WebQoof Recap: Of Cow Dung ‘Chips’ & False ‘Love Jihad’ Claims

Here’s a quick round-up of all that misled the public this week.

From Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog chairman Vallabhbhai Kathiria claiming that cow dung “chips” can absorb mobile phone radiations to BJP National Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya’s tweet stating that cops in West Bengal Police threw bombs at BJP workers, here’s a quick recap of all that misled the public this week.

1. Cow Dung ‘Chips’ Block Cell Phone Radiation? Experts Say No Chance

Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog (RKA) chairman Vallabhbhai Kathiria on Monday, 12 October unveiled a “chip” made of cow dung and said that it reduces radiation from mobile handsets, a claim which wasn’t backed by research or proof.

While unveiling the “chip” named ‘Gausatva Kavach’, Kathiria claimed that it is “scientifically proven that cow dung is anti-radiation”, adding that it is medicinal in nature.

“Cow dung will protect everyone. It’s scientifically proven that cow dung is anti-radiation. This is a chip that can be used in mobile phones to reduce radiation. It’ll safeguard people against diseases.”

Vallabhbhai Kathiria, Chairman — Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog

The Quint spoke to experts who questioned his claim and demanded proof for this assertion.

You can read the full story here.

2. WB Cops Threw Bombs at BJP? Vijayvargiya’s Statement Lacks Proof

On 8 October, BJP National Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya tweeted a video to claim that the West Bengal Police threw bombs at BJP workers from a rooftop when they were marching towards state secretariat, Nabanna, to protest against the alleged killing of its workers.

Vijayvargiya shared the video mentioning that due to such acts of the West Bengal police, nearly 1,500 workers were allegedly injured. In the video, a man can be heard repeating the claim that police were throwing bombs.

However, this claim lacks proof and when we got in touch with the journalists on the ground, they said that the police used smoke bombs to disperse the crowd.

You can read the full story here.

3. Video from Rajasthan’s Pali Viral with a False ‘Love Jihad’ Spin

A viral video on social media is being shared with a claim that it shows a Hindu father pleading and trying to convince his daughter against marrying a Muslim man, thus insinuating that it a matter of ‘Love Jihad’.

The aforementioned video is being massively shared on Facebook and Twitter with the same misleading claim. Among those who shared the video is right-wing commentator Shefali Vaidya.

We at The Quint tracked down the location where the video was recorded and found that contrary to the claims, the couple — identified as Lakharam and Sita — belong to the same community (Dewasi) and the video shows Sita’s parents trying to convince her against marrying Lakharam.

You can read the full story here.

4. Member of Goa Cong Falsely Identified as Hathras’ ‘Naxal Bhabhi’

A viral image showing leaders of Goa Pradesh Congress Committee is being shared to claim that it shows a woman called Dr Rajkumari Bansal, who is being accused of having Naxal links and pretending to be the sister-in-law of the Hathras victim. Bansal is a resident of Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh.

Social media users have shared the image with the claim: “हाथरस नक्सली कांग्रेसी भौजाई” (Translated: Hathras Naxali Congressi Sister-in-law)

However, we found that the viral image does not show the Jabalpur woman. Rather, it shows Pratibha Borkar who is the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee social media in-charge.

You can read the full story here.

5. Old Visuals from Gujarat, Mexico Shared as Hyderabad Rains

Multiple videos are being circulated on the social media, claiming to show the current situation in Hyderabad amid heavy rains that have claimed at least 50 lives in the state of Telangana (at the time of publishing the article).

However, both the videos in question are old and not of Hyderabad. While one is of Gujarat’s Vadodara, the other is of Mexico City.

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