From exaggerated claims of rioters in the Bengaluru violence to false claims of Putin's daughter getting vaccinated for COVID-19, here’s a quick round-up of all that misled the public this week.
1. 60,000 Rioters in B’luru? ANI Airs Wrong Claim, Media Amplifies It
News outlets on Wednesday, 12 August, published an unverified report which claimed that “60,000 rioters” were involved in the incident of violence in Bengaluru where a mob went on a rampage, attacking a police station and an MLA’s house.
However, we found that this figure of 60,000 was an exaggerated claim based on a sole witness account and cannot be backed up by reports from the ground or police.
We traced the claim back to the ANI report and found that the wire agency had uploaded a video of a man by the name of Sharif who claimed to be an eye-witness to the incident and pegged the crowd at somewhere between 50,000-60,000.
None of the news reports place the number of people present at various locations above 2,500. ANI ran a story based on an unverified eye-witness account which was picked up by news organisations and amplified on social media.
You can read the full story here.
2. No, That’s Not Putin’s Daughter Being Vaccinated for COVID-19
A video of a young volunteer, being examined by a health expert, is being shared on social media with a false claim that the girl is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s daughter, who has received the first COVID-19 vaccine.
The video started doing the rounds after Russia announced that they have developed the first vaccine for the novel coronavirus and that one of Putin’s daughters had already been inoculated.
However we found out that the girl in the video is a volunteer who took part in the clinical trials in Russia.
You can read the full story here.
3. BJP Falsely Claims Cong Put ‘R-Day’ Hoardings in MP Ahead of I-Day
Several social media users have shared an image of a billboard featuring former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath sending ‘Republic Day’ wishes, ahead of Independence Day, on Saturday, 15 August.
However, we found that the image in the tweet was morphed and the actual billboard shows an advertisement of Bandhan Bank.
We could identify a banner saying “Amit Shukla classes” in the viral image and then searched on Google using keywords “Amit Shukla classes madhya pradesh”. This led us to its exact location as KK Plaza, Maharana Pratap Nagar, Bhopal.
Then, we got in touch with a few locals near KK Plaza who refuted the claim that any ‘Republic Day’ poster featuring former chief minister Kamal Nath have been put over the said building.
You can read the full story here.
4. Blueprint of Babri Hospital, Dr Kafeel Khan to be Head? Fake News!
A photo of a blueprint of a hospital is falsely going viral on social media with the claim that it shows the ‘Babri Hospital’ that the Sunni Waqf Board is planning to build on the five-acre plot given to it to build a mosque in lieu of the land that the Babri Masjid stood on and that Dr Kafeel Khan will head this. However, this photo is actually the blueprint of a hospital in the USA.
Further, the Sunni Waqf Board has also issued a denial, calling the posts on social media about the Babri Hospital and Dr Kafeel Khan fake.
You can read the full story here.
5. Giza Pyramids Lit Up After Beirut Blasts? No, Viral Image is Fake!
An edited picture of Egypt's Giza Pyramids lit up in the Lebanese coat of arms has gone viral following recent explosions that rocked the city of Beirut in Lebanon, causing at least 200 deaths and over 7,000 injuries.
A reverse image search with the keywords, "Giza Pyramids Light Up" led us to news reports from April showing Egypt's message to stay home during the coronavirus pandemic.
A second reverse image search with the pyramids lit up in blue, led us to the original picture posted by Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities on 18 April.
A comparison of the viral image and the image shared by the ministry clearly shows that the Lebanese flag was photoshopped onto the "Experience Egypt Soon" message.
You can read the full story here.
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