Authors
A self-taught social media maverick, Saurabh realised the power of social media early on and began following and analysing false narratives and ‘fake news’ even before he entered the field of fact-checking professionally. He is fascinated with the visual medium, technology and politics, and at Newschecker, where he leads social media strategy, he is a jack of all trades. With a burning desire to uncover the truth behind events that capture people's minds and make sense of the facts in the noisy world of social media, he fact checks misinformation in Hindi and English at Newschecker.
Claim
Many political parties, volunteers, supporters, and journalists claimed that a man, who was involved in beating the protestors at JMI, is an ABVP member and was allowed by the police to beat the protesters.
Verification
Amid protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, social media is bombarded with misinformation. A protest which could be democratic and peaceful fell prey to misinformation and turned violent at some places. Social media users across political parties shared claims without any authenticity and the claims went viral in no time. People from both sides, be it supporters or protesters of the Citizenship Amendment Act, shared claims which suit their political inspiration. Now, what becomes more surprising and worrisome is the intentional support to the misinformation. Many social media users often share claims that carry no or very little authenticity but they do not stand corrected even after being called out. This tendency to paint falsehood in the same colors as the truth has become a notorious dogma that is preventing people from discerning between truth, propaganda and fiction.
Recently, a claim went viral on social media that an ABVP member, namely Bharat Sharma, was involved in beating the protesters. Many social media users including AAP Volunteer Kapil, Congress Leader Dr Udit Raj, NCP Lawmaker Dr Jitendra Awhad and several others claimed that the Delhi Police has outsourced ABVP and RSS members to beat the protesters.
Intensity of the claim can be seen below
Claim made by AAP Volunteer Kapil (Tweet is deleted, an archived version can be viewed here.
Claim made by Arvind Jha (Tweet is deleted, an archived version can be viewed here.
Claim made by NCP Legislator Dr Jitendra Awahad:
Look at this photo and u will come to know who r behind the violence #BlackDay #StudentsProtest pic.twitter.com/rh5zqhXKZ1
— Dr.Jitendra Awhad (@Awhadspeaks) December 16, 2019
Claim made by Writer Raju Parulekar (Tweet is deleted, an archived version can be viewed here.
Claim made by Congress Leader Udit Raj (Tweet is deleted, an archived version can be viewed here):
सरकार बहादुर जवाब दे कि अब इसकी ड्यूटी किसने लगा दी? #देश_जल_रहा_है pic.twitter.com/jtQVAXRtxV
— Dr. Udit Raj (@Dr_Uditraj) December 17, 2019
Claim made by Himachal Pradesh Congress Sevadal:
दिल्ली पुलिस के साथ घूम घूम कर छात्रों की पिटाई करता ये लड़का है भरत शर्मा
दिल्ली विश्विद्यालय में law का छात्र है
ABVP का राज्य स्तरीय पदाधिकार है।
ओर RSS का स्वयं सेवक है । pic.twitter.com/jVKHlrcl3h— Himachal Pradesh Congress Sevadal (@SevadalHP) December 17, 2019
Furthermore, this image is viral on Twitter with various claims which are listed below
Intensity of this claim on Facebook can be viewed here
As we began to fact check this claim, we first observed the viral image. The viral image, as one can see above, is a collage of two images wherein one is allegedly the snapshot of Bharat Sharma’s Facebook profile and the other is of a man in his early 40s standing with a Lathi in his hand. Notably, the same person was said to be present in both the images of the viral collage.
AATS Constable Arvind Kumar misidentified as Bharat Sharma
We first checked Delhi Police’s Twitter Handle, where we found a series of tweets and retweets by Delhi Police debunking the aforementioned claim.
Delhi Police retweeted a tweet by news agency ANI, where the DCP of South East Delhi Chinmoy Biswal appeals to citizens to maintain law & order, and not pay heed to rumours.
Chinmoy Biswal, DCP South East,Delhi: We held meeting with locals and listened to their perspective as a confidence building measure. We appealed to them to maintain law & order, and not pay heed to rumours. https://t.co/jufuLIQ6LH pic.twitter.com/q6rqIAa2YG
— ANI (@ANI) December 17, 2019
We also found a tweet wherein DCP South East Delhi has rubbished the aforementioned claim.
REBUTTING FALSEHOOD:#SayNoToRumours @LtGovDelhi @CPDelhi@DelhiPolice@ndtvindia @NDTV @ANI #SocialMedia
Not ABVP member, man in civilian clothes was a cop: Delhi Police https://t.co/IsQ4IPRkAA
— DCP South East Delhi (@DCPSEastDelhi) December 17, 2019
The above tweet by DCP South East Delhi contains an ANI story which further explains the matter in detail. The ANI story suggests that the AATS (Anti Auto Theft Squad) constable Arvind Kumar, who was misidentified as ABVP member Bharat Sharma, was standing near Surya Hotel when some person clicked his picture.
Not ABVP member, man in civilian clothes was a cop: Delhi Police
New Delhi [India], Dec 17 (ANI): The Delhi Police on Tuesday denied the claim that a member of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) was dressed as police personnel at the time of violence in Jamia Millia Islamia here.As violence erupted in Jamia on Sunday following the protests over the Citizenship
In lieu of debunking the misinformation spread by social media users, DCP South East Delhi tweeted the clarification.
