WebQoof Recap: Misinformation Around Electoral Bonds, Media Misreporting & More

WebQoof Recap: Here are the viral pieces of misinformation that we debunked this week!

(Source: Kamran Akhter/The Quint) 

From misinformation around electoral bonds by Home Minister Amit Shah to a clipped video of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi shared with false claims and an old images of Trinamool Congress's Mamata Banerjee with claims that she 'faked' her recent injury, here are the top five pieces of fake news that we debunked this week.

Home Minister Amit Shah's Remarks on Electoral Bonds Contradicts Public Data

Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently spoke at India Today's conclave and stated the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had received approximately Rs 6,000 crore worth of bonds, while the total worth of bonds was Rs 20,000 crore.

• He questioned where the "rest of the bonds worth around Rs 14,000 crore" were in his speech.

• The video was shared on the minister's official X (formerly Twitter) handle.

However, we found that these figures were not the most accurate.

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) recently released data stating that the value of electoral bonds issued was around Rs 12,000 crore. Therefore, Shah's statement that Opposition parties received electoral bonds worth about Rs 14,000 crore contradicts the publicly available data.

• The Quint recently highlighted that the BJP received almost 50 percent of the total electoral bonds' amount. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Congress party were the second and third-highest beneficiaries, respectively.

• The BJP received Rs 6060.5 crore in electoral bonds, making it the number one party to receive the highest donations.

Read the full report here.

WPL Post From Actor Siddharth's Namesake X Account Falsely Attributed to Him

Multiple news organizations reported on actor Siddharth supposedly expressing his criticism of the lack of women celebrating the victory of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the TATA Women's Premier League (WPL) on the streets.

• This included organisations such as  ETV, Mashable, Times Now- Zoom, Times of India, ABP Live, Hindustan Times and Indian Express published similar reports.

Actor Siddharth confirmed on his Instagram that he does not have an X account. 

(Source: The Quint) 

However, the claim is false.

• Actor Siddharth confirmed on his official Instagram account that it was not him who made the statement and does not use X.

• Whereas, the statement was attributed to an X account named @dearthofsiddharth, who also clarified that he is "not actor Siddharth."

Read our story here.

Old Photo Shared To Claim West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee ‘Faked’ Forehead Injury

Two images showing Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee is being circulated with the claim that she 'faked' to have a head injury in order to deceive the public.

• The first photo shows Banerjee with a bleeding wound in the centre of her forehead, while the other image depicts her with a bandage positioned closer to the right side near her hairline.

However, the claim is false.

• The photograph of Banerjee with a bandage on her was taken on 24 January when she she sustained only minor injuries in a car accident while traveling from Bardhaman to Kolkata.

Read the full story here.

Clipped Video of Rahul Gandhi Shared to Claim He Did Not Accept Vitthal Statue

A video of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, where he can be seen being felicitated with garlands at a public gathering is being shared on social media. Those sharing have claimed that he "refuses to accept idol of Bhagwan Vitthal"

• Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Head of IT Cell, Amit Malviya shared this video on his official X account.

• Similarly, BJP Maharashtra X handle also shared this video.

An archive of the post can be found here. 

An archive of the post can be found here. 

No, the claim is false as the video is clipped.

• In the longer version, he can be seen accepting the idol from the people, which has been edited out from the viral claim.

• Rahul Gandhi met farmers in Nashik during the Maharashtra leg of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.

Read the full fact-check here.

Video of CEC ‘Evading’ Query on Action Against PM Modi & Amit Shah Is Clipped

A video of a journalist asking the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) a question about the body not taking action against PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for hate speech during election campaigns has gone viral on social media.

• Users have claimed the "spineless" ECI skipped the question on the Commission's lack of action against the prime minister and home minister, under the guidelines for the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).

An archive of this post can be seen here.

(Source: Instagram/Screenshot)

However, this video is clipped.

• CEC Rajiv Kumar assured the journalist that the Election Commission of India (ECI) would not hesitate to take action against anyone who violated the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), irrespective of their status as a "star campaigner."

Read our story here.

(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9540511818 , or e-mail it to us at [e-mail] and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)