From Union health minister Harsh Vardhan claiming that India administered the highest doses of COVID-19 vaccine across the world to claims around America’s top immunologist Dr Anthony Fauci been sacked, here’s what misled the public this week.
1. No, India Isn’t Only Country to Vaccinate Over 80 Lakh in a Day
Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan and several other Union ministers on 22 June celebrated India’s highest single-day vaccination numbers and wrote that it was the “highest ever single-day coverage across the world.”
However, the claim is inaccurate. We looked up the numbers on ‘Our World In Data’ – an online publication for databases – and found that China has consistently been vaccinating around one crore people per day, since 12 May 2021.
And the number has gone up to two crore and a little beyond on multiple days. For instance, on 26 May, it went up to 20.1 million (about two crore).
Read our fact-check here.
2. No, Dr Fauci Hasn’t Been ‘Fired’ Amid Probe Into COVID-19 Origins
Several social media users have claimed that America’s top immunologist and chief medical advisor to the US president, Dr Anthony Fauci, has been fired after the country allegedly admitted that COVID-19 was "man-made".
The claim is being shared with a video of Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene talking about introducing the ‘Fire Fauci Act’ (Bill) in the House of Representatives.
However, we found that Dr Fauci is still the chief medical advisor to the president and the director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. We didn't find any news report where the US government has confirmed that coronavirus was man-made. However, it must be noted that an investigation into the origins is underway.
Read our fact-check here.
3.Only Muslim Candidates Recruited in WB Police? Misleading Claim!
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament (MP) Shiv Pratap Shukla sharing a merit list of 50 candidates for West Bengal Police Recruitment Board, said that there were no “Hindus in the list”, accusing the state government of “appeasement politics”.
However, we found that while the list shared by Shukla has not been tampered with or edited, the claim is misleading, as this is just one part of the OBC category list shared by Shukla. There are other lists (even for the OBC category) which enlists names of candidates belonging to other communities.
The state of West Bengal recognises two divisions under the OBC Category – OBC (A) and OBC (B). As on 21 June 2021, the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes’ website shows majority of the candidates in category A are from the Muslim community, while OBC (B) has a higher proportion people from the Hindu community.
Read our fact-check here.
4. Old Finnish Clip of Civil Engg Work Shared as ‘Lightning on River’
An old video from 2012 showing a trail of light going into a water body and setting off an explosive reaction is being shared on social media. Users claim that it shows what happens when ‘lightning’ hits a river.
However, we found that the video dates back to 2012 and was first uploaded on YouTube by Finnish beach and civil engineering company Rannikon Merityö. The video, whose title translates to ‘Drilling, part 3: Blasting’ shows the company deepening a waterway.
Read our fact-check here.
5.PM Modi Said He ‘Used to Steal as a Child’? Viral Video is Clipped
A nine-second video is being circulated on social media with the misleading claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi called himself a “thief.” The PM can be heard saying that had my mother stopped me from stealing small things, I wouldn't have been a big robber.
However, we watched the full video of his campaign speech in Siliguri, ahead of the fifth phase of West Bengal Assembly elections, on 10 April, and found that a part of his speech was shared out-of-context to make the claim. He said this to take a dig at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of extortion racket in the state.
Read our fact-check here.
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