure of what they claim are new illegal coca markets. ADEPCOCA manages the main coca market in the capital and claims to be the only market authorised to trade coca leaves. In recent years, the organisation has been opposed to the former president and leader of the ruling MAS party Evo Morales, who heads another coca growers’ union in the Chapare locality. As per a report by Spanish daily La Razón, Cota and his companions were guarding the Villa El Carmen coca market which is considered illegal by ADEPCOCA. Hence, the video being circulated is not of a stone-pelter getting shot down by soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir, but a Bolivian coca farmer who got gravely injured in a dynamite explosion. Student of Economics at Presidency University. Interested in misinformation. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… 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 August 2022 / 11:33 am	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-is-not-a-video-of-a-stone-pelter-getting-shot-down-by-soldiers-in-jk/", "author": "Shinjinee Majumder" }
2,289	No, this is not Amit Shah touching the feet of Nithyananda - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 10th December 2019 / 6:55 pm A photograph has been shared widely by social media users with the clam that it shows Union Home Minister Amit Shah touching the feet of self-proclaimed spiritual guru Nithyananda. Amit shah touching the feet of the notorious Swami Nityanand. Posted by Subhir Rajan Mavunkal on Saturday, December 7, 2019 The above post by an individual user has been shared over 250 times. The image has also been shared with a message in Tamil. The Facebook post below has been shared over 2200 times since it was posted on December 6. The message in Tamil reads, நித்தியானந்தா நாட்டை விட்டு தப்பி ஓட முயலும் போது அமித்ஷா அவரை தடுத்து பிடித்த தருணம் Posted by Jacob Jack on Thursday, December 5, 2019 The same photograph has been shared on Twitter, with the same claim – Home Minister Amit Shah falling at the feet of Nithyananda. The so called strongest man Amit Shah falling in the feet of Nithyananda 😂 pic.twitter.com/pDguuoVmKr — இராஜசேகர் ® (@KAG_SekarTwitz) November 23, 2019 Alt News found the person in the picture is not Amit Shah. Upon reverse-searching the image, we came across the same photograph on the website of Nithyananda, www.nithyananda.org in July 2017. The person in the picture is Mr. Jagdishwar Goburdhun, the High Commissioner of Mauritius to India. The photograph pertains to Guru Purnima celebrations on July 9, 2017, when a MoU was signed for the establishment of the Nithyananda Gurukul and Nithyananda University in Mauritius. Posted below is another image from the same event. The two pictures i.e the viral image and the above image have been juxtaposed and posted below for comparison. It is evident that the person in the image is Mr. Goburdhun, the High Commissioner of Mauritius to India. It may thus be noted that the person seen in the viral image, falling at the feet of Nithyananda, is not Home Minister Amit Shah. It is the High Commissioner of Mauritius to India. The photograph was clicked in July 2017. Arjun Sidharth is a writer with Alt News. He has previously worked in the television news industry, where he managed news bulletins and breaking news scenarios, apart from scripting numerous prime time television stories. He has also been actively involved with various freelance projects. Sidharth has studied economics, political science, international relations and journalism. He has a keen interest in books, movies, music, sports, politics, foreign policy, history and economics. His hobbies include reading, watching movies and indoor gaming. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	10th December 2019 / 6:55 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-is-not-amit-shah-touching-the-feet-of-nithyananda/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
2,290	No, this is not an image of a suicide bomber caught by the Indian army - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 11th January 2019 / 11:27 pm A Facebook user Sanjay Choudhary recently posted an image of an old man with yellow coloured bags attached to his body, claiming that he was a suicide bomber who was caught by the Indian army. At the time of writing this article, the post had over 6,300 shares. कब्र में जाने की उम्र में ये आतंकी 72 हूर पाने की तमन्ना लिए भीड़ में बम-ब्लास्ट करने के लिए जा ही रहा था कि सेना ने इसे पकड़ लिया। इनके सोच को गहराई से समझने की परमावश्यकता है । Posted by Sanjay Choudhary on Monday, 7 January 2019 The photograph has also been circulated on Twitter with the identical claim. Several among those who shared it are followed by railway minister Piyush Goyal’s Office (1, 2, 3). Alt News found that the image was circulated last year as well. From a page Semah G. Weifur Fans, it received over 59,000 shares. This page made a similar claim of the man being a terrorist. Be vigilant, terrorists have adopted a new strategy, they turn into a beggar with explosives. Their targets are schools,… Posted by Semah G. Weifur Fans on Monday, 3 December 2018 Upon reverse searching the image on Google, we found a 2014 tweet by Sisat.pk of the same photograph captioned differently – “Man with hashish jacket on turkhum border.” Man with hashish jacket on turkhum border. pic.twitter.com/UHaMybE21j — Siasat.pk (@siasatpk) December 28, 2014 We found another tweet from that same year by a Pakistan-based journalist also claiming that the man was caught with hashish at Turkhum border, which is a crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Man with hashish jacket on turkhum border. pic.twitter.com/f04yuy0T9a — Safdar Dawar (@DawarSafdar) December 27, 2014 ThePrint recently debunked the photograph. The viral image was also shared in 2014 with an altered claim that the man was an ISIS terrorist. Malaysian website rojakPOT had busted the false narrative. An image of a Muslim man carrying hashish, caught by the Pakistani army at the Pak-Afghan border in Turkhum, was thus viral as a suicide bomber caught by the Indian army. 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	11th January 2019 / 11:27 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-is-not-an-image-of-a-suicide-bomber-caught-by-the-indian-army/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
2,291	No, this is not an image of Chinese soldiers helping Indian army men injured in avalanche - Alt News Archit 4th June 2020 / 3:50 pm On May 10, The Hindu reported that Indian and Chinese troops had a face-off near Pangong Tso lake in Eastern Ladhak on May 5 and 6, followed by the second one at Naku La, Sikkim on May 9. Since then, the militaries of both the nations nation’s have been on a standoff. On May 14 Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane assured, “We will deal with it as per the protocol which has been laid out between the two countries and in accordance with strategic guidelines,” as per NDTV report. On May 31, an image surfaced on social media that allegedly shows wounded Indian troopers captured by Chinese soldiers. On the same day, academic Ashok Swain tweeted the viral image and wrote, “This what Chinese soldiers have done to Indian soldiers in Ladakh! Why is Modi silent? Why no demand by Indian media for surgical strike? Where is Mohan Bhagwat’s RSS ‘Army’?” The next day, fake news factory Postcard News posted an image with the title ‘Rahul Gandhi’s Fake University Project’. The image has three elements — a screenshot of the tweet by Ashok Swain, a screenshot of a report by Global Times published on May 15, and an image of Indian National Congress President Rahul Gandhi (archive link). The Global Times article read, “Chinese soldiers helped Indian solider who got injured in avalanche.” Thus indicating that the image does not show Indian soldiers captures by the Chinese. The graphic carried the text “Rahul Gandhi’s fake university project” and attempted to fact-check Swain’s tweet. Prior to Postcard, Twitter user @LazyLion_95 had tweeted the same screenshot of the Global Times article and written, “When A******* like @ashoswai have so much hatred & afraid of Modi, that they will do anything to defame him & Indian army.” This tweet has over 1,500 retweets (archive link). In order to fact-check Swain’s tweet, Postcard relied on an article by Global Times, a China-based news website. As per the screenshot, the article was published on May 15. However, Alt News found that no such article exists. We Google-searched the headline of the report and restricted the results to Global Times domain. But found no results. As per Postcard’s screenshot, the article was written by Sang Feng Wei. Alt News performed another domain search via Google. This time we searched the name of the author and just like last time, we found no results. Considering the tensions between the two nations, if such an article existed — about how Chinese soldiers rescued India soldiers after an avalanche — it would have been covered by mainstream media. Therefore, the fact-check by Postcard was based on a non-existent report in Global Times that claimed Chinese soldiers helped Indian soldiers who were injured in an avalanche. Looking at the viral image closely it is clear that the legs of two Indian troopers are tied with a rope. Thus, it is highly improbable that Chinese troopers are rescuing the Indian troopers from an avalanche. Instead, it seems that the Chinese have captured and confined the Indian soldiers. Moreover, the fact that the Chinese soldiers are wearing masks indicates that the viral image might be a recent one. Alt News performed a reverse image search of the viral image on Google and restricted the results from May 15. We found no links posted on that day which included the viral image. The viral image surfaced on Twitter around May 31 via @OedoSoldier who posts tweets related to the Chinese military. The viral image was posted with the caption, “China-India border [translated from 中印国境].” 中印国境 pic.twitter.com/MHVnlSngck — OedoSoldier (@OedoSoldier) May 31, 2020 Alt News couldn’t independently authenticate the image. However, a brief context is given after the fact-check. On May 30, a two and half minute video surfaced on social media that shows Indian and Chinese troopers engaged in stone-pelting. The video is shot from the Indian soldiers’ point of view. In the video, they can be seen attacking a Chinese vehicle. An injured army man (presumably Chinese) is lying on the road with his head bleeding. He is protected by tactile shields used by the Indian soldiers. As per The Tribune, “These videos, first circulating on WhatsApp, were later tweeted by India-based handles, chiding not just China but also its ally Pakistan.” One such Twitter handle that posted the viral video was @drapr007. This tweet was retweeted over 4,000 times. (archive link) Dear Paki Friends See ! How your masters are being b€at€d by IA in Laddakh for violating LAC. It is just start, many more clips are coming.#LAC #IndoChinaFaceoff pic.twitter.com/ydPD8lixvp — Dr. APR 🇮🇳🍁 (@drapr007) May 30, 2020 On the same day, The Hindu reported that an army spokesperson said, “The contents of video being circulated are not authenticated. Attempt to link it with the situation on the Northern borders is mala fide. Currently, no violence is happening.” Later in the day, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to India Today and revealed that conversation on a diplomatic and military level is ongoing with China. #Exclusive Defence Minster Rajnath Singh breaks silence on LAC stand-off. #ITVideo pic.twitter.com/owuGtT6RJx — IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) May 30, 2020 As a response to the video posted on Indian social media on May 31, several Chinese social media users posted the viral image. A Twitter account similar to @OedoSoldier, @dafengcao also shared the viral image There seems to be some kind of consensus on both sides before, however, the Indian broke it first after releasing the footage. — dafeng cao (@dafengcao) May 31, 2020 Significantly more number of such posts were made on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. Alt News performed a keyword search on Weibo and found that the first account to post the viral image was a verified profile (archive link). Alt News spoke with a defence correspondent (identity concealed at request) who said, “Over the past few weeks, multiple stand-offs have taken place between the two military groups. As per my sources, in the incident pertaining to the viral image, a significantly small number of Indian troopers were surrounded by at least 150 Chineses soldiers. As per my knowledge, in this incident, up to 10-12 Indian troopers were captured by the Chinese near the Pangong Tso lake in Eastern Ladhak. No casualties occurred in this stand-off.” On May 31, former China correspondent at India Today and a current journalist with The Hindu, Ananth Krishnan tweeted, “The pattern of how the border image is being shared on Weibo strongly suggests a coordinated leak by PLA (People’s Liberation Army), including by military news sites whose handles have 20 million followers. The leak of the image appears to follow the sharing of the first video.” The pattern of how the border image is being shared on Weibo strongly suggests a coordinated leak by PLA, including by military news sites whose handles have 20 million followers. The leak of the image appears to follow the sharing of the first video. — Ananth Krishnan (@ananthkrishnan) May 31, 2020 Dinakar Peri defence correspondent at The Hindu tweeted the army’s official response to the video that surfaced on May 30. The Indian army rejected the video claimed to represent the ongoing standoff with China. Indian Army rejects a video claiming to be of ongoing standoff with #China on #LAC in #Ladakh. “The contents of video being circulated are not authenticated. Attempt to link it with the situation on the Northern borders is malafide. Currently no violence is happening.” pic.twitter.com/kCs8UImoAK — Dinakar Peri (@dperi84) May 31, 2020 🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	4th June 2020 / 3:50 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-is-not-an-image-of-chinese-soldiers-helping-indian-army-men-injured-in-avalanche/", "author": "Archit" }
2,292	No, this is not an image of the juvenile convict of the Nirbhaya rape case - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 10th December 2019 / 10:51 am In the wake of the recent Hyderabad rape and murder case and the subsequent police encounter of the accused, a photograph has been shared widely by social media users with the claim that the man in the image is the juvenile convict of the Nirbhaya gang-rape case of 2012. Dont mistake him for any bollywood star… He is one of NIRBHAYA’S RAPISTS! This is Vinay Sharma.. The one who applied… Posted by Divya Singh on Sunday, December 8, 2019 Numerous Facebook users have posted the above message, along with the picture purportedly showing the juvenile convict of the Nirbhaya case. The complete message reads, “Dont mistake him for any bollywood star… He is one of NIRBHAYA’S RAPISTS! This is Vinay Sharma.. The one who applied for mercy petition & withdrew later. Till what point will the rapists of Nirbhaya remain alive? And The Juvenile Mohd. Afroz hasn’t yet been shown publicly.. So, God knows what privileges he’s been enjoying & how he’s grown in 7 years! Another celebrity like demeanor may be? Point is, till when will they be alive & living a life of freedom paid by our money!? The (then juvenile) NIRBHAYA RAPIST – MOHAMMAD AFROZ, is not in line for being hung apparently, is fed and protected by OUR TAX MONEY for 7 years. And he was one of the most brutal of the 5, who’s identity is protected till date & is still being tried under juvenile laws. He was just months away from being an adult.. So how’s all this OK? How does Nirbhaya’s parents get justice? Big salute to our Judicial system!” The same information has been posted on Twitter in the form of an infographic, containing the same photograph. The message posted in Hindi says, “निर्भयाकांड का मुख्य आरोपी गुप्तांग मेंRodडालने वाला राक्षस मोहम्मद अफरोज जेल से बाहर है और दिल्लीके मुख्यमंत्री अरविंद केजरीवाल ने उपहार में सिलाईमशीन व ₹१००००दिए थे। अब मोहम्मद अफरोज बालिग है। उसे फाँसी दिए बिना न्याय अधूरा रहेगा है।” (Main accused in Nirbhaya case Mohammed Afroz is out of jail and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has given him a sewing machine and Rs.10,000. Now Afroz is a juvenile. Justice would be incomplete if he is not hanged- translation). अरविंद केजरीवाल को हटाओ दिल्ली बचाओ pic.twitter.com/XXQ2PtkMeD — Sweta Pandit (@SwetaTi49197372) December 7, 2019 Alt News found that the photograph circulated on social media is not of the juvenile convict in the Nirbhaya case. While the juvenile’s name was not released, it was reported by the media. However, the photograph shows Vinay Sharma, one of the four adult convicts sentenced to death for the crime. It was published by The Hindu in August 2016. Sharma worked as an assistant at a gym, and had tried to commit suicide in 2016. It may be recalled that four of the five convicts in the Nirbhaya case have been sentenced to death, whereas the juvenile convict in the case was handed three years imprisonment for the crime by a juvenile court. The photograph shared on social media, however, does not represent the juvenile convict but an adult convict of the Nirbhaya case, Vinay Sharma. Arjun Sidharth is a writer with Alt News. He has previously worked in the television news industry, where he managed news bulletins and breaking news scenarios, apart from scripting numerous prime time television stories. He has also been actively involved with various freelance projects. Sidharth has studied economics, political science, international relations and journalism. He has a keen interest in books, movies, music, sports, politics, foreign policy, history and economics. His hobbies include reading, watching movies and indoor gaming. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	10th December 2019 / 10:51 am	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-is-not-an-image-of-the-juvenile-convict-of-the-nirbhaya-rape-case/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
2,293	No, this is not BJP MP Bhanu Pratap Singh criticising his own govt for PMC Bank fraud - Alt News Jignesh Patel 12th October 2019 / 7:11 pm / Last updated: 14th October 2019 A video of a man speaking to a media organization about the recent PMC bank scam and the plight of the account holders is being shared on social media. He alleges that the government is giving protection to the bank chairman, bank manager, and politician involved in the fraud. It is being claimed that this man criticising the government is BJP Lok Sabha MP Bhanu Pratap Singh. “He is BJP Lok Sabha MP Advocate, Bhanu Prtapsinh A revolution is expected very soon. Applause to exposure.”, reads the message attached with the video posted by Facebook user Hasan Chaipillai Mohammed. He is BJP Lok Sabha MP Advocate, Bhanu Prtapsinh…. A revolution is expected very soon. Applause to exposure. Posted by Hasan Chaipillai Mohammed on Wednesday, 9 October 2019 Several other people on Facebook shared this video with an identical narrative. The video is also circulating on WhatsApp. Alt News found that the man in the video is not BJP’s Jalaun MP Bhanu Pratap Singh but Rashtriya Janhit Sangharsh Party National President Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma. According to his Twitter profile, Verma is also an advocate at the Supreme Court of India. In the picture posted below, you can see the photograph of the same person. pic.twitter.com/KSxZm1zEnZ — Bhanu Pratap Singh (@BhanuPSinghRJSP) August 10, 2019 Moreover, with a keyword search on YouTube, we found the full video on News MX’s channel. In conclusion, a video of a politician from Rashtriya Janhit Sangharsh Party with a similar name as BJP MP Bhanu Pratap Singh was falsely shared that the latter was criticising his own government for the PMC bank fraud. Jignesh is a writer and researcher at Alt News. He has a knack for visual investigation with a major interest in fact-checking videos and images. He has completed his Masters in Journalism from Gujarat University. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	12th October 2019 / 7:11 pm / Last updated: 14th October 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-is-not-bjp-mp-bhanu-pratap-singh-criticising-his-own-govt-for-pmc-bank-fraud/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
2,294	No, this is not Himalaya Drug Company owner urging Muslims to 'take over' jobs - Alt News Aqib Pathan 28th September 2020 / 6:35 pm / Last updated: 23rd June 2021 A video where a man talking in Urdu is referring to the demolition of Babri masjid and encouraging the Muslim community to take control over judiciary, police force, health department and other professions by increasing Muslim representation is massively viral on social media. It has been shared with the claim that the man is the owner of the Himalaya Drug Company. The video has been circulated with messages advising against the use of Himalaya products. ये मुल्ला हिमालया कम्पनी का मालिक है। जो फेस वाश व ब्यूटी प्रॉडक्ट्स आदि सामान बनाती है। इसकी कम्पनी के उत्पादों का बहिष्कार करें। घुटनों पर आ जायगा। pic.twitter.com/YaWPTalGlb — Dilip Kumar Singh (@DilipKu24388061) June 14, 2021 Several users posted the video on Facebook and Twitter. Alt News has received several fact-check requests for this video on its official mobile application. Alt News used InVid to break down the video into several frames. We reverse searched one of the frames on Yandex and found another YouTube video featuring the same man. The video identified him in Urdu which translates to Naqi Ahmed Nadwi. Searching for his name led us to his social media profiles. We found the same video posted on August 6, 2020, on Naqi Ahmed Nadwi’s Facebook page with an Urdu caption بابری مسجد کا انہدام اوراسکی جگہ پر رام مندر کا قیام تاریخ ہند کا ایک ایسا موڑ ہے جس کے بارے میں مسلمانوں کو سنجیدگی سے غور کرنا ہوگا! (The demolition of the Babri Masjid and the erection of the Ram Temple on its site is a turning point in the history of India which Muslims must seriously consider!) بابری مسجد کا انہدام اوراسکی جگہ پر رام مندر کا قیام تاریخ ہند کا ایک ایسا موڑ ہے جس کے بارے میں مسلمانوں کو سنجیدگی سے غور کرنا ہوگا! Posted by Naqi Ahmed Nadwi Page on Saturday, 22 August 2020 According to his Linkedin profile, he is an administrator at Maaden, a mining company based out of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He has been a resident of Saudi Arabia for at least the past 15 years, though his Linkedin profile says that he completed his education in India. The founder of Himalaya Drug Company is Mohammad Manal who passed away in 1986. The incumbent President and CEO is Philipe Haydon. The company tweeted a fact-check report debunking the video in question on September 27. This isn’t the first time that the multinational company was targetted with misinformation on social media. Earlier in March, a false claim suggested that its founder funds terrorists. Aqib is monitoring and researching mis/disinformation 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	28th September 2020 / 6:35 pm / Last updated: 23rd June 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-is-not-himalaya-drug-company-owner-urging-muslims-to-take-over-jobs/", "author": "Aqib Pathan" }
2,295	No, this is not martyred Col Santosh Babu's daughter paying tribute to her father - Alt News Archit 19th June 2020 / 10:01 pm On June 13, the Indian army confirmed the demise of Colonel Santosh Babu, Commanding Officer of the 16 Bihar. Babu was martyred during a face-off with Chinese soldiers in the Galwan valley near patrolling point 14, reported The Economic Times. Around June 16, a photograph of a child paying homage to Babu’s portrait was widely circulated on social media including on Facebook and Twitter. As per the claims, the girl in the image is the daughter of Babu. Even mainstream media outlets like Deccan Chronicle (archive link) and Assam-based TV channel DY365 (archive link) made the same claim in their news reports. IPS Madhur Verma (archive link) and AS Sonal Goel (archive link) also made the same claim. Their tweets got over 1000 likes each. Navika Kumar, group editor of Times Group, tweeted the viral image without making an explicit claim. It was retweeted over 4,700 times (archive link). The child in the viral image is a sister of an ABVP Karnataka member. On June 17, the Twitter handle of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) posted multiple tweets and clarified, “We understand their sentiments, but deem it necessary to clarify that the girl is younger sister of an @ABVPKarnataka karyakarta.” We noticed some personalities & prominent handles have mistakenly, without any ill-will reported the girl to be daughter of martyr Col Santhosh Babu. We understand their sentiments, but deem it necessary to clarify that the girl is younger sister of an @ABVPKarnataka karyakarta. pic.twitter.com/3Zgt5M9TNK — ABVP (@ABVPVoice) June 17, 2020 We noticed some personalities & prominent handles have mistakenly, without any ill-will reported the girl to be daughter of martyr Col Santhosh Babu. We understand their sentiments, but deem it necessary to clarify that the girl is younger sister of an @ABVPKarnataka karyakarta. pic.twitter.com/3Zgt5M9TNK — ABVP (@ABVPVoice) June 17, 2020 Their Facebook page also shared multiple pictures from the private homage ceremony along with the caption, “Karyakarta of ABVP in Nelamangala Taluk of Karnataka, along with his little sister, paid homage to Col. Santhosh Babu who was martyred during the scuffle between India and China at LAC in Galwan Valley, Ladakh.” ‪Karyakarta of ABVP in Nelamangala Taluk of Karnataka, along with his little sister, paid homage to Col. Santhosh Babu… Posted by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Wednesday, June 17, 2020 The Times of India had earlier fact-checked the image. Thus the social media claim associated with the viral image is false. The girl is not late Col Santosh Babu’s daughter. 🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	19th June 2020 / 10:01 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-is-not-martyred-col-santosh-babus-daughter-paying-tribute-to-her-father/", "author": "Archit" }
2,296	No, this is not Mumbai police commissioner warning about terrorist attacks - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 12th August 2019 / 6:11 pm A video where a man, speaking in Marathi, warns about possible terrorist attacks by Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI in several Indian cities is viral on social media. It is being claimed that this person is the Mumbai police commissioner. Actor Jaywant Wadkar was among those who shared the clip. Mumbai Police commissioner 👆🏻 Total Mumbai under terrorist attack. Please be careful. All railway stations. All bars and cinema halls. Auditoriums. All public places. Please forward to all groups. Jay Hind. Jay Maharashtra. Posted by Jaywant Wadkar on Sunday, 11 August 2019 The video has been massively circulated on Facebook. A few Twitter users have also shared it using the caption – “Mumbai Police commissioner. Total Mumbai under terrorist attack. Please be careful. All railway stations. All bars and cinema halls. Auditoriums. All public places. Please forward to all groups. Jay Hind. Jay Maharashtra.” Alt News has received several verification requests on its mobile app as well. The current police commissioner of Mumbai is Sanjay Barve, and he looks visibly different from the man in the video. The person starring in the video is a man named Hemant Mahajan. We found his identity upon reverse-searching one of the frames of the video on Yandex. Mahajan is a retired Brigadier of the Indian army and comments on national security issues. He has a YouTube channel and has appeared as a guest on several TV news channels. In many of his videos, he can be seen seated in front of the same background as in the viral video. A Twitter user had uploaded the same video widespread on social media and identified Mahajan. This is Brigedear Hemant Mahajan (Fauz) pic.twitter.com/GfkzXKk6jV — manoj joshi (@mjoshi50) August 11, 2019 In conclusion, the man in the video, alerting people of terrorist attacks, is not the commissioner of Mumbai police but a retired army officer Hemant Mahajan. 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	12th August 2019 / 6:11 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-is-not-mumbai-police-commissioner-warning-about-terrorist-attacks/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
2,297	No, this is not PM Modi and Jashodaben's wedding photograph - Alt News Mohammed Zubair & Aqib Pathan 16th December 2020 / 1:14 pm / Last updated: 16th December 2020 On 15 December, journalist Swati Chaturvedi tweeted an image of PM Modi with the caption, ”Does this look like a forced child marriage took you? Yet, Modi never declared this on his mandatory declaration as Gujarat CM”. She later took down her tweet. (Archive link) Chaturvedi claimed that the photograph was taken at prime minister Narendra Modi’s wedding to Jashodaben who was reportedly 17 at the time marriage. It is noteworthy that PM Modi’s marital status was a mystery until he was forced to acknowledge the same in his poll affidavit as a prime ministerial candidate in 2014. The photograph has been regularly shared since 2014 with similar claims. National spokesperson of Congress Pawan Khera had tweeted the same image and questioned, “Someone sent this pic, apparently of Modi, his wife & others. Can anyone help in identifying others in the picture?” (Archive link) Someone sent this pic, apparently of Modi, his wife & others. Can anyone help in identifying others in the picture? pic.twitter.com/GI6H1zmt77 — Pawan Khera (@Pawankhera) April 12, 2014 The same image has also been uploaded as a Wikipedia file photo where the woman is identified as ‘Jashodaben Narendrabhai Modi’. National Organising Secretary of ABVP Ashish Chauhan had claimed in 2014 that the woman in the image is “Vandana”, daughter of former education minister of Gujarat Hemant Chapatwala. An apology is due frm @pawankheda. She’s Vandana d/o fmr EduMin, Guj Hemant Chapatwala & W/o Tapan (2nd frm R) pic.twitter.com/2GhWiSGYOR #Modi — Ashish Chauhan (@AshishSainram) April 12, 2014 A Facebook search took us to an old post by Hemant Chapatwala’s son Keyur Hemant Chapatwala where he described the image as, “Rare Picture of Modiji attending Marriage of My Sister Alpa way back in 1994. Needed to clarify due to false messages & rumors being spread intensely in social media about Shri Narendra Modiji in this Pic.” Rare Picture of Modiji attending Marriage of My Sister Alpa way back in 1994. Needed to clarify due to false messages & rumors being spread intensely in social media about shri Narendra Modiji in this Pic. Posted by Keyur Hemant Chapatwalaa on Sunday, April 13, 2014 Alt News contacted Keyur, who is the incumbent BJP OBC Morcha Pramukh in Surat. He confirmed that the woman in the viral image is his sister Alpa Vankawala. The photograph was taken at her wedding on July 14, 1994. Hemant Chapatwala was then a Rajya Sabha member. “Narendra Bhai, Fakir Bhai Chauhan, and other BJP members came to attend the wedding,” Keyur told Alt News. The individuals in the photograph have been identified below. (1) Fakir Chauhan (2) Narendra Modi (3) Alpa Vankawala (Keyur’s sister) (4) Damleji (RSS Prant Pracharak) (5) Utpal Vankawala (Keyur’s brother-in-law/ husband of Alpa) (6) Kashiram Rana (late BJP MP) He shared more pictures from the wedding where PM Modi can be spotted with other guests. A photograph of PM Modi attending a wedding in 1994 frequently circulates as a picture of his own marriage ceremony. The woman in the image is not PM Modi’s estranged wife Jashodaben but Alpa Vankawala, daughter of late former minister Hemant Chapatwala. Alt News found several other pictures of Alpa and her husband Utpal but has refrained from including them in the report to protect the family’s privacy. 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 December 2020 / 1:14 pm / Last updated: 16th December 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-is-not-pm-modi-and-jashodabens-wedding-photograph/", "author": "Mohammed Zubair & Aqib Pathan" }
2,298	No, this is not PM Modi's mother Hiraben dancing - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 7th October 2019 / 5:19 pm / Last updated: 7th October 2019 A video of an old woman dancing has been shared on social media with the claim that she is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mother Hiraben. “पीएम नरेंद्र मोदी की मां Hira ban,” is the message posted by Facebook page ‘सुषमा स्वराज जि राष्ट्रपति हो‘. The video has garnered 68,000 views and over 1,100 shares at the time of writing this article. It is noteworthy that the video is being shared amidst Navratri celebrations when garba is played especially in the western state of Gujarat. पीएम नरेंद्र मोदी की मां Hira ban Posted by सुषमा स्वराज जि राष्ट्रपति हो on Saturday, 5 October 2019 A Facebook user also shared the video with an identical claim. The same video has been floating online since 2017. Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Kiran Bedi had tweeted the video on October 20, 2017. She too claimed that the elderly woman was Hiraben Modi and wrote, “Spirit of Deepavali at tender age of 97.” Spirit of Deepavali at tender age of 97. She’s mother of @narendramodi (Hiraben Modi -1920) celebrating Diwali at her own home👇🏼@SadhguruJV pic.twitter.com/HBXAzNXomC — Kiran Bedi (@thekiranbedi) October 20, 2017 A keyword search on YouTube leads one to the same video uploaded by numerous users. The earliest instance of the video was traced back to September 30, 2017, uploaded with the caption, “Garba fever.” Alt News had debunked this video when it was shared by Bedi two years ago. Bedi had tweeted a clarification after several social media users pointed out the misinformation. Am informed it’s mistaken identity @SadhguruJV. But salute to the mother with so much vigour. I hope i can be like her if/ when I am 96..! https://t.co/5llHN40tg8 — Kiran Bedi (@thekiranbedi) October 20, 2017 A facial comparison of the elderly woman and Hiraben Modi also stands as evidence that the one dancing in the video is not the PM’s mother. Hiraben Modi’s face is circular while the other woman has an oval face structure. Moreover, Hiraben Modi is seen wearing spectacles in all her publically available photographs, even the ones shot at home. A video of a random elderly woman has been circulating on social media with the false claim that she is Prime Minister Modi’s mother Hiraben. 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 October 2019 / 5:19 pm / Last updated: 7th October 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-is-not-pm-modis-mother-hiraben-dancing/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
2,299	No, this is not Punjab CM Charanjit Channi getting baptised - Alt News Archit 9th October 2021 / 6:35 pm / Last updated: 9th October 2021 Several social media users have shared a clip of a Sikh man getting baptised, a Christian rite of admission and adoption. It has been claimed that the man is Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Channi. पंजाब का मुख्यमंत्री चरणजीत सिंह चन्नी है ?? देखो pic.twitter.com/ysxsD8rIyn — Dr. Richa Rajpoot (@doctorrichabjp) October 8, 2021 Multiple Twitter users have shared it including @Sourabh3507, @PunitTyagiBjp, and @Ravindr14670837. पंजाब के नए मुख्यमंत्री @CHARANJITCHANNI रहते है सरदार के वेश में, पूजा आराधना करते है ईसाइयो के वेश में, कांग्रेश का चन्नी जी को मुख्यमंत्री चुनने के पीछे क्या इरादा हो सकता है।। क्या यह भी मिशनरी का एक भाग है 🤔।।@congress_ @RahulGandhi @priyankagandhi @PunjabGovtIndia pic.twitter.com/hpiPs0ozrh — Punit Tyagi (@PunitTyagiBjp) October 8, 2021 Several users posted this video on pro-BJP Facebook pages such as सच से सामना Sach Se Samna [5,000 members], Stop Conversions in India [5,000 members] KADVA SACH [26,000 members], Republic Tv [30,000 members] and Pushpendra Kulshrestha: Hindu Sher [56,000 members]. Alt News has received several requests to fact-check this claim on our WhatsApp helpline number (+91 76000 11160). In the video, the priest can be heard saying, “I baptise Simranjit Singh as Samuel…” This itself debunks the false claim. We found that a Facebook user had shared the video mentioning Simranjit Singh. Simranjit Singh becomes Samuel. Praise the Lord. Posted by Roy Subir Kaunds on Thursday, 7 October 2021 Below is a picture of Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi. He does not look identical to the man in the video. The video below shows a live stream of Channi’s oath-taking ceremony on September 20. The video has, therefore, been shared with a false claim. 🙏 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 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	9th October 2021 / 6:35 pm / Last updated: 9th October 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-is-not-punjab-cm-charanjit-channi-getting-baptised/", "author": "Archit" }