REBUTTING FALSEHOOD:#SayNoToRumours @LtGovDelhi @CPDelhi@DelhiPolice@ndtvindia @NDTV @ANI #SocialMedia
Not ABVP member, man in civilian clothes was a cop: Delhi Police https://t.co/IsQ4IPRkAA
— DCP South East Delhi (@DCPSEastDelhi) December 17, 2019
Notably, DCP South East Delhi has also retweeted a tweet which reads, “Agar paani ko petrol bataya ja sakta hai to mujhe ashcharya nahi hai ki hamare ek officer ko RSS ka bataya ja raha hai.”
Agar paani ko petrol bataya ja sakta hai to mujhe ashcharya nahi hai ki hamare ek officer ko RSS ka bataya ja raha hai. @DCPSEastDelhi on rumours around #JamiaProtests pic.twitter.com/8mjSI7BE3w
— Hemani Bhandari (@HemaniBhandari) December 17, 2019
Furthermore, DCP South East Delhi has quoted the screenshot of a tweet which contains the same viral collage, his quoted reply can be seen below.
A #FALSE PROPAGANDA:
There is no connection between alleged profile of a person in pic below and the plainclothes constable of #SouthEastDistrict deployed on duty in law & order bandobast in available anti-riot gear. @DelhiPolice @CPDelhi #SayNoToRumours #viralvideo @ANI pic.twitter.com/MPYWG0sVt2— DCP South East Delhi (@DCPSEastDelhi) December 17, 2019
The above statement of the DCP refers to a ‘Misleading’ claim made by Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and others which was recently fact checked by our team.
Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, Congress IT Cell Head Rohan Gupta & Others Falsely Accuse Delhi Police of Setting Ablaze Public Transport
Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia followed by Congress IT Cell Incharge Rohan Gupta, Former Lok Sabha candidate from Aam Aadmi Party Atishi Marlena, AAP volunteer Ankit Lal, AAP Supporter Aarti, Journalist Saikat Datta and others claimed that the BJP is using Delhi Police to provoke the violence in Delhi.
Website The Quint was able to access a picture of Constable Arvind Kumar and has done a comparison between Bharat Sharma and Constable Arvind Kumar which clearly defines the difference in their appearances.
I have been subjected to severe mental harassment since yesterday: Bharat Sharma
Bharat Sharma expressed his thoughts through a tweet that reads, “I have been subjected to severe mental harassment since yesterday. I will file a defamation suit against all those who have peddled this lie that I was involved in rioting disguising as a police personnel, thus defaming my organisation and me.”
I have been subjected to severe mental harassment since yesterday. I will file a defamation suit against all those who have peddled this lie that I was involved in rioting disguising as a police personnel, thus defaming my organisation and me.@ABVPVoice
— Bharat Sharma (@bhaaratsharmaa) December 17, 2019
Bharat Sharma, in one of his tweets, has replied to Bollywood Director, Producer, Writer and Actor Anurag Kashyap for a tweet that contains the same claim as many above
Here I am Mr Kashyap! Shame on you for spreading fake news. Such hypocrisy!
— Bharat Sharma (@bhaaratsharmaa) December 17, 2019
Since the tweet Bharat Sharma has replied to, is deleted, here is a screenshot of the claim which Kashyap retweeted
His organization ABVP has also clarified on the matter.
Despite the clarification by Delhi Police that the personnel is NOT an ABVP karyakarta, some media houses are still peddling the defamatory allegations without verifying with the Delhi Police or ABVP. They should retract the news and apologise immediately. https://t.co/ema6FoiJRN
— ABVP (@ABVPVoice) December 17, 2019
Man posed as striking against a group of women is not Arvind Kumar
Former Supreme Court justice Markandey Katju tweeted two images and asked if anyone can tell him about the cop who is in a pose to strike against group of woman.
When we began to fact check the second claim, we found a story in India Today that explains the matter in details.
Cops beat girls and boys alike, my brave women friends saved me: Jamia boy whose assault video is viral
Pulled by his collar, he was dragged out of a house and slammed on to a road in South Delhi by the “professional” personnel of the Delhi Police on Sunday evening as protests against the Citizenship Amendment Bill rocked Jamia Millia Islamia University.
We also found a report in Hindustan Times that clarifies the matter in detail. According to the report by Hindustan Times, AATS Inspector Love Atrey denied the allegations that civilians and political party members were invited by the Delhi Police to beat the protesters. Atrey said, “A dozen of us set out without changing into our uniform. At the spot, we put on anti-riot jackets and wore our motorcycle helmets before dealing with the mob”.
Man in viral photo raining blows with a baton is a cop, not a civilian: Police
india Updated: Dec 17, 2019 16:33 IST One of the many rumours being spread on social media after the police crackdown on protesters in Jamia Nagar relates to a photograph of a man in plainclothes hitting a protester with a baton, and some women trying to shield him.
Claim made by AAP Volunteer Kapil and Others is ‘Misleading’
It is clear from our investigation that the man said to be ABVP member Bharat Sharma is AATS Constable Arvind Kumar. We found in our fact check that the man posed as striking against group of women in civil dress is not a civilian but a cop.
Tools Used
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Result: Misleading
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Authors
A self-taught social media maverick, Saurabh realised the power of social media early on and began following and analysing false narratives and ‘fake news’ even before he entered the field of fact-checking professionally. He is fascinated with the visual medium, technology and politics, and at Newschecker, where he leads social media strategy, he is a jack of all trades. With a burning desire to uncover the truth behind events that capture people's minds and make sense of the facts in the noisy world of social media, he fact checks misinformation in Hindi and English at Newschecker.
