Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
US mistakes Rahul Gandhi as Pakistani leader, plays the country’s national anthem upon his arrival at an event.
The archived version of the post can be seen here.
Fact
Newschecker first ran a keyword search for “Pakistan national anthem Rahul Gandhi US”, which did not lead us to any credible news reports about such an incident.
We noticed that some of the viral posts shared the purported article along with the claim, leading us to this September 11, 2024 report by satirical web portal The Fauxy, headlined, “After hearing Rahul Gandhi’s speeches on India, Americans mistake him for a Pakistani, Plays Pakistani National Anthem when he arrives.”
“Big news is coming from the United States, where after hearing Rahul Gandhi relentlessly criticise India in his speeches, an American university mistook him for a Pakistani and played the Pakistani national anthem upon his arrival for another speech. Rahul Gandhi did nothing but stand there with a smile, leaving many Indians wondering if he even knows the Indian national anthem… When the Fauxy correspondent informed the organiser that he is Indian, the organiser was shocked and said, ‘We receive a lot of Pakistani people too; even they don’t talk this much against India. Only ISI-trained Pakistani diplomats sent to defame India talk like this’,” read the article, which confirms that it is satire. The X post can be seen here.
A look through the website shows that the portal regularly posts satirical articles about news events, along with the disclaimer reading, “Fauxy is a satirical web portal. The material published on this website is based on fiction. Readers are advised not to consider articles in the Fauxy to be factual or true.”
Also Read: 2013 Gang-Rape Case Of American Tourist In Manali Shared As Recent
Result: Satire
Source
The Fauxy report, September 11, 2024
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
