WebQoof Recap: Misleading Claims Around 2022 UP Elections and COVID-19 Cure

From misleading claims by BJP's Sambit Patra to traditional unscientific remedies to treat COVID-19.

From Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) national spokesperson Sambit Patra sharing pictures of dilapidated schools during Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's tenure as that from the Samajwadi Party's (SP) term to claims that snorting dry ginger powder twice a day would cure COVID-19, here's what mislead people this week.

1. Sambit Patra Shares Pics of Dilapidated School From BJP's Tenure to Criticise SP

Ahead of the upcoming 2022 Uttar Pradesh (UP) elections, BJP's national spokesperson Sambit Patra shared two sets of images – before and after 2017 UP elections – to compare the state of schools in the state.

While one photo collage titled 'efore 2017, SP government' showed schools in bad condition, the other collage titled 'after 2017, Yogi government' showed students in what seems like an astronomy workshop.

However, we found that three images in the first collage (before 2017, SP government) were taken during CM Yogi Adityanath's term.

You can read our fact-check here.

2. Congress Punjab Poll Campaign Uses Photos of BJP Govt's 'Pink Bus' Scheme

Several Congress party accounts shared a photograph of a group of women taking selfies in front of pink buses, to claim that the party had pledged to bring in a fleet of buses dedicated to women so as to make transport safer for them.

However, we found that the photograph shared by these verified accounts is actually from an Assam government scheme named ‘Brahman Sarathi’ that was flagged off in 2021 by BJP leader and former Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

You can read our fact-check here.

3. No, Swami Vivekananda & Ramana Maharshi Couldn't Have Paved Way For 1857 Revolt

The Press Information Bureau (PIB), in the latest issue of the government’s fortnightly e-Magazine 'New India Samachar', claimed that religious saints Swami Vivekananda and Ramana Maharshi were concerned about the country’s “spiritual consciousness”, adding that the 'Bhakti movement' served as a precursor to the revolt of 1857.

However, we found that neither of them could have had any influence on the revolt of 1857, as both were born after 1857. As per books and records, Swami Vivekananda was born in 1863, whereas Ramana Maharishi was born in 1879.

You can read our fact-check here.

4. Fabricated Story Shared To Claim Rajiv Gandhi's SPG Killed a Beggar at Rajghat

A video by news agency Associated Press showing former Prime Minister (PM) Rajiv Gandhi is being shared on social media to claim that when Gandhi had gone to Rajghat, the memorial of MK Gandhi, the PM's Special Protection Group (SPG) had opened fire on one person, who later turned out to be a beggar.

However, we found that the story is a fabricated one. The AP video showed an assassination attempt on Rajiv Gandhi on 2 October 1986. Six people were wounded in the incident, but no one was killed.

You can read our fact-check here.

5. No, Snorting Dry Ginger Powder Twice a Day Will Not Cure COVID-19

A video of a man, identified as reputed pulmonologist Dr Zarir Udwadia, is being widely shared in which he advises viewers to snort small amounts of dry ginger powder through their nostrils twice a day, claiming that it would cure COVID-19, amid the rising spread of the Omicron variant.

We found the person in the video is not Dr Udwadia. Further, experts told The Quint that the claim had no scientific basis, and that following such 'traditional remedy' could actually be dangerous to a person.

The WebQoof team had debunked a similar claim during the early days of the pandemic, which claimed that ginger, pepper, and honey could suppress COVID-19.

You can read our fact-check here.

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