2,300	No, this is not the nephew of UP Deputy CM Keshav Maurya assaulting a Sikh driver - Alt News Alt News Desk 18th August 2019 / 6:35 pm इलाहाबाद मे उप मुख्यमंत्री केशव मोर्या के भतीजे ने ट्रक चालक की पगड़ी उतार कर बेरहमी से पीटा सिक्ख धर्म के चालक ने कहा जितना मारना है मार लो पर मेरे बाल ना खोलो पर सत्ता के नशे मे चूर नेता ने बाल पकड़ कर घसीट घसीट कर मारा………….@BhavikaKapoor5 pic.twitter.com/kKSJz1XYQ7 — GAURAV-INC™️ (@INC_GAURAV_) August 18, 2019 The message shared with the clip says, “इलाहाबाद मे उप मुख्यमंत्री केशव मोर्या के भतीजे ने ट्रक चालक की पगड़ी उतार कर बेरहमी से पीटा सिक्ख धर्म के चालक ने कहा जितना मारना है मार लो पर मेरे बाल ना खोलो पर सत्ता के नशे मे चूर नेता ने बाल पकड़ कर घसीट घसीट कर मारा. (Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Maurya’s nephew brutally thrashed a truck driver in Allahabad. The driver from the Sikh community asked him (the nephew) to beat him as much as he wants but not open his turban. But the minister, drunk in power, dragged the man by his hair.)” The video is viral on Twitter and Facebook. Alt News found that this video is of an incident that took place in Jammu in 2016. The victim, Harvinder Singh, was assaulted by a person called Vani Gupta. According to a website dailysikhupdates.com, Gupta was caught by the police and charged under sections 341, 323, 295, 307 and attempt to murder of the IPC. The victim underwent medical treatment and appeared to be recovering well. Here is an FIR copy shared by khalsaforce. In recent months we have seen several instances when old, unrelated videos have resurfaced on social media. In this case of a three-year-old video is being circulated with a false narrative to target a political opponent. 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	18th August 2019 / 6:35 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-is-not-the-nephew-of-up-deputy-cm-keshav-maurya-assaulting-a-sikh-driver/", "author": "Alt News Desk" }
2,301	No, this is not the richest man in Kuwait buried with gold - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 9th November 2019 / 5:08 pm / Last updated: 9th November 2019 A set of images circulating on social media show a man lying in a casket wearing gold jewellery. It is being claimed that he was the richest man in Kuwait who passed away. Several images of his “possessions” are being shared along with the message, “The richest man in Kuwait Nassi Al Kharki has passed away. Check out all his treasure assets….Can’t carry any 1 things over the world over there.” The post below has 2,700 shares. The richest man in Kuwait Nassi Al Kharki has passed away. Check out all his treasure assets…. Can’t carry any 1 things over the world over there… Posted by Jesus Larawan Reguero on Thursday, 24 October 2019 The message, however, is more viral in Telugu. It says, “కువైట్‌లోని అత్యంతధనవంతుడు, నాసి అల్ ఖార్కి మరణించాడు. మిగిలి ఉన్న నిధుల ను చూడండి. ఏమీ తీసుకొని వెళ్లలేరు,” which roughly translates to what is alleged in the English claim. From the account ‘కె.యస్.పాల్ కొలికి’ the post drew close to 2,000 shares. కువైట్‌లోని అత్యంతధనవంతుడు, నాసి అల్ ఖార్కి మరణించాడు. మిగిలి ఉన్న నిధుల ను చూడండి. ఏమీ తీసుకొని వెళ్లలేరు Posted by కె.యస్.పాల్ కొలికి on Friday, 25 October 2019 The claim has been shared by people from across the world. Copied The richest man in Kuwait Nassi Al Kharki has passed away. Check out all his treasure and assets…. He Can’t carry a single thing with him. This is a grim reminder to all of us. Let’s share the little we have with the less fortunate hakuna mtu atazikwa na Mali yake. pic.twitter.com/PbNM9Mdjao — Bel Akinyi (@BelAkinyii) November 8, 2019 A simple reverse-image search reveals that the man lying in a casket adorning gold jewellery was not the richest man in Kuwait but a millionaire real estate mogul from Trinidad and Tobago, Sheron Sukhedo. According to Daily Mail, he was gunned down in March 2018. He was laid to rest in a gold casket with his wealth – gold pendants and jewellery. According to Metro, the jewellery was worth $100,000. Furthermore, according to a March 5, 2019 article in Forbes, the richest man in Kuwait is Kutayba Alghanim, the chairman of Alghanim Industries. His world ranking is 1,605. The image of a car lowered into a grave is from 2013 when it was reported that a Brazillian businessman, inspired by the Pharaohs of Egypt, decided to bury his Bentley Continental. However, it was later claimed that this was a stunt to promote organ donation. “It’s absurd to bury something much more valuable than a Bentley: your organs,” the businessman was reported stating. This is an image of Mercedes-Benz vehicle decorated with Swarovski crystals displayed at the annual Tokyo Auto Salon. These are stacks of gold in the Bank of England vault. According to a 2013 website, this is a gipsy funeral. While we were unable to establish the origin of this photograph, the bed is available for sale on a website for about Rs 8 lakh. This is a golden Dassault Falcon 900EX. From what it seems, this is a luxury yacht ‘Khalilah’ at Palmer-Johnson shipyard in Wisconsin. While there are several other pictures shared with the image of a man laid to rest with gold jewellery, it is evident that the accompanying claim is false. The man was not the richest man in Kuwait but a millionaire who was shot dead in the dual-island Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago. Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	9th November 2019 / 5:08 pm / Last updated: 9th November 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-is-not-the-richest-man-in-kuwait-buried-with-gold/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
2,302	No, this is not TMC MP Nusrat Jahan performing Dhunuchi dance on Durga Puja - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 16th October 2019 / 8:12 pm / Last updated: 17th October 2019 Two videos of women performing the traditional Dhunuchi dance associated with Durga Puja in West Bengal has been shared with the claim that they show TMC MP Nusrat Jahan. BJP MP Paresh Rawal quote-tweeted a tweet where a person shared a video of Dhunuchi dance performance claiming that it shows Jahan dancing. Rawal wrote, “#nusratjahan ji ma’am lots of respect and more and more power to you! This country needs more and more people like you on BOTH THE SIDES!” #nusratjahan ji ma’am lots of respect and more and more power to you ! This country needs more and more people like you on BOTH THE SIDES ! Jai Hind. https://t.co/W1uybYx89L — Paresh Rawal (@SirPareshRawal) October 16, 2019 The same video was shared by an individual user on Facebook, Sandeep Yadav, and attracted 1.8 million views. The accompanying message read, “अद्भुत, सांसद नुसरत जहां. (Wonderful, MP Nusrat Jahan.)” अद्भुत, सांसद नुसरत जहां. Posted by Sandeep Yadav on Sunday, 13 October 2019 The video has been massively shared on both Twitter and Facebook. अद्भुत, सांसद नुसरत जहां. Posted by RK Sahu on Monday, 14 October 2019 This video, however, shows a woman named Rashmi Mishra who performed the dance in Powai, Mumbai. A YouTube search with the keywords ‘Dhunuchi dance’ led us to the same video uploaded by several users. One of the users titled the video as ‘Rashmi Mishra in PBWA, Mumbai.’ PBWA stands for Powai Bengali Welfare Association. The original video was uploaded by the organisation’s Facebook page which described it as, “A glimpse of Dhunuchi nach competition performance on Saptami day at Times Powai Sarvajanin Durgotsav ( organized by Powai Bengali Welfare Association, Mumbai). A super performance by Rashmi Mishra.” A glimpse of Dhunuchi nach competition performance on Saptami day at Times Powai Sarvajanin Durgotsav ( organized by Powai Bengali Welfare Association, Mumbai). A super performance by Rashmi Mishra… Posted by PBWA on Sunday, 13 October 2019 Another video of a woman performing the traditional Bengali dance was shared on social media with the claim that she is TMC MP Nusrat Jahan. A user Vinod Sharma (@vinodsharma1834) who is followed by the office of railway minister Piyush Goyal was among those who posted the clip. His tweet drew 1,600 likes at the time of writing. नुसरत जहाँ का दुर्गा पूजा नृत्य ,, जिससे मुल्लाओं के पिछवाड़े मिर्ची लग गयी थी और इस्लाम खतरे में पड़ गया था,,, अत्यंत सुन्दर ,,यही खूबसूरती है इस संस्कृति की,,,,,कहाँ काले बुर्के की क़ैद और कहाँ गुलाल से उड़ते अल्हड आज़ाद रंग….😊 pic.twitter.com/66YJWAeFnS — Vinod Sharma #HTL 🕉️ (@vinodsharma1834) October 12, 2019 “नुसरत जहाँ का दुर्गा पूजा नृत्य ,, जिससे मुल्लाओं के पिछवाड़े मिर्ची लग गयी थी और इस्लाम खतरे में पड़ गया था,,, अत्यंत सुन्दर ,,यही खूबसूरती है इस संस्कृति की,,,,,कहाँ काले बुर्के की क़ैद और कहाँ गुलाल से उड़ते अल्हड आज़ाद रंग. (Nusrat Jahan’s Durga Puja dance which irked Mullas and put Islam in danger. Very beautiful. This is the charm of our culture. Colours have freedom when certain women are caged in black burqas.)” – wrote Sharma. The same clip has also been circulated on Facebook. नुसरत जहां ने पति संग ‘खेला सिंदूर’ तो शुरू हो गया विवाद, विरोधियों को कुछ ऐसे दिया नुसरत ने जवाब… Posted by RAM DAILY NEEDS on Tuesday, 15 October 2019 This video, however, does not show Jahan but Bengali actor Ritabhari Chakraborty. The actor had shared photographs of the Durga Puja event where she can be seen dressed identically, Chakraborty can also be spotted in a video shared by a Youtuber about Durga Puja in South Kolkata. This video was uploaded on October 6. Video clips of women performing the traditional dance associated with Durga Puja were shared on social as TMC MP Nusrat Jahan dancing. 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 October 2019 / 8:12 pm / Last updated: 17th October 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-is-not-tmc-mp-nusrat-jahan-performing-dhunuchi-dance-on-durga-puja/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
2,303	No, this is not US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar at a training camp of a Somali warlord - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 24th October 2019 / 2:14 pm / Last updated: 24th October 2019 Columnist Harbir Singh quote-tweeted a tweet which shared a photograph of a turbaned woman holding an automatic weapon. The original tweet claimed that the image showed US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar at an Al-Qaeda training camp in Somalia. Singh also claimed that the woman was Omar but at a camp of a Somali warlord, not Al-Qaeda (archive). Likely This is @IlhanMN at the camp of a Somali warlord, not Al Qaida. But still, funny how she played with child-killer, AK-47 toting gangs in Somalia then joined anti-gun liberals in America. Sad what fools decent white people have been made by jihadis from Somalia & Pakistan. https://t.co/ls1q8hruya — Harbir Singh (@HarbirSingh_) October 24, 2019 Singh is the husband of journalist Aarti Tikoo Singh who recently spoke at the US House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on “Human Rights in South Asia” in Washington, of which Congresswoman Omar was also a part. Tikoo and Omar took opposing stands on the journalist’s reportage of alleged human rights violations in Kashmir. Since the testimony, their exchange has become a heated topic of discussion. Singh’s tweet was retweeted by Pakistani-Canadian author Tarek Fatah. This same image was earlier shared by supporters of US President Donald Trump. Ilhan Omar, circa 1993. She needs to go. pic.twitter.com/zWHKaJpojr — Justinfo (@justinfo202) August 1, 2019 In fact, the image was also shared by Republican state senator, Oley Larson, who later took it down. This photograph does not show Omar but a woman recruit of the Somali Army at a military training campus at Halane, Mogadishu. The image is available in the archives of Associated Press, according to which it was shot on February 25, 1978. Omar wasn’t born until four years later in 1982. The Congresswoman had also tweeted about the misinformation on October 22, 2019, after the image was shared by Larson. This is pure propaganda designed to stir up hate and violence coming from a GOP state rep. Facebook’s unwillingness to crack down on hate speech and misinformation is not just threatening my life, but our democracy. https://t.co/InzMY5gvKw — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) October 21, 2019 An image of a woman recruit of the Somali army holding an automatic weapon was shared by Harbir Singh as US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar at a training camp of a Somali warlord. Omar is the first Somali-American elected to the US Congress. She was targetted using this photograph as the woman recruit in the picture is wearing a traditional Somali turban akin to the ones often adorned by Omar. Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	24th October 2019 / 2:14 pm / Last updated: 24th October 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-is-not-us-congresswoman-ilhan-omar-at-a-training-camp-of-a-somali-warlord/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
2,304	No, this isn't a new 'smart' passport to be launched in India - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 18th March 2019 / 6:06 pm A message viral on Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp alike claims that a new ‘smart’ debit card-esque passport will soon be launched in India. “The New Smart Passport Concept of future is here. The elegant All-In-One Identity solution for every Indian Citizen very soon. There won’t be any stamp. It will be like debit/credit card. Swipe it and move out,” reads the message. The New Smart Passport Concept of future is here. The elegant All-In-One Identity solution for every Indian Citizen… Posted by Harish K Nair on Sunday, 17 March 2019 Alt News also received queries on WhatsApp regarding the authenticity of the smart passport. Alt News uploaded the image on Google and searched it with the keyword – ‘passport’. The first link that turned up was an article published in Medium titled – “The Passport — Concept.” The article was penned by an engineer and designer, Siddhant Gupta, who created a concept design for a passport card that resembles a pocket-sized ATM card. “I tried to design the very passport, after wondering just too much. What if, our Passport was a card and not a booklet, which would sit easily inside our wallet and we are not worried if the pages will eventually run out,” wrote Gupta. He used his own name and photograph on the design, which is now being circulated on social media as a new soon-to-be-launched smart passport. Viral messages such as these can be easily debunked with a simple reverse image search. One can conversely search for articles in the media that might have reported the news. A lack of reportage is sufficient hint that the message is most likely false. Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	18th March 2019 / 6:06 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-isnt-a-new-smart-passport-to-be-launched-in-india/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
2,305	No, this isn't a video of Wg Cdr Abhinandan dancing with Pakistani army - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 1st March 2019 / 7:16 pm As wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman is released by the Pakistani army, misinformation seems to follow him home. A video currently viral on social media is being shared with claims suggesting that the Indian pilot was dancing with the soldiers of the Pakistan army. #abinadan ਦੇਖੋ ਕਿਦਾ ਨੱਚ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ ਪਾਕਿਸਤਾਨੀ ਆਰਮੀ ਨਾਲ .. #dailypostpunjabi #dailypehredar #abpnews #ajjtak #zeenews ਇਹ ਵਿਡਿਓ ਨੀ ਦਖਾਣੀ ਕਿਸੇ ਵੀ ਟੀਵੀ ਚੇਨਲ ਨੇ Posted by Bhagwant Mann Fan Club on Friday, 1 March 2019 Apart from individual users, Facebook pages have also circulated the video. #Abhinandan dancing with Pakistan Army in Pakistan \|#WelcomeHomeAbhinandan \| #Abhinandan dancing with Pakistan Army in Pakistan \|#WelcomeHomeAbhinandan \| Posted by Amazing Videos on Friday, 1 March 2019 Several Twitter users have shared the clip with the identical claim. #AbhinandanDiwas Our Wing Commander Abhinandan dancing with Pak army pic.twitter.com/JP9QUcNxr8 — F M Shaikh (@FMShaikh20) March 1, 2019 As the viral videos were of poor quality, the faces of the soldiers could not be made out. Alt News looked up YouTube videos with the keywords – “Pakistan soldiers paf dancing” – and stumbled upon a video posted on February 23, 2019, days before the wing commander was captured. The video uploaded by Zee Creations was described as, “Amazing moments of Pakistan Air Force airbase officer celebrate victory moments with staff on Chita Chola Song. #chitachola #dance #army . chita chola se dey darzi,chita chola see darzi full song,chita chola mujra.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vGqehsObhQ As this video was of much better quality, the soldiers’ faces could be clearly identified. None of the officers resembled Indian air force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman. Moreover, the officers’ uniforms adorned the Pakistani national flag. Since the announcement of wing commander Abhinandan’s release, misinformation on social media has been circulating at his expense. Alt News had earlier debunked false claims about his mother and wife. 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	1st March 2019 / 7:16 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-isnt-a-video-of-wg-cdr-abhinandan-dancing-with-pakistani-army/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
2,306	No, this isn't a 'young' PM Modi performing handstand in Rishikesh - Alt News Kalim Ahmed 13th July 2022 / 4:39 pm A 2:20-minute-long video clip of a bare-chested individual handstand-walking around a religious structure is widely circulating on social media. Multiple social media users have shared this video with captions in Hindi claiming that this is a video of a 26-year-old Narendra Modi performing yoga at the monastery of Sadhu Dayanand in Rishikesh. 👆👆उम्र छब्बीस की थी, जब रिषिकेश स्थित साधु दयानंद जी के मठ में योग विद्या ग्रहण किया। पहचानिए इस तपस्वी को आज हमारे प्रधानमंत्री हैं। एक दुर्लभ विडियो मोदीजी का 👌👍 pic.twitter.com/tpt9ZC3BV6 — MissMatch ! (@ShimlaHelpline) July 11, 2022 महान बनने के लिए बड़ी तपस्या करनी पड़ती है और प्रधानमंत्री तो कोई बन सकता है पर इस पद उचित इंसान पहली बार है उम्र छब्बीस की थी, जब रिषिकेश स्थित साधु दयानंद जी के मठ में योग विद्या ग्रहण किया। पहचानिए इस तपस्वी को आज हमारे प्रधानमंत्री हैं। @narendramodi जी का एक दुर्लभ विडियो👌 pic.twitter.com/AGO1KcYXWp — बिजेंद्र चौधरी 💚 कृष्ण भक्त ❤️🕉️ (@Krishna__Bhakt_) July 10, 2022 This claim is viral on both Twitter and Facebook. We have also received several requests on the official Alt News mobile application (Android, iOS) to verify the authenticity of the video. We broke down the video into keyframes using the InVid verification plugin tool to verify its authenticity. We then performed a reverse image search on one of the keyframes using Yandex. This led us to a YouTube video from June 2021. The video did not have any description and it had a title in Tamil that read, “26 June 2021”. However, the video was of better quality which gave us the opportunity to analyse it carefully. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CXLZ6tE5Rw] Upon close observation, we noticed a few anomalies: All of these points establish the fact that the video was most likely shot in the early phases of the coronavirus pandemic, hence it cannot feature a young PM Modi. To probe further, we performed a subsequent reverse image search on the keyframes of the YouTube video. This led to the same video on platforms like ShareChat, Facebook and Twitter. These videos were also published in June 2021 and were of higher quality. We noticed that on the top right corner, the video has a superimposed text that reads “Created by सबसे सुंदर मेरा केदारनाथ ज्योतिर्लिंग आचार्य श्री संतोष त्रिवेदी जी”. Taking this clue, we performed a Google search using relevant keywords. This led us to a tweet from June 2021 by ANI. The tweet by ANI has a photo of Acharya Santosh Trivedi protesting outside Kedarnath Shrine in a headstand position. The attire worn by Acharya Santosh Trivedi in the photo posted by ANI appears similar to the one seen in the viral video. We did another keyword search and found videos of Acharya Santosh Trivedi performing handstands on several occasions. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-PrcqNydU8] Moreover, we found a video report by ETV Bharat from June 2021, confirming that the man seen in the viral video is indeed Acharya Santosh Trivedi. To conclude, the viral video of a man walking around the premises of a temple on his hands is of Acharya Santosh Trivedi. The claim that this video shows a 26-year-old Narendra Modi is false. Previously, Alt News had debunked a similar claim when a “rare” video of a young PM Modi performing yoga was viral. The man in the video turned out to be yoga guru BKS Iyengar. Kalim is a journalist with a keen interest in tech, misinformation, culture, etc Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	13th July 2022 / 4:39 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-isnt-a-young-pm-modi-performing-handstand-in-rishikesh/", "author": "Kalim Ahmed" }
2,307	No, this isn't Justice Murlidhar with Sonia Gandhi when she filed nomination papers - Alt News Kinjal 29th February 2020 / 6:43 pm / Last updated: 29th February 2020 An image of Congress President Sonia Gandhi filing election nomination papers is circulating on social media along with an image of Justice S Murlidhar. The judge was recently transferred from Delhi high court to Punjab and Haryana high court. The timing of his transfer triggered controversy as it came hours after a bench comprising him and Justice Talwant Singh rebuked the Delhi police for not lodging FIRs against BJP leaders for their hate speeches. While sharing the two images, Facebook page ‘Media Mafia’ claimed that Murlidhar was Sonia Gandhi’s lawyer when she filed her nomination papers. The post further alleges that Justice S Murlidhar has ties with the Congress party and served as assistant to party leader Manish Tiwari. The complete message in Hindi reads, “पता चल रहा है कि जो जज साहब वारिस पठान ओवैसी भाई सोनिया गांधी प्रियंका गांधी और शाहीन बाग में दिए जा रहे दूसरे हजारों नफरत वाले भाषणों को न सुनकर सिर्फ कपिल मिश्रा का भाषण सुने वह जज साहब जज बनने के पहले 10 सालों तक कांग्रेसी नेता मनीष तिवारी के असिस्टेंट हुआ करते थे और कांग्रेश के जमाने के कॉलेजियम ने ही उन्हें दिल्ली हाईकोर्ट का जज बनाया था इतना ही नहीं सोनिया गांधी का पर्चा भरते समय वह सोनिया गांधी के वकील थे.” The images are also being shared on WhatsApp with an identical claim. Alt News found that the man seen with Sonia Gandhi is lawyer K C Kaushik and not Justice S Murlidhar. A Google reverse image search revealed that the photo was tweeted by the official handle of Youth Congress on April 11, 2019. On the day Sonia Gandhi filed her nomination from Rae Bareli, Justice Murlidhar was serving as a judge in Delhi high court. UPA Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi files her nomination in Rae Bareli. Our love and endless support are with Sonia ji.#AbHogaNYAY #IndiaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/icqsu4uIox — Youth Congress (@IYC) April 11, 2019 Below we have compared Kaushik, as seen in the photograph with Gandhi, with a screengrab taken from a video byte of the lawyer. He has been identified by several media outlets as Rahul Gandhi’s lawyer on objections raised on the Congress leader’s nomination for 2019 Lok Sabha elections. An image of Sonia Gandhi filing nomination for the 2019 general election along with lawyer KC Kaushik is circulating on social media. He is being falsely identified as Justice S Murlidhar who was recently transferred after rebuking Delhi police for not lodging FIRs against BJP leaders for hate speeches in the wake of Delhi riots. Several on social media are attempting to portray that Murlidhar has ties with the Congress party. 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	29th February 2020 / 6:43 pm / Last updated: 29th February 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-isnt-justice-murlidhar-with-sonia-gandhi-while-she-files-nomination-papers/", "author": "Kinjal" }
2,308	No, this isn't TN man arrested for issuing death threats to Karnataka judges - Alt News Archit 28th March 2022 / 4:43 pm On March 23, The Indian Express reported that Bengaluru police brought a man from Tamil Nadu to Karnataka for issuing death threats to high court judges over the hijab verdict. Cubbon Park police registered the FIR after a video clip surfaced on social media that showed him speaking in Tamil and issuing death threats to three judges, including Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi. The man has been identified as Rahamathulla, a native of Madurai. Five days later, a clip of a man being arrested by police began circulating along with the song ‘Srivalli’ from the Telugu-language film ‘Pushpa’ that was released last year. It has been claimed that the video shows the arrest of Rahamathulla. The jehadi from Tamil Nadu who gave the death threat to the Karnataka High Court judge who gave the hijab verdict. He is currently in the custody of Karnataka Police (not Tamil Nadu Police). And judging by his walk, he is getting the appropriate treatment. pic.twitter.com/pwGz7xKaUY — Rakesh Krishnan Simha (@ByRakeshSimha) March 26, 2022 Several Facebook users have shared this video as well. Using reverse image search, found that the viral video was shared on March 15 addressing the man as Amjad Lala. BIG REPORT: माथे पर हजारों का इनाम, पहले ही दर्जनभर मामले, फिर T.I अमित सोनी पर भी चलाई गोली, सालों से गायब, पर अब तस्करी में धराया, संभाग का कुख्यात आरोपी अमजद लाला चढ़ा मंदसौर पुलिस के हत्थे, पढ़े ये खबर http://www.hindikhabarwaala.com/kukhyattaskar Posted by Narendra Rathore on Tuesday, 15 March 2022 We used ‘Amjad Lala’ as the keyword and found several reports of his arrest. As per Dainik Bhaskar, the incident took place in Madhya Pradesh. Amjad Lala (42) had a bounty of Rs 65,000 on him. Lala was charged with various criminal cases like murder, kidnapping and smuggling. Mandsaur police SP Anurag Sajania said in a video statement that the police were trying to nab Lala since 2016. Lala was found with drugs worth Rs 1 lakh in his possession when he was arrested. To sum it up, a clip showing an arrest in Madhya Pradesh was shared with a false claim that it shows the arrest of the Tamil Nadu-based man who recently issued death threats to three judges in Karnataka after the hijab verdict. 🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023. Following Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win against Argentina in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, speculation about… Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery. Several users have shared images of the… The brutal murder of Shraddha Walker has been widely covered across news media over the… A 1:34-minute-long CCTV camera clip is being widely circulated on social media in which viewers… The teaser of a movie titled ‘The Kerala Story’ is being widely shared on social…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	28th March 2022 / 4:43 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-isnt-tn-man-arrested-for-issuing-death-threats-to-karnataka-judges/", "author": "Archit" }
2,309	No, this isn't UP pradhan-student who made a video from Ukraine - Alt News Kalim Ahmed 4th March 2022 / 3:35 pm / Last updated: 4th March 2022 Vaishali Yadav, an Indian medical student studying in Ukraine and daughter of a leader of the Samajwadi Party (SP), recently made a video from Ukraine. Yadav appealed to the Indian government to assist the students stranded in the war-torn country. It was also reported that Yadav is the gram pradhan (village head) of Tera Pursaili village in Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh. Soon after this discovery, several users on social media started sharing a photo of a young woman arrested by the police. It has been claimed that the woman in the photo is Vaishali Yadav. The photo was tweeted by @YogiDevnath2, whose bio states that he is the in-charge of Hindu Yuva Vahini Gujarat Pradesh. It was also shared by users @humlogindia, @Tiwari__live, @realpriya111, @itsVSPARMAR, among others. The claim is also viral on Facebook. We performed a Google reverse image search on the photo which led us to a tweet by Nagaur police, Rajasthan. The tweet was a press statement by the police regarding the arrest of a young woman under The Arms Act. In the statement, the police say that the woman had posted a video on social media where she could be seen flaunting a weapon. Reports by NDTV and The Print identify the woman as 27-year-old Kamla Chaudhary. #NAGAURPOLICE#PS जायल • नागौर पुलिस की त्वरित कार्यवाही! • सोशल मीडिया पर हथियार के साथ वीडियो वायरल कर आमजन में भय का माहौल पैदा करने वाली युवती #गिरफ्तार। • 24 घंटे के अंदर युवती को नागौर से किया गिरफ्तार। pic.twitter.com/g6aHOykSp8 — Nagaur Police (@NagaurPolice) March 3, 2022 It must be noted that it was previously claimed that Vaishali Yadav had created the viral video from her home in Hardoi and was pretending to be in Ukraine. She was arrested by UP police, the claim added. This turned out to be false. Alt News’s report on this instance of disinformation can be read here. In a statement, Hardoi SP Rajesh Dwivedi said that Yadav is currently in Romania. The claim that she was detained or arrested in UP is false. झूठा निकला यूक्रेन में फंसी हरदोई की वैशाली यादव की गिरफ्तारी का मामला हरदोई के तेरा पुरसौली गांव की प्रधान वैशाली यादव यूक्रेन में एमबीबीएस कर रही है जिन्होंने एक वीडियो जारी कर अपनी बात कुछ समय पहले बताई थी । आज सुबह बिहार के सीतामढ़ी के बीजेपी विधायक अनिल कुमार ने ट्वीट कर ये सनसनी मचा दी कि वैशाली यादव ने फर्जी वीडियो जारी कर अफवाह फैलाई थी ताकि सरकार बदनाम हो जाये इसके चलते वैशाली यादव को गिरफ्तार कर लिया गया है , इस ट्वीट से राजनीति गरमा गई थी , खंजर सूत्र डॉट कॉम ने जब पड़ताल की तो वैशाली ने बताया कि वो अभी रोमानिया में है और सुरक्षित है । हरदोई के एसपी राजेश द्विवेदी ने भी बताया कि हरदोई पुलिस ने ऐसी कोई कार्यवाई नही की है । खंजर पड़ताल से ये सिद्ध हुआ कि अधूरा ज्ञान खतरनाक होता है और बिहार वाले बीजेपी विधायक ने अपने अधूरे ज्ञान के चलते एक ज्वलंत समस्या जिसमे पूरा विश्व उलझा है इस वक़्त, का मज़ाक टाइप का ही उड़ा दिया और अपनी राजनीति की रोटियां सेंकने की फिराक में ना केवल यूक्रेन से निकलकर रोमानिया में शरण ली हुई वैशाली और हरदोई में उसके परिजनों को परेशान किया बल्कि सरकार के लिए भी एक तरह की असहज स्थिति पैदा कर दी । #राजनीति #ukraine #BJP4IND #Hardoi #khanzarsutra Posted by Khanzar Sutra on Wednesday, 2 March 2022 However, according to a report by The Indian Express, the Hardoi administration has ordered a probe into Yadav studying in Ukraine. Speaking to The Indian Express, an official said, “According to rules, gram panchayat is supposed to be met once a month. The gap between two meetings cannot exceed two months. Also, a panchayat member cannot be absent in three consecutive meetings.” Hence, a woman’s arrest in Nagaur was falsely linked to Vaishali Yadav, an SP leader’s daughter who is studying in Ukraine. Yadav had made a video appealing to the Indian government for help. Since then, there is an attempt to discredit her plight. However, Yadav is a village head and objections were raised regarding her absence while being a public representative. 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	4th March 2022 / 3:35 pm / Last updated: 4th March 2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-isnt-up-pradhan-student-who-made-a-video-from-ukraine/", "author": "Kalim Ahmed" }
2,310	No, this Kerala man is not feeding 'meat' to an elephant - Alt News Mohammed 16th April 2022 / 6:22 pm A video is currently viral on social media with the claim that an elephant attacked a Muslim man and a boy in Kerala who tried to feed meat to the elephant. One Ravindra Tiwari wrote, “Are these fellows born idiots or are they trying to convert even animals to Islam? [sic]” This Kerala muslim fellow tried to give meat to the elephant….see what happened. Are these fellows born idiots or are they trying to convert even animals to islam? Posted by Ravindra Tiwari on Thursday, 14 April 2022 Similarly, Facebook accounts Yogi Bhakt, Kirti Mishra, Jago BharatJago, Ritesh Kumar Mishra and many others too posted the video with similar claims. The same pattern was observed on Twitter. This Kerala muslim fellow tried to give meat to the elephant….see what happened. Are these fellows born idiots or are they trying to convert even animals to islam? pic.twitter.com/UI6KbMyO2Y — #DextrousNinja🇮🇳 (@DextrousNinja) April 9, 2022 केरल के इस मुस्लिम ने हाथी को मांस देने की कोशिश….देखो क्या हुआ क्या ये लोग पैदाइशी राक्षस हैं ये जानवरों को भी इस्लाम में बदलने की कोशिश कर रहे हैं pic.twitter.com/1uOCpRNE1E — Uttam Chaurasiya – ( भारतीय )🇮🇳🙏 (@INDUttam) April 13, 2022 Alt News carried out a reverse image search of the screenshots from the video and found that news outlets from southern states have covered the incident. ETV Bharat reported that a man courageously saved his four-year-old son from being attacked by an elephant. Matrubhumi reported that the incident took place in Malappuram district. Alt News found that the video was shot in Pazamparampa village which falls under the Keezuparmpa post of Malappuram district. Keezuparmpa Gram Panchayat chairman Sakkiya Nisar YP confirmed the same to us while stating, “The female elephant seen in the video while attacking the kid is owned by Abdul Nassar. The name of the elephant is Mini.” He said that there is a custom in Kerala to feed coconuts to elephants to cure scurvy baby bumps. The incident took place when a minor boy along with his father tried to feed a coconut to Mini. Alt News reached out to Abdul Nassar. He said, “The incident is about four to six months old when my neighbour Nabeel Kunhappu, who works in Saudi Arabia, had come home during vacation.” Nassar said that Kunhappu along with family members wanted to feed the elephant. Kunhappu gave a coconut to the elephant. The coconut was hard and the elephant did not like it. A video of Kunhappu feeding Mini is attached below. “Later Kunhappu’s son started insisting that he too wants to feed the elephant. But when the boy raised his arm to give a coconut to the elephant, the animal charged at him. Kunhappu pulled the boy away,” added Nassar. Though the incident took place a few months back, it went viral after Kunhappu, who recently returned to Saudi Arabia, shared it on his Facebook account. The video has been shared with a false claim. The man and his son were not feeding meat to the elephant but gave the elephant a coconut. Fact-checking journalist 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	16th April 2022 / 6:22 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-kerala-man-is-not-feeding-meat-to-an-elephant/", "author": "Mohammed" }
