This Exit Poll Graphic Predicting BJP’s Win in Punjab’s Amritsar Is Fake

It should be noted that publication of any exit poll was prohibited till 1 June.

An exit poll graphic purportedly published by India Today is being shared to claim that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is projected to win in Punjab's Amritsar.

The post had garnered over 25 thousand views on the platform, when this report was being written. More archives of such claims can be viewed here and here.

What is the truth?: The graphic is fake and not published by the media organisation. This image was uploaded on 27 May, whereas, publishing of any exit poll was prohibited till 1 June.

How did we find that out?: We performed a Google Lens search and found the same graphic published on the official X handle of India Today's journalist, Rahul Kanwal.

• It was published on 28 May.

• The post's caption that any exit poll being published before 1 June would be fake.

• Kanwal further mentioned that the organisation would be publishing its exit poll after 6:30 pm on 1 June.

We realise that there’s a lot of interest in the results of the @IndiaToday Axis My India exit poll. But please be certain that any ‘poll’ you see before 6:30 pm on June 1 is fake. It’s good to have so much buzz around our poll, but we don’t want that there be any confusion as a… pic.twitter.com/BDwZDsFKr9

— Rahul Kanwal (@rahulkanwal) May 28, 2024

• Another round of Google Lens search directed us to the official Facebook account of India Today, which showed a similar-looking graphic that was published in 2022.

• The Quint had covered four different types of exit poll, including India Today's Axis My India, which showed BJP winning around two-four seats in Punjab. You can read our story here.

• However, it did not mention data about any particular constituency.

Conclusion: The graphic is fake and is unrelated to 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.

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