WebQoof Recap: Of Misinformation Around Kharge, Media Misreporting, and More
Here are some pieces of misinformation that went viral this week.
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From misinformation around Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge to an old video of Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma being shared with a false claim, here are the top five pieces of misinformation that went viral this week.
1. BJP Leaders Share Clipped Video To Take a Dig at Congress’ Mallikarjun Kharge
A video which showed Kharge talking about the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) slogan was shared to imply that he has agreed that the BJP will secure more than 400 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections.
The claim was shared by Union Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Irani, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav, BJP Uttar Pradesh's official X (formerly Twitter) account, and BJP Punjab's general secretary Parminder Singh Brar, among others.
Union Minister Smriti Irani shared the video.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav shared the claim.
BJP's UP X account shared the claim.
BJP Punjab's general secretary Parminder Singh Brar shared the video.
However, the video was clipped and was being shared with a misleading claim.
After Kharge brought up BJP's slogan, his speech was interrupted by Leader of the House Piyush Goyal and Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankar.
Later, Kharge mentioned that the BJP would not win "even a 100" seats in the upcoming elections.
Read the full story here.
2. Viral Video Does Not Show a Real Elephant Dancing, It’s a Costume!
Media organisations News24 Hindi, ABP News, and Loksatta published reports on a video which appeared to show a dressed-up elephant dancing amid a crowd of people celebrating an event.
The report mentioned about the "royal elephant" dancing along to music.
However, Team WebQoof found that there was actually a person inside the elephant's custome. Watch our video below for more details.
Read our fact-check here.
3. PM Modi Quotes Nehru in Parliament, But What Did the Former PM Exactly Say?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President's address, targeted the Congress party and India's first PM, Jawaharlal Nehru.
PM Modi claimed that Nehru believed Indians were lazy while quoting the latter's speech on Independence Day in 1959.
Further, PM Modi alleged that Nehru was against reservations while talking about his letter to the then chief ministers.
To check the veracity of PM Modi's claims, we compared the statements made by him with what Nehru spoke/wrote to put the latter's statements in context.
Read the full story here for more details.
4. Old Video of Rohit Sharma Falsely Shared as Him Visiting Ayodhya's Ram Temple
Several social media users shared a video claiming that Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma recently visited Ayodhya's Ram temple.
However, the claims were false. The video dated back to August 2023, when Sharma visited the Tirupati Balaji temple in Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh.
Read our fact-check here.
5. False Claim About Police Taking Actions Against 'Cow Smugglers' in MP Goes Viral
A video which showed a huge crowd gathered near a police station went viral on social media platforms with a claim that the police was "taking action against cow smugglers" in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh.
The claim mentioned that over two thousand people from the Muslim community "manhandled" the police.
However, the video had no connection to cow smuggling gangs.
Speaking to Team WebQoof, Damoh's SP office confirmed that a fight broke out between a group of men from the Hindu community and a tailor from the Muslim community.
The police had to intervene when the clash escalated into a big fight.
Read the full 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 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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