2,311	No, this Krishna and Pandavas painting is not in 'Panjshir Palace', Afghanistan - Alt News Archit 20th September 2021 / 6:48 pm / Last updated: 21st September 2021 After the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August, Panjshir Valley emerged as the last province that resisted the Islamist extremist organisation’s control. In the first week of September however, the Taliban claimed to have taken complete control of the Valley. On September 15, it was reported that Panjshir province led by Ahmad Massoud will declare a parallel government in the country after consultations in response to the new cabinet announced by the Taliban. The resistance front declared the Taliban government “illegitimate”. A lot of claims regarding Panjshir have emerged on social media since the conflict. In the most recent, several social media users have shared a painting of Hindu deity Krishna and the Pandavas from the Mahābhārata, one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India. As per the accompanying claim, this artwork is housed at Afghanistan’s Panjshir Palace. Facebook page ‘भारतीय धरोहर – Bhartiya Dharohar’ garnered over 1,000 shares for the claim. This painting exists in the Panj-sheer Palace. It is located in the Gandhara kingdom since the time of the Mahabharata,… Posted by भारतीय धरोहर – Bhartiya Dharohar on Thursday, 16 September 2021 Alt News received several requests to fact-check the claim on our WhatsApp helpline number (+91 76000 11160). The image is shared with the same claim on Facebook and Twitter alike. This fact-check is divided into two sections: As per the website, the painting was made by Rasikananda and is titled ‘Krishna and the Pandavas‘. As per the artist’s bio, he was born in Russia’s Komsomolsk-on-Amur city. In addition to the viral painting, the website lists 21 other paintings and they have all been marked as ‘sold’. This includes the viral painting. We found the artist on Facebook and he told us that his civic last name is Novikov V but he primarily uses his devotional name, Rasikananda Das. “I sent this painting to Sweden BBT archives in ISKCON Temple Korsnäs Gård in 1999. This artwork was done as an illustration for the 7th Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana). I didn’t paint this with Afghanistan as a location in my mind,” Das said and added, “I have made this painting only once (original) but I cannot comment if there are any copies by any other artists.” He also posted a clarification on Facebook. Interesting enough, that this my old painting became very “ popular” on Indian social media . Few people contacted me… Posted by Rasikananda Das on Saturday, 18 September 2021 To conclude, an image of a painting titled ‘Krishna and Pandavas’ by Russian artist Rasikananda was shared with the claim that it is present in ‘Panjshir Palace’. Readers should note that this painting dates back more than two decades and more crucially there is no evidence that Panjshir Palace exists. 🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023. A minute-long video clip of a woman being physically assaulted is viral on social media…. Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery. Several users have shared images of the… A 1:34-minute-long CCTV camera clip is being widely circulated on social media in which viewers… Trigger Warning: Violent Content. Viewer discretion is advised. Over the past few months, rumours of… The teaser of a movie titled ‘The Kerala Story’ is being widely shared on social…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	20th September 2021 / 6:48 pm / Last updated: 21st September 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-krishna-and-pandavas-painting-is-not-in-panjshir-palace-afghanistan/", "author": "Archit" }
2,312	No, this letter notifying people to abstain from sharing political posts online was NOT issued by govt - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 15th March 2019 / 5:34 pm A letter viral on social media, with many presuming that it is a government order for social media users, is notifying people to abstain from using Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram to share political propaganda posts before the 2019 elections. “Do not share election-related posts, photographs and posters,” reads the ‘notice’ circulated under the name of ‘Crime Prevention Council of India.’ The letter reads – “सोशल मीडिया से जुड़े Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp और Other Networks के माध्यग से कोई भी व्यक्ति आगामी चुनाव 2019 के दौरान चुनाव प्रचार सम्बन्धित पोस्ट, फोटो, बैनर आदि को एक दूसरे को न भेजें ! (Social media users connected to Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and other networks do not share political propaganda posts, photos and posters, before the coming elections.)” The concluding lines of the letter warn action by district-level special surveillance team of the Election Commission – “चुनाव आयोग की जिला स्तरीय Special Surveillance Team द्वारा कार्यवाही भी की जा सकती है।” Several social media users have shared the notice assuming it to be a government order. Many individual users have also sent queries to Alt News regarding the authenticity of the letter. While the name of the organisation might allude that it is affiliated to the government, facts prove otherwise. Alt News visited the site of ‘Crime Prevention Council of India (CPCI)’ – www.cpcindiaonline.com – and the site’s URL itself makes it evident that the organisation is not a part of the government. The URL of the ‘Crime Prevention Council of India’ ends with a ‘.com’ while websites of the Indian government either end with a ‘gov.in’ or ‘nic.in’. The official website of any ministry or government department always ends with the domain “gov.in”. For example – Ministry of External Affairs (mea.gov.in), Government of Uttarakhand (uk.gov.in), Swachh Bharat (swachhbharatmission.gov.in), Prasar Bharati (prasarbharati.gov.in). The website of any organisation affiliated to the Indian government ends with a ‘nic.in’. Domain name ‘nic.in’ is owned by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), which is the science and technology organisation of the Government of India under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. ‘Nic.in’ can be allocated only to Indian government entities. For instance, Central Board of Secondary Education (cbse.nic.in), Indian Institute of Mass Communication (iimc.nic.in). The organisation is a non-governmental establishment. “We are an NGO that works towards reducing crime in the country via awareness programs, workshops, seminars, etc. A lot of our work also involves partnering with the government,” said Dr SK Pandey, Chairman of CPCI, to Alt News. “The letter viral on social media was wrongly issued by a member of CPCI and not the organisation. He should not have issued the letter as a ‘notice’ but only as a suggestion in public interest. The concerned person – District Officer Narendra Singh – has now been terminated from his position and is not associated with the organisation any more,” added Dr Pandey. Dr Pandey has also issued a letter on behalf of CPCI, clarifying that the earlier ‘notice’ was not issued by the organisation but a faulting district officer who has now been recused from his role. The letter also mentions that the Crime Prevention Council of India is a non-governmental organisation. The letter doing rounds on social media, notifying people to abstain from posting political propaganda content before the elections, was, thus, not issued by the government. It was merely a suggestion in public interest issued by a member of a non-governmental organisation. The NGO has, however, informed that the concerned member wrongly issued the letter. Despite the illusion of a government notice, social media users could have avoided falling for the letter by carefully analysing its tone and the organisation’s website URL provided at the bottom. Even though the letter gave the impression of a warning, it did not mention ‘Government of India’ or the name of any ministry. Moreover, the URL provided at the bottom ended with a ‘.com’ domain, which was sufficient to establish that the organisation was not a government entity. 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 March 2019 / 5:34 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-letter-notifying-people-to-abstain-from-sharing-political-posts-online-was-not-issued-by-govt/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
2,313	No, this photo doesn't show Gandhi as part of 'British Army' pre-independence - Alt News Aritraa Dey 30th May 2022 / 6:02 pm A black and white photograph of a group of men is viral on social media. In the photograph, some of the men are wearing identical striped uniforms and a few are dressed in formals. The fifth man from the left in the last row is claimed to be Mahatma Gandhi. The image is being circulated with the claim that it dates back to the time when Gandhi was recruited into the British Army in pre-independent India and that he was also awarded several medals commemorating his distinguished services. क्या आप जानते हैं…….????#महात्मा_गांधी कभी #ब्रिटिश_आर्मी में #सार्जेंट_मेजर थे और उन्हें ब्रिटिश सेना में शानदार काम करने के लिए दो #पदक भी मिले थे?? pic.twitter.com/7Aj6b5NFz2 — Mughal🕋UEW (@Mugleazam14) May 24, 2022 The image has multiple shares on Facebook and Twitter. क्या आप जानते हैं महात्मा गांधी कभी ब्रिटिश आर्मी में सार्जेंट मेजर थे और उन्हें ब्रिटिश सेना में शानदार काम करने के लिए दो पदक भी मिले थे 😢😢 pic.twitter.com/dv9Vq4bDkR — योगी विशालानन्द-ब्रम्हऊर्जा प्राणयोग विशेषज्ञ (@yogivishalnand5) May 24, 2022 On performing a reverse image search, we found an article by Livemint which has used the same image. The article states that during his stay in South Africa between 1893-1915, Mahatma Gandhi formed two football clubs in Johannesburg and Pretoria. Both the teams were named “The Passive resisters”, based on the political philosophy inspired by Henry Thoreau and Leo Tolstoy. This image was that of the team, taken circa 1913 in South Africa. The image has been credited to stock photo agency Dinodia. We checked the agency’s website and found the image. It was taken by Vithalbhai Jhaveri, a late filmmaker, and photographer who documented Gandhi during the independence movement. Furthermore, the claim that Gandhi ‘served’ in the British Army itself is not credible. In 2008, when the claim appeared in Sainik Samachar, a journal run by The Ministry Of Defence, historian Ramachandra Guha stated, “Gandhi was never employed by the British forces. He had only raised a voluntary ambulance corps consisting purely of non-combatants to render medical aid to British troops. It is incorrect to say he served the British army.” Professor Bipin Chandra, an expert on the Indian National Movement, similarly said that Gandhi was never a part of the British army and had only raised a voluntary ambulance corps. Their statements were reported by Hindustan Times in 2008. Therefore, while Mahatma Gandhi is indeed in the viral photograph, the image was taken in South Africa in 1913 when he formed football clubs. Writes. Fact Checks. Sleeps. 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 May 2022 / 6:02 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-photo-doesnt-show-gandhi-as-part-of-british-army-pre-independence/", "author": "Aritraa Dey" }
2,314	No, this temple in Chittor was not converted into a mosque - Alt News Kalim Ahmed 2nd June 2022 / 2:14 pm A photograph of a structure that appears to be a temple with a dome on top is viral on social media with various captions that suggest that the structure was a temple that was converted into a mosque. BJP member Surendra Poonia shared the photo with a caption in Hindi which reads, “The architecture of the Mughals and the rest of the invaders was so unique and strange that whatever they built, they always kept a temple in its basement.” Poonia’s tweet is a reference to the conspiracy that 22 locked rooms in the basement of the Taj Mahal house Hindu idols. मुग़लों और बाक़ी Invaders का Architecture इतना बेजोड़ और विचित्र था क़ि उन्होंने जो भी बनाया उसके Basement में हमेशा मंदिर ही रखा #KnowYourHistory pic.twitter.com/wnh5abDmp4 — Major Surendra Poonia (@MajorPoonia) May 16, 2022 Users @SujinEswar1 and @Chetankumar_111 tweeted the photo with the claim that a Hindu temple in Chittor was converted into a mosque by the Mughals. Stunningly beautiful walls…with an ugly looking dome ! This is an old Hindu temple in Chittor converted into a mosque by Mughals … Will any Historian highlight this ????#GyanvapiMosque #TajMahal pic.twitter.com/6wdoE8ETcy — Dr. Sujin Eswar 🇮🇳 (@SujinEswar1) May 9, 2022 Stunningly beautiful walls…with an ugly looking dome ! This is an old Hindu temple in Chittor converted into a mosque by Mughals … Will any Historian highlight this ????#GyanvapiMosque #TajMahalControversy pic.twitter.com/tc3I6qJDXJ — Chetankumar Prajapati Official 🇮🇳 (@Chetankumar_111) May 13, 2022 The photo of this structure was also viral on Twitter in 2020 with the same claim and was in circulation on Facebook as well. Stunningly beautiful walls…with an ugly looking dome ! This is an old Hindu temple in Chittor converted into a mosque by Mughals … Will any Historian highlight this ???? pic.twitter.com/k94EASx31m — Rishi Bagree (@rishibagree) August 4, 2020 We performed a Google reverse image search on the photo and came across a forum from 2011, where one Sudipto Ray published photos of his self-driving trip from Kolkata to Rajasthan. In his posts, Sudipto shared the viral image with the caption, “An obvious temple, converted into a mosque”. Photos preceding the viral image also suggested that this was in Chittor. Taking this as a clue, we performed a keyword search on Google and came across the same structure on Alamy. As per the description on Alamy, the structure is an old temple in the Rattan Singh Palace, Chittorgarh Fort, Rajasthan. We performed a second keyword search and came across another photo showing the temple’s front part. As per the caption, this was an old Shiv temple in Chittorgarh Fort. We again performed a Google reverse image search which led to Wikipedia, according to which the name of the temple is “Shringar Chauri”. Using Google Earth Pro, we geolocated the temple at these coordinates 24°53’33.06″N, 74°38’40.47″E. Both the front and the back of the temple are visible on street view. We also found a photo of the Shringar Chauri temple on ASI’s Jodhpur Circle website. An official document of the ASI available on the website of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), describes Shringar Chauri as a Jain Temple built in 1448 by Velaka, son of Kola, the treasurer of Maharana Kumbha. Similarly, in the book “Archaeological Survey of India: Report of a Tour in the Panjab and Rajputana in 1883-84, Vol. XXIII“, author A. Cunningham wrote, “Midway between magazine and bastion is a carved stone temple now called the Sringar-Chauri…built by the Jain treasurer of Rana Kumbha”. This suggests that at some point, the temple was known by a different name to the locals. It is also important to note that there are many temples in the area that have domes on top of them. Domes appear to be a common feature of temples in the area. Alt News reached out to Professor MK Pundhir who is an expert on Medieval Archaeology in the Department of History at Aligarh Muslim University. He said, “Whenever the fort was captured by anyone in power, it was desolated. Despite this, there is no evidence to suggest that the Shringar Chauri temple was converted into a mosque by building a dome over it. Moreover, if this was the case, the Rajputs would have destroyed the dome whenever they gained control, as it symbolised alien power.” Alt News also accessed the book ‘Chittorgarh’ published in 1928, compiled by Pt. Shobalal Shastri. The book has a dedicated chapter on Shringar Chauri and it suggests that the temple was originally built in 1277 by King Ratan Singh but was destroyed in the first siege of Chittor (1303) and was reerected by Treasurer Velaka in 1448. There is no mention of it being converted into a mosque. To conclude, the claim that the Shringar Chauri Temple was converted into a mosque is baseless. The claim is part of a series of conspiracies suggesting that ancient Hindu structures across India have been desolated by invading powers and mosques have been built on top of them. Kalim is a journalist with a keen interest in tech, misinformation, culture, etc Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	2nd June 2022 / 2:14 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-temple-in-chittor-was-not-converted-into-a-mosque/", "author": "Kalim Ahmed" }
2,315	Video of people fainting after Vizag gas leak last year falsely linked to COVID second wave - Alt News Anuradha Prasad 29th April 2021 / 6:24 pm India is overwhelmed with a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic caused by a more infectious strain of the coronavirus and the government’s apathetic response to the crisis. Photographs of people lying on the road outside hospitals, some waiting to be admitted and others dying, is being widely reported in the media. Recently, Twitter user @andy51737215 posted a video with a Chinese caption that read, “India’s condition is quite bad.” The visuals show several people fainting and lying unconscious on the road. It amassed more than 3,000 views and 250 retweets at the time of writing. [Disclaimer: Some readers may find the video disturbing in nature. Viewer discretion is advised.] 印度疫情这么严重🙏 pic.twitter.com/6Q4KjfY9jE — 無語 (@andy51737215) April 24, 2021 Another user shared the same video while linking it to the current outbreak of COVID-19 in India. COVID-19 is on a rampage in India… Hospitals are struggling to cope… There is no a huge shortage of oxygen…. This disease is vicious and cruel. #GetVaccinated and reduce the risk… Vaccines work… The Chinese vaccines are both safe & effective. pic.twitter.com/dQDqcna720 — Kudzai Mutisi (@KMutisi) April 24, 2021 Alt News has also received requests to fact-check the video on our official WhatsApp number (+91 7600011160). This is not the first time these visuals have gone viral. In June 2020, they were circulated as the after-effects of a hornet attack. Our fact-check had found that the video actually depicts the aftermath of a gas leak at the LG Chemical Plant in Visakhapatnam on May 7, 2020. An NDTV report covering the incident has been attached below. It states that the gas leak exposed more than 1,000 people. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC3bQVuHtO8] Several news channels also released video reports of the incident, blurring some of the visually disturbing scenes. A digital outlet called CRUX had uploaded a video that features scenes from the clip currently viral. First visual Second visual Third visual Fourth visual Fifth visual The full-length CRUX video can be seen below. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmP8IiMrZTQ] Therefore, the clip in question is not linked to COVID-19 but shows the aftermath of a gas leak in Visakhapatnam last year. A journalist and a dilettante person who always strives to learn new skills and meeting new people. Either sketching or working. 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	29th April 2021 / 6:24 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-video-does-not-show-covid-patients-it-is-related-to-visakhapatnam-gas-leak-last-year/", "author": "Anuradha Prasad" }
2,316	No, this video does not show piles of cash seized from TN MLA Velumani's godown - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 20th March 2019 / 6:14 pm / Last updated: 20th March 2019 “A small fire accident in Minister S. P. Velumani’s Godown. A small loss only. But huge amount was found safe,” is the message accompanying a video which shows piles of currency notes stacked together, some allegedly burnt in a fire. Velumani is an AIADMK MLA from Tamil Nadu. A small fire accident in Minister S. P. Velumani’s Godown. A small loss only. But huge amount was found safe. Posted by Ambrose Jegan on Tuesday, 19 March 2019 The same video is viral in Tamil with a message that reads – “நேற்று காலை தமிழக அமைச்சர் வேலுமணி அவர்கள் குடவுனில் தீ விபத்து! சேதாரம் சிறுசுதான்!! இவனுகளால் தமிழ்நாடு கெட்டுகுட்டிச்சுவரா போவதற்கு நீங்களும் ஒரு காரணம்…..கவனமாக தேர்தலில் வாக்களிக்கவும்…… Yesterday morning Tamil Nadu minister Velumani’s godown had a fire accident but the damage was small. Due to tghese people TN has got ruined so much and you are also a reason behind this. Please vote carefully.” If one carefully watches the video, it is quite clear that the currency notes are not the Indian Rupee. Due to the poor quality of the footage, the currency symbol or the country’s name is not visible, however, the colour of the notes and their corresponding value can be identified. For instance, the notes valued at 20 were blue, the orange ones were marked 50 and the green ones were valued at 100. When we searched for currency notes according to the above-stated colour code, we found that they are Euro bills. It is unlikely for a regional minister to hoard money in Euros. Moreover, if that were the case, the incident would have been reported in the media. These reasons were the first hints suggesting that social media claims were false. Upon further inspection, we found that the same video was also viral with the narrative that the piles of cash were recovered from Pakistani politician Agha Siraj Durrani’s house. سندھ اسمبلی آغا سراج درانی کے گھر کی بیسمنٹ سے برآمد ہونے والی کرنسی کے ہیں 👇👇👇 ‏یہ مناظر کسی بنک کے والٹ کے نہیں بلکہ پیپلزپارٹی راہنما اور اسپیکر سندھ اسمبلی آغا سراج درانی کے گھر کی بیسمنٹ سے برآمد ہونے والی کرنسی کے ہیں 👇👇👇 Posted by 72News on Monday, 11 March 2019 AFP debunked these claims in a March 19 report. The media organisation found that the clip represented a 2018 art installation in Spain. The notes were hand-painted by Spanish artist, Alejandro Monge, who uploaded the same video on his Instagram account, calling out the false claims ascribed to his artwork. Es lo que tiene internet que algo sin saber porque se hace viral… y luego nadie sabe ni que es ni de quien es… gracias por enviarme donde los vais viendo desde NY hasta grupos de WhatsApp por todo el mundo.. pues si la gente supiera que es una escultura y que los billetes están pintados a mano … @monge_art compartir !! A post shared by Alejandro Monge 🔥💶🔥 (@monge_art) on According to AFP, the caption of his post, written in Spanish, says, “It’s one of the things about the internet that something can go viral without knowing why it does… and then nobody knows what it is or who it is from. If people knew what sculpture is and knew the tickets are painted by hand… @monge-art share!!” AFP also had an email conversation with Monge, where the artist said, “The video was taken by a visitor to the ArtMadrid art fair in 2018 and a Dutch website published it without mentioning anything, so the decontextualised video was perfect for fake news websites around the world, we know it has been used in Haiti, Russia, Cameroon, Spain and Pakistan with different news stories linking it to local politicians. The sculpture was published on my Instagram page a year ago, including documenting the whole production process. The sculpture is made of resin and wood and the bills are coloured by hand with colouring pencils.” Unrelated videos, accusing politicians of stacking illegal money, have been found floating on social media in the past as well. A BJP worker from Karnataka was the target of similar misinformation in 2018. Videos of fake currency notes have also been shared on social media as with false narratives. 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	20th March 2019 / 6:14 pm / Last updated: 20th March 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-video-does-not-show-piles-of-cash-sized-form-tn-mla-velumanis-godown/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
2,317	No, this video doesn't show people infected with Coronavirus in China screaming for help - Alt News Archit 10th February 2020 / 7:23 pm / Last updated: 10th February 2020 On February 7, Brajesh Misra, editor-in-chief of Bharat Samachar tweeted (archive) a 15-second video and said, “People from Wuhan can be heard begging for life from their homes. Instead of medical care, they have been locked inside their homes. These screams will echo for centuries in the global community. Coronavirus is spreading fast. India will have to prepare immediately. [Translated from: जिंदगी की भीख मांगते चीन के वूहान शहर के ये लोग अपने घरों से चीखकर गिड़गिड़ा रहे हैं. इलाज, मदद की बजाय इन्हें घरों में बंद कर दिया गया है. चीन के लोगों की ये चीखें सदियों तक विश्व समुदाय का पीछा करेंगी. कोरोना वायरस चरम की तरफ बढ़ रहा है.भारत को तत्काल तैयारी में जुटना होगा.]” जिंदगी की भीख मांगते चीन के वूहान शहर के ये लोग अपने घरों से चीखकर गिड़गिड़ा रहे हैं. इलाज, मदद की बजाय इन्हें घरों में बंद कर दिया गया है. चीन के लोगों की ये चीखें सदियों तक विश्व समुदाय का पीछा करेंगी. कोरोना वायरस चरम की तरफ बढ़ रहा है.भारत को तत्काल तैयारी में जुटना होगा. pic.twitter.com/hZDcxpgpWX — Brajesh Misra (@brajeshlive) February 7, 2020 Several social media users on Twitter and Facebook also shared the clip. Alt News did a keyword search on Twitter and found that @Madhusu21543161 had tweeted the same text along with a longer version of the same video. Alt News recognised the South China Morning Post logo in the video. Using this as a clue, we did a keyword search on the YouTube channel of South China Morning Post and found the original video. It was uploaded on January 28, 2020. According to the video description, “Wuhan has been in lockdown since January 23 to prevent further spread of the coronavirus. But residents have found their own way to boost morale. Videos show people in their apartments shouting out of their windows and singing patriotic songs to cheer each other up. The videos have also gone viral on Chinese social media.“ Therefore, the claims made by Brajesh Misra, editor-in-chief of Bharat Samachar are false. The people in the building were chanting slogans and patriotic songs to boost morale. They haven’t been locked inside their apartments. 🙏 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	10th February 2020 / 7:23 pm / Last updated: 10th February 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-video-doesnt-show-people-infected-with-coronavirus-china-screaming-for-help/", "author": "Archit" }
2,318	Old video from Manipur shared as women receiving cash in the backdrop of CAA protests - Alt News Jignesh Patel 24th January 2020 / 2:54 pm / Last updated: 24th January 2020 A video of a man purportedly handing out cash to a group of women, many of whom are holding the flag of Congress party, is widely circulating on social media in the backdrop of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). It is being claimed that Congress workers are paying these women. “सभी महिलाओं को कांग्रेस के कार्यकर्ताओं द्वारा हाथों हाथ आजादी की रकम दी जा रही है। [Congress workers are giving all the women the ‘price’ of freedom -translated]”, reads the text shared along with the video on Facebook. The video has a speech of Rahul Gandhi playing out in the background. सभी महिलाओं को कांग्रेस के कार्यकर्ताओं द्वारा हाथों हाथ आजादी की रकम दी जा रही है । Posted by Yatharth Sharma on Friday, 17 January 2020 Several people on Facebook and Twitter shared the video with an identical claim. With a keyword search on Google, Alt News found that the same video was uploaded by YouTube channel ‘Indian Weapons’ on March 2, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9St9KqbaCQ “Congress Bribing Voters In Imphal, Manipur? VIDEO GOES VIRAL !”, reads the title of the video. The above video uploaded in March 2017 doesn’t have the background voice of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi but people’s chatter. A closer look at the video reveals that a woman is holding a placard which reads, “Ward 5 KMC”. With a Google search, we found that KMC stands for “Kakching Municipal Council”. According to a report by The Wire, Manipur’s Kakching was sliced out of Thoubal and made into a new district. It is worthwhile to note that the assembly election in Manipur was held between March 4 and March 8, 2017. The audio of Rahul Gandhi’s speech, superimposed over the video, is from an election rally at Gandhinagar during the Gujarat assembly elections in 2017. At 2:28 mins from the video, you can hear the relevant speech. This video was earlier fact-checked by BoomLive in October 2017. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2D6uxCexF0?start=145] A 2017 video of men allegedly distributing cash to women holding INC flags was falsely shared with the claim these women were receiving cash for protesting against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019. 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 January 2020 / 2:54 pm / Last updated: 24th January 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-video-doesnt-show-women-protesting-against-caa-receiving-cash/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
2,319	No, this video is not of a 'Make in India' train manufactured for Sydney metro - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri & Mohammed Zubair 23rd July 2019 / 9:39 pm / Last updated: 8th November 2019 A video of Australia’s double-decker metro train is circulating on social media with the claim that 22 trains, developed under ‘Make in India’, were made operational in Syndey recently. IRS officer Ashok Vishnoi tweeted the video with the message, “सिडनी में अभी 22 मेट्रो ट्रेनों को चालू किया गया है । इनके बारे में खास बात यह है कि ये सभी कोच भारत निर्मित है । मेड इन इंडिया, इन ट्रेनों को भारतीय रेलवे की इंटीग्रल कोच फैक्ट्री, चेन्नई में बनाया गया है । देश प्रगति कर रहा है । हमें गर्व है । “ सिडनी में अभी 22 मेट्रो ट्रेनों को चालू किया गया है । इनके बारे में खास बात यह है कि ये सभी कोच भारत निर्मित है । मेड इन इंडिया, इन ट्रेनों को भारतीय रेलवे की इंटीग्रल कोच फैक्ट्री, चेन्नई में बनाया गया है । 🇮🇳देश प्रगति कर रहा है । हमें गर्व है । @PiyushGoyal @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/pX5CTraUpn — Ashok Vishnoi, IRS (@ashoknokhda) November 7, 2019 ABP News’s Vikash Bhadauria retweeted Vishnoi’s tweet. The video has been floating on social media at least since July 21. It shows the inside of Sydney’s double-decker metro train with reversible seats. 22 metro trains were Made operational in Sydney yesterday! A Matter of 🇮🇳pride, all these trains were MADE IN INDIA! First time in History- Coaches Made in India being run in a foreign land! When PM Modi said New India, this is what he meant! pic.twitter.com/oszuqul1rG — Kaushik Amlani गरीबी का सेनापति (@AmlaniKaushik) July 23, 2019 The video was also retweeted by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant. The complete message shared with the video says – “22 metro trains were Made operational in Sydney yesterday! A Matter of pride, all these trains were MADE IN INDIA! First time in History- Coaches Made in India being run in a foreign land! When PM Modi said New India, this is what he meant.” The video has also been widely circulated on Facebook. Multiple claims have been made in the viral message and we will fact-check them one by one. Upon breaking down the video into multiple frames and reserve-searching one of them on Google, we found that the clip is from 2018. This determines that the claim that these trains were recently made operational is false. No. French manufacturing company Alstom was given a contract to manufacture 22 trains for Sydney metro in 2014. The company manufactured these trains in India and delivered them from its Sricity facility in Andhra Pradesh in 2018. The trains were made operational in May 2019 for the northwest metro line. However, the train shown in the video was not a part of this project. A project overview by Syndey Metro provides design details of the trains manufactured under ‘Make in India’. Among other things, the most prominent clue which establishes that the train in the video was not manufactured under ‘Make in India’ is that it’s a double-decker. Alstom trains are single-deck. An infographic of the various components of the train also shows that Alstom manufactured single-deck trains. Another component missing from the Alstom design is reversible seats visible in the train in the viral video. The train seen in the viral video is known as Waratah train (part of Sydney Trains A & B sets). It was not manufactured by Alstom but Australia-based Reliance Rail (not to be confused with Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries) under a PPP with Sydney trains. The company website provides details about the project – “Detailed design of the Waratah trains was completed in 2009 and delivery of the Waratah trains commenced in July 2011 and was completed in May 2014. Reliance Rail is required to make 72 trains available to Sydney Trains for timetabled services each day until the end of the 30-year contract term.” The trains were designed in Australia, manufactured in China and assembled in Cardiff, UK. They are double-decker trains and have reversible seating, according to a fact sheet released by Reliance Rail in 2008. The viral claim on social media thus stands false. The video depicts a Sydney metro train which was manufactured in China by Australia-based Reliance Rail. It was not developed by Alstom under ‘Make in India’. [This article was updated on November 7, 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	23rd July 2019 / 9:39 pm / Last updated: 8th November 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-video-is-not-of-a-make-in-india-train-manufactured-for-sydney-metro/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri & Mohammed Zubair" }
2,320	Video of lineman beaten in UP shared as West Bengal post-poll violence - Alt News Anuradha Prasad 21st May 2021 / 1:28 pm / Last updated: 3rd September 2021 A video of a mob beating and dragging a man has been circulated with the claim that the incident took place in West Bengal. The clip shows the people, the majority of whom are wearing skull caps, dragging the man inside a gate. Several users have linked the video to the post-poll violence in West Bengal. One Aman Ashutosh gained 13,000 views for the video. He wrote, “Wake up Hindus” in the caption. Several Twitter users also linked the video to West Bengal violence. A few other users have said that the incident is from Uttar Pradesh where locals beat up a lineworker. “The height of Bengal violence has reached Muzaffarnagar,” says the caption. A lineman from Sikri, Muzaffarnagar district in Uttar Pradesh was indeed beaten up by some locals. According to a report published in Amar Ujala on May 5, 2021, Anuj went to Sikri to fix a fault in an electricity line. “One Salman from the village came with his brother Ayyaz and the duo asked Anuj to change their cable. Anuj denied doing the favour and asked them to present the order from the JE first. The accused allegedly called their friends Rafi, Khalid, Naaz, Aas Mohammed, Abid and one unnamed person and started abusing Anuj,” per the report. The other two workers who came with Anuj managed to escape and informed the police. A complaint was subsequently registered against eight people. Amar Ujala also wrote about the video circulating on social media. Dainik Jagaran and Hindustan reported on the incident as well. We also found that Muzaffarnagar police replied to a tweet that linked the incident to West Bengal violence. The tweet said that a case has been registered against seven accused and 10-12 unidentified persons at Bhopa police station. थाना भोपा पुलिस द्वारा 07 नामजद व 10-12 अज्ञात अभियुक्तों के विरुद्ध सुसंगत धाराओं में अभियोग पंजीकृत किया गया है। अभियुक्तों की शीघ्र गिरफ्तारी की जाएगी, स्थानीय पुलिस द्वारा अन्य विधिक कार्यवाही की जा रही है। — MUZAFFARNAGAR POLICE (@muzafarnagarpol) May 5, 2021 Alt News contacted Bhopa police station SHO Dheeraj Singh and he reiterated that a case has been lodged and investigation is underway. He further added that there is no communal angle to the incident. A journalist and a dilettante person who always strives to learn new skills and meeting new people. Either sketching or working. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	21st May 2021 / 1:28 pm / Last updated: 3rd September 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-video-of-a-man-being-beaten-by-a-mob-is-not-from-west-bengal/", "author": "Anuradha Prasad" }
