Webqoof Roundup: The Fake Stories That Clouded Us in September

The video shows a woman being dragged out of a car by some men, and being shot when she tries to escape.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Fake news stories are caught on the internet like wildfire. And the month of September has been filled with many such wildfires.

Here’s The Quint’s roundup of the Webqoof, ie, fake news stories that were busted in the month of September.

1. Hindu Priest Was Beaten for Sexual Harassment, Not Religion

Just as West Bengal prepares to hold both Durga Puja and Muharram together peacefully, a fake Twitter account tried to incite communal hatred between Hindus and Muslims with a fake video.

The account “BharatiyaPatriot”, which no longer exists on Twitter, put out a video of a Hindu priest being beaten up with the message, “The brahmin’s puja bell sounds during this Navratri disturbed those Muslims in a Muslim majority area in West Bengal”.

But what is the truth? Read the full story here.

2.Fake News Being Used to Incite Anger Against Rohingyas in India

Myanmar’s threatened minority – the Rohingya Muslims – face as much threat in India as they do in their homeland, where the government wants to persecute them. In India, targeted fake news accusing Rohingyas of violent events is spreading like wildfire.

Other than the 1,23,000 Rohingyas who fled to Bangladesh in fear, there’s are an estimated population of 40,000 of the stateless community who now live in India.

Read full story here.

3. Fake News Site Falsely Suggests Naxal Leader Killed Gauri Lankesh

The Special Investigation Team (SIT), tasked with the investigation of journalist Gauri Lankesh’s murder, is still combing through available evidence. However, a news article has falsely claimed that a naxalite leader has been identified as a prime suspect in the case.

The article claims that Naxal leader Vikram Gowda “killed Gauri Lankesh” and it has been widely shared on social media. However, it presents half-baked speculations without any real facts.

The article was published by Postcard.news, a repeat offender when it comes to fake news.

Read full story here.

4. Viral Text Claiming Combiflam Can Kill You is False & Misleading

A viral message on WhatsApp and Facebook claims that one pill of Combiflam can take your life. Even the company (selling Combiflam) has started recalling the tablets from the market, it goes on say. It urges its recipients to share the message with their friends and family.

So, are the claims of this message true?

The origins of this message date back to 2015, when several batches of Combiflam tablets were found to be substandard and were marked for recall.

The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) found Combiflam, along with several other drugs, substandard in its routine tests. (Click here for the March 2017 bulletin of CDSCO).

Read full story here.

5. Does This Tweet Prove Modi Is a ‘Godse-Bhakt’? Well, Not Really

Vinay Kumar Dokani, whose Twitter bio says he is the national coordinator of the social media team of the Indian Youth Congress, tweeted an image implying Prime Minister Narendra Modi had refused to join his hands while paying tribute to a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Sabarmati Ashram on Wednesday.

This even as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife Akie Abe can be seen in the photograph joining their hands.

However, other photographs from a different angle, and video footage carried by news channels, show that was clearly false.

Read full story here.

6. Anti-Rohingya Propaganda Relying On Fake Images Of Children

As the anti-Rohingya rhetoric on social media in India grows, fake narratives are being spun around photographs of children as part of a divisive propaganda.

This is likely to get worse in the coming days as India woke up to the news that Myanmar’s army had discovered a mass grave of 28 Hindus in Rakhine. The Burmese Army has blamed Muslim Rohingya militants for the killings.

BOOM came across two instances in the last 24 hours where fake stories were weaved around actual photos of children. The reactions and comments on these posts show that they have been extremely effective in stirring religious bigotry.

Read full story here.

7. Kerala Street Play Passed off as Murder of RSS Woman

A Twitter user @AmiteshK01 posted a video on Tuesday, which he said showed “another gory murder in Kerala, by Commie/Jihadi goons of a lady supportive of BJP.”

The video shows a woman being dragged out of a car by some men. As she attempts to run away, she is ‘shot’, and falls to the ground. A man then begins talking loudly in Malayalam to the people who have surrounded the body.

The video was actually a clip of a street play, performed by the Democratic Youth Federation of India in Kalikavu in Malappuram. The play was based on the murder of journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh, who was shot dead by unknown persons on 5 September, outside her home in Bengaluru.

Read full story here.

(With inputs from BOOM, and The News Minute)