From fake claims around India receiving the veto power at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to misinformation around former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, read our weekly recap to find out the top five fact-check stories from this week.
1. Fact-Check: Video Falsely Claims That India Has Veto Power in the UNSC
Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech at the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session, a video was circulated on the internet claiming that India has received a permanent seat at the UNSC along with veto power.
An archive of the post can be found here.
(Source: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot)
While India has not yet received veto power at the security council, four countries namely — the United States, Russia, France, and the United Kingdom have endorsed India's seat on the council.
You can read our fact-check here.
2. FFI’s Only Official Entry for Oscars Is Laapataa Ladies, Not Veer Savarkar
A post was being circulated on the internet claiming that actor Randeep Hooda's Swatantrya Veer Savarkar was one of India's official entries for the 2024 Academy Awards.
An archive of the post can be found here.
(Source: X/Screenshot)
However, we found that India's official entry for the awards was Kiran Rao's Laapataa Ladies.
This was also confirmed by the Film Federation of India (FFI) president.
The president added that Hooda's movie could be an independent entry for the awards but not the official one.
Read the full story here.
3. Viral Story About Jawaharlal Nehru 'Neglecting' Wife Kamala is Fabricated!
Several social media users shared posts criticising former PM Jawaharlal Nehru for not being there with his wife, Kamala Nehru, when the latter was suffering from tuberculosis (TB).
The post mentioned that Kamala was suffering from TB and was admitted to a "sanatorium" in Prague, Yugoslavia and "kept waiting for death" for ten years.
However, instead of visiting his wife, the former PM kept "Edwina Benton in Delhi" and kept travelling to Britain during the same duration.
This claim has been doing the rounds since 2019. Click here to view an archive of this post.
(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)
But the truth is that this 'story' lacked facts and was misleading.
While it is true that Kamala was suffering from TB, her family travelled to Europe for the course of her treatment.
As per historical evidences, Nehru not only visited his wife several times, he was also there with Kamala on the day of her passing.
You can read our fact-check here.
4. Bengaluru’s Mahalaxmi Murder Case Viral With Communal Angle
After the gruesome murder of a woman in Karnataka’s Bengaluru, several posts went viral identifying the woman as one 'Mahalaxmi' and they claimed that she was killed by a man named 'Ashraf'.
These posts were quick to point out that it was actually a 'love jihad' case, a term used by the right-wing to promote a conspiracy about Muslims entrapping Hindu women for forced religious conversions.
Along with other social media users, BJP Karnataka's official X handle and media organisation DNA India, too, shared the same claims.
An archive of this post can be seen here.
(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)
But according to the police and several news reports, and the Bhadrak police, the accused has been identified as one 'Mukti Ranjan Roy' (or Rai).
Read the full story here.
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5. No, This Video Does Not Show Netanyahu Running to a Bunker After Iran’s Attack
A video of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went viral on social media platforms with a claim that it shows him running to a bunker following Iran's attack on Israel.
An archived version of this post can be seen here.
(Source: X /Screenshot)
However, neither was the video recent nor was it related to Iran's recent attack. It dated back to December 2021 and showed Netanyahu running in the Israeli house of representatives, Knesset.
You can read our fact-check here.
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