2,321	No, this wasn't the first time Janmashtami was celebrated in Kashmir in 32 years - Alt News Archit 31st August 2021 / 12:35 pm / Last updated: 31st August 2021 On the occasion of Janmashtami this year, several social media users tweeted visuals of celebrations at Srinagar’s Lal Chowk in Kashmir. Gujarat in charge of Hindu Yuva Vahini Yogi Devnath tweeted that this happened after 32 years and thanked PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. His tweet gained over 4,000 likes, 32 साल बाद कश्मीर में निकाली गई श्रीकृष्ण जन्माष्टमी शोभायात्रा। ‘श्री कृष्ण गोविंद हरे मुरारी’ की धुन से गूंज उठा श्रीनगर का लालचौक… धन्यवाद आदरणीय श्री @narendramodi जी @AmitShah जी — Yogi Devnath (@YogiDevnath2) August 30, 2021 Sudarshan News editor-in-chief Suresh Chavhanke, OpIndia, Zee News, News18, Nai Dunia, VTV Gujarati and RSS mouthpiece Organiser made the same claim. News18’s Ahmedabad bureau chief Janak Dave and Dainik Bhaskar journalist Himanshu Mishra amplified the claim. Shaurya Doval, son of Ajit Kumar Doval KC, current National Security Advisor, tweeted the video shared by others and wrote this has only been possible under the able leadership of PM Modi. Author of the book ‘The Tattoo on My Breast’ Ravi Rai quote-tweeted Doval thus amplifying the claim. And today, people of the Hindu community are able to conduct their religious proceedings at the same location. It has only been possible under the able leadership of PM @narendramodi Ji. मेरा देश बदल रहा है, आगे बढ़ रहा है। जय हिन्द, जय भारत। 2/2 — Shaurya Doval (@shaurya_doval) August 30, 2021 BJP MLA Indu Tiwari, Member Advisory Committee at Indian Council for Cultural Relations and Ministry of External Affairs Varun Puri, former social media manager Minister of Commerce and Industry Abhishek Mishra and pro-government Facebook page ‘I Support Arnab Goswami’ posted along the same lines: either thanking PM Modi or implying that 2021 celebrations mark a cultural shift. A similar claim was widespread last year in March when several BJP office-bearers falsely suggested that Srinagar’s Shankaracharya Temple was lit after decades for Maha Shivratri celebrations. Similar to this, the claim that the 2021 Janmashtami celebration in Srinagar took place for the first time in 32 years is false. We found images of the celebrations dating back to at least 2004 on stock images websites like Getty Images (2004, 2013), Reuters (2005 and 2006) and Alamy (2007 and 2012). The complete search result on each of the sites can be viewed here – Getty Images, Reuters and Alamy. There are also several reports of the celebrations held in 2018. A local told Greater Kashmir that Janmashtami has been taking place at Lal Chowk since 2004. However, in 2007, Hindustan Times had reported, “For the first time since militancy broke out in Kashmir in 1989, a Janmashtami procession organised by Pandits passed through the famous Lal Chowk.” Alt News spoke with Srinagar-based Sanjay Tickoo, president of the Kashmiri Pandit Sangarash Samiti (KPSS). He said, “I remember that the Janmashtami festivities took place each year until 1988. That year Janki of Lord Krishna was taken out in Srinagar and other districts of Kashmir Valley. However, the next year, it had to be stopped due to the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley. A few years later in 1992, a small procession was taken out by non-migrants from Karan Nagar to Kak Sari in Srinagar. To the best of my knowledge, the festival has been celebrated each year since 2003 except in 2008 (Amarnath land row), 2010 (murder of Tuffail Mattoo), 2014 (floods), 2016 (death of Burhan Wani) and 2019 to 2020 (abrogation of Article 370 and COVID-19).” Tickoo also connected us with Sandeep Koul, a member of the ISKON group. The group has been organising Janmashtami celebrations since 2007. Koul told Alt News, “Our group organised the 2021 celebrations at Lal Chowk. The social media claim that Janmashtami is being celebrated in Kashmir after 32 years is totally false.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi was, therefore, thanked for the Janmashtami celebrations organised in Kashmir even as the festival has been observed in the Valley for decades. Sudarshan News and RSS mouthpiece Organiser falsely claimed that such celebrations happened after 32 years in Kashmir which is not true. 🙏 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	31st August 2021 / 12:35 pm / Last updated: 31st August 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-wasnt-the-first-time-janmashtami-was-celebrated-in-kashmir-in-32-years/", "author": "Archit" }
2,322	No, this woman is not a radio host broadcasting Sanskrit verses in Spain every morning - Alt News Archit 28th March 2020 / 10:15 pm / Last updated: 28th March 2020 A 2:20-minute video of a caucasian woman singing Sanskrit verses has gone viral with Hindi text, “This is sung on Spain’s radios in the morning. [Translated from स्पेन के रेडियो चैनल में सुबह इसको गया जाता है]”. Rajya Sabha member Rakesh Sinha tweeted (archive link) on the video on March 24. This was viewed over one lakh times and retweeted over 7,500 times. स्पेन के रेडियो चैनल में सुबह इसको गया जाता है pic.twitter.com/GKLVOt0a1n — Prof Rakesh Sinha (@RakeshSinha01) March 24, 2020 Similarly, several other social media users posted the viral video along with the Hindi text on Facebook and Twitter. Alt News used InVid video verification tool to perform a reverse image search on Google. Using the appropriate keywords during the search, we found a Facebook page called Gaiea Sanskrit. The same username is also available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music and SoundCloud. We found the viral video after rummaging through several videos on YouTube. It was uploaded on November 9, 2019. On the ‘about section’ of the Facebook page, website gabriellaburnel.com has been listed. As per domain analysis portal, Domain Big Data, this website is registered to a Gabriella Burnel in Paris, France. After another keyword search, we found that the official account of the British High Commission in India tweeted a video of Burnel on March 2. 🇬🇧& 🇮🇳share a unique cultural #LivingBridge Listen to @gabriellaburnel who promotes the ancient Indian language of #Sanskrit in 🇬🇧& earned the nickname ‘the Cultural Ambassador of India in the UK’ – her work shows how much 🇬🇧continues to value Indian culture pic.twitter.com/lUOgmh0x7F — UK in India🇬🇧🇮🇳 (@UKinIndia) March 2, 2020 Alt News also found Burnel’s profile on Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. As per this profile, Burnel has been working as a Sanskrit tutor for several years in London. She also writes musical theatre and teaches the Alexander Technique. Her Twitter bio says, “writer of comedy and song/teacher/lover of sanskrit”. Therefore the claim about the viral video is false. The misinformation was amplified by Rajya Sabha member Rakesh Sinha who has over one million followers on Twitter. 🙏 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	28th March 2020 / 10:15 pm / Last updated: 28th March 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-this-woman-is-not-a-radio-host-broadcasting-sanskrit-verses-in-spain-every-morning/", "author": "Archit" }
2,323	No Times Now, highest number of Pakistani visitors were under BJP rule - Alt News Sam Jawed 1st August 2017 / 11:02 pm / Last updated: 1st August 2017 #ModiPunishesPak. Here comes yet another TimesNow promoted hashtag. Interesting that instead of China, the channel continues its focus on Pakistan. So why is Modi “punishing” Pakistan? How is he doing it? Has there been another surgical strike? What has excited Times Now so much? The TimesNow video explains that it is about restricting visas for Pakistanis. “As Pakistan continues to block access to Kulbhushan Jadhav, the Modi government has decided to delink terror with tourism. Ending the UPA era Pak appeasement policy, the NDA has made it clear that it won’t be business as usual with Islamabad. The Center has set a massive cutback in number of visas for Pakistan. In the last 3 months barely 3 visas have been granted to Pakistani citizens… in stark contrast to what situation was earlier during UPA regime. About 80,000 visas were issued to Pakistanis and this included business visas, visas for sportsmen, visas for tourists, visas for religious visits and medical visas. The message is loud and clear. If Pakistan is going to deny visas to Jadhav’s mother, India is not going to roll out a red carpet for them.” The anchor continues, “Complete contrast between UPA regime and now Narendra Modi’s regime. Narendra Modi has decided to do away with niceties. It’s going to be only a handful of visas, compared to the 21,000 in every quarter that were granted to Pakistanis in the UPA regime.” Let us take a look at what this so-called “punishment” is all about. Is it such a stark contrast to UPA regime as Times Now would like us to believe? Sushma Swaraj, in a series of tweets, spoke about the medical visa regulations requiring the recommendation of Sartaj Aziz. “I have my sympathies for all Pakistan nationals seeking medical visa for their treatment in India. I am sure Mr Sartaj Azziz also has consideration for the nationals of his contry. All that we require is his recommendation for the grant of medical visa to Pakistan nationals. I see no reason why should he hesitate to give his recommendation for nationals of his own country. We also have a visa application pending for an Indian national Mrs. Avantika Jadhav who wants to meet her son in Pakistan against whom they have pronounced a death sentence. I wrote a personal letter to Mr Sartaj Aziz for the grant of her visa to Pakistan. However, Mr. Aziz has not shown the courtesy ven to acknowledge my letter.” She mentioned the delay by Pakistan in granting visa to the mother of Kulbhushan Jadhav and added “But I assure Pakistani nationals seeking medical visa with a recommendation from Mr. Sartaj Aziz, we will issue the visa immediately.” V.K. Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs also stated the same in response to a question. “However, in case of Pakistan, we ask for recommendation letter from Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, to process genuine and urgent cases,” he stated. The number of medical visas has been growing steadily particularly in the last few years. In 2013, out of 56,000 plus medical visitors, only 1090 were from Pakistan. The number of medical visas has gone up to 177,000+ in 2016. In 2015-16, the number of visas to Pakistanis had nearly doubled but the number was still small in comparison to the total. Other than the medical visa restrictions, we did not find recent notification of any other restrictions in the press. While the number may be down in the last few months after the Kulbhushan Jadav episode, the number of Pakistani visitors peaked under BJP in 2015. That year saw the highest number of visitors since 2001. It was in 2015 under the BJP government that number of Pakistani tourists to India climbed up 29.5% over the previous year and Pakistan made it to one of the top 15 countries in terms of tourist arrivals to India. Number of tourist arrivals from Pakistan under BJP are as follows: In last few months there have been restrictions on medical visa but Times Now is clearly going overboard in trying to peddle them as “Modi punishes Pakistan” while also claiming that NDA is ending UPA era Pak appeasement policies. The data clearly shows that the number of Pakistani tourists peaked in the present NDA era and not the UPA era. Essentially, NDA is rolling back its own policy of appearing to be friendly with Pakistan which included PM Modi’s surprise visit to Pakistan. Nobody's cheerleader, I tweet at @samjawed65 Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	1st August 2017 / 11:02 pm / Last updated: 1st August 2017	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-times-now-highest-number-pakistani-visitors-bjp-rule/", "author": "Sam Jawed" }
2,324	No, Tirupati Balaji has not declared donation of Rs 100 crore for constructing Ram Mandir - Alt News Jignesh Patel 19th November 2019 / 6:37 pm A claim that Tirumala Tirupati Balaji will donate Rs 1 billion(100 crore) for constructing Ram temple in Ayodhya is circulating on social media. One Chanda Roy also posted the message on Facebook. A tweet by the parody handle of Journalist Pushpendra Kulshrestha with the claim has garnered close to 4,500 retweets so far. दक्षिण का ताज “तिरूपति बालाजी मंदिर”#राम_मंदिर_निर्माण हेतु देगा एक अरब रुपये 🙏 जय श्री राम 🙏 — Pushpendra Kulshrestha (@Nationalist_Om) November 10, 2019 Many other people on Facebook and Twitter shared the same claim. A screengrab of Uttar Pradesh TV channel Bharat Samachar’s broadcast was shared by several individuals which gave credence to the claim. Alt News found a video report published by Bharat Samachar, which claimed that India’s richest temple trust Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams will donate Rs 1 billion for construction Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. With a relevant keyword search on Bharat Samachar’s Twitter handle, we found a tweet which carried a video of the same news report. #BharatSamachar #Delhi :- राम मंदिर निर्माण के लिए तिरूपति बालाजी मंदिर देगा एक अरब रुपए. pic.twitter.com/hAbtMOLvkN — भारत समाचार (@bstvlive) November 11, 2019 Malayalam news portal East Coast Daily published a report titled, “Tirupathi Balaji Temple Trust to donate 100 crore Rs for construction of Ayodhya Ram mandir”. Alt News found that the claim about Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam(TTD) donating Rs 100 crore for construction of Ram Mandir is false. In an email response regarding the authenticity of the news reported by the above outlets, the PRO office at TTD said, “Kindly note that it is a fake news.” Thus clarifying that no such announcement for donation was made by the temple authorities. In conclusion, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam has denounced the reports about the temple offering a lavish donation of Rs 100 crore for the construction of Ram temple after the Supreme Court’s recent verdict on the Ayodhya land dispute. 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 November 2019 / 6:37 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-tirupati-balaji-has-not-declared-donation-of-rs-100-crore-for-constructing-ram-mandir/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
2,325	No, Trump has not announced launch of coronavirus vaccine by Swiss drugmaker Roche - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 17th March 2020 / 10:57 pm / Last updated: 17th March 2020 A 37-second clip of a press conference addressed by president of the United States Donald Trump and Matt Sauce, president and CEO of the North-American division of Roche Diagnostics is widely circulating on social media. As per the accompanying claim, president Trump announced that the pharmaceutical company has succeeded in developing a vaccine for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) which will be launched “next Sunday”. Trump announced that Roche Medical Company will launch the vaccine next Sunday, and millions of doses are ready from it !!! The end of the play What’s app forward Test Kit is ready not the vaccine by Pranjali Dani Posted by Shivani Dani Wakhare on Monday, 16 March 2020 In the clip, Sauce can be heard saying, “From Roche, we want to thank the FDA for their rapid approval of our coronavirus test. We really appreciate the partnership with the CDC and the FDA to get that to market it as fast a possible because it is critical for us to make that available to help patients in need and working with laboratories to get it going in the near future which will bring hundreds and thousands of tests available to patients in need in the United States.” Now, Donald Trump announced that Roche Medical Company will launch the vaccine next Sunday and millions of doses are ready for it.. The end of the play.#CoronavirusOutbreak pic.twitter.com/euQhkmg5Xq — Naheed Tariq (@NaheedTariq5) March 16, 2020 The fact that CEO of Roche Diagnostics, Matt Sauce, spoke of testing, not a vaccine, is the first clue which points at the falseness of the viral message. The 37 seconds have been clipped from a press conference held at the White House by president Trump and can be watched from 18:40 minutes in the video below. As evident, Sauce thanks the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the “rapid approval” of the coronavirus test developed by his company. This was also tweeted by Roche Diagnostics. As reported, the new coronavirus test speeds up the ability to test suspected patients by tenfold. Thanks @RocheDiaUSA for sharing, and to all the manufacturing and logistics teams involved in making this happen. #coronavirus #COVID19 https://t.co/d8tloXcnAH — Roche Diagnostics (@RocheDia) March 17, 2020 US senator Rand Paul wrote in a tweet, “Good news: FDA approves Roche coronavirus test that is 10 times faster than current test.” Good news: FDA approves Roche coronavirus test that is 10 times faster than current test. We should push hard for further and continued removal of government barriers while fighting this crisis. https://t.co/X3otO3BKIF — Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 16, 2020 The viral claim that Swiss drugmaker Roche Diagnostics has successfully developed a coronavirus vaccine is therefore false. In fact, there are no approved vaccines for the infection yet. Drug companies and researchers are trying to find ways to handle the new coronavirus. As per a Forbes Tracker, the status of the research is in the trial period. Organisations have either begun human testing or have partnered with international bodies such as the World Health Organisation (WHO), CDC, etc, regarding testing. Some of the vaccines are also in the development stage. As per Forbes, a new vaccine takes 10-15 years to be developed however the process can be more rapid due to the advancement of technology in the last few years, 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	17th March 2020 / 10:57 pm / Last updated: 17th March 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-trump-has-not-announced-launch-of-coronavirus-vaccine-by-swiss-drugmaker-roche/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
2,326	No, Uganda cop did not hit journalist with slingshot for asking 'irrelevant' question - Alt News Shinjinee Majumder 14th March 2022 / 9:22 pm An image that shows a cop aiming a slingshot during a press conference is viral with the claim that a Uganda police spokesman hit a journalist for asking an “irrelevant” question. The former Dutch ambassador to India, Fons Stoelinga, shared the image with the same claim. (Archived link) Newly appointed Uganda police spokesman hits News reporter with a caterpult for asking irrelevant question. pic.twitter.com/yfhelJy5H9 — Fons Stoelinga (@FonsStoelinga) March 14, 2022 Twitter user @_Sir_CharlesR shared this image and garnered over 25,000 likes and close to 7,000 retweets at the time of writing this article. (Archived link) “Newly appointed Uganda police spokesman hits News reporter with a caterpult for asking irrelevant question.” 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂💀 pic.twitter.com/KhiHJFq5OD — Fully Vaxxed G! (@_Sir_CharlesR) March 12, 2022 Several other users have also shared the image with the same claim. Newly appointed Uganda police spokesman hits News reporter with a caterpult for asking irrelevant question. pic.twitter.com/1IByYsvnjs — Man’s NOT Barry Roux  (@AdvoBarryRoux) March 13, 2022 This image is also massively viral on Facebook. FACT CHECK Through reverse-image search, Alt News found that this image is from a press conference held on April 12, 2021, by the Uganda police force where the official spokesperson for the Uganda police Fred Enanga was demonstrating the use of a catapult. The press conference was about the Directorate of Crime Intelligence confiscating several factory-made catapults during its intelligence operations, that had been imported by “anti-social elements” as tools of violence. The catapults were capable of firing metallic projectiles or bearings and thus posed a serious danger to the safety and security of Ugandans. The police had urged citizens to be vigilant against such acts of violence. One can find the official press release by the Uganda police here. Prominent Ugandan news broadcaster UBC Television Uganda also covered this news. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdBnw_fF1pU] Thus, an image of the official police spokesperson of Uganda, Fred Enanga, conducting a press conference regarding the use of catapults by “anti-social elements” was circulated with the false claim that he hit a journalist for asking an “irrelevant question”. Student of Economics at Presidency University. Interested in misinformation. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… 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 March 2022 / 9:22 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-uganda-cop-did-not-hit-journalist-with-slingshot-for-asking-irrelevant-question/", "author": "Shinjinee Majumder" }
2,327	No, Umar Khalid did not raise "Hinduo se azadi" slogan at Gateway of India, Mumbai - Alt News Jignesh Patel & Mohammed Zubair 6th January 2020 / 4:07 pm / Last updated: 6th January 2020 BJP Delhi spokesperson Tajinder Bagga tweeted an 18-second clip of a protest at the Gateway of India, Mumbai on the intervening night of January 5-6. The protest was against the violence at JNU Delhi, where masked goons entered the campus with weapons and thrashed several students. The sloganeering at the Mumbai protest was led by former JNU student Umar Khalid. “Muslim and Leftists students in Mumbai again Raised Slogans “Hinduo se Aazadi” but this time not in Jamia or JNU , they raised Hinduo se Aazadi Slogans at Gateway of India Mumbai,” claimed Bagga. His tweet has garnered close to 9,000 retweets. Muslim and Leftists students in Mumbai again Raised Slogans “Hinduo se Aazadi” but this time not in Jamia or JNU , they raised Hinduo se Aazadi Slogans at Gateway of India Mumbai. Will @MumbaiPolice @OfficeofUT take action or support this goons Silently ? pic.twitter.com/7Cq9ci8tE5 — Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga (@TajinderBagga) January 6, 2020 Alt News found that Bagga’s claim about protesters chanting, “Hinduo se azadi”, is patently false. We discovered a Facebook Live of the protest where the 18-second portion tweeted by the Delhi BJP spokesperson can be heard from 17:53 minutes onward. Here’s what Khalid said – “तो NPR से (आज़ादी),और CAA से (आज़ादी),और CAA से (आज़ादी), तो जातिवाद से (आज़ादी), और मनुवाद से (आज़ादी), और संघवाद से (आज़ादी), और RSS से (आज़ादी), और RSS से (आज़ादी), तो भगवत से भी (आज़ादी), तो उस मोदी से (आज़ादी)” [Translation: From NPR (freedom), and from CAA (freedom), and from CAA (freedom), from casteism (freedom), and from Manuvaad (freedom), and from Sanghvaad (freedom), and from RSS (freedom), and from RSS (freedom), from Bhagwat too (freedom), from that Modi (freedom).] We corroborated the same with a live-streamed video on YouTube where the same slogans can be heard 52:42 minutes onward. Khalid also took to Twitter and called out Bagga’s false claim. BJP Delhi spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga tweeted a video former JNU student Umar Khalid and falsely claimed that he raised slogans against Hindus while in reality, his line of sloganeering was against casteism, Manuvaad, RSS, Sangh, PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. The false claim was also shared by BJP Mumbai spokesperson Suresh Nakhua. Leftist students raised Slogans “Hinduo se Aazadi” at Gateway of India Mumbai. And sources say #MahaAfzalAghadi scion is going to join these guys. Will @MumbaiPolice take action or support this goons ?#LeftAttacksJNU #ShutDownJNU pic.twitter.com/KoRF91OoX6 — Suresh Nakhua 🇮🇳 ( सुरेश नाखुआ ) (@SureshNakhua) January 6, 2020 Major Surendra Poonia also joined the bandwagon. Are they protesters 🤔? No way ! So called students came in support of JNU leftist at Gateway of a india in Mumbai & shouted 👇 “Hinduo se Aazadi” AMU,Jamia से शुरू किया और अब पूरे देश में 🤔बहुत बड़ी साज़िश चल रही है देश में .. सोचो कौन-कौन शामिल हैं !@MumbaiPolice #JNUattack pic.twitter.com/lUlLkzKm4K — Major Surendra Poonia (@MajorPoonia) January 6, 2020 The clip is in fact viral on both Facebook and Twitter. 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 January 2020 / 4:07 pm / Last updated: 6th January 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-umar-khalid-did-not-raise-hinduo-se-azadi-slogan-at-gateway-of-india-mumbai/", "author": "Jignesh Patel & Mohammed Zubair" }
2,328	No, Unnao rape victim has not passed away - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 2nd August 2019 / 4:13 pm A widespread social media claim suggests that the Unnao rape survivor has succumbed to the injuries she suffered on July 28 when her car collided with a truck. अलविदा बहन 😥😥😥 उन्नाव रेप पीड़िता अब नही रही कोई ऐसा सोच भी नही सकता था कि न्याय के लिए एक बेटी को परिवार सहित मरना पड़ेगा। *ऑपरेशन ट्रक सफल हुआ अब कोई नई कहानी गढ़ी जाएगी,,महिला हितों के लिए लंबे लंबे भाषण दिए जाएंगे बहन अब अगले जन्म में कभी न आना इस देश — Rahul Dwivedi (@RahulDw88097474) August 1, 2019 The complete message says, “उन्नाव रेप पीड़िता अब नही रही। कोई ऐसा सोच भी नही सकता था कि न्याय के लिए एक बेटी को परिवार सहित मरना पड़ेगा। ऑपरेशन ट्रक सफल हुआ,अब कोई नई कहानी गढ़ी जाएगी,महिला हितों के लिए लंबे चौड़े भाषण दिए जाएंगे!काश की कार्यवाही जल्दी हुई होती! विधायक जी,योगीजीसहितपूरीयूपी सरकार को बधाई। (Unnao rape victim is no more. No one would’ve imagined that a daughter would die along with her family to get justice. Operation Truck was successful. Now a new story will be told and long speeches on women empowerment will be given. If only the investigation was started earlier. Congratulations to the MLA, Yogi and the entire UP government.)“ The claim is viral on Twitter and Facebook alike. Several people have also shared a photograph of an injured woman claiming that she is the Unnao rape survivor. The image was published by Navjivan Times as well, allegedly showing the survivor’s injuries after the July 28 accident. Alt News contacted the trauma centre of the King’s George Medical University in Lucknow where the Unnao rape survivor was admitted. We were informed by the PRO that she is still alive, though her condition remains critical. Moreover, several media outlets have reported that the rape survivor has not lost her life and is on ventilator support. King George Medical University hospital, Lucknow on #Unnao rape survivor & her lawyer admitted in the hospital: Their condition is critical. Both are on ventilator. But their condition is stable like yesterday. Their treatment is being done by team of experts at KGMU,free of cost — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) August 1, 2019 In a recent statement, the Lucknow DM said that her health is improving. Lucknow DM Kaushal Raj Sharma: There is improvement in the health condition of #Unnao rape survivor & her lawyer who are admitted in King George Medical University hospital, Lucknow. Family is satisfied with the treatment being provided here. https://t.co/eJM6GjISBX — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) August 1, 2019 Boomlive spoke to Dr Sudhir, co-faculty in-charge of media cell at KGMU, who told the fact-checking organisation that the photograph of the injured woman viral on social media is not of the Unnao rape survivor. The same could not be ascertained by Alt News. In conclusion, false claims floating on social media declared the Unnao rape survivor dead when, in fact, she is still battling for her life at KGMU Hospital in Lucknow. Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	2nd August 2019 / 4:13 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-unnao-rape-victim-has-not-passed-away/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
2,329	No, US and UK have not selected PM Modi to lead a coronavirus task force - Alt News Pooja Chaudhuri 2nd April 2020 / 8:57 pm / Last updated: 2nd April 2020 A WION news broadcast is doing the rounds on social media with the claim that 18 nations including the United States and the United Kingdom want Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lead a task force to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. Below is a tweet by Maharashtra BJP General Secretary Atul Bhatkhalkar. 18 nations including USA and UK wants @narendramodi as leader for TASK FORCE for CORONA..what a proud moment for INDIA.. Let’s support our Great leader and We will definitely win the war against Corona. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/V1zY4IhkBf — Atul Bhatkhalkar (@BhatkhalkarA) April 1, 2020 Rajat Sethi, advisor to Manipur Chief Minister, took a step further and wrote, “World leaders Trump, Boris Johnson, Scott Morrison etc want our PM Modi to lead the efforts.” Under PM @narendramodi, India takes global centerstage in setting up an international task force to coordinate efforts to contain Covid-19 pandemic worldwide. World leaders Trump, Boris Johnson, Scott Morrison etc want our PM Modi to lead the efforts! This is true statesmanship. pic.twitter.com/m5FjBaxxyQ — Rajat Sethi (@RajatSethi86) March 29, 2020 The broadcast is viral on Facebook and Twitter alike. Alt News has also received multiple fact-check requests on its official mobile application. The clip in question is WION’s March 15, 2020, broadcast titled, “World leaders laud PM Modi’s initiative, Australia welcomes PM Modi’s calls for G20 linkup as well.” In the broadcast, the anchor does not say that PM Modi has been chosen by the US, UK and 18 other nations to lead a coronavirus task force but India has “emerged” as a leader to take charge of a task force because PM Modi called for a joint action plan between countries to contain the pandemic. “All SAARC nations welcomed India’s move saying that they want to work closely with New Delhi to chalk out a strategy to combat the deadly disease,” the anchor says. Here, she is specifically talking about member states of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) – India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. As far as other parts of the world are concerned, here’s what the anchor said: “Praises were not limited to South Asia but leaders from other parts of the world also reached out to Prime Minister Modi. Among the firsts was British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who discussed coordinated international efforts to tackle the outbreak with Modi. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison lauded Prime Minister Modi’s efforts to organise a G20 link up.” It is noteworthy that the United States did not find a mention throughout the length of the show. It could be argued that the reportage borderlines hyperbole, however, nowhere does the anchor claim that PM Modi has been selected to lead a global task force on COVID-19 crisis. She spoke of the interactions the Prime Minister had with world leaders. WION is an Indian news channel covering global affairs. It is owned by Zee Media. Its editor-in-chief is Sudhir Chaudhary, who is also the editorial head at Zee News. On March 13, PM Modi tweeted, “I would like to propose that the leadership of SAARC nations chalk out a strong strategy to fight Coronavirus.” I would like to propose that the leadership of SAARC nations chalk out a strong strategy to fight Coronavirus. We could discuss, via video conferencing, ways to keep our citizens healthy. Together, we can set an example to the world, and contribute to a healthier planet. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 13, 2020 The first-ever video conference between SAARC leaders was held on March 15, where PM Modi extended $10 million as India’s contribution to a COVID-19 emergency fund. Other nations such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh pledged $5 million and $1.5 million respectively. Pakistan is the only nation yet to announce any contribution to the fund. Pakistan has demanded that the fund should be placed under the General Secretary of the South Asian grouping. WION further referred to G20 while reporting that Australian PM Morrison lauded PM Modi’s efforts to link-up a G20 effort. The channel subsequently played Morrison’s address where he commended the Indian Prime Minister’s proposal but said that the matter can be decided by the Saudi government, the President of the G20 this year. A G20 virtual summit was held on March 26. It was chaired by the King of Saudi Arabia and attended by leaders of the member states, including PM Modi. G20 nations pledged a combined sum of $5 trillion to tackle the social and economic impacts of the crisis. PM Modi neither led the G20 conference nor has India made a separate contribution. The United Kingdom has also not proposed that India heads a task force. PM Modi and his British counterpart had a telephonic conversation on March 12. As per the PMO press release, the two leaders spoke about India-UK cooperation in the field of climate change and “exchanged views on COVID-19 epidemic”. India is also in talks with the United States to find strategies to tackle the crisis however, there are no reports of a joint or a global taskforce. A WION broadcast is, therefore, circulating with the false claim that the US, UK and 18 other nations want Prime Minister Modi to lead a coronavirus taskforce. There have been no such proposals or initiatives. The channel’s exaggerated narration possibly plated a part in portraying a misleading picture of India’s place in the global effort to tackle the crisis. 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… 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	2nd April 2020 / 8:57 pm / Last updated: 2nd April 2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-us-and-uk-have-not-selected-pm-modi-to-lead-a-coronavirus-task-force/", "author": "Pooja Chaudhuri" }
2,330	No, US President-elect Biden hasn't appointed an Indian Ahmed Khan as political advisor - Alt News Archit 13th November 2020 / 4:51 pm Images of 2020 US President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden with a man has been widely shared on the internet. It is being claimed that the said man is the newly-appointed political advisor Ahmad Khan, an Indian from Hyderabad. The image has been shared with Hindi text, “#bignews अमरीका के नए राष्ट्रपति @JoeBiden ने भारतीय मूल के #AhmadKhan को अपना राजनितिक सलाहकार नियुक्त किया है। ग़ौरतलब है कि अहमद खान भारतीय है इनका का ताल्लुक़ हैदराबाद से है।” on Twitter and Facebook. It was tweeted by @ShabinaBano_ on November 10, gaining over 200 retweets. (archived link) Two out of three images were posted by Facebook page ‘Etihadul muslemin – E – Hind’. This post has been shared over 300 times. The man in the image is indeed Ahmed Khan however the viral claim is false. Alt News spoke with Ahmed who confirmed that he is a Chicago-based US citizen and has not been assigned the role of a political advisor by Biden. As per his Twitter bio, Ahmed has held the following positions — Former Deputy Executive Director Draft Biden and Former Steering Committee Member at Illinois4Bernie. On November 10, he tweeted a collage of images — including the viral images — congratulating the Bidens. This tweet was retweeted by Spokesman of Hyderabad-based Majlis Bachao Tehreek Amjed Ullah Khan. While speaking with Alt News, Ahmed clarified Amjed is his maternal uncle. While Ahmed does have Indian heritage, he is a US citizen. Congratulations to President-elect @JoeBiden and @DrBiden! I wish you the best! Additionally, congratulations to my former colleagues at the original @draftbiden 2016 team for #RidinWithBiden before it became cool 😎 again in 2020. #PresidentElectJoeBiden ♥️ pic.twitter.com/EC7qy7d9EA — Ahmed Khan (@cityzenkhan) November 10, 2020 Out of the three viral images, two were posted by Ahmed in 2015 (1,2). “The viral claim is false. I have not currently been appointed as a political advisor,” Ahmed told Alt News. “I worked in 2015 as Deputy Executive Director for US political action committee “Draft Biden 2016″ that focused on building foundation and infrastructure for the then US Vice President Joe Biden’s prospective candidacy for US President. Biden had decided not to pursue his candidacy but the pictures were from a special reception at his former residence at the US Naval Observatory in Washington DC in acknowledgement of my and the Draft Biden team’s effort..” This was also reported by Muslim Mirror in 2015. Ahmed further added, “I do intend to pursue and would be hopeful for an opportunity to work for President Biden’s forthcoming administration. Currently, they are in a transition phase with senior-level government members. But the claim in the viral tweets is conflating my past endeavours as current.” US President-elect Joe Biden is expected to be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States on January 20, 2021. Old images, from the time when Biden was the VP, are being shared on Indian social media ecosystem with the false claim that Ahmed Khan, an Indian, has been selected as Biden’s political advisor. Ahmed is a US citizen with Indian heritage. 🙏 Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	13th November 2020 / 4:51 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-us-president-elect-biden-hasnt-appointed-an-indian-ahmed-khan-as-political-advisor/", "author": "Archit" }
