An altered template of Hindi news channel Aaj Tak’s bulletin is being circulated to falsely claim that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that "Thakurs can make a mistake" in connection with the alleged gang-rape and murder of the 19-year-old Dalit girl in Hathras.
CLAIM
Several users on Facebook shared a screenshot of the bulletin which read “ठाकुरो का खून गर्म है, ठाकुरो से गलतिया हो जाती है: योगी”. [Translation: Thakurs can make a mistake: Yogi].
The post has been shared by multiple users on Facebook.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
We noticed that the colour of the text next to Yogi’s image on the breaking news template was different from the rest of the template, this raised a red flag.
Next, we noticed that the ticker line was about the suspension of the SP and DSP of Hathras, which hinted at the fact that the template could be from yesterday as the news came late in the evening on Friday, 2 October.
Following this, we used Twitter’s advance search and looked for Aaj Tak’s bulletin from last evening. We came across a bulletin which was uploaded at 8:54 pm.
On comparing the two images, one can notice that the sponsor ad, text at the bottom of the screen, Yogi’s image and the breaking news template are the same. The only difference is in the text which has been added to attribute the quote to Yogi.
Evidently, an altered template of Aaj Tak’s bulletin is being shared to claim that Yogi spoke in favour of the accused. However, it must be noted that Adityanath is facing widespread anger and outrage over the handling of the case, as Opposition leaders and citizens demand his resignation.
(With inputs from SM HoaxSlayer)
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