Authors
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
A letter by BMW India clarifying that it had no plans of starting a manufacturing plant in Punjab is fake.
You can see an archived version of the claim here.
Several social media users shared the claim on social media, and cited that a now-deleted tweet by BMW handle, which read “Exciting times ahead”, was proof enough that BMW had endorsed the announcement.
Fact check/Verification
Newschecker began by trying to analyse the alleged clarification from BMW. “BMW Group is firmly committed to its Indian operations with its manufacturing plant in Chennai, a parts warehouse in Pune, a training centre in Gurgaon NCR and a well-developed dealer network across major metropolitans of the country. BMW Group India has no plans for setting up additional manufacturing operations in Punjab,” it reads.
We noticed that the image does not carry the header of the organisation, and one cannot ascertain whether it is an official communication from BMW merely by a rough glance.
Newschecker then reached out to the press and corporate affairs department of BMW, who confirmed that the letter in circulation on social media attributed to BMW is true. They also shared the same press release with Newschecker in an email format and PDF format, which can be seen below.
However, Newschecker could not verify whether the tweet, allegedly showing a response from BMW India reading “Exciting times ahead” was true or not.
Thus, it is thus understood that a screengrab of the clarification email by BMW group is in circulation on social media and it is authentic. It is also understood that the claim, that BMW has denied the letter to be fake, is not true.
Result: False
Source
Correspondence with BMW press and corporate affairs department
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Authors
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.