2,331	No, video of boy reciting Azaan in school is not from Jharkhand - Alt News Shinjinee Majumder 14th July 2022 / 3:02 pm A clip of a primary school student rendering Azaan is going viral. Social media users have claimed that it is from a village in Jharkhand where 75% of the population is Muslim. The claim alleges that it is mandatory for Hindu children to also “recite Islamic prayers”. Twitter user @OMahakaaleshwar was among those who shared this video. In a village in Jharkhand where 75 percent are Muslims, it is mandatory that Hindu children also pray Islamic prayers. What is happening?. @narendramodi @AmitShah @RSSorg @DrMohanBhagwat @Swamy39 @MNageswarRaoIPS @iamnikunjshah @GurudathShettyK @mm_0774 @VijayRajan777 @DrlathaC pic.twitter.com/R71Y5onRCK — Omkar Mahakaal🇮🇳🚩🚩🚩 (@OMahakaaleshwar) July 8, 2022 It has also been shared several times on Facebook with the same claim. Find posts here, here and here. The viral posts are circulating against the backdrop of a recent report published in The New Indian Express that states schools in Muslim-majority areas in a district in Jharkhand have started granting holidays on Fridays instead of Sundays. As per the report, students of 100 primary schools in Karmatand, Narayanpur and Jamtara blocks in the Jamtara district of Jharkhand are following this norm, citing that 70% of the students in these schools hail from the Muslim community. Alt News performed a Google reverse image on a screengrab from the viral video. This led us to a News18 Assam report from June 6, carrying the same image. As per the report, the video was taken at the Hemlai Gyan Bikash Primary School, Mariani in upper Assam’s Jorhat district. Below we have juxtaposed a graphic comparing the visuals from the viral video with the thumbnail present in the report by News18 Assam. Through a Google keyword search, Alt News found a Times of India (TOI) report published on June 7. As per TOI, the Assam education department has sent a show cause notice to the headmaster of the elementary school after a student rendered Azaan during the prayer time in Gunotsav. Gunotsav is an educational exercise aimed at assessing and evaluating the quality of education in schools. The evaluation is usually done by high-ranking government officials, including Ministers, IAS, IPS, IFS officers, and Class–I & II officers. The Gujarat model of education inspired the idea of Gunotsav with the same nomenclature. Below, we have added the show cause notice that was sent to the accused teacher. The notice was procured from the News18 article. Speaking to TOI, Jorhat district education officer Subhalakshmi Rajkumari said, as per the verbal admission of the accused teacher the boy rendered Azaan when the students lined up to perform extra-curricular activities in front of the external evaluators during prayer time. This video has also been shared on Twitter multiple times, noting that it is from Assam. Sir @ranojpeguassam, this is reported to be Gyan Bikash LP School of Mariano, NaKachari, Jorhat. What is this happening is very alarming & need to be investigated thoroughly. #বিদ্যালয়ত এইবোৰ কি? #ইছলামিক আগ্ৰাসন নহয় জানো? CC @PMOIndia @jagdishmukhi @AmitShah @CMOfficeAssam pic.twitter.com/Vh2fECe861 — Oxomiya Jiyori 🇮🇳 (@SouleFacts) June 3, 2022 Thus a video of a child rendering Azaan at a government primary school in Assam was circulated with the false claim that it is from Jharkhand. The false claim is in the context of recent reports on schools in Muslim-majority areas in a Jharkhand district giving Friday holidays instead of Sundays. Student of Economics at Presidency University. Interested in misinformation. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… 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	14th July 2022 / 3:02 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-video-of-boy-reciting-azaan-in-school-is-not-from-jharkhand/", "author": "Shinjinee Majumder" }
2,332	No, Vitamin C and lemon-infused hot water do not protect against coronavirus or cancer - Alt News Dr Sharfaroz Satani, Peeyush Prasad & Alka Rao 18th March 2020 / 8:37 pm A viral message claiming to be from a certain Laila Ahmadi from China, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Zanjan University advises the use of Vitamin C “as much as possible” for the novel coronavirus. It also claims that a certain Professor Chen Horin, CEO of the Beijing Military Hospital, said, “Slices of lemon in a cup of lukewarm water can save your life.” Important Letter Regarding Corona Virus Hello, I’m Laila Ahmadi from China, student at the Faculty of Medical Sciences… Posted by Bolo House Music on Friday, 6 March 2020 Several other claims have been raised in the message which are listed below. 1. Message from Laila Ahmadi, The Faculty of Medical sciences, Zanjan university, China. Quotes from Professor Chen Horin, CEO of Beijing military hospital. 2. The novel coronavirus is the result of a gene fusion between a snake and a bat. 3. Both the HIV virus and the coronavirus spread by direct contact and people should avoid touching the infected. 4. Using a large amount of Vitamin C gets rid of the novel coronavirus. 5. Hot lemon can cure all cancers. The acids and carboxylic acids contained in lemon juice can regulate high blood pressure, protect narrow arteries, regulate blood circulation and reduce blood clotting. 6. There is currently no vaccine and treatment for the novel coronavirus. Dt Chen Horin & cancer THE MIRACLE OF LEMON JUICE Good evening good to know even at this time Remedy “Pieces of… Posted by America -NEWS on Friday, 1 February 2019 False 1. Message from partly fictitious persons viral Zanjan University is not located in China but in Iran. Leila Ahmadi is an author of a research paper from Zanjan University, Iran, in the area of reproductive health, rather than infectious diseases. There is also no reason to believe that Ahmadi is indeed the author of the message attributed to her. We could neither find her social media profile where the message might have been shared or any media reports featuring the same. Her research gate profile describes her as an instructor of Reproductive Health, Department of Midwifery and has not detailed any other skills. Professor Chen Horin is a fictitious character claimed to be from the Beijing Military hospital. He seemingly suggests that lemon has anti-cancer properties. Alt News Science found that the image used in the Facebook post is of a real person named Professor Frank Chen Youhua, a Professor of Management Sciences, City University of Hong Kong. Also, the YouTube video linked in the Facebook post is of a different ‘Chen’ from the photo in the Facebook post. The one from the YouTube video is an American researcher from the ‘National Cancer Institute, and his real identity is Dr Li-Chuan-Chen, Phd. Thus, both identities Laila Ahmadi and Chen Horin are partly fictitious and our research suggests that the real ‘Ahmadi’ and ‘Chen’ do not have the expertise to make such claims. 2. The novel coronavirus is not the result of a gene fusion between a snake and a bat. Viruses are not made by gene fusion of two animals. As far as the origins of COVID-19 is concerned, it is likely that the infected bats and/or pangolins from the wet livestock market of Wuhan are the original source of the virus. 3. HIV virus does not spread by direct contact with the infected. The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) transmits mainly via respiratory droplets that people sneeze, cough, or exhale, in addition to touching contaminated surfaces or people and subsequently touch the face. HIV does not spread by touching. It can spread by unprotected sex, transfusion of blood contaminated with HIV and from a mother to the child during gestation and delivery. 4. No evidence that using a large amount of Vitamin C gets rid of the novel coronavirus. Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant which protects the body against oxidative challenges. A review analysis (Carr & Maggini, 2017) suggests that for the prophylactic prevention of infection, the human body requires a dietary dose of vitamin C levels between 100-200 mg/day. However, another review (Biancatelli, 2020) argues that there are limited evidence-based clinical trials to conclusively support this contention. Vitamin C infusion is currently being tried for treatment of Severe 2019-nCoV infected pneumonia in a randomized clinical trial registered by Professor Zhi-Yong Peng Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan, China (identifier number NCT04264533 at ClinicalTrials.gov). However, the results are pending. 5. Lemon cannot cure all cancers or regulate high blood pressure, protect narrow arteries, regulate blood circulation and reduce blood clotting. The claim that hot lemon cures cancer is an old piece of misinformation that resurfaces from time to time. It has been adequately debunked by Africa Check in 2019, David Mikkelson at Snopes in 2011, and Brett M. Christensen at Hoax Slayer in 2018. There is no catch-all cure for cancer as it is a single name for many diseases. Cancer can arise from many causes including gene mutations at random, mutations caused by external agents such as radiation and smoking, infections such as papilloma wart virus that causes cervical cancer, and also genetics such as the inheritable BRCA1 gene responsible for breast cancer. There is no evidence that Vitamin C has any therapeutic role in the regulation of blood pressure and blood clotting. 6. There is currently no vaccine and treatment for the novel coronavirus. Currently, antivirals such as Remdesivir (developed by Gilead Sciences) are being tried on confirmed COVID-19 patients. Remdesivir, an investigative antiviral, hasn’t shown any conclusive efficacy in coronavirus infections, however, the drug was used previously during the Ebola epidemic in humans, and in animal models of MERS and SARS infections. Antivirals are a class of drugs which act against viruses and can only be prescribed by healthcare providers, which are distinct from antibiotics used for bacterial infections. Kaletra is an anti-HIV drug (a combination of protease inhibitors- lopinavir and ritonavir) which has been reported in the successful treatment of some COVID-19 cases in Australia. A similar treatment for the viral infection using some unspecified anti-HIV drugs has also been reported in Rajasthan. There are no vaccines approved for coronavirus therapy. A vaccine made out of mRNA called BNT162 developed by Germany’s BioNTech will start trials in late April as per media reports. There is another mRNA vaccine called mRNA-1273 manufactured by Moderna (member of BioNTech) and has begun trials in Seattle. However, the treatment and vaccine are just starting out for testing. It is not clear whether the patients will respond effectively or have any changes of curing, nor do we know that the vaccine will provide rigorous immunity against the infection. Currently, symptomatic treatment has been given for reducing fever, cough and dehydration. This viral message is a combination of an old post about lemons attributed to Professor Chen and a new piece of misinformation attributed to Laila Ahmadi. All characters were found to be fictitious, while the real names, images and videos attributed to Ahmadi and Chen were found to be of people from different unrelated places, without any expertise to comment on the subject. It is also very dangerous to circulate that certain components of a normal diet can be consumed in excess. Taking high doses of Vitamin C can cause renal stones, nausea, vomiting, occult rectal bleeding, dental decalcification and rebound scurvy in infants born to women taking high doses. Claims of cancer panacea are also dangerous as they keep the patients from seeking actual medical care. The viral message stigmatises HIV-positive people as untouchables and perpetuates the taboo that makes life much harder for them. Viral texts that advocate reliance on unproven treatments, and quotes from seemingly real experts, have the propensity to drive people away from modern medical care, precautions and practices that actually work. REFERENCES Carr, A. C., & Maggini, S. (2017). Vitamin C and immune function. Nutrients, 9(11), 1211. Colunga Biancatelli, R.M.L., Berrill, M., & Marik, P.E. (2020).The antiviral properties of vitamin C. https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/weeks-to-go-to-covid-19-vaccine-trial-biontech-lands-135m-deal-and-advances-pfizer-talks https://www.biospace.com/article/moderna-s-covid-19-vaccine-clinical-trial-starts-today/ https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-clinical-trial-remdesivir-treat-covid-19-begins 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	18th March 2020 / 8:37 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-vitamin-c-and-lemon-infused-hot-water-do-not-protect-against-coronavirus-or-cancer/", "author": "Dr Sharfaroz Satani, Peeyush Prasad & Alka Rao" }
2,333	Data on Waqf properties shared with false claim about Boards encroaching lands - Alt News Indradeep Bhattacharyya 14th September 2022 / 5:43 pm / Last updated: 14th September 2022 On September 13, Twitter user Anshul Saxena, who claims to be a ‘news junkie’, ‘observer and analyst’ tweeting ‘informative facts and opinions’, shared a tweet containing a table of data on Waqf properties in India, and wrote: “6.1 lakh Waqf properties across India reported till January 2020. And, many properties have been illegally encroached across India by Waqf board. Here are details till January 2020.” Saxena later deleted the tweet. An archive of the tweet can be viewed here. Waqf or Wakf, according to the Ninth report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Wakf presented to the Rajya Sabha on October 23, 2008, is “a religious endowment in Islam, which could either be a building or plot of land that can be devoted for the Muslim religious or charitable purposes or for the welfare of the poor and the needy belonging to he Muslim community.” Saxena interpreted the data under the head ‘encroachment’ in the extreme right column in the table as properties encroached upon by Waqf boards. His tweet was retweeted and quote-tweeted over 6,200 times and received over 12,000 likes before it was taken down. Tweeting the infographic, Ashwini Upadhyay (@AshwiniUpadhyay), wrote: 2020में वक्फ बोर्ड 6.1 लाख संपत्तियों का मालिक था और लगभग 2 लाख संपत्तियों पर अवैध कब्जा भी कर रखा है (Translation: Waqf Board was the owner of 6.1 lakh properties in 2020 and has also illegally occupied about 2 lakh properties) He tagged Vice-President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, Union ministers Kiren Rijiju, Smriti Irani, and BJP leaders Yogi Adityanath, Himanta Biswa Sharma, J P Nadda and B L Santosh, in the tweet. (Archived link: https://archive.is/f8mUq) Another user named Alagesh Chelliah made the same claim while sharing the table. 6.1 lakh Waqf properties across India reported till January 2020. Many properties have been illegally encroached across India by Waqf board. Here are details till January 2020. Note: Time to Nationalise Waqf Board properties. Agressive in religious is in land encroachment too pic.twitter.com/0Xasm7I0LL — Alagesh Chelliah (@AlageshChelliah) September 13, 2022 Many other users followed suit. Examples can be seen here, here and here. Alt News received a request via email to fact-check the veracity of the claims. On doing a reverse image search of the table shared by Saxena, Alt News found an article published on February 8, 2020, in the Times of India, which contained the same table. The report, headlined, ‘6.1 lakh Waqf properties across India, most in UP, West Bengal, Karnataka’, says, “data accessed from the ministry of minority affairs shows that nearly 3% of the 6.1 lakh properties have been encroached upon as of December 2019.” The report also mentions that these encroachments have been made both by individuals and organizations, adding, “Most of the encroachments are reported in Punjab (5,610), followed by Madhya Pradesh (3,240) and West Bengal with 3,082. Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have reported 1,335 and 862 encroachments, respectively.” Subsequently, a keyword search led us to reports in The New Indian Express and Deccan Herald, which talk about large-scale encroachment of Waqf board properties across the country. The former, dated December 14, 2018, says, “Minister of Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi gave a written reply to the Lok Sabha on Wednesday wherein he stated that Waqf properties were found to have been encroached in 20 states and two Union Territories.” The latter, published on November 21, 2019, notes, “In a written reply to BJP MP Ajay Nishad’s question, Minorities Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told the Lok Sabha that a total of 16,937 Waqf Board properties were under encroachment in the country, including 5,610 in Punjab.” Alt News also found a document released by the Press Information Bureau of the Union government which contains former minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi’s address at the 76th meeting of the Central Waqf Council. Naqvi said, “…during the last three years, more than two thousand criminal cases have been filed in connection with encroachment on waqf properties.” None of these reports, documents or press releases mentioned any instance of the Waqf board/s encroaching upon land/property owned by other parties. Hence, it is evident that the figures under column ‘encroachment’ in the widely shared tweet refers to the number of Waqf board properties encroached upon by others, and not properties illegally encroached by the Waqf board, as claimed in the tweet. The truth is the exact opposite of what is being claimed in the tweet. Incidentally, Anshul Saxena has a history of spreading misinformation that has been documented by Alt News. The readers can find the related reports here, here and here. Indradeep, a journalist with over 10 years' experience in print and digital media, is a Senior Editor at Alt News. Earlier, he has worked with The Times of India and The Wire. Politics and literature are among his areas of interest. 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 September 2022 / 5:43 pm / Last updated: 14th September 2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-waqf-board-hasnt-illegally-encroached-on-properties-as-claimed-in-viral-tweet/", "author": "Indradeep Bhattacharyya" }
2,334	No, West Bengal government has not waived off GST for Muslim business owners - Alt News Shinjinee Majumder 22nd March 2022 / 5:25 pm Screenshots of news articles claiming that the former Finance Minister of West Bengal has announced a waiver of the Goods and Services Tax for Muslim traders have gone viral. While one of these articles doesn’t have the name of its respective publisher or a date, this didn’t stop social media users from sharing this image over several platforms. Posted by ଶଶାଙ୍କ ଶେଖର ପାଲ on Sunday, 20 March 2022 पं० बंगाल का एक और ज़िहादियों के लिये ज़िहादी फैसला \| लगता है कि 30% के लालच मींर ज़ाफर की कनींज़ पं ०बंगाल की वज़ीरे आला पं०बंगाल को भारत से अलग कर पाकिस्तान से जोड़नें की नापाक साजिश में अपनेें क़दम बड़ा रही है \| भारत सरकार को गम्भीरता से इस साजिश को देखना बेहद आवश्यक है \| pic.twitter.com/Wjtm8PIfLr — Vibhov Thapar (@SonuThapar15) March 15, 2022 These images were shared widely on Facebook. Alt News also got fact-check requests on WhatsApp regarding this news. Fact Check One of the viral articles has the watermark of पत्रिका टुडे and was published on the 14th of July 2018. पत्रिका टुडे was found to be an inactive WordPress website. The article in question contains an embedded tweet from the 14th of July itself which has an image of a newspaper report headlined “बंगाल में मुस्लिम व्यसायियों के लिए कर भरेगी राज्य सरकार” (Translation: State government will pay tax for Muslim traders in Bengal) @India_Policy pic.twitter.com/p6fmClaZxn — Aditya (@arallan78) July 14, 2018 The report claims that Dr. Amit Mitra, the then finance minister of West Bengal, has stated that the state government would take steps to pay the GST for the Muslim traders belonging to West Bengal as they have been adversely affected by the implementation of this tax. The report also claims that the Mamata Banerjee-led government would open offices that would help the Muslim traders with the filing of taxes. The authenticity of the news report cannot be established since the name of the newspaper is not visible in the image. We tried reaching out to the Twitter user who had originally uploaded this image, but they did not revert to our messages. We also tried keyword-searching the headline but we could not find any article with the same headline. One conspicuous feature of this article is that the word “व्यवसायियों” in the headline has been misspelled- something that is not commonly seen in mainstream newspapers. We also tried searching using keywords that are relevant to the article but could not find a single verified news report on this issue. It is unlikely that news as important as this would not be covered by major media houses. We reached out to the former Finance Minister Dr. Amit Mitra, who denied these claims by saying that they were “200% false and politically motivated”. We also reached out to Mr. Nurul Absar who is a trader of ophthalmic laser and diagnostic centers in Kolkata. When asked about the viral social media claim, Absar said, “No subsidies in tax were provided- neither by the state government or the central government. This is fake news.” Thus it is evident that the claim that the West Bengal government will waive off Goods and Services Taxes for the Muslim traders is false. No such decision was taken. Student of Economics at Presidency University. Interested in misinformation. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… 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 2022 / 5:25 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-west-bengal-government-has-not-waived-off-gst-for-muslim-business-owners/", "author": "Shinjinee Majumder" }
2,335	No, White House has not declared Manmohan Singh as the most 'honest' political leader - Alt News Alt News Desk 21st May 2018 / 11:23 am / Last updated: 1st July 2021 “In the list of the 50 most honest people in the world released in America, the only person from India Dr Manmohan Singh stood first,” reads a message shared by Congress leader Rajesh Mishra. His tweet drew close to 25,000 likes and over 4,300 retweets. अमेरिका में जारी दुनिया के 50 सबसे ईमानदार लोगों की सूची में भारत के एक मात्र व्यक्ति डॉक्टर मनमोहन सिंह जी वाे भी पहले स्थान पर.. । — Rajesh Mishra (@rajesh_inc) June 29, 2021 The claim is widespread on Twitter. अमेरिका में जारी दुनिया के 50 सबसे ईमानदार लोगों की सूची में भारत के एक मात्र व्यक्ति डॉ मनमोहन सिंह वाे भी पहले स्थान पर ❤ — Ameer Aalam Qureshi (@Ameer_Aalam_) June 29, 2021 अमेरिका में जारी दुनिया के 50 सबसे ईमानदार लोगों की सूची में भारत के एक मात्र व्यक्ति डॉ मनमोहन सिंह वाे भी पहले स्थान पर… पता नहीं अमेरिका बेईमानों की सूची कब ज़ारी करेगा..?😀 — Rekha Meena (@Iamrekhameena) June 29, 2021 It is massively widespread on Facebook as well where several have questioned the absence of PM Modi’s name. The most common graphic promoting the claim was made by the pro-Congress page ‘Viral In India’ and has been circulating at least since 2018. What happened to The Honourable PM Modi? Posted by Anil Sachdev on Monday, 21 May 2018 Viral In India was run by Abhishek Mishra who has quite a reputation when it comes to disinformation. Mishra is reportedly close to the Congress party. The story behind the message goes back to December 2016 when US President Barack Obama hosted the 14th and his final formal State Arrival Ceremony and State Dinner. On the occasion, Chief White House photographer shared glimpses from some of the other state dinners hosted by President Obama over the tenure of his presidency. The photo series began with the photograph of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur being escorted by the Obamas. This image was significant because it was the first official state visit hosted by President Obama after assuming office in 2009. There were no pictures of Narendra Modi in this collection of photographs. The viral message is based on a half-truth. Yes, a photograph of Manmohan Singh featured prominently in the images shared during a state event by the White House photographer. Yes, Narendra Modi did not feature in the collection of photographs. But the images are not a collection of “honest” world leaders as claimed in the viral message. They were just a selection of behind the scene glimpses of dinners hosted by the Obama administration and nothing more than that. Moreover, the claim itself should raise doubts because it is absurd for a country to release a list of the most ‘honest’ politicians in the world. 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	21st May 2018 / 11:23 am / Last updated: 1st July 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-white-house-has-not-declared-manmohan-singh-as-the-most-honest-political-leader/", "author": "Alt News Desk" }
2,336	No, woman dancing to Rajasthani folk music is not IAS Rukmani Riar - Alt News Shinjinee Majumder 29th March 2022 / 8:19 pm A video of a woman dancing to Rajasthani folk music amidst a crowd is viral on social media with the claim that she is IAS officer Rukmani Riar who is currently the District Collector of Sriganganagar in Rajasthan. Twitter user @beingvikas99 shared this video and garnered close to 50,000 views and more than 2,000 retweets. यह जो नाच रही महीला कोई साधारण महिला नहीं बल्कि IAS कलेक्टर हे ओर ये राजस्थान के चुरू जिले से जाट परिवार से आती हे,देखिये ये कैसे अपनी संस्कृति से जुडी़ हुई है ओर इतने ऊंचे पद पर रहकर किसी IAS के लिए इतना अच्छा डांस परफार्म करना “विचित्र किन्तु सत्य” को चरितार्थ कर रहा है।👍 pic.twitter.com/Kcx4LlLMQu — Vikash Maheshwari (@beingvikas99) March 27, 2022 Several other users shared this video on Twitter. “तेरा सुंदर चुटिला रेशम का” नृत्य करने वाली साधारण महिला नहीं है बल्कि राजस्थान के गंगानगर जिले की कलेक्टर #रूक्मणी_रियाड हैं..😊 IAS होने के बावजूद भी ये अपनी संस्कृति से पूरी तरह जुड़ी हुई हैं। हमें गर्व करना चाहिए अपने #सनातन_धर्म की संस्कृति पर..❤️🙏🚩#रण_में_भगवाधारी 💪🚩 pic.twitter.com/s7JKHwn3mH — Dr.Sujan Singh Adhana🇮🇳 (@DrSujanAdhana) March 27, 2022 आप विश्वास नहीं करेंगे कि नृत्य करने वाली ये कोई साधारण महिला नहीं है बल्कि राजस्थान गंगानगर जिले की कलेक्टर रूक्मणी रियाड हैं। IAS होने के बावजूद भी वे अपनी संस्कृति से पूरी तरह जुड़ी हुई हैं। सुंदर नृत्य जो मंत्रमुग्ध कर देगा जरूर देखें राजस्थानी संस्कृति की झलक👇 @JM_Scindia pic.twitter.com/zhPI6FApBx — 🇮🇳🚩प्रकाश चंद्र 🚩🇮🇳🙏जय भारत🙏🇮🇳🌹 (@Prakash12Joshi) March 27, 2022 This video is also viral on Facebook with the same claim. Rukmani Riar first came into the limelight in 2011 when she cracked the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exams with an All India Rank 2. She then became the second Punjab-born District Collector in Sriganganagar in January 2022. We reached out to Rukamni Riyar who denied these claims and called them “completely fake”. Upon reverse-image searching frames from the video with relevant keywords, the earliest instance of the same video that we could find was on YouTube dated December 19, 2020. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxlgoNcxBvI] The video is captioned “New Rajasthani Marriage Dance 2020 \| New Marwadi Dj Song \| भाभी जी का ऐसा डांस आप ने नहीं देखा होगा” and does not claim that the woman in the video is IAS officer Rukmani Riar. We also found a post on Facebook dated June 13, 2019. It is captioned “राजस्थान के शेखावाटी क्षेत्र की जाटनी ने इतना बढ़िया डांस किया सर के ऊपर रखे हुए गिलास और मटके का बैलेंस बनाते हुए” which translates to “The Jatani of Shekhawati region of Rajasthan danced so well, balancing the glass and pot kept on top of her head.” राजस्थान के शेखावाटी क्षेत्र की जाटनी ने इतना बढ़िया डांस किया सर के ऊपर रखे हुए गिलास और मटके का बैलेंस बनाते हुए Posted by हम जाट हैं on Thursday, 13 June 2019 We compared stills from the two videos and found they are the same. Thus, the claim that the woman in the video is IAS officer Rukmani Riar is false. Student of Economics at Presidency University. Interested in misinformation. 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	29th March 2022 / 8:19 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-woman-dancing-to-rajasthani-folk-music-is-not-ias-rukmani-riar/", "author": "Shinjinee Majumder" }
2,337	No, Yogi Adityanath did not laugh at Pulwama martyr's funeral; old video goes viral - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 20th February 2019 / 7:45 pm / Last updated: 15th March 2019 शहीद के शव के पास बेठ कर बिलक बिलक कर रोते हुए😢 देखो योगी आदित्य नाथ को (Look at Yogi Adityanath crying buckets near the body of martyr- translated). Along with this message, a video of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath aka Ajay Singh Bisht is being shared profusely on social media platforms. The video shows Adityanath sharing a light moment with Bihar governor Lalji Tandon. शहीद के शव के पास बेठ कर बिलक-बिलक कर रोते हुए😢 देखो योगी आदित्य नाथ को 👇🏼👇🏼😡😡👇🏼👇🏼 @myogiadityanath pic.twitter.com/l4uyrdEoic — Purnchandra Padhi/Coco (@Cocopadhi) February 20, 2019 The above tweet is by a Youth Congress leader, tweeted in the morning of February 20. On Facebook, several individual users have shared the video with identical text, indicating that the same is viral on WhatsApp. It has been posted by the page Bluffmaster Modi which has a following of over 450,000 and by the page Bhakton Ke Papa. शहीद के शव के पास बेठ कर बिलक बिलक कर रोते हुए😢 देखो योगी आदित्य नाथ को…! Posted by Bluffmaster Modi on Tuesday, February 19, 2019 The story is the same on Twitter. The 16-second long video clip in which UP CM Yogi Adityanath, seen chuckling along with Bihar governor Lalji Tandon, is not related to the Pulwama attack. Adityanath was not paying homage to Pulwama martyrs as claimed. The video was shot in October 2018 during the final rites of N D Tiwari, who had passed away on October 18. The video had caused controversy back in October 2018 and had left the BJP embarrassed. Earlier, an old photo of PM Narendra Modi and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar sharing a laugh, was circulated as a recent photo taken after the Pulwama attack. 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	20th February 2019 / 7:45 pm / Last updated: 15th March 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-yogi-adityanath-did-not-laugh-at-pulwama-martyrs-funeral-old-video-goes-viral/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
2,338	No, your surgical masks don't have worms! - Alt News Archit 29th April 2021 / 7:38 pm A two-minute video of a man burning disposable surgical face masks in the presence of policemen has gone viral. According to the man, such masks contain black coloured microscopic worms which cause COVID-19. The second part of the video zooms in and shows black strands on the mask that have been declared ‘worms’. The man says that the black worms on the mask come out in the presence of heat. They appear when we wear them, due to the warm air exhaled by us. The worms enter our bodies when we inhale. Most people have died due to wearing masks, he claims, adding this is a global conspiracy to make money. He later recommends that people should only wear homemade masks. ये क्या नई मुसीबत आ गई…..मास्क में कीड़े… मास्क उबालने पर बारीक बारीक कीड़े साँस के ज़रिए फेन्फ़ड़ों में जाकर मारने की कोशिश…। मास्क न पहने तो 2000 का चालान। हे प्रभु अवतार लो धरती संकट में है—- Posted by डॉ. आशुतोष सिंह on Sunday, 25 April 2021 The video is shared on Facebook with the following Hindi text, “ये वीडियो बहुत ही तेजी से वायरल हो रहा है देखिए इस वीडियो वाले मास्क मे किस तरह से कीड़े होते हैं और बताया ये भी जा रहा है कि इसी वजह से वायरस और तेजी से फैल रही है”. It is also widely circulating on WhatsApp. Alt News has received multiple verification requests for the video on our WhatsApp helpline (76000 11160) and our application. Download our mobile application to send such forwards for verification. (Android, iOS) On April 4, YouTube channel MPT uploaded a video making the same claim. It has over 80,000 views. A similar claim is also circulating in different countries. Several scientists have debunked the misinformation, stating that the black worm-like substances are harmless microfibre components of the mask. Analysis of a mask As per the social media claim, the black “worms” only appear in the presence of heat. This is not true. Alt News analysed a similar mask and found that black micro-fibre strands are visible even when we zoom in on the mask using a mobile phone camera. The third image in the collage below shows the strands. Analysis of the mask by a microbiologist YouTube channel Microbehunter uploaded a video analysing face masks. This channel is operated by Oliver, a graduate in Microbiology/ Molecular Biology. He currently works as a secondary school biology teacher. He shows the microfibre strands visible via a portable microscope. However, they were not moving. Around the 4-minute mark, he explains that the strands may move sometimes but not because they are alive but due to physical processes like moisture in our breath, static energy, or if the mask is placed on top of a cup with warm water. At the 5:49 mark in the video, he showed how microscopic worms actually look and states that they exist in water bodies. The WHO recommends two types of masks — a) Medical masks for frontline workers, people over 60 years of age, those who have comorbidities, those with symptoms of COVID or have tested positive for COVID-19; b) Non-medical, fabric masks can be used by the general public under the age of 60 and who do not have underlying health conditions. Double masking or N95 masks are also recommended by some studies. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare also recommends wearing masks. Safeguard yourself. Wear mask, always. Remember, Safai, Dawai, Kadai, Jeetenge Corona se Ladai. #Unite2FightCorona pic.twitter.com/a5dlzyyGYj — Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) April 19, 2021 The video claiming that certain masks contain black worms which led to COVID-19 infection is false. Scientists have clarified that these are harmless microfiber components. The claim was earlier fact-checked by AFP. 🙏 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	29th April 2021 / 7:38 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/no-your-surgical-masks-dont-have-worms/", "author": "Archit" }
2,339	'Unpolluted' leaders from the Sangh ecosystem boasting about riots, mass murder and more - Alt News Pratik Sinha 4th March 2017 / 5:28 pm / Last updated: 4th March 2017 Recently, India’s Minister of State for Home Affairs, Mr Kiren Rijiju had termed Gurmehar Kaur’s mind as ‘polluted’ because she had appealed for peace between India and Pakistan after having lost her father in Army operations as a 2 year old. As it turned out, Kiren Rijiju hadn’t even watched the video, a single shot of which, had become the bone of contention for the Sangh ecosystem. This was followed by Gurmehar receiving rape threats and being abused with the language such as Rndi, Prostitute, B*tch etc from the ‘unpolluted’ sections of the Sangh ecosystem. This same ‘unpolluted’ ecosystem of the Sangh has produced another gem. RSS Mahanagar Prachar Pramukh of Ujjain Kundan Chandrawat in a speech on Thursday boasted about killing 2000 Muslims in Gujarat and offered a bounty of 1 crore for bringing him Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijaya’s head. The video of the same can be seen below: #WATCH RSS Mahanagar Prachar Pramukh of Ujjain Kundan Chandrawat says, he'll reward the person who brings him Kerala CM P.Vijayan's head pic.twitter.com/yiBwWs6ftF — ANI (@ANI_news) March 2, 2017 In the above video he says (Transcript borrowed from The Wire): Have you forgotten Godhra? You killed 56, we sent 2000 to the graveyard. [He makes a slicing motion with his hand and the audience applauds loudly]. We – this same Hindu community – shoved [their corpses] underground [he gestures downwards, more applause]. You have killed 300 pracharaks and activists, we will present Bharat Mata with a garland of 300,000 skulls in return. Leftists, beware.” Kundan Chandrawat’s act is not an isolated act and many in the Sangh ecosystem have boasted about riots, killings etc. Tathagata Roy who is the present Governor of Tripura and the former president of the West Bengal state unit of BJP from 2002 till 2006 had stated on Twitter about how it is ‘appreciable what the Hindus did in 2002’. In fact, a lot of the BJP supporters also ‘feel proud’ about 2002 and express so publicly on social media. Unpolluted, yes. 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	4th March 2017 / 5:28 pm / Last updated: 4th March 2017	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/non-polluted-leaders-sangh-ecosystem-boasting-riots-mass-murder/", "author": "Pratik Sinha" }
