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WebQoof Recap: Of Misinformation Around US Shooting, Quad Summit, and More

Round-up of the most viral pieces of misinformation that people fell for.

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From misinformation about a transgender person being misidentified as the accused from Texas school shooting to an altered image of a railway station board saying 'Tamil Nadu Says Go Back Modi', here's a round-up of all that misled the people.

1. Transgender Person Misidentified As Texas School Shooter in US' Uvalde

The photographs of a transgender person had gone viral on social media in the aftermath of the deadly Texas school shooting with several people misidentifying the person as the shooter.

A gunman opened fire and killed at least 21 people in Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on 24 May. Authorities later killed the shooter, who was identified as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos.

Authorities have released a mugshot of the shooter and it shows that the person in the viral image is not the shooter.

We also found the Reddit and Instagram accounts of the person in the viral images and found a photograph posted by the user after the shooter was killed.

You can read our fact-check here.

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2. Old Video of Yasin Malik’s Wife Crying and Pleading Shared As Recent

A video of Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik's wife Mushaal Hussein Mullick pleading for her husband's release is being shared on social media with a claim that she broke down at the press conference after her husband was handed a life sentence in a terror funding case by a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on 25 May.

However, we found that the video is form 2019 when she held a press conference in Lahore, after Malik was sent to Delhi's Tihar jail. She had said that Malik had gone on a "hunger strike" protesting his "illegal detention".

You can read our fact-check here.

3. Fact-Check: No, US President Joe Biden Didn't Snub PM Modi at Quad Summit

A short video of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and United States President Joe Biden meeting at the Quad summit held in Tokyo, Japan, is being shared, claiming that US President Biden only interacted with Albanese and ignored Prime Minister Modi.

However, longer versions of the video show that after US President Biden and Australian PM Albanese shook hands and interacted, Biden also spoke to the Indian prime minister. After the brief interaction, the three leaders stood along Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for photographs.

You can read our fact-check here.

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4. No, Maharashtra’s MVA Govt Didn't Start New Bus To 'Appease Osmanabad Muslims'

A video of a heavily decorated bus with lights, flowers, and a green Islamic flag is being shared on social media to claim that the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra has started a new bus service in Osmanabad.

The claim states that the bus – which is decorated in the name of Nabi (prophet) and carries 'Pakistan’s flag' – is an act of appeasement by the Maharashtra government.

However, this video doesn't show Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government's initiative to “appease” the Muslim community in Maharashtra’s Osmanabad. It shows a decorated bus for the occasion of Urs, a custom which has been followed for decades.

You can read our fact-check here.

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5. Photo Of Railway Station Board With 'Tamil Nadu Says Go Back Modi' Is Altered

An image, showing a railway station's board with text 'Tamil Nadu Says Go Back Modi. We Hate You' written over it, is being shared on social media.

The photo comes in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Chennai on 26 May.

However, we found out that the original photo shows the signboard at Kanniyakumari Railway Station, which reads 'Kanniyakumari'. The viral image has been edited to replace the text.

The real image was clicked by Ed Hanley, a photographer, who documented his journey in 2016 on the Dibrugarh-Kanniyakumari Vivek Express.

You can 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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