WebQoof Recap: Of Misinformation Around Farmers' Protest & More
From claims around farmers attacking BJP leader to free COVID-19 vaccination in India.
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From misinformation around farmers attacking a BJP leader's car in Uttarakhand to fake news spread by Union minister Nitin Gadkari about Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, here's what misled the public this week.
1. Farmers Attacked BJP Leader's Car in Uttarakhand? Claim is Misleading!
A video of a BJP leader's car being surrounded by protesting farmers in Uttarakhand is going viral on Facebook. The crowd can be seen surrounding the car and the doors are forced open as the man can be seen running.
However, we found that the video does not show farmers. In the clip, the people surrounding BJP leader Pankaj Bhatt's car are locals and 'teerth purohits', or priests, who were in the area to protest Uttarakhand's new Char Dham Devasthanam Management Act.
Police also confirmed to The Quint that the video is from the same incident and that it had no connection with the farmers' protest.
Read our fact-check here.
2. Image of Yamuna Expressway Shared as Delhi-Mumbai Expressway
Social media users, including Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari shared images of infrastructure projects, which were later removed, remarking that the Delhi-Mumbai expressway is being 'constructed at record speed'.
One of the images was shared with text noting that it showed on-site progress of an interchange on the expressway near Ankleshwar in Gujarat.
However, we found that the image is not of the Delhi-Mumbai expressway, neither is it in or around Gujarat. The photograph shows an interchange on the Yamuna Expressway, near Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh.
Read our fact-check here.
3. Edited Pic of Former SAD Leader Shared as Farmer Carrying Condoms
An edited photograph of former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Sucha Singh Langah has gone viral with a false claim that he is a farmer from the ongoing farmers' protest who had a condom packet in the upper pocket of his kurta.
However, we found that Langah is neither a farmer leader nor was he seen carrying a condom packet. The photograph, which has been around since 2018, was altered to superimpose the photograph of the condom packet on his pocket.
Read our fact-check here.
4. Man Speaking Against Reliance Misidentified as Himalaya Drug Co's Owner
A video of a man asking people to not buy products made by Reliance and Baba Ramdev, at an anti-CAA protest in Delhi's Mustafabad, has gone viral with social media users identifying the man as 'owner of Himalaya company'.
However, we found that the man seen in the viral video is a Delhi-based advocate, Bhanu Pratap Singh, who delivered a speech in January 2020.
We also found that their official website mentioned that the founder of Himalaya Drug Company M Manal passed away in 1986.
Read our fact-check here.
5. No, India Isn't the Only Country to Give Free COVID-19 Vaccination
Spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam Pramod Swami had tweeted claiming that 'India is the only country in the world to provide free vaccination'.
He also added the prices of several vaccine companies without naming any country and made the claim.
However, we found that the claim is false and several other countries, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, and China, among others, are providing COVID-19 vaccines to their citizens for free.
Moreover, the prices that are mentioned in the message is the cost of the vaccines available across the world, and these are not charges that people have to pay to get vaccinated.
Read our fact-check here.
(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)
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