2,340	Not a picture of 'Rohingyas eating Hindus'. It is a Tibetan funeral ritual - Alt News Jignesh Patel 19th December 2018 / 5:35 pm “डरावनी खबर – हिन्दू का कतल कर उनका मास खा रहे रोहिंग्या, मेवात का मामला, खबर विचलित कर सकती है (Horrfying News – Rohingyas are killing Hindus and eating their flesh, a case from Mewat, this news may send shivers down your spine -translated),” read the headline of an article published by fake news website Dainik Bharat on December 18, 2018. The article carried photographs depicting people dismembering dead bodies. The report is introduced with a claim that mainstream media is suppressing this news but one local newspaper from Haryana has reported on the issue. The Dainik Bharat article also includes a Facebook post by an individual user who has shared a newspaper clip of Aaj Tak Gurgaon. According to this clip, Rohingya refugees in Mewat, a Muslim dominated area of Haryana, are ‘eating Hindus’. Alt News found the online version of the same report which stated, “हिंदुओं का मांस खाने वालों को मिली मेवात में पनाह (Those who eat the flesh of Hindus have found refuge in Mewat -translated)”. It must be noted that Aaj Tak Gurgaon is not a part of India Today’s Aaj Tak. Delhi High Court lawyer Prashant Patel Umrao also tweeted a similar claim, terming Mewat ‘Mini Pakistan of Haryana’. On numerous occasions, Umrao has been caught spreading misinformation. A compilation of such instances can be read here. https://twitter.com/ippatel/status/1074725443306106880?s=19 Using Google’s reverse image search, A blog post written in October 2009 was one of the earliest instances of the image appearing on the internet. According to the blog, this image is representative of a funeral ritual of the Tibetan people who believe in donating their dead bodies to wild birds. Moreover, we also found the same image posted by a Facebook page พระมหาไพรวัลย์ วรวณฺโณ(Phramaha Paiwan) on August 14, 2014 with the identical narrative. Another handle @damnitbennnnnn_ also tweeted the same image saying, “this is tibetan people’s ‘sky burial’.” Several YouTube videos of funeral rites held by the Tibetan people show dead bodies being chopped into pieces and fed to scavengers. At 1:16 minutes in this video, vultures can be seen decomposing corpses. In the collage below, the two images on the left are cropped from the viral pictures, while the one on the right is from the video. These are juxtaposed together to depict the presence of vultures in the ritual. This further corroborates that the viral images portray Tibetan funeral rites and NOT ‘Rohingyas eating Hindus’. Tibetan Sky Burial is a traditional funeral custom to bid farewell to the dead. It is a type of an excarnation practice in Tibetan Buddhism. According to the custom, a human corpse is placed on a mountain, exposed to scavenging birds. An article published by Australian Broadcasting Corporation stated, “Tibetans see it as a last gift to the universe — a way to show the insignificance and the impermanence of our earthly lives.” Aaj Tak Gurgaon has published an unrelated image of a Tibetan funeral rite to suggest Rohingyas were eating the flesh of Hindus. In the past as well, a gory staged video was shared as Rohingya Muslims slaughtering and eating Hindus. 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 December 2018 / 5:35 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/not-a-picture-of-rohingyas-eating-hindus-it-is-a-tibetan-funeral-ritual/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
2,341	Not an Indian army soldier; this is a still from a winter surfing video from Michigan, USA - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 7th January 2019 / 8:30 pm A photograph has gone viral on social media, with the claim that it represents a soldier of the Indian army in the line of duty. हमारे जवान -5 माईनस डिर्गी मे भी अपना फर्ज निभाते है , और हम आराम से सो जाते हैं , यह अपना वतन बचाते है ,जय हिन्द जय भारत (Our jawans fulfill their duty even in -5 degree temperature, and we sleep in peace. They are the saviours of our country. Jai Hind Jai Bharat) (translation). This is the message that has been shared along with the image. हमारे जवान -5 माईनस डिर्गी मे भी अपना फर्ज निभाते है , और हम आराम से सो जाते हैं , यह अपना वतन बचाते है ,जय हिन्द जय भारत. Posted by हिंदुस्थानी सेना on Sunday, January 6, 2019 The above post is by a Facebook page Hindustani Sena which has a massive following of close to 2 million. It has also been posted by another page Bharatiya Yoddha, where it has been shared over 1900 times so far. The photograph has been posted and shared widely, particularly by individual users on Facebook. The image is NOT representative of the Indian army. It has been taken from a video which is available on YouTube. The above video was posted in December 2017 and was shot at Lake Superior, the largest of the five Great Lakes of Northern America on the USA-Canada border. The video has been posted by one Jerry Mills and shows a man surfing the lake in sub-zero temperature. The name of the surfer is Dan Schetter aka Surfer Dan. The description accompanying another YouTube video says, “Meet our legendary local surfer, Dan Schetter, aka Surfer Dan, one of a small group of locals who surf Lake Superior even in the most extreme conditions. This day was really extreme as the wind chill was -30. I was out there capturing footage for my Jerrysim series and almost got frostbite on my right hand trying to capture this moment as well as his ride into shore. His ice beard says it all about the severe cold. Filmed at Presque Isle Park in Marquette, MI, on the southern shore of Lake Superior, in Michigan’s magnificent Upper Peninsula.” Similar kinds of posts have been shared time and again on social media. For instance, a photograph of Russian/Ukrainian soldiers had been passed off as Indian army soldiers stationed at Siachen. 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 January 2019 / 8:30 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/not-an-indian-army-soldier-this-is-a-still-from-a-winter-surfing-video-from-michigan-usa/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
2,342	Fact-check: Is late Jayalalithaa with Nirmala Sitharaman in this photograph? - Alt News Anuradha Prasad 16th February 2021 / 2:44 pm Recently, social media users have been circulating a black and white photo and claiming that it shows former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and current Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. A rare photo of Jayalalita and our present Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Posted by Seetha Lakhshmi on Wednesday, February 10, 2021 Many users shared this claim on Facebook. Alt News performed a reverse image search of this photo and found fact-check reports from a number of different media outlets. This claim has gone viral in the past. Several other fact-checking platforms, including Boomive and The Logical Indian have debunked the claim. The text “kliked by stills ravi” appears on the bottom of the photo. Photographer Ravi Varma shot this image. He clarified this in a May 29, 2020, Facebook post when the image went viral earlier. Varma also confirmed this to Boomlive. He replied to a comment on an image in the photoset that the woman seen with Jayalalithaa (left) is not Sitharaman, but author Sivasankari. Now this picture taken by me viral all over Karnataka&andhra-stillsravi Posted by Ravi Varma V on Friday, May 29, 2020 Sivasankari is a Tamil writer and activist. She has penned more than two dozen novels and is known for writing on social issues. Jayalalithaa and Shivshankari were good friends. The two can be seen together in these photographs on the DT Next website. The difference between the facial features of a young Nirmala Sitharaman (left) and Sivasankari (right) can be seen clearly below. A photo of Jayalalithaa with friend and author Sivasankari has been falsely shared as an old picture featuring her and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. A journalist and a dilettante person who always strives to learn new skills and meeting new people. Either sketching or working. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar… In the wake of the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by his partner Aftab Amin… The video of a group of people stopping an e-rickshaw with BJP flags attached to… Last week during the G20 summit in Bali, world leaders were informed of a missile… Recently, several prominent BJP leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened to stop…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	16th February 2021 / 2:44 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/not-nirmala-sitharaman-but-tamil-author-shivasankari-is-with-jayalalitha-in-viral-image/", "author": "Anuradha Prasad" }
2,343	Not Tipu Sultan. Not Tippu Tip either. Who is the person in the viral image? - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 14th November 2018 / 1:35 pm / Last updated: 26th July 2021 For the past few years, history enthusiasts and admirers as well as critics of Tipu Sultan, the last Sultan of the kingdom of Mysore, have circulated a picture on social media claiming that it is a photograph of Tipu Sultan. The image has been shared on both Facebook and Twitter. Alt News has also received verification requests on its WhatsApp helpline number (76000 11160). BJP spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay and Ramesh Mendola, BJP MLA from Indore, had also promoted the claim in 2018. The image was again posted on Twitter in October 2019 by a user Madhav, who is followed on the platform by PM Modi. #TipuSultan This is how the congress ecosystem projected the scum called #TipuSultan pic.twitter.com/UxD1DTTlBK — Madhav 🇮🇳 (@mahesh10816) October 30, 2019 The same picture was revived in November 2020. But the real #TipuSultan doesnt look like a tiger though. He looks like.. pic.twitter.com/JiDdqvevs7 — Ajnin (@Ajnin8) November 20, 2020 Multiple news organisations and fact-checking outlets had checked this viral claim, some of whom concluded that the person in the picture is not Tipu Sultan but Tippu Tip (or Tippu Tib), a slave trader from Tanzania of the 19th century. The first-ever photograph was clicked in 1826 or 1827 and thus, this picture is not a photograph of Tipu Sultan who died in the year 1799 CE. The same image is also featured on the website of Getty Images, a stock photography website. According to Getty Images, he is Tippu Tib, also known as Hamed bin Mohammed, who was the most successful Swahili-Arab slave trader in Zanzibar. The photograph has been clicked by Bojan Brecelj. With multiple information outlets stating that this person in the picture is a trader from Zanzibar, Tanzania named Tippu Tip, the matter should end there, except for the fact that there are numerous pictures of Tippu Tib which do not match with above picture claimed to be of him. In fact, another picture posted on the website of Getty Images featuring Tippu shows a person markedly different from the person in the above image. Juxtaposing the two pictures, it can be seen that there are visible differences in the facial features of the two persons. The person on the left has a long, narrow and slender nose, compared to the person on the right whose nose is widely shaped. On Twitter, Alt News came across a tweet that had posted an article fact-checking the claim about the picture. This tweet mentioned that the person seen in the picture is not Tippu Tip but Mohammed Bin Khalfan, commonly known as Rumaliza, another prominent slave trader of Zanzibar of the 19th century. இவையிரண்டுக்கும் ஒத்துமை இருக்கா முதல் படத்தில் இருப்பவர் Mohammed bin Hassan Rumaliza அடிமைகள் வியாபாரி pic.twitter.com/M0F0dSdxPD — கவி தா (@kavitha129) November 9, 2018 We searched for ‘Rumaliza’ online and came across a slew of pictures featuring him. We noticed that this person closely resembles the picture of the person believed to be Tippu Tip. We placed the picture of Rumaliza next to this image, and the resemblance is striking. 2. The robe worn by the persons in both pictures has the same design. 3. The dagger which can be seen tucked inside the robe in both pictures is identical. In conclusion, the picture, circulated aggressively by social media users claiming it represents Tipu Sultan, is not the picture of Tippu Tip either, as inferred by media outlets. The picture instead closely resembles Rumaliza, another slave trader of Zanzibar, Tanzania. 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	14th November 2018 / 1:35 pm / Last updated: 26th July 2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/not-tipu-sultan-not-tippu-tip-either-who-is-the-person-in-the-viral-image/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
2,344	November 2019: Misinformation around JNU protest, Ayodhya verdict and more - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 4th December 2019 / 7:20 pm November 2019 was characterized by a deluge of misinformation surrounding the protest by JNU students over the proposed fee hike. Another issue in the limelight was the Ayodhya verdict, which resulted in a flurry of falsehood on social media. A photograph of a young woman holding a liquor bottle in one hand and a cigarette in the other, has been circulated with the narrative that she is a JNU student. Another picture of a girl who has tied her hair with a condom too was shared as a protesting JNU student. “JNU ‘s fall cannot be explained better than this – Condom to tie hair & Naked protests”, read the caption along with the photograph. The liquor bottle in her hand apart.. This JNU junkie has 2 packs of “Classic” on the table as she smokes one…Each pack costs 300 bucks.. And these castards are whining about fee hike?… @Timesnow @Indiatoday @Republic @PMOIndia @DrRPNishank @mamidala90 https://t.co/ZgKaLbvB60 pic.twitter.com/sA8pVpEEqF — Ravinar (@RavinarIN) November 16, 2019 Alt News reverse-searched both images and found they are unrelated to JNU protesters. The image of the woman holding the liquor bottle was found on a blog from August 2016. As for the picture with the condom, Alt News found it posted by a Twitter user in December 2017. In yet another example, a photograph was shared on social media, targeting the protesting students. An image of a student was circulated with the claim that he is a 45 year old Congress leader Abdul Raza, who is still a student at the university. The photograph was shared with the message, “ये JNU का छात्र निकला 45 वर्ष का जानते हैं कौन है अब्दुल रजा कांग्रेस का मण्डल अध्यक्ष कुछ समझे” (This 45 year old turned out to be a JNU student, he is Abdul Raza, a Congress leader- translated), and the hashtag #ShutDownJNU. 45 वर्षीय #अब्दुल_रजा कांग्रेस का #मण्डल_अध्यक्ष भी अभी JNU में पढ़ाई कर‌ रहा हैं। हद हो गयी यार…😠😠😡#ShutDownJNU pic.twitter.com/97PW0nVKNw — डा.सीमा (@seematri6) November 19, 2019 The social media claim, once again turned out to be false. The person in the photograph is Shubham Bokade, a 23-year old student at JNU studying MA in Lingustics. In a conversation with Alt News, Bokade said, ““First of all, the post being circulated is fake. I think the narrative being circulated is also very problematic. It is Islamophobic, clearly. Secondly, suppose even if I were the Abdul Raza who is 45 years of age as the fake news claims, the question is what’s wrong with a 45 year old man trying to get an education at an affordable price. The idea of education is not to make University spaces exclusive but rather to make space for the last person standing.” A photograph depicting a young woman bleeding copiously from a head wound was circulated on social media with a narrative targeting the government. It was shared in the context of the clash between students and the police in the national capital, in which 15 students were injured. The above picture is not from India. According to an article published by a Shia News website JafariyaNews.com in February 2005, these images depict the observation of Ashura on the tenth day of Muharram. Hence the suggestion that image was clicked during the recent students’ fee hike protest is false. A photograph of an elderly woman was shared widely on Facebook and Twitter with the narrative that the person is a student of JNU. The messages accompanying it were sarcastic in nature. A final year student from JNU got arrested. Fascist Modi#ShutDownJNU #JNUWallOfShame #JNUFreebies #JNUProtests pic.twitter.com/AAEq6Imtf8 — Amaresh Ojha 🇮🇳 (@Amreso99) November 18, 2019 It turns out that the lady in the photograph is Annie Raja, a leader of the CPI and not a student of JNU. Annie Raja was among those who had protested outside the Supreme Court in May 2019 over the clean chit given to former CJI Ranjan Gogoi over allegations of sexual harassment. That is when this photo was taken. Readers may refer to the Alt News compilation for more such instances. A supposed letter written by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi was circulated on social media. The said letter is dated on November 11 and reads, “Dear Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Let me begin by congratulating you and your bench Justice S.A. Bobde, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice Ashok Bhushan & Justice S. Abdul Nazeer for your stupendous contribution to Hindu Rashtra. Hindus will always be grateful to you and your team for your compendable and memorable decision, which will make a new history for Hindu Rashtra. I wish you and your family the very best for your future endeavours and once again congratulate you for this remarkable decision. Thank you for the wonderful support at this crucial time.” The letter was trending on social media, and primarily on WhatsApp. There are several inconsistencies which conclusively establish that the said letter is morphed. Alt News’s detailed fact-check may be read here. In the backdrop of the Ayodhya verdict, social media was abuzz with the claim that the Tirumala Tirupati Balaji will donate Rs 1 billion(100 crore) for constructing Ram temple in Ayodhya. A screengrab of Uttar Pradesh TV channel Bharat Samachar’s broadcast was shared by several individuals which gave credence to this narrative. Alt News found that the claim about Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam(TTD) donating Rs 100 crore for construction of Ram Mandir is false. In an email response regarding the authenticity of the news reported by the above outlets, the PRO office at TTD said, “Kindly note that it is a fake news.”, thus clarifying that no such announcement for donation was made by the temple authorities. Ahead of the impending Supreme Court verdict on the Ayodhya case, WhatsApp was rife with rumours and misinformation. A message which went viral stated that with the upcoming Ayodhya verdict, new rules for public communication will come into effect. The message stated that all calls will be recorded, all call recordings will be saved, and social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook would be monitored, as would WhatsApp. It further stated all personal electronic devices will be connected to systems in the ministry, and warned readers not to share content critical of the government or the Prime Minister. UP police confirmed via Twitter that the aforementioned message is a hoax. It was one of several such messages circulating in Ayodhya. On November 5, the Twitter account of Ayodhya police uploaded an image of a news report titled, ‘सोशल मीडिया के माध्यम से अशांति फ़ैलाने की हो रही है नाकाम कोशिश’ (Efforts to spread disharmony via social media rendered futile- translation). Ayodhya police tweeted with the hashtag #UPPAgainstFakeNews. A collage of photographs was viral on social media with the claim that these are photographs of the Babri masjid, taken from the collection of the British library. All the photos are in black and white. Alt News found these photographs have been circulating online for several years. pic.twitter.com/x69obRFygn — Shaykh Abdul Raheem (@ShkhAbdulRaheem) November 10, 2019 Alt News’s fact-check found that except for one photograph, the rest of the images do not pertain to the now demolished Babri masjid. These photos represent mosques and mausoleums in Karnataka, Afghanistan and Turkey. In a similar instance, images from West Bengal and Karnataka were passed off as photographs of the Babri masjid. Like every year, the cases for mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, spiked in different parts of India after the end of the summer season. This year the epidemic has lasted much longer than the previous years, while a 16-year-old girl died from dengue on the 10th of November 2019 at the Delhi hospital. This in turn led to a spate of misinformation on social media over prevention and cure of dengue. WhatsApp forwards, YouTube videos and social media users claimed that Eupatorium Perfoliatum (EP), a Homeopathic preparation is preventative and curative for high risk as well as dengue infected populations. Alt News found multiple mainstream media reports of Eupatorium Perfoliatum being given to patients by Government organisations. (1, 2, 3, 4) This is a false claim. Read the Alt News fact-check here. It has been claimed that application of coconut oil can be protective from dengue-infected mosquito bites due to its antibiotic properties. A viral message on social media and chat applications such as WhatsApp attributed to a doctor B Sukumar advises application of coconut oil in order to prevent dengue. Prevention is better than cure ♥️ pic.twitter.com/q6q0JvKokW — thaman S (@MusicThaman) October 11, 2017 Coconut oil is not an antiviral compound and its application will not protect against dengue infection or dengue-mosquito bites. Read the Alt News fact-check here. With the surge in dengue cases this year, a 2012 Facebook post with an image of papaya leaves was viral again with close to 995,000 shares since it was first posted. This Facebook post attributes a Times of India article as the source of information, and suggests that the juice of papaya leaves may be a miracle cure for dengue. It could be a miracle cure for dengue. And the best part is you can make it at home. (apologies for the typo in the… Posted by Health Digest on Tuesday, October 30, 2012 This too is a false claim. Click here to read the detailed Alt News fact-check. A quote on Ayodhya-Ram Mandir, attributed to Congress Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal, was widely circulating on social media. It says, “जब तक जिंदा हूँ, राम मंदिर नहीं बनने दूँगा – कपिल सिब्बल (I will not let Ram Mandir be constructed till I’m alive – Kapil Sibal.)” A similar version of the quote has been floating around since 2017. The earliest version on Twitter discovered by Alt News says, “कपिल सिब्बल: अगर तीन तलाक ख़त्म हुआ तो राम मंदिर नहीं बनने दूंगा। (Kapil Sibal: If triple talaq is deemed removed, I will not let Ram Mandir be constructed.”) A quick Google search throws up no news reports crediting the quote to Kapil Sibal either recently or in the past. It is improbable that the media would not report such a controversial statement, had it been made by a prominent opposition leader. Moreover, the screenshot shared by several users redirects to a shady website digitalindiatv.com which had attributed the quote to Sibal on March 15, 2018. Alt News’s fact-check may be read here. “ये क्या हो गया सच्चा मुसलमान कभी ऐसा नही कर सकता तो इसका मतलब क्या समझा जाये शाहरुख खान सच्चे मुसलमान नही है ओ भी मात्र दो करोड़ रुपये के लिए ..! #ShahRukhKhanBirthday” (“What is this, a true Muslim would never do this, should we suppose that Shahrukh Khan is not a true Muslim, that too for a mere two crore rupees!” – translation). The above message was shared on Twitter along with a screenshot of a report by the Hindi news channel NDTV India. The title of the report supposedly is, “2 करोड़ में लिखवाया बुर्ज खलीफा पर अपना नाम। पैसे देने की बारी आयी, अब फ़ोन नहीं रिसीव कर रहे शाहरुख़ खान।” (He got his name written on the Burj Khalifa for 2 crore. When it came to payment, Shahrukh Khan is not receiving his phone- translation). The NDTV India headline is photoshopped. To fact-check this image, Alt News perused the NDTV India website and found one report pertaining to Shahrukh Khan published on his birthday. The title of the report found on the NDTV India website is, ‘शाहरुख खान के रंग में रंगा दुबई का ‘बुर्ज खलीफा’, देखने पहुंची लोगों की भारी भीड़…देखें वायरल Video’ (Dubai’s Burj Khalifa splashed with image of Shahrukh Khan, big growd gathers to watch. view viral video- translation). In the below image, the difference between the actual NDTV India report and the viral screenshot has been shown. An image of CPI leader and former president of JNUSU Kanhaiya Kumar was shared on social media. It shows the politician purportedly giving a speech in front of a map depicting Indian states as part of Pakistan. The accompanying message read, “इस कुत्ते के पीछे भारत का नक्शा देखो यह जेएनयू में पलने वाला कुत्ता है भड़वा है और इस देशद्रोही को पलवल आने का न्योता दो इसका इलाज पलवल में ही संभव हो पाएगा (See India’s map behind this dog. This dog was bred in JNU. This anti-national and traitor should be given an invitation to Palwal. His treatment is only possible in Palwal.)” A simple reverse image search on Google leads one to the original photograph which does not show a distorted map of India. The background is plain. The Hindu had used the image in a 2015 article, crediting it to photographer Sandeep Saxena. November 12, 2019, marked the 100th day since sections of Article 370 were abrogated in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). On that day, a video was shared on social media with the message, “A Kashmiri Muslim child has just been tortured to death by RSS Hindutva Nazi goons. My question to western leaders: would you allow this to happen to your children & silently spectate? Can any sane mind justify this? #100DaysOfKashmirSiege.” The video shows a boy pinned to the ground and beaten up mercilessly. A Kashmiri Muslim child has just been tortured to death by RSS Hindutva Nazi goons. My question to western leaders: would you allow this to happen to your children & silently spectate? Can any sane mind justify this? #100DaysOfKashmirSiege pic.twitter.com/dsS3kuCY5C — Suhaib Saqib (@SuhaibSaqib1) November 12, 2019 The video is not from Kashmir. It was fact-checked by Alt News in October 2019, in the article ‘Murder-accused brutally beaten in Bihar; police deny communal angle.’ The incident took place in Kaimur’s Bhabua Nagar, a district in Bihar on October 2, 2019. On November 9-10, Eid Milad-un-Nabi was celebrated in Kashmir’s Hazratbal shrine to observe the birth of Prophet Muhammed. While The Hindu and PTI along with local news outlets reported that restrictions had been imposed to prevent a large gathering, a section of the media including Times Now and Doordarshan, along with prominent journalists claimed that thousands of people had gathered for the occasion, and that there were no restrictions on assembly. Thousands prayed at Hazratbal and holy Relic Moi-e-Muqaddas was displayed as per tradition at holy Hazratbal shrine in #Srinagar. Disinformation was spread that prayers were not allowed on 10 November#FakeNews pic.twitter.com/vUD72hqN7m — Doordarshan News (@DDNewsLive) November 12, 2019 It is noteworthy that prominent media outlets and journalists claimed that disinformation was spread that the prayers were not allowed. However, this is untrue. News organisations that carried reports on Eid Milad wrote that prayers were “restricted”, not banned. If one were to compare publicly available photographs from November 10, 2019, with those of celebrations in Hazratbal in past years, the massive difference in the strength of the gathering is evident. In the collage below, the first image depicts recent celebrations, the second is from 2016; third, 2011 and the fourth, 2014. Alt News’s fact-check may be read here. इस कश्मीरी मकान की तस्वीर देखकर कश्मीर के हालात का अंदाजा लगाईये । (Take a look at this Kashmiri building and think of the plight of Kashmir- translation). The above message was viral on social media along with a photograph which shows a building whose walls are riddled with gunfire. इस कश्मीरी मकान की तस्वीर देखकर कश्मीर के हालात का अंदाजा लगाईये । Posted by रख्शन्दा खान on Thursday, October 31, 2019 The image is not from Kashmir, but Gaza. Alt News reverse-searched the image on Yandex, and found a report on a website www.radikal.com published on January 3, 2010. The description posted along with the photo states that nothing had changed in Gaza a year after Israeli forces had bombed the region on December 27, 2009, and that children were affected the most by the Israeli assault. In early November, a blast took place near a mosque in Sasaram, Bihar. Soon after, a claim widely circulated on social media that the explosion took place inside a mosque where a hundred other bombs were also recovered. The message which was circulated was “आज सासाराम में मोची टोला मोहल्ला मस्जिद में बम बनाते ब्लास्ट हुआ 100 की संख्या में बम बारूद गिरफ्तार हुआ इस तरह का लगभग मस्जिद में काम काम चल रहा है सासाराम रोहतास बिहार।” Alt News contacted SDO Sasaram, Raj Kumar Gupta, who informed that the claims floating on social media are “just rumours.” The officer said that the blast did not occur inside the mosque but on a campus outside the place of worship. “There was a single blast where a labourer was wounded. We did not recover any other explosives,” he said while adding that the police are still investigating the matter. Soon after the Deepotsav event in Ayodhya wherein over 5 lakh lamps or diyas were lit, a video began circulating widely on social media showing a young girl collecting oil from the lamps. This was followed by some sections on social media claiming that the girl was a Rohingya muslim. The message circulated was “इस अवैध रोहींगया लड़की को वाम और सेकुलर गैंग ने एक षड़यंत्र के तहत अयोध्या पहुंचाया ज़िससे एक झूठा प्रोपेगैंडा फैलाय़ा जा सके , अरे बेशर्मो तुम्हारा प्लान फेल हो गया (Left and secular gang brought this illegal Rohingya girl to Ayodhya through a conspiracy so that a false propaganda can be spread.)” along with another photo showing a young girl with the narrative that this is the same girl who was seen in Ayodhya. Alt News found that the image on top was clicked two years ago in Bangladesh and shows a Rohingya refugee girl who fled from Myanmar on September 6, 2017. Also, a comparison of the facial features of this girl and the one in Ayodhya evidently proves that the two are different people. They have distinct features – eye colour, nose, lips. A video of flags hoisted on the terrace of several buildings in Jalandhar, Punjab was shared on social media with a claim that these were Pakistani national flags. In the video, a man can be heard calling the territory “mini Pakistan”. Twitter handle @noconversion posted the video with the message, “Pakistani flags … in Jalandhar Punjab, this area Vijay Colony is infested with Christian Missionaries”. Pakistani flags … in Jalandhar Punjab , this area Vijay Colony is infested with Christian Missionaries @AmitShah @SureshChavhanke @rohitsardaana @ZeeNews @aajtak @amitmalviya pic.twitter.com/GMqn4owAN5 — No Conversion (@noconversion) November 6, 2019 With the help of a keyword search on Google, we found a news report published by Dainik Bhaskar on November 4, 2019. On November 4, the police reached Jalandhar’s Vijay Colony along with a local Shiv Sena leader who informed that the Muslim community was allegedly raising Pakistani flags. According to the report, the flags were removed by the residents, however, a protest was later staged. The Muslim community argued that the flags were “Islamic religious flags”, not Pakistani flags. After the outrage, the police realised their misunderstanding and the flags were reinstated under the police’s direction. In the comparison below, one can observe a clear distinction between the two flags. A set of images of an injured man was shared on the social media with the narrative that an Imam of a mosque in Lucknow was attacked by “Sanghis-Bajrangis.” The photographs show a man whose head and the right hand is bandaged. He is sitting wearing a blood-soaked undervest. “नफ़रतों की इन्तिहा हो गई कायर संघियों। 11 बजे रात में लखनऊ में जेल रोड पर बनी मस्जिद के इमाम हाफ़िज़ अदनान साहब पर नीच, कायर संघियों-बजरंगियों ने तलवार से जानलेवा हमला किया। (Coward Sanghis have exceeded the limits of hatred. At 11 PM, Imam Hafiz Adnan at Lucknow’s Jail Road mosque was fatally attacked by coward Sanghis-Bajrangis with a sword. -translated)”, was the message circulated along with the photos. नफ़रतों की इन्तिहा हो गई कायर संघियों। 11 बजे रात में लखनऊ में जेल रोड पर बनी मस्जिद के इमाम हाफ़िज़ अदनान साहब पर नीच, कायर संघियों-बजरंगियों ने तलवार से जानलेवा हमला किया। अल्लाह ने हिफ़ाज़त फ़रमाई।। pic.twitter.com/Krx9HgwLMk — सत्यवाणी( 3k) (@ShaidaHussain2) October 29, 2019 The social media claim is false. The incident was a case of a failed robbery attempt. Alt News’s fact-check may be read here. A news clip of Russian television RT was viral on social media with the claim that Muslim parties in Belgium are demanding to establish the country as an Islamic state after winning elections. Founder of fake news website Postcard News Mahesh Vikram Hegde tweeted the video writing, “After winning elections, Muslim parties demanding to declare Belgium as Islamic country. Huge protests have already started. This is what going to happen soon in india also. All the best to my beloved so called “SECULAR” brothers and sisters. After winning elections, Muslim parties demanding to declare Belgium as Islamic country. Huge protests have already started This is what going to happen soon in india also All the best to my beloved so called “SECULAR” brothers and sisters pic.twitter.com/6CQZgP1FYh — Mahesh Vikram Hegde (@mvmeet) November 2, 2019 Alt News found the video clip dates back to 2012. A newly-established ‘Islam Party’ in 2012 had won two seats in the municipal elections in Belgium and vowed to implement Sharia law, according to a 2012 report by RT. The party had won two seats in the capital Brussels – Molenbeek and Anderlecht. However, it lost both the seats in 2018. Soon after the formation of the Sena-NCP-Congress alliance in Maharashtra, a message viral on social media claimed that Supriya Sule is the daughter-in-law of Bal Thackeray’s sister. “Balasaheb Thackeray’s sister is Sudha Bhalachandra Sule who is the mother of Sadanand Sule who is the husband of Supriya Sule whao is the daughter of Sharad Pawar You will now Understand Politics”, read the viral message which was shared on WhatsApp. Supriya Sule is the Nationalist Congress Party MP from Maharashtra’s Baramati constituency. The same was reported by sections of the media. The claim that NCP leader Supriya Sule’s mother-in-law is the sister of Bal Thackeray is false. The name of Supriya Sule’s mother-in-law is Anne Sule and not Sudha Sule as claimed on social media. Alt News’s detailed fact-check may be read here. Recently, there was a backlash on social media against former cricketer and BJP MP Gautam Gambhir with the narrative that he had missed a crucial meeting scheduled by the Parliamentary standing committee, Ministry of Urban Development on the deteriorating air quality in Delhi, because he would rather do cricket commentary for the India vs Bangladesh test series. In the eight-second video tweeted by social media users, a reporter from ANI questions, “Why didn’t you turn up for the meeting?” to which Gambhir responds “Is the meeting important or my work important? In the past five mo..” Delhiites ; Listen what your MP is asking – Pollution पर बैठक ज़रूरी है या Cricket Commentary ? ×× Next time, before Voting for Celebs, Think Twice ! pic.twitter.com/NTaqRUg1bq — Aarti (@aartic02) November 18, 2019 The video in question shows eight-seconds from a 90-second interview given to ANI on November 18. Additionally, the video was misrepresented because the phrase ‘my work’ was portrayed as Gambhir’s personal work. The narrative on social media aimed to show that Gambhir has said his personal work or business contract is more important than his duties as an MP. Read the Alt News fact-check here. The home ministry had recently revoked the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card status held by Aatish Taseer, the journalist who had penned a TIME magazine cover story on prime minister Narendra Modi ahead of Lok Sabha polls. In a recent development, mainstream media outlets – Zee News, Republic TV, OneIndia – reported that Taseer has moved the Supreme Court against the government’s action. Republic TV’s report is no longer available. ब्रिटिश नागरिक और लेखक #AatishTaseer ने #SupremeCourt का दरवाजा खटखटाया. सुप्रीम कोर्ट में याचिका दायर कर ओवरसीज सिटिजन ऑफ इंडिया (#OCI) कार्ड वापस लेने के सरकार के फैसले को चुनौती दी है. दरअसल, पिछले हफ्ते ही सरकार ने आतिश तासीर का ओसीआई कार्ड वापस ले लिया था.#ZeeHindustan — ZEE HINDUSTAN (@Zee_Hindustan) November 22, 2019 Aatish Taseer quote-tweeted the report by Zee News and termed the story “fake news”. Speaking with Alt News, the journalist and author said, “We have not filed a petition at the Supreme Court. We are still in the process of preparing our legal strategy.” 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. 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 claim turned out to be false, because the image in question dates back to August 18, 2019. It was shared by Mahua Moitra on her Facebook page. 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. 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 December 2019 / 7:20 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/november-2019-misinformation-around-jnu-protest-ayodhya-verdict-and-more/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
2,345	November round-up: Political propaganda peaks ahead of state elections - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 2nd December 2018 / 7:21 pm Election season is usually marked by a spike in disinformation. The month of November witnessed an onslaught on social media, from exaggerated development claims to polarisation tactics, to use of manipulated videos and unrelated photographs. An ‘opinion poll’ was widely circulated on social media, according to which the BJP is set to win 135 seats and retain power in Rajasthan. The home page of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was shared along with these numbers by many social media users, attributing this purported opinion poll to the channel. These numbers are bogus. No opinion poll has been conducted by the BBC. Alt News spoke to a BBC spokesperson who informed that no such opinion poll has been published by the news organisation. Moreover, BBC does not commission pre-election surveys in India. A photograph showing Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan eating meat was shared widely by numerous Facebook and Twitter users, along with the words “Have some shame Shivraj Chouhan, you eat meat while pretend to be a hardcore hindu in front of the public. Leaked photo of Shivraj -translated)”. The above image has been photoshopped. In the original image, there is no meat in the plate. Alt News reverse searched the image on Google and found that the original photo had been published by The Tribune. A video of former Rajasthan CM and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot went viral on social media. In the video, Gehlot can be seen waving a green coloured flag. A Facebook user posted this video with the claim that Gehlot is waving the national flag of Pakistan. Postcard News founder Mahesh Vikram Hegde had also posted this video on his Twitter timeline. The green coloured flag seen in the video is NOT the flag of Pakistan. It is a banner which is popular among the Muslims of the subcontinent, and is used as a religious and cultural symbol. Moreover, it looks nothing like the Pakistani flag. “राजस्थान बांदीकुई दौसा से बीजेपी प्रत्याशी रामकिशोर सैनी की जोरदार कुटाई”जो जनता परेशान होकर कुटाई करने पर उतर आई है जरा सोचिए वोटिंग वाले दिन क्या करने वाली है। (BJP candidate Ramkishore Saini from Bandikui, Dausa was thrashed severely. If the upset public has resorted to violence, just think what will happen on election day -translated)” A video purportedly of a BJP candidate, Ramkishore Saini being thrashed by a group was shared on social media and viewed thousands of times. The claim was false. India Today had reported that the man thrashed in the video is not BJP candidate Ramkishore Saini but a late Congress worker, Vishwanath Saini from Bandikui in Dausa district of Rajasthan. Saini passed away recently in November 2018, whereas the video is of a scuffle that had taken place in 2015. A video purportedly of a Congress MLA praising Modi government on demonetization and surgical strike had gone viral on social media along with the message “कांग्रेसी विधायक राकेश मेघवाल मोदी जी की तारीफ कर रहा था तो उसका माइक छीनने लगे कांग्रेसी” (Congress MLA Rakesh Meghwal was praising Modiji then Congressmen started snatching the microphone -translated). The video was shared in numerous groups on Facebook. Alt News fact checked this claim. A Google search of Rakesh Meghwal showed several news reports on the incident which had taken place in 2016. According to a report, Rakesh Meghwal is a former BJP MLA who was speaking at an event organized by the Bahujan Sangarsh Dal in Nagaur district. Speaking to the media, he said that he was invited as a community leader in the gathering. It also must be noted that he was associated with BJP when made the statement in November, 2016. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra, in more than one television programme, referred to a statement which has been attributed to India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru is widely believed to have said, “I am English by education, Muslim by culture and Hindu by accident of birth”. #Hallabol, @sambitswaraj: राहुलजी ने अपनी नानीमां का गोत्र ले लिया, बेहतर है अपनी मां का गोत्र ले लेते! ये तो हिंदू धर्म में गोत्र घोटाला है Live: Live: https://t.co/fOz5QPkk43 pic.twitter.com/23w49NloVZ — आज तक (@aajtak) November 27, 2018 Alt News has established how it was not Jawaharlal Nehru, but a leader of the Hindu Mahasabha who had first referred to these words. N B Khare, Hindu Mahasabha leader and staunch critic of Nehru had claimed that the latter had described himself thus in his autobiography. However, Jawaharlal Nehru’s autobiography has no reference to this statement. In-charge of BJP’s national Information & Technology Amit Malviya tweeted a video of Dr Manmohan Singh on November 27 where the former PM can be heard saying, “The Governments of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh were very good.” This clip where Singh seems to appreciate the BJP state governments was captioned as, “Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh contradicted Rahul Gandhi, says governments of Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh were ‘very good’… Waters down everything Congress President has been saying over the last few days!” Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh contradicts Rahul Gandhi, says governments of Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh were ‘very good’… Waters down everything Congress President has been saying over the last few days! pic.twitter.com/cLqCL0al7q — Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) November 27, 2018 As it turns out, Malviya shared a mischievously clipped video of the former PM’s speech made on November 26. Dr. Singh was a panelist in a discussion organised for the book release function of former Union Minister Manish Tewari’s new book ‘Fables of Fractured Times’. The former PM’s exact words were, “My relationships with the government of Madhya Pradesh, the government of Chhattisgarh were very good. We never discriminated against BJP-ruled states.” Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, in a programme on the Hindi news channel Aaj Tak, claimed that Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje has urged BJP workers to divert the attention of the people so that they do not ask about issues like roads, water and electricity. वसुंधराजी की ने अपने कार्यकर्ताओं को कहा कि सबको इतना उलझा दो की कोई यह नहीं कहे की सड़के क्यों नहीं बनी,पानी क्यों नहीं है,नौकरी क्यों नहीं है,लोग पिट क्यों रहें हैं,किसान लाचार-क्यों है,-इतना उलझा कर सबको भ्रमित कर लेंगे।जब प्रदेश की CM ये कह रही है,तो उन्हें हार स्वीकार है! pic.twitter.com/0eFQeAJ3zD — Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) November 29, 2018 The video referred to by Surjewala, according to which the Rajasthan CM is ostensibly exhorting her workers to distract the electorate, is a truncated version of a larger video. Vasundhara Raje has indeed said these words but with reference to the Congress party. Raje had alleged that the Congress party has always sought to hoodwink the people by raking up non-issues. Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath took a jibe at the erstwhile Congress led UPA regime for going too soft on the terrorist convicted in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. At an election rally in Makrana, Adityanath said, “Congress has always played divisive politics. It is the result of the division and divisive politics that terrorism was on the rise in the country. Today you can see that the terrorists which were fed Biryani by Congress are now fed bullets by us”. In March 2015, Ujjwal Nikam, the public prosecutor who argued on behalf of the state in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case had disclosed that he had fabricated the story of Ajmal Kasab being fed biryani in jail to counter an emotional wave created in Kasab’s favour. Speaking to the media, Nikam had said, “Kasab neither asked for biryani nor it was served by the government. I concocted it just to break an emotional atmosphere which was taking shape in favour of Kasab during the trial of the case”. In January 2019, the Kumbh Mela will be held at Prayagraj (Allahabad) in Uttar Pradesh. A photograph was shared widely on social media with the claim that it is a picture of the preparation which is currently underway. The fake news website Postcard News was at the forefront, posting the photograph on November 16 with the words, “Yes this is Heaven. This is how Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj is getting ready for Kumbh Mela.” The post was later deleted. Alt News reverse searched the image and found that it is from Saudi Arabia. The photograph was clicked at Mina city near Mecca, which serves accommodation for Hajj pilgrims. Twitter user Pawan Durani tweeted in the morning of November 29 images of a road and claimed that it was newly constructed in a village, courtesy Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the photographs, children can be seen playing on the road barefoot. Durani, who is followed by PM Modi, later deleted his tweet. Alt News reverse-searched the images and found that they were of an Indonesian village where the residents had seen an asphalt road for the first time in their lives. In an article published on October 15, 2018, website The Quebec Times shared the photographs. In a major embarrassment for Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, the Mayor of the city has tweeted a picture from Seoul as Sabarmati riverfront. On November 6, Ahmedabad Mayor Bijal Patel tweeted an image purportedly of Ahmedabad Riverfront with a message, “It’s not Singapore , Malaysia, Dubai….. , It’s our Amdavad city. #MaruAmdavad #RiverFront night areal view. #WorldHeritageCity @AmdavadAMC @vnehra”. Alt News did a Google reverse image search and found a similar picture on the travel website Trip Advisor. The vantage point from which the photograph was shot is the restaurant ‘Walking on the Cloud’ located near the banks of Han river, South Korea. On November 4, the Signature bridge was inaugurated by the Delhi government amid ruckus. The 675 metre long bridge, constructed across the Yamuna river connecting Wazirabad to the inner city, has been touted as a stellar achievement of the Delhi government. The Aam Aadmi Party on November 3 had posted pictures of the bridge, purportedly shot at night, on its official Twitter account. The above photo which was posted by AAP along with three other pictures, is actually of the Erasmus bridge at Rotterdam in the Netherlands. “Telangana election: SHOCKING Congress manifesto vows ‘Muslim-only schools, govt contracts’ – DETAILS” screamed the title of a news report published by Times Now on November 27, 2018. According to the report, the Congress party has promised seven ‘Muslim-only’ schemes to woo the minority community voter base ahead of the Telangana assembly elections. Republic TV too reported on the same narrative that the manifesto of the Congress party has promised seven benefits exclusively for Muslims and other minority sections in Telangana. The headline of the report read, “Congress On Appeasement Overdrive In Telangana: ‘Muslim Only’ Schools & Hospitals, Free Power For Mosques Promised”. It is a well-poised method by Congress, says Political Analyst @varnishant #CongForMuslimsTape pic.twitter.com/eNGepmHLim — TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) November 27, 2018 What was reported by Times Now and Republic TV was at best a half-truth, as both networks conveniently ignored the other provisions of the manifesto which had promised benefits to other religious communities as well. “By education I’am an Englishman, by views an internationalist, by culture a Muslim and Hindu only by accident of birth- Jawaharlal Nehru”. This quotation attributed to India’s first Prime Minister was printed by the Deccan Chronicle in its Hyderabad edition on November 19, 2018. Alt News had established how this quote attributed to Nehru is false. These words first made their appearance in an article titled ‘The Angry Aristocrat’, written by N B Khare in 1959, a Hindu Mahasabha leader and staunch critic of Jawaharlal Nehru. Deccan Chronicle later regretted the error. Was P V Narasimha Rao the first Prime Minister from the Congress party who did not belong to the Gandhi family? Apparently so, according to Navika Kumar, managing editor with Times Now and anchor of the prime time show The Newshour. Kumar was speaking live on November 16, 2018 ahead of her prime time show. Navika Kumar on #ModiChaiwalaDare Posted by TIMES NOW on Friday, November 16, 2018 Navika Kumar’s statement that P V Narasimha Rao, who became the Prime Minister in 1991, was the first PM of the Congress party who did not belong to the Gandhi family, is false. The list of politicians who have served as Prime Minister of India is available on the website of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Nehru was succeeded by Gulzarilal Nanda for a 13-day interim period in 1964 before Lal Bahadur Shastri became the PM. Both Nanda and Shastri were from the Congress party. Numerous media organisations recently reported that ‘Muslim women’ had strongly come out in support of the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. These included Amar Ujala, News18, CatchNews and OpIndia, among others. It emerged that the women who had ‘spearheaded’ this ‘movement’ were actually members of Muslim Rashtriya Manch and Rashtriya Ekta Mission, organisations which are affiliated to the RSS. Apart from the above categorisation, there were some other prominent instances of misinformation. Social media was recently brimming with allegations that JNU student leader Shehla Rashid embezzled the money crowdfunded for the family of the Kathua rape victim. The accusations reached to the extent that lawyer Vibhor Anand appealed to those who felt “cheated” by Rashid that he is planning to take legal action against her. Several accusations of an identical nature were directed at Rashid even after the organisers of the crowdfunding, Crowdnewsing, tweeted that the money has reached the family In a detailed fact-check, Alt News established that the claims relating to Rashid siphoning off funds meant for the rape victim are patently false. Alt News found that all the funds had been transferred to the victim and that there was no embezzlement. Before voting for Congress, Hindu brothers, remember the Godhra massacre where Congress Muslims in the Congress government had poured oil on Hindus in two [train] compartments and burned them. If you love Hindus even a little bit, rid India of Congress, our loving Hindu brothers.” This message was viral on social media with an accompanying picture of charred bodies, suggesting that the image pertains to the 2002 Godhra train burning. The photos were also circulated widely on WhatsApp. Alt News reverse searched the image of charred bodies on Google and found a 2017 fact-check by India Today. The same photograph was viral last year as “Rohingya people burned alive”. However, it actually pertains to a 2010 incident that took place in the Democratic Republic of Congo and is available on a website called documentingreality.com. Indian army starts burning down houses of Kashmiris of Bandipora, if you cannot raise your voice against this oppression or in favour of the oppressed then quit using Facebook -translated” A video of houses on fire has gone viral in Pakistan with the aforementioned message. A Facebook user Abdul Rauf Siddiquie was one of the first to share this video with the above message. His post has been shared more than 1,34,000 times and viewed more than 1.6 million times. The post claims that the Indian army is burning down houses of Kashmiris in Bandipora. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65vSEChCU9s Alt News fact-checked this claim and found that the video was of an accidental fire that had gutted houses at Lachipora Uri in Baramulla district of Kashmir. An article published by Rising Kashmir on March 27, 2018 stated, “The local residents however said that the fire completely destroyed the houses as there is no fire service station in the area. The nearest and only fire service station is at Uri town, some 18 kilometres away from Lachipora village.” On November 25, a ‘dharm sabha’ was organised at Ayodhya by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad which saw a large gathering. That day itself, social media was buzzing with video and images, purportedly of the gathering. The Facebook page I support BJP for Bengal posted a 15-second video with the message, “অযোধ্যা রাম মন্দির জমায়েত বিশ্বহিন্দু পরিষদ” (Sea of support for Ram Mandir by VHP- translated). Apart from the video, some photographs too were shared, ostensibly depicting the gathering at Ayodhya. অযোধ্যা রাম মন্দির জমায়েত বিশ্বহিন্দু পরিষদ Posted by I Support BJP for Bengal on Sunday, November 25, 2018 Alt News found that the videos and photographs used to show the immensity of the gathering at Ayodhya were taken from different contexts and were not in any way related to the ‘dharm sabha’. One of the videos was of the march in favour of reservation for Marathas, while one of the photos was of a Karni sena protest. 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	2nd December 2018 / 7:21 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/november-round-up-political-propaganda-peaks-ahead-of-state-elections/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
2,346	Now a Facebook page dedicated to morphed tweets - How low will they stoop? - Alt News Alt News Desk 10th July 2018 / 6:54 pm / Last updated: 11th July 2018 “Wow! This is a new low! These jerks have gotten smart enough to write “fictional tweet” at the bottom to avoid legal trouble! #Trolls i obviously didn’t tweet this” Faye Dsouza of Mirror Now, tweeted in disbelief attaching a morphed tweet that was being circulated on social media in her name. The outrageous tweet portrayed Dsouza as justifying child trafficking by Christian missionaries and even though it carried a fine print of “fictional tweet”, many including a Facebook page titled Presstitutes circulated it believing it to be true. Where did this tweet come from? Let us find out. Wow! This is a new low! These jerks have gotten smart enough to write “fictional tweet” at the bottom to avoid legal trouble! #Trolls i obviously didn’t tweet this pic.twitter.com/e1BdigojJs — Faye DSouza (@fayedsouza) July 9, 2018 The tweet was morphed and shared by a Facebook page that goes by the name Dark tweets from liberal basement. It is a newly created page with its first post on June 16th . The page has around 1700 followers. A quick look at the posts shows that the page was created for the sole purpose of circulating fake tweets. The targets are carefully picked. They are either liberal voices like Shehla Rashid, Ram Subramanian, Gurmehar Kaur, Sanjukta Basu, Umar Khalid and Pratik Sinha or political opponents of the ruling party like Mamata Banerjee, Rahul Gandhi Sitaram Yechury and Assaduddin Owaisi. Whereas Faye Dsouza is a new addition to the list, some of the others have been targeted multiple times. The person behind the page is clearly projecting his/her own prejudices and insecurities using the name of another person. The admin is assigning imaginary motives to them and putting words that they have never said, in their mouth. A few examples of the posts below give a glimpse into the mindset and worldview of the administrator of the page. The posts on the page, except the earliest ones carry an almost invisible fine print saying “fictional tweet”. Another post on the page explains that “contents of the page are purely fiction and no one should take it seriously”. By putting out this disclaimer, the admin of the page may be attempting to position the tweets as satire or humor but circulating a fake quote in someone’s name is no laughing matter. We have seen several instances in the recent past where fake quotes have led not just to online trolling but even rape and death threats. Ravish Kumar, Rana Ayyub, Barkha Dutt, and several others have been victims of hate campaigns that started with a fake quote attributed to them. More recently Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi and her daughter received rape threats because of one such fake quote. Attributing fake quotes has become a common right-wing strategy against those holding different views. The Dark tweets from liberal basement Facebook page has taken it a step further by actually morphing tweets. This lame attempt at dark humor is damaging to the reputation of the targeted individuals. The administrator of the page cannot absolve himself/herself of the responsibility because most people will miss the fine print in the morphed tweets which is barely legible and will end up believing these tweets to be real. 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	10th July 2018 / 6:54 pm / Last updated: 11th July 2018	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/now-a-facebook-page-dedicated-to-morphed-tweets-how-low-will-they-stoop/", "author": "Alt News Desk" }
2,347	NYT did not carry image of a crocodile in tears after PM Modi's address - Alt News Jignesh Patel 22nd May 2021 / 6:15 pm After Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a video conference where he got emotional remembering those who succumbed to COVID-19, an image supposedly of The New York Times international edition published on May 21 is going viral on Twitter. In the screengrab of the newspaper, a photo of a crocodile has been used while the headline says ‘India’s PM cried’. Columnist Shobhaa De posted this image and said, “Savage!”. Her tweet has garnered more than 200 retweets so far. Congress leader Digvijaya Singh also tweeted the screengrab and said, “Dr Jaishankar ji now that you are going to [the] US would you please ensure The New York Times does not spoil the image of Modi ji!! After all, he is more worried about his IMAGE than worrying about the people suffering from COVID!! To him crying at the right time is an art!!”. The tweet was later taken down and an archived version can be accessed here. Among other prominent individuals who shared the same screenshot were JNUSU President Aishe Gosh, Advocate Prashant Bhushan, Alt News Managing Director Nirjhari Sinha, Rashtriya Janata Dal Bihar’s State Youth President Qari Shoaib. Bhushan and Sinha took down their tweets as of this writing. Alt News found that the viral screengrab is a morphed version of the international edition of The New York Times newspaper published on May 21, 2020. In the comparison posted below, one can easily spot the original newspaper did not carry an image of a crocodile with the caption, “India’s PM cried”. Secondly, a trace of morphing can be spotted near the dateline in the viral screengrab. The International edition originally published by The New York Times on May 21 carries the image of solar panels set up in Binnish, Syria. “There is no alternative. Solar energy is a blessing from God,” is the headline. The front page was edited for satire by a parody Twitter handle called The Daily New York Times. The handle issued a clarification saying, “Again clarifying that this is Satire. Don’t take it seriously”. Again clarifying that this is Satire. Don’t take it seriously. https://t.co/SnVyFZobIS — The Daily New York Times (@NewYokNewz) May 22, 2021 The reference to ‘crocodile tears’ was made after the Indian newspaper The Telegraph published an article headlined “Don’t blame the poor crocs! They shed tear when they dine, not when they are sad” after the PM’s address. A similar hashtag (#CrocodileTears) was also trending on Twitter. The front page of the international edition of The New York Times was morphed for satire. This was believed to be true by many. 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	22nd May 2021 / 6:15 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/nyts-edited-newspaper-screengrab-using-crocodile-image-to-say-pm-modi-cried-is-viral/", "author": "Jignesh Patel" }
2,348	Observing Communal Harmony: Remembering 15 Years of the Gujarat Massacre - Alt News Pratik Sinha 2nd March 2017 / 10:54 am / Last updated: 4th March 2017 On 28th February, the Gujarat Jan Andolan met at the Sardar Smarak Bhavan at Lal Darwaja, Ahmedabad, to observe communal harmony. Initially, there were plans to hold a public meeting at the Sardar Bagh, but permission for this was declined by the police. Many prominent activists of Gujarat, from the Jan Sangharsh Manch, Rashtriya Dalit Manch, Gujarat Mazdoor Sabha, Jamaat-e-Islami attended the event and gave calls for the rejection of communal violence. Survivors of the violence of 2002 who are now living in relief colonies were also present in large numbers. Samshad Pathan, a lawyer associated with the Jan Sangharsh Manch delivered the opening address. While remembering the contributions of the late Mukul Sinha, he mentioned details of legal battles which have proved that getting justice for the victims of 2002 has been an arduous task. He spoke about the need to expose the politics of polarisation that Hindutva has established in Gujarat. He said that while the government has abdicated its responsibility in providing any relief for the people who survived and were displaced by the violence, even those relief colonies which have been set up by NGOs and religious organisations still lack the most basic civic amenities. These colonies face an irregular supply of potable water, while also lacking in facilities of health, employment and schooling. Meem Khan, an activist who has had experience in working among these relief colonies said what is most crippling for the inhabitants of the relief colonies is the fact that they do not possess ownership rights over their houses. The ownership is still legally retained by those trusts which had given these lands for the construction of relief colonies. Meem Khan cited his own example, saying that the bank has refused to sanction a loan to him for the purchase of a rickshaw. He asserted that the struggle for communal harmony will be incomplete if the people who have been resettled in the relief colonies are unable to live with dignity. Jignesh Mevani of the Rashtriya Dalit Manch spoke about the necessity of Dalits and Muslims coming together for rights-based movements such as Una. He rejected Narendra Modi’s conspiracy theory of linking Godhra with Islamic terror. He said that because of the divisive politics of Hindutva, not only have Hindus and Muslims been divided, even the daily struggles of Dalits, Adivasis, farmers, labourers are lost sight of. In order to defeat the communal designs of Hindutva, it is imperative that the marginalised should come together for united struggles of emancipation. He emphasised that the Sangh Parivar has deliberately used the rhetoric of ghar wapsi, love jihad, gauraksha, to make people forget their actual issues of ‘roti, kapda, makaan’ and to implant discord and antagonism among Dalits and Muslims. He called for a padyatra to be undertaken in all the the areas where there are relief colonies so that their miserable conditions of living can be highlighted. Nirjhari Sinha representing Jan Sangharsh Manch and Gujarat Jan Andolan spoke about how her fight is not just for Dalits or not just for Muslims or any other community, but for the constitutional rights of everyone who is oppressed and that there’s a need for oppressed classes to come together to fight the oppressive forces together. In the context of Communal Violence Bill, Nirjhari Sinha also pointed out that there are enough laws as it is to deal with riot cases but what stops justice from being delivered is the subversion of justice. Nirjhari Sinha also questioned as to why are all the Sewerage Treatment Plants only in one locality of Ahmedabad. Wasif Khan of the Jamaat-e-Islami condemned religious obscurantism, an example of which was seen in competing claims for the construction of a ‘Ram Setu’ and an ‘Adam Setu’ between India and Sri Lanka. What is needed in its stead is the establishment of a ‘Samvad Setu’ so that mutual trust and harmony can be built among different communities. There were also activist song performances by Vinay and Charul from Loknaad. Jayesh Solanki from Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch and Hozefa Ujjaini and friends from National Peace Group also songs of struggles. 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	2nd March 2017 / 10:54 am / Last updated: 4th March 2017	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/observing-communal-harmony-remembering-15-years-gujarat-massacre/", "author": "Pratik Sinha" }
2,349	October 2019: Mainstream media at the forefront of misinformation - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 5th November 2019 / 5:40 pm / Last updated: 5th November 2019 In October 2019, several instances of misinformation emanating from mainstream media organizations were observed. Key events were misreported, deliberately or otherwise. The month also witnessed the usual attempts on social media to spread misinformation, from photoshopped images to pictures and videos placed out of context in order to mislead. On October 26, 5.51 lakh ‘diyas’ were lighted as part of the ‘Deepotsav’ in Ayodhya, an event which was declared an official function where the expenses will be borne by the Uttar Pradesh government. Media outlets reported that the state government sanctioned Rs 133 crore for the event. Nearly every mainstream news organisation carried similar reports – NDTV, Newsclick, National Herald, The Times of India, Live Hindustan, The Indian Express, ABP News, Mumbai Mirror, The Wire, The Hindu, The Quint, Jansatta, Outlook and Daily Pioneer, among others. Some of these media outlets like NDTV, Outlook, published IANS feed. The estimated cost of ‘Deepotsav’ for 2019 is Rs 132.70 lakh or approximately Rs 1.33 crore, not Rs 133 crore. This was first pointed out by NDTV journalist Alok Pandey. The press release stating the budget allocation is available on the UP government website. It was released on October 22, a day before most media reports published the erroneous figure. The press release states, “वर्ष 2019 में आयोजन पर लगभग 132.70 लाख रुपये के व्यय का अनुमान है। इस मेले के आयोजन पर होने वाले व्ययभार का वहन शासन द्वारा धनराशि की उपलब्धता के आधार पर किया जाएगा। (Approximately Rs 132.60 lakh has been estimated toward the expenses of the event. The expenses incurred to organise this fair will be borne by the government based on the availability of funds.)“ On October 4, the Indian Air Force (IAF) released a promotional video on Balakot airstrike which was carried out in February this year in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack. Subsequently, several media outlets reported the representational video as “real” footage or “evidence” of the IAF’s airstrike in Pakistan. For instance, Republic TV played the footage as “IAF’s Balakot proof”. Zee News also carried the misinformation. Its tweet and article headline called the video the “first footage which gives proof” of Balakot airstrike. The story was later updated by the channel. Moreover, A PTI copy published by media outlets like Firstpost and Business Standard claimed, “Ahead of the press conference, the IAF also showed video clips of the Balakot strikes.” The word “promotional” appeared nowhere in the article. IAF releases Balakot video, Major Gaurav Arya calls it a positive move https://t.co/pS7EPFlQEv — Republic (@republic) October 4, 2019 ANI had uploaded the footage released by IAF, specifying that it is a promotional clip showcasing the Balakot aerial strike. A defence correspondent with WION had also tweeted that the Air Chief clarified during the press conference that there were “no shots of Balakot strikes in the video.” Alt News’s complete fact-check may be read here. #WATCH Indian Air Force showcases the story of the Balakot aerial strikes in a promotional video at the annual Air Force Day press conference by Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria. pic.twitter.com/GBRWwWe6sJ — ANI (@ANI) October 4, 2019 A video of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s interview with American television network MSNBC was massively circulated with the claim that the anchor told the Pakistani PM that he sounds like a “welder from Bronx.” Former Indian cricketer Virendra Sehwag shared the 36-second clip on October 3. Subsequently, Republic TV published an article (archive) on Sehwag’s tweet writing, “Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan humiliated himself on a US television show on which he was called ‘a welder from the Bronx’ by an anchor.” Media outlets ANI, Moneycontrol, NDTV and Hindustan Times also carried similar reports based on Sehwag’s tweet. NDTV’s story was a syndicated ANI feed. ANI wrote, “…in the latest gaffe, he [Imran Khan] has been humiliated by American anchors on live television.” If one carefully listens to the anchor’s statement, he does not say ‘welder’ but ‘voter’. Khan praises the infrastructure in China while criticising “bumpy” roads of New York. The anchor laughs at the PM’s statement and responds, “You do not sound like a Prime Minister from Pakistan. You sound like a voter from the Bronx who would complain about the infrastructure and money being spent on wars in Afghanistan instead of fixing LaGuardia and other infrastructure there.” The anchor’s statement can be heard 13:17 minutes onward in the broadcast below. In an October 11 ‘exclusive’ story, broadcast at around 3:30 PM, Times Now claimed that Pakistani social media accounts were behind trending the hashtag #GoBackModi ahead of the Prime Minister’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Chennai. “#GoBackModi is trending on Twitter. Just hours before Prime Minister Modi meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Mahabalipuram, it has now been revealed there is an insidious plot by Pakistan behind this trend on Twitter,” claimed the Times Now anchor while “Pak hand behind #GoBackModi trend” and “Spooked by India-China Bonhomie” were flashed on television screens. The anchor asserted that most users tweeting this hashtag were from Pakistan. CNN News18 broadcast a similar reportage. #Breaking \| Insidious Pak plot to defame India. Pak resorts to cheap twitter tactic with #GoBackModi trend. More details by TIMES NOW’s Padmaja Joshi. \| #GoBackModiConspiracy pic.twitter.com/ZbMhOTbMiR — TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) October 11, 2019 Alt News found this claim to be false. #GoBackModi or any other hashtag related to the Prime Minister’s meeting with his Chinese counterpart did not trend in Pakistan between 3 PM to 6 PM on October 11. The only hashtag related to India trending in Pakistan was #KashmirChained. This was revealed by searching for worldwide Twitter trends on the website trends24.in. In fact, #GoBackModi was among the top trends for Indian social media users on October 11 in the said time period. Alt News’s detailed fact-check may be read here. On October 9, Union Minister Jitendra Singh launched a book, ‘In the Times of Article 370’. “In a rare ceremony of its kind, released a book on #Article370 written by Ayanna Kohli, a 14 year Delhi school girl,” tweeted Singh on the occasion. The book release was covered by the media. ANI reported that Union Minister Jitendra Singh released a book on Article 370 written by a 14-year-old girl, Ayanna Kohli. Providing the purported synopsis of the book, ANI wrote that it “seeks to draw the inference that it was necessary to revoke Article 370 in order to bring lasting peace in Kashmir.” PTI also reported that 14-year-old Ayanna “wrote a book on Article 370.” The book is not about Article 370. While the book is named ‘In the Times of Article 370’, it does not talk about the removal of J&K’s statehood and special status. The book is a work of fiction – a story about protagonist Ram, who is an army man. News agency IANS tweeted a photo of Pankaja Munde, the BJP candidate from Maharastra’s Parli assembly seat, who was defeated in the recently-concluded assembly elections. The news agency’s tweet read, “#BJP’s heavyweight and #Maharashtra minister #PankajaMunde weeps inconsolably after her shock defeat in #Parli (Beed) seat by her estranged cousin, #NCP Leader of Opposition in Legislative Council #DhananjayMunde. Photo: IANS”. The tweet now stands deleted but an archived version can be accessed here. NDTV also tweeted the image and later deleted the same. The image was a screengrab taken from a TV9 Marathi broadcast from October 20, 2019. “Exclusive interview with Pankaja Munde before voting (translated)”, reads the title of YouTube video posted by the channel. One can see that the thumbnail of the YouTube video is the photo which was posted by IANS. On October 22, News18 Uttar Pradesh tweeted about a video supposedly viral on social media. The channel said that, in the clip, one can hear a blizzard of gunshots piercing through the dead and that SSP Meerut Ajay Sahani has stated that the video will be investigated – “मेरठ- लाइव मर्डर का वीडियो वायरल ताबड़तोड़ गोलियों की गूंज से मेरठ में मची है सनसनी .. .. !मृतक को एक के बाद एक गोलियों से छलनी किया गया .. .. !सोशल मीडिया पर जमकर वायरल हुआ है वीडियो .. .. !एसएसपी अजय साहनी ने वीडियो की जांच कराने की बात कही है .” With the help of Invid, Alt News broke the video into multiple frames and found that the video has existed on the internet at least since November 2015. French television station France 24 had debunked this video in March 2017 when it was viral with the claim that it depicted xenophobic attacks in South Africa. Recently, the Assam government announced that with effect from January 1, 2021, persons with more than two children will not be eligible for government jobs. Reporting on the development, an anchor on NDTV stated that the Chief Minister of Assam Sarbananda Sonowal himself has six children. The anchor, speaking about the news development said, “The policy will come into effect from January 1, 2021. The interesting bit in this is that the Chief Minister himself has six kids, but he has decided to finally implement this two-child policy.” NDTV’s reportage, wherein it was stated that the Chief Minister of Assam has six children, is factually incorrect. In an affidavit filed by Sarbananda Sonowal in 2014 for the Lok Sabha election, which is available on the website of the Chief Electoral Officer, Assam, it is categorically mentioned that he has no children. Alt News’s fact-check may be read here. In an impassioned October 20 broadcast, Sudarshan News’ Suresh Chavhanke hurled abuses at AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and claimed, “See how Owaisi danced yesterday after the murder of Kamlesh Tiwari.” Hindu Samaj leader Kamlesh Tiwari was shot dead in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh on October 18. Chavhanke played a video and asserted that the Hyderabad MP danced on October 19, a day after Tiwari was murdered. चोरों और आतंकियो की मौत का मातम मनाने वाला ओवैसी #कमलेश_तिवारी के बलिदान के बाद झूम कर नाचा ऐसे लगा कि जैसे इसका कोई मिशन सफ़ल हुआ हो.@myogiadityanath @AmitShah और @narendramodi जी, इसका बाहर रहना न जाने और कितने #KamleshTiwari की हत्या की वजह बनेगा@aimim_national #BindasBol pic.twitter.com/bggFOvUHWU — Suresh Chavhanke “Sudarshan News” (@SureshChavhanke) October 20, 2019 This video of Asaduddin Owaisi was taken a day before Kamlesh Tiwari was shot dead. The clip was uploaded by ANI on October 18 and the news agency clearly mentions that it was shot on October 17 – “Maharashtra: AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi performs a dance step after the end of his rally at Paithan Gate in Aurangabad. (17.10.2019).“ Tiwari was murdered on October 18. A purported graphic of News18 show ‘Aar Par’ is circulating on social media. The text on the graphic credits PM Modi for the death of Islamic State (IS) chief Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi. It says that Baghdadi was taken down by US president Donald Trump after pressure from the Indian prime minister – “मोदी के दबाव के चलते ट्रंप ने किया बगदादी को ढेर.” President Trump declared Baghdadi dead on October 27 after the US intelligence cornered the ISIS leader in a raid where he killed himself detonating a suicide vest. सिर्फ वही लोग Rt करे जिन्हे लगता है @AMISHDEVGAN भDवा ए दलाल है pic.twitter.com/Jw85BWW61R — ZOYA (@ziddi_zoya_) October 28, 2019 The graphic is not genuine but a work of photoshop. A comparison of several past graphics of ‘Aar Par’ with the one floating online makes this evident due to a mismatch in the font. Furthermore, journalist Amish Devgan, anchor of the show ‘Aar Par’, called out the misinformation. A photograph showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and underworld don Chhota Rajan was on social media platforms. The picture shows a young, clean shaven Mr. Modi smiling at the camera. To his right, a person wearing a white shirt is seen standing about two steps behind. He appears to be Chhota Rajan. The photograph was also shared with the caption, “मेरे मुन्ना भूल न जाना,मेरे दूध का कर्ज निभाना”, insinuating that PM Modi is obliged to favour Chhota Rajan. The broad context was speculation over Chhota Rajan’s brother contesting the assembly election in Maharashtra. Modi with Chota Rajan. मेरे मुन्ना भूल न जाना,मेरे दूध का कर्ज निभाना। BJP – the party with a difference. pic.twitter.com/ed5THuoUoH — 🌠 💲anjeev ❗🌴 (@ChooseGudPerson) October 4, 2019 The image is photoshopped. In the original picture, there is no Chhota Rajan. Upon reverse-searching the image on Google, we found the real photograph in an article published in The Times of India dated September 26, 2014. The write-up chronicled Narendra Modi’s visit to the USA undertaken in the 1990s. The person seen standing to the right of Modi is not Chhota Rajan, but an elderly gentleman. An image of Mahatma Gandhi with a woman was circulated on social media with the caption, “चमचों तुम्हारे राष्ट्रपिता कर क्या रहे हैं? Bootlickers, what is your Father of the Nation doing?” A reverse search of the image revealed that the picture has been photoshopped. In the original image, Gandhi is with former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The image was found in the archives of Associated Press which said that it was clicked at the“All-India Congress committee meeting in Bombay, India, on July 6, 1946.” A photograph of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was shared with the claim that the former dressed in an Indian attire while meeting the latter. This image circulated on the internet in the backdrop of Xi Jinping’s two-day visit to Chennai where he met PM Modi. With a reverse image search on Google, Alt News found that in the original photograph Xi Jinping was wearing a black suit. This image was clicked by Thomas Peter, a photographer with Reuters. “Chinese President Xi Jinping meets Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, November 2, 2018”, reads the caption posted with the image. A photograph showing two books placed together on a shelf was shared on social media with the caption, ‘Saw this on Mumbai airport’. The book on the left features Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the cover, whereas the book on the right features Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. The arrows placed beside these books seem to suggest that if a reader likes the book on Narendra Modi, he/she may try the volume on Adolf Hitler. Saw this on Mumbai airport. pic.twitter.com/GEFtiGNlSr — Ashish (@Ashishonmap) September 29, 2019 Alt News found that the image is photoshopped. There were several clues in the image itself to suggest that it is fake. The original image had US President Donald Trump on the book cover. A screenshot of Aaj Tak was shared on social media, according to which a statement is ascribed to Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari. In the screenshot, the title of the Aaj Tak report is, “हर कॉलोनी में मोहल्ला क्लिनिक खोलकर नर्सिंग होम और प्राइवेट अस्पतालों को बर्बाद करना चाहते है केजरीवाल: मनोज तिवारी।” (Translation: Kejriwal wants to destroy nursing homes and private hospitals by opening a mohalla clinic in every colony: Manoj Tiwari). The screenshot of the Aaj Tak shared on social media is photoshopped. To verify this ‘news’, Alt News searched for this report on the website of the channel, but we found no such report. Apart from this, no media organisation has reported such a statement having been made by Manoj Tiwari. Alt News also spoke to Aaj Tak and confirmed the same. “In Assam, Hindu woman quit her husband, kid to marry Zakir Hussain & became Rubiya What’s Zakir Hussain did to her after marriage!” was a message shared on social media along with two images. The first photograph shows a woman with a man and in the second image, the woman has injuries on her face. It was shared from the Twitter account, History Of India (@RealHistoriPix), among others. Alt News found that a 2012 incident was given a communal spin on social media. According to July 1, 2012, report by The Hindu, Assam Congress MLA Rumi Nath and her second husband Jakie Zakir were beaten up and injured in a hotel in the southern Karimganj town. A seven-year-old photograph of a Congress MLA injured in a mob attack was falsely shared as a Hindu woman, who had converted to Islam after marriage, beaten up by her Muslim husband. Read the Alt News fact-check here. “ये कौनसा धर्म है भाया जिसने एक मासूम बच्चे की बली चढ़ा दी और सारे लोग खुशियां मना रहे हैं sayad ye sab log musalman lagte he,” is a message that went viral on Facebook. It claims that a boy was sacrificed as per a religious tradition and suggests that the ones behind the ritual were Muslims. The narrative used to circulate the visuals was false. A statement put out by Rajasthan police both Facebook and Twitter on October last year said – “A video of a boy sacrificed in Bhilwara, meant for entertainment purposes, is being shared by giving it a superstitious narrative on social media in order to mislead people. In reality, this a magic show which is held every year during Navratri. The drama that takes place in village Khakhla is being circulated with a false narrative. (translated)”. Visuals of a magic show held in a village in Rajasthan were attempted to be communalised, implicating the Muslim community for human sacrifice. Images of ancient structures and sculptures were circulated on social media with the claim that a Jain temple was excavated beneath a mosque in Raichur, Karnataka after a road renovation project. “कर्नाटक रायचूर मे रोड सौंदर्यीकरणकरने के लिये मस्जिद गिराई उस मस्जिद के नीचे निकला जैन मंदिर,” (Jain temple discovered upon demolition of mosque during road widening in Raichur, Karnataka), read the message. A simple Google reverse image search revealed that the photographs shared on social media are of Gwalior fort in Madhya Pradesh. The fort is built on a solitary rocky hill called Gopachal which has been carved to build Jain statues, images of which are available on the internet. Photographs of different structures and statues inside the Gwalior fort were shared as a Jain temple excavated beneath a mosque in Karnataka. A photograph of PM Modi bowing to a woman was shared with the claim that she is Priti Adani, wife of Gautam Adani, chairperson of Adani Group.“भाइयो यह महिला उद्योगपति अडानी की पत्नी है जो इंसान झुका हुआ(बिका हुआ) है, वो हमारे देश का PM है”, read the message viral with the photo. A Google reverse image search revealed that the woman in the photograph is the Mayor of Tumkur or Tumakuru, a city in Karnataka. Alt News found a Reddit post from September 2014 which carried the same image with the title, “Modi greeting Tumkur mayor (after leaving ISRO to launch that food park)”. A photograph of a turbaned woman holding an automatic weapon was shared on social media as US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, with the claim that the photo was taken at an Al Qaeda training camp in Somalia. The image was circulated in the context of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on “Human Rights in South Asia” in Washington, of which Congresswoman Omar was also a part. This photograph does not show Omar but a woman recruit of the Somali Army at a military training campus at Halane, Mogadishu. The image is available in the archives of Associated Press, according to which it was shot on February 25, 1978. Omar wasn’t born until four years later in 1982. On the sidelines of the Modi-Xi summit in Tamil Nadu, PM Modi tweeted a video of him picking up trash at the beach in Mamallapuram, and made an appeal to keep public places clean. Soon after the video was posted online, many people on social media alleged that the exercise was staged. Karti Chidambaram, an MP for Congress from Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu, tweeted a collage of three pictures, two of which showed PM Modi picking up trash, while the third picture showed multiple individuals with camera and lighting equipment. The attempt was to show that PM Modi’s act of cleaning the beach was essentially an exercise meant for the camera, and not genuine. Jai Shree Ram! pic.twitter.com/tGrYcdxOXE — Karti P Chidambaram (@KartiPC) October 12, 2019 This was a clear attempt to mislead social media users. Alt News found that two of the three photos tweeted by Karti Chidambaram did not pertain to PM Modi’s act of picking up trash at the beach in Mamallapuram. A video of Elizabeth Antony, the wife of former Defence Minister AK Antony, performing a ritual on ‘INS Vikrant’ was shared on social media. It was claimed that Mrs Antony was drawing a ‘cross’ on the aircraft carrier and baptising the vehicle. “Former Defence Minister A.K Anthony’s wife Elizabeth drew a cross on INS Vikrant and Baptised it during its launch….no one had any problem.. Hallelujah!!!”, read the message tweeted along with the video. Former Defence Minister A.K Anthony’s wife Elizabeth drew a cross on INS Vikrant and Baptised it during its launch…. no one had any problem.. Hallelujah!!! pic.twitter.com/34nauFgRid — Dón Grieshnak (@DGrieshnak) October 9, 2019 With a Google search, Alt News found that Elizabeth Antony had launched the indigenously-built Aircraft Carrier ‘INS Vikrant’ at Cochin Shipyard in Kochi on August 12, 2013. The ritual which was performed was a Hindu ceremony, and not a Christian one, as claimed by several social media users. Alt News’s fact-check may be read here. A set of images was posted on social media with the claim that these represent the submerged city of Dwarka on the western coast of India. “Shri Kishna’s Dwarka, The sunken city in Gujarat. As described in the Mahabharata. It is real yet the Christian world says there is no proof!”, read the message posted along with the photos. Alt News’s fact-check revealed that none of these images pertain to Dwarka, Gujarat. While one of the photos is from Tamil Nadu, another is from an artificial reef in the USA. A photograph of Mahatma Gandhi which supposedly captures the moment when he was killed by Nathuram Godse was circulated on social media. A day after 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi, on October 3, the image was shared with the claim, “Rare photo of Gandhi jis murder”. Through the comments posted below some of the tweets, Alt News found that the image is a still from a movie named ‘Nine Hours to Rama’. The film is based on the novel with the same name written by Stanely Wolpert. A viral claim on social media asserted that the Prime Minister Modi-led government has cleared all of India’s debt with the World Bank in the last six years. The complete message says, “For 70 years India was the biggest borrower at the world Bank, Once every Indian born was a debtor at birth, the things which great economists couldn’t do, a chaiwala did it, he changed India’s and Indian’s fate, within 6 years @narendramodi has cleared every penny of India’s debt at the world Bank, all paid. Full settlement done at UN by India, who is that fellow who was talking about some economic slowdown in india? #UNLoanCleared #ModiHaiToMumkinHai.” The claim was propagated using a screenshot of a tweet by India’s permanent representative at the United Nations, Syed Akbaruddin. For 70 years India was the biggest borrower at the world Bank, once every Indian born was a debtor, the things which great economists couldn’t do, a chaiwala did it, he changed India’s & Indian’s fate, @narendramodi did it in just 6 years as PM #UNLoanCleared #ModiHaiToMumkinHai pic.twitter.com/ZYGZ6VBasS — Manojava Gururaj Galgali (@ManojavG) October 11, 2019 Alt News found these claims to be incorrect. For instance, Syed Akbaruddin’s tweet pertained to India’s payment of dues to the United Nations, and not repayment of loans to the World Bank. Moreover, payment of dues to the UN is not repayment of loans. Also, the claim that India has repaid all its loans to the World Bank is incorrect. Read the complete fact-check here. Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently spoke at a public function, where he claimed that former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh went on more foreign trips than PM Narendra Modi did, in five years. His exact words were, “Just now a Congress leader said that Modiji keeps travelling abroad, so I said lets probe this, in 5 years of Manmohanji’s rule and 5 years of Modiji’s rule, who went abroad more, then we found out that Manmohan Singh had had more foreign trips than Modiji. So I pondered, why is it so that it seems Modiji has travelled abroad far more frequently?” (translated from Hindi). Alt News compared three sets of numbers (number of visits, number of countries visited and number of days spent abroad), and found Amit Shah’s claim false. The numbers do not tally with the Home Minister’s narrative. Information about international visits undertaken by the Prime Minister is readily available on the website of the PMO. A video of Bakhshish Singh Virk, BJP candidate from Haryana’s Assandh constituency, was shared on social media where Singh can be heard making comments about voting machines – “Whichever button you press, the votes will automatically go to flower (BJP’s election symbol)”. He further suggested that BJP leaders Narendra Modi and Manohar Lal Khattar can sense which voter voted for whom and from which constituency. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi tweeted the viral video and wrote, “The most honest man in the BJP”. The most honest man in the BJP. pic.twitter.com/6Q4D43uo0d — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 21, 2019 Alt News found that this video is mischievously clipped, however, a part of it is unadulterated. The video is 39 seconds long but close observation reveals a jump-cut at the 24th second. Read the complete fact-check here. A set of two photographs of BJP MLA Shivraj Singh Chouhan was viral on social media to claim that the former MP CM had plastered different arms in the morning and in the evening. “ऐसा चमत्कार, सुबह इस हाथ में प्लास्टर, शाम को दूसरे हाथ में प्लास्टर । भगवान शिवराज सिंह चौहान जी के दोनों हाथ जल्द ठीक करे (What a miracle, this hand was plastered in the morning and in the evening, the second hand was plastered. God, please fix Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s both hands.)” – was the caption used to share the images. From a video uploaded by the former CM of MP, Alt News found that the right arm of Chouhan was plastered. The confusion arose from the fact that the ‘mirror image’ setting in the front camera (one of the images was a selfie) was probably turned on, due to which the image got laterally inverted. The person who clicked the selfie with Chauhan must have kept ‘mirror image’ switched-on in his camera settings, which is why it appears that Chouhan’s left arm is injured. However, if you flip the image, it is evident that the right, and not the left, arm is plastered. 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	5th November 2019 / 5:40 pm / Last updated: 5th November 2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/october-2019-mainstream-media-at-the-forefront-of-misinformation/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }
2,350	October round-up: Sabarimala becomes focus of misinformation - Alt News Arjun Sidharth 5th November 2018 / 7:09 pm October was a busy month at Alt News, with a flurry of misinformation and disinformation permeating the social media ecosystem. The Supreme Court verdict allowing women entry into the Sabarimala temple in Kerala resulted in a tense stand-off between Lord Ayappa devotees, claimed to have been propped up by Hindutva forces, and the state government. Concomitantly, social media witnessed a systematic attempt to tilt public opinion through the use of misinformation. “Kerala CM Mr. @vijayanpinarayi, just remember you are an elected CM. You have the responsibility to take everyone into account and act accordingly. In Sabarimala issue, you are ignoring the majority feelings, brutally attacking our mothers using your power @cpimspeak @CMOKerala.” This message is by K. Surendran, General Secretary of Kerala BJP, who targeted Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan over the manner in which the state police handled the protests over the Sabarimala issue. Along with the message, Surendran tweeted a photograph of a woman lying injured on the ground. Kerala CM Mr. @vijayanpinarayi, just remember you are an elected CM. You have the responsibility to take everyone into account and act accordingly. In Sabarimala issue, you are ignoring the majority feelings, brutally attacking our mothers using your power @cpimspeak @CMOKerala pic.twitter.com/Srho66krj2 — K Surendran (@surendranbjp) October 17, 2018 Alt News had reported that Surendran’s claim was false. The woman seen injured in the photograph had not been assaulted by police personnel but was hit by a stone. This became clear once the video footage of the incident was accessed and analysed. On October 7, thousands of people rallied in protest against the Supreme Court verdict on the Sabarimala temple entry issue. On social media, this event was politicised with the claim that Kerala police had resorted to the use of force at these protests in a brazen display of heavy-handedness. A set of photographs was shared by several users on Twitter who claimed the Kerala police attacked “Hindus peacefully chanting Swamiye Ayyapa in protest of the SC #SabarimalaVerdict” and did not even spare women and children. Shame on you who went to USA for cancer treatment @vijayanpinarayi how did you treat women and senior citizens protesting reg #SabrimalaVerdict? Are you a human being????? @narendramodi Throw him out.. Keralite women and men join hands and do the impossible! pic.twitter.com/4RegyId9Ye — meena das narayan (@MeenaDasNarayan) October 9, 2018 The photographs shared on social media did not pertain to the recent Sabarimala protests. They were clicked earlier in July 2018 when the Kerala police had cracked down on a ‘KSU Secretariat march’ that was led by the National Students Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress party. These photos had been tweeted from the official account of NSUI on July 4. Another photograph used on social media too was unrelated, dating back to 2015. “Meet this active CPM cadre Vallabh Das from Trivandrum. He’s not even recruited in Kerala Police, still this goon was in Police uniform trying to attack innocent #Ayyappa devotees at #Shabarimalai protest during the past five days..😡 @rsprasad” A photograph of a person in a police uniform was circulated on social media, with the claim that the person is a CPI(M) party member masquerading as a cop, who had assaulted devotees of lord Ayappa who had gathered during the Sabarimala protests. The person seen in the photograph claimed to be a CPM worker dressed as a policeman, was indeed a policeman and not a political worker. This was confirmed by the Kerala police via a Facebook post clarifying that the person in question is a policeman with the KAP fifth battalion stationed at Sabarimala. Kerala police had also appealed to social media users to beware of fake propaganda. Disinformation has been weaponised most effectively to spread prejudice, fear and hate. October was merely a continuation of a trend observed over the past several months. More than 60 people lost their lives in a tragic accident where an Amritsar-bound train mowed down Dusshera revellers watching the burning of Ravan effigy from railway tracks. Soon after, viral claims on social media began to suggest that the name of the driver was Imtiaz Ali. This claim was viral on both Facebook and Twitter. The tragedy was sought to be communalised by hatemongers on social media. According to a written statement of the driver to the Railway Administration, the name of the driver was Arvind Kumar and not Imtiaz Ali. A Twitter user claiming to be a member of the VHP and followed on Twitter by the Office of Piyush Goyal, tweeted a photograph along with the message, “Acid attack on Bull in Tumakuru, Karnataka by peace lovers. Will Sickulars Condemn this? Peta act on this?” “Peace lovers” is a commonly used term by Hindutva handles on social media to derisively refer to the Muslim community. As it turned out, the images viral on social media were shared by Facebook user Harish Kumar. His post (now deleted) said that some “miscreants” attacked the bull with acid in Aralepet, Tumkur, unlike the viral claims that suggested that the incident took place in “Tumakuru”. A communal angle was deliberately given to this incident. “An intermediate student Priyanka Kushwaha of Gopalganj district was attacked by a Muslim boy. He intended to kill her as he brutally attacked her with a knife. Where are the people who call Islam a peaceful religion? Where are these secular animals? It is because of seculars that such incidents occur (translated). This message was shared along with photographs of a wounded lady by several Twitter users followed by Piyush Goyal’s office. A report of October 11 had stated that a woman was attacked by a man named Sandeep Giri on her way back home from a temple. The perpetrated assaulted her with a knife when his advances were rejected. The incident took place in Kateya, Gopalganj in Bihar. To corroborate the media outlet’s version, Alt News contacted Gopalganj District Magistrate IAS Animesh Kumar Parashar. He informed that the man arrested was not a member of the Muslim community and claims on social media suggesting otherwise are only an attempt to communalise the issue. Disinformation of communal nature was relentless on social media, but it was exacerbated by incendiary media reports on certain incidents. Ankit Kumar Garg, a 31-year old teacher was shot dead on October 1 in Delhi. Soon after the incident, multiple news organisations reported that this was a case of honour killing. The basis of the reports was the accusation by the victim’s family that Ankit was killed by the family of the Muslim girl he was in a relationship with. Several news organisations gave a communal spin to the murder. The murder of Ankit Kumar Garg was not a case of honour killing. This was confirmed by the Delhi police via a press release of October 5, 2018. The press release categorically stated that 21-year old Akash has been arrested for the murder of Garg. The motive for the murder was jealousy over the relationship of the victim with a friend of the accused. On October 13, the wife and son of a Gurugram district judge were shot in broad daylight by their personal security officer (PSO) while on duty. On October 16, the police declared that the sole motive behind the murder was “sudden rage”. Several initial media reports had, however, linked the murder to “religious conversion” even before the police concluded its investigation. They declared that PSO Mahipal pressurised the judge’s family to embrace Christianity, which led to frequent altercations, and the subsequent attack. The basis of these reports was the perpetrator’s spiritual inclination and the multiple statements he gave during police interrogation. The murder was not linked to Mahipal’s spiritual inclination. The Haryana police held a press conference on October 16 to provide details about its investigation into the attack and stated that the sole motive behind the murder was the rage he felt when his absence was questioned and he was asked to hand over the car keys. Attacks on migrants from the Hindi speaking belt in Gujarat in October came across as yet another opportunity for mischief mongers on social media. “गुजरात से भागते बिहार और यूपी के लोग भारत पाकिस्तान विभाजन 1947 याद आ गया (People from UP and Bihar feeling Gujarat. A reminder of India Pakistan separation in 1947).” An image of a crowded local train was circulated on Facebook and Twitter with the aforementioned caption, and shared thousands of times by individual users. Alt News reverse searched the image on Google and found a 2012 report by BBC which had used the same photograph, attributing it to Reuters. On searching for the picture on Reuters Images, we found that it was taken in Uttar Pradesh in 2010. The media outlet captioned it as, “Hindu devotees travel on a crowded passenger train to take part in the “Guru Purnima” festival in Goverdhan town near the northern Indian city of Mathura July 24, 2010.” A video showing a large number of people waiting for a train at a railway station was shared on social media with the claim that these are migrants from UP and Bihar who are waiting to leave Gujarat after the attacks. @SirRavish1, a Twitter handle in the name of Ravish Kumar, had tweeted a video of a crowded railway station saying, “In Gujarat, due to the continuous attacks on people hailing from UP/Bihar, the news of 8000 Indians fleeing from Gujarat is worrisome. India’s integrity, unity is in danger. Modi, why is the situation like this in your Gujarat? You make big claims, but cannot even handle Gujarat and want to govern the country. Some visuals -translated”. गुजरात मे UP/बिहार से आए लोगो पर लगातार हमलो की बजह से 8000 भारतियो के गुजरात से पलायन की खबर चिताजनक है! भारत की एकता,अखंडता पर खतरा मोदी,आपके गुजरात मे ऐसे हालात क्यो ? दावे तो बहुत बडे करते हो,एक गुजरात संभलता नही चले है पूरा देश संभालने कुछ दृश्य 👇pic.twitter.com/2bcHmCIqOB — Ravish Kumar (@SirRavish1) October 8, 2018 Alt News did a Google reverse search of the key frames with the help of Invid, a browser extension and found a YouTube video posted on September 23, 2018 captioned, “Krishnanagar Bongaon Local Train- Ranaghat Station”. In the video, people can be heard speaking Bengali. The video was not from Gujarat. The Statue of Unity was unveiled by PM Narendra Modi on October 31, but misinformation around the project circulated on social media before and after the inauguration. An image of Sardar Patel’s statue in the background, with a poor family shown in the foreground, was shared by journalist Dilip Mandal who tweeted, “Had Sardar Patel been alive today, would he have agreed to displacing tribals from their homes and farm lands for building his statue?” (translated). It was also shared by Shilpa Bodkhe, who describes herself as secretary of Maharashtra Pradesh Mahila Congress Committee. The photograph shared on social media is photoshopped. Alt News cropped the picture in the foreground and using the reverse image search tool, found that the photograph of a mother and her children has been lifted from another source and superimposed on the photograph of the statue of Sardar Patel. The original photograph was clicked in 2010 in Ahmedabad. On social media, the ‘first pictures’ of the Statue of Unity revealed that the face of the statue had been sculpted with Chinese features. Congress supporters, on the basis of the photographs claimed that the statue looked Chinese. This claim was shared widely on Twitter and Facebook. Using the reverse image search tool, Alt News found that the photographs shared on social media were of a bronze statue sculpted in Gujarat in 2008, and were not of the Statue of Unity. “नरेंद्र मोदी को हटाने के लिए शिवलिंग में भी चप्पल मारनी पड़ी तो मैं मरूंगा (Even if I have to hit a Shivling with a chappal in order to remove Narendra Modi, I would do it -translated)” is a statement that was ascribed to Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in a purported screen grab from an Aaj Takbroadcast. This image was circulated by a Facebook page, I Support Narendra Bhai Modi Bjp(formerly known as Bjp All India). Numerous individual users too had shared this picture quoting Tharoor. While speaking at Bangalore Literature Festival on October 28, Shashi Tharoor had quoted an unnamed RSS source from a 2012 article of The Caravan and cited the scorpion analogy. Not only had Tharoor not made any such statement but the screenshot of Aaj Tak was fake. A photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was circulated in large numbers on social media. It shows PM Modi seated next to a woman. Former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper too can be seen in this photo. The message that accompanied the photograph says,“तो देख लो साहब विदेशी दौरा क्यों करते हैं “(Take a look at what Saheb does on his foreign travels- translated). Using the reverse image search tool, Alt News found that the image is photoshopped. The original photograph was found on a website Live Cities which had published an article about the woman seen in the original picture, Dr. Gurdeep Kaur Chawla. With the caption “retweet indicates someone is fighting for Pakistan in India”, Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Giriraj Singh, on October 25, tweeted a screenshot of Rahul Gandhi’s tweet on former CBI Director Alok Verma. Gandhi’s tweet was retweeted by a Twitter account “Pakistan Defence” and the language used by Giriraj Singh in his tweet attempted to imply that the Congress President is supported by Pakistan’s Defence wing. Retweet indicates that someone is fighting for Pakistan in India. pic.twitter.com/5mcEPznqtK — Shandilya Giriraj Singh (@girirajsinghbjp) October 25, 2018 Within hours of the aforestated tweets, it was pointed out that the account which retweeted Rahul Gandhi’s tweet wasn’t the official handle of the Defense Ministry of Pakistan. Moreover, there were a number of indications which made it clear that the account which retweeted Rahul Gandhi’s tweet had nothing to do with Pakistan’s defence wing. Apart from the above categorisation, there were some other significant instances of misinformation. An image of a currency note featuring Subhas Chandra Bose appeared on social media, along with the claim that the currency note was demonetised by the Jawaharlal Nehru led Congress government. The image was shared with text which stated, “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. This claim was false, for the simple reason that these notes were issued in pre-independent India by the Azad Hind Government which had set up the Azad Hind Bank to finance the war effort against the British. These currency notes were never legal tender and hence, there was no question of the Nehru government ‘demonetising’ them. On October 4, Rebel AAP MLA Kapil Mishra alleged in a tweet that a man named Rupesh Baisoya was murdered in Delhi by “Bangladeshi drug mafia”. Later, he tweeted a video of himself reiterating the same, adding that Baisoya was murdered because he protested against drug peddlers allegedly operating from illegal Bangladeshi slums in Taimoor Nagar. Mishra blamed the Delhi Police for aiding these drug mafias. दिल्ली में बांग्लादेशियों ने दिन दहाड़े रूपेश बैसोया की हत्या कर दी रूपेश ने बांग्लादेशी ड्रग माफिया के खिलाफ पुलिस में शिकायत की थी हरियाणा और यूपी में हर अपराध पर तुरंत रिएक्शन करने वाले CM केजरीवाल चार दिन बाद भी चुप क्यों? मैं अभी रूपेश के परिवार से मिलने जा रहा हूँ — Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishra_IND) October 4, 2018 The incident occurred on September 30 and Delhi police arrested the alleged perpetrators on October 4. None of the three arrested men is “Bangladeshi.” According to a Hindustan Times report, the perpetrators were caught in a separate case of robbery when they stole a bike, gold chain and mobile phone at gunpoint on the night of October 2. During interrogation, the men also confessed about their involvement in the murder of 34-year-old Rupesh Baisoya who shot dead outside his residence, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Vijay Kumar, per an NDTV report. The 2018 Global Hunger Index (GHI) was released on October 11, positioning India at 103 among 119 nations. India’s ranking has been much talked about, with several media outlets and members of the opposition criticising the present government for the drop in the country’s ranking. In 2014, they claimed, India stood at 55. भारत में भुखमरी: इस मामले में पूरी तरह फेल हुई मोदी सरकार, 4 साल में 55 से 103वें पायदान पर पहुंचा देश, नेपाल-बांग्लादेश भी हमसे आगे https://t.co/FWjoRTNx9H — Dainik Bhaskar (@DainikBhaskar) October 14, 2018 Alt News studied the GHI reports of the years 2014-2018. At first sight, the reports indicated India’s rankings as 55 in 2014, 80 in 2015, 97 in 2016 and 100 in 2017. However, a closer look at the reports prior to 2016 showed that they included an additional table next to the main table which tabulated all countries which had GHI index less than 5. Only those which had a GHI index more than 5 were tabulated in the main table. A lower GHI score implies better performance. In 2014, India was ranked 99 and not 55. Alt News observed that the tendency to foment misinformation around current events was most pronounced in October. The Sabarimala temple entry issue, attacks on migrants in Gujarat, the inauguration of the Statue of Unity and the Amritsar train tragedy, all became occasions for purveyors of misinformation to have a field day on social media. As India gears up for poll season, more such systematic and organised misinformation/disinformation is likely to be witnessed. 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. Inter-faith relationships between Hindu women and Muslim men have been a sore point for the… 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…	news-altnews	2024-05-27T18:24:05.489452	5th November 2018 / 7:09 pm	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://www.altnews.in/englishclone/october-round-up-sabarimala-becomes-focus-of-misinformation/", "author": "Arjun Sidharth